Rep. Rick Kriseman’s proposal to put new restrictions on advertising by legal and medical referral services won unanimous approval on its first committee stop this morning.

But not everybody’s happy with it. Just ask Gary.

“I don’t like any of that stuff,” Gary Kompothecras, the millionaire Sarasota chiropractor behind those ubiquitous “Ask Gary” television commercials, told the Buzz. “I like the First Amendment; I think you use it a lot?”

The bill put forth by Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat and personal injury attorney, would require that ads by a referral service disclose that it receives fees from the attorneys to whom it refers clients.

Under the bill, medical referral services would have to disclose to customers their financial relationships with lawyers and health care providers. In addition, ads by lawyer referral services would need approval of the Florida Bar, just as ads by lawyers already do.

Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat, is a personal injury attorney himself.

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