A settlement between the Florida Department of Health and a former state legislator over the release of detailed COVID-19 data will cost state taxpayers more than $150,000 in legal fees, according to the terms of the agreement.

The former Democratic state representative, Carlos Guillermo Smith, and the Florida Center for Government Accountability filed the lawsuit in state court in 2021, arguing in the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County that the department should timely report COVID-19 data at the county level.

In an agreement published earlier this month, the department agreed to provide the coronavirus data – including vaccination counts, case counts and death counts, all aggregated weekly by county, age group, gender and race. In return, the plaintiffs agreed not to bring further claims against the department alleging COVID-19 data is inadequate.