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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1
An act relating to court fiscal administration; 2
amending s. 28.246, F.S.; revising the calculation 3
used to determine the presumed ability to pay certain 4
fees, charges, costs, and fines; providing a formula 5
for determining a specified down payment; providing 6
construction; amending s. 28.35, F.S.; requiring the 7
Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation to 8
provide a recommendation on the distribution of 9
specified fees, charges, costs, and fines; providing 10
that the corporation shall complete specified duties 11
under certain circumstances; requiring the corporation 12
to annually prepare a specified budget request; 13
providing that such a request is not subject to change 14
by the Justice Administrative Commission; providing an 15
exception; providing that the Justice Administrative 16
Commission shall submit the request to the Governor 17
for transmittal to the Legislature; amending s. 40.29, 18
F.S.; authorizing the clerk of th e circuit court to 19
request reimbursement for certain filings at a 20
specified rate and in a certain manner; amending s. 21
57.082, F.S.; authorizing the clerk to conduct a 22
review of specified records; requiring the clerk to 23
maintain the results of such review i n a specified 24
manner and provide the results in such manner to the 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
court under specified provisions; authorizing the 26
clerk to use the results of the review when making a 27
determination of indigence; amending s. 322.29, F.S.; 28
requiring the Department of High way Safety and Motor 29
Vehicles to work with a specified association to 30
implement certain technology; providing an effective 31
date. 32
33
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
35
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 36
28.246, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 37
28.246 Payment of court -related fines or other monetary 38
penalties, fees, charges, and costs; partial payments; 39
distribution of funds. — 40
(4) 41
(b) An individual seeking to defer payment of fees, 42
service charges, court costs, or fines imposed by operation of 43
law or order of the court under any provision of general law 44
shall apply to the clerk for enrollment in a payment plan. The 45
clerk shall enter into a payment plan with an individual who the 46
court determines is ind igent for costs. It is the responsibility 47
of an individual who is released from incarceration and has 48
outstanding court obligations to contact the clerk within 30 49
days after release to pay fees, service charges, court costs, 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
and fines in full, or to apply for enrollment in a payment plan. 51
1. A monthly payment amount, calculated based upon all 52
fees and all anticipated fees, service charges, court costs, and 53
fines, is presumed to correspond to the person's ability to pay 54
if the amount does not exceed the greater of: 55
a. Two 2 percent of the person's annual net income, as 56
defined in s. 27.52(1), divided by 12 ; or 57
b. Twenty five dollars. 58
2. Any amount required by the clerk as down payment to 59
initially establish a payment plan shall be the lesser of 10 60
percent of the total amount owed or $100. The amount does not 61
include the imposition of a service charge pursuant to s. 62
28.24(27)(b) or (c). The clerk shall establish all terms of a 63
payment plan, and the court may review the reasonableness of the 64
payment plan. 65
Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 66
28.35, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (i) is added 67
to that subsection, to read: 68
28.35 Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. — 69
(2) The duties of the corporation shall incl ude the 70
following: 71
(c)1. Recommending to the Legislature changes in the 72
amounts and distribution of the various court -related fines, 73
fees, service charges, and costs established by law to ensure 74
reasonable and adequate funding of the clerks of the court in 75
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the performance of their court -related functions. 76
2. If the number of judges under s. 26.031 or s. 34.022 is 77
increased, the corporation shall: 78
a. Develop a formula to be used to estimate the total cost 79
associated with clerk support for circuit and county judges 80
statewide. 81
b. Make a recommendation for consideration by the 82
Legislature on any need for additional funding using the formula 83
approved in sub-subparagraph a. 84
(i) Annually preparing a budget re quest which, 85
notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 216 and in accordance 86
with s. 216.351, provides the anticipated amount necessary for 87
reimbursement pursuant to s. 40.29(6). The request for the 88
anticipated reimbursement amount shall be submitted in the form 89
and manner prescribed by the Justice Administrative Commission. 90
Such request is not subject to change by the Justice 91
Administrative Commission, except for technical changes 92
necessary to conform to the legislative budget instructions, and 93
shall be submitted to the Governor for transmittal to the 94
Legislature. 95
Section 3. Subsection (6) is added to section 40.29, 96
Florida Statutes, to read: 97
40.29 Payment of due -process costs; reimbursement for 98
petitions and orders .— 99
(6) Subject to legislative appropriation, the clerk of the 100
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circuit court may, on a quarterly basis, submit to the Justice 101
Administrative Commission a certified request for reimbursement 102
for petitions and orders filed under ss. 394.459, 394.463, 103
394.467, 394.917, and 397.6814, at the rate of $40 per petition 104
or order. Such request for reimbursement shall be submitted in 105
the form and manner prescribed by the Justice Administrative 106
Commission pursuant to s. 28.35(2)(i). 107
Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (d) o f subsection (2) of 108
section 57.082, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 109
57.082 Determination of civil indigent status. — 110
(2) DETERMINATION BY THE CLERK. —The clerk of the court 111
shall determine whether an applicant seeking such designation is 112
indigent based upon the information provided in the application 113
and the criteria prescribed in this subsection. 114
(a)1. An applicant, including an applicant who is a minor 115
or an adult tax-dependent person, is indigent if the applicant's 116
income is equal to or below 200 percent of the then -current 117
federal poverty guidelines prescribed for the size of the 118
household of the applicant by the United States Department of 119
Health and Human Services. 120
2. There is a presumption that the applicant is not 121
indigent if the applica nt owns, or has equity in, any intangible 122
or tangible personal property or real property or the expectancy 123
of an interest in any such property having a net equity value of 124
$2,500 or more, excluding the value of the person's homestead 125
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and one vehicle having a net value not exceeding $5,000. 126
3. Notwithstanding the information provided by the 127
applicant, the clerk may conduct a review of the property 128
records for the county in which the applicant resides and the 129
motor vehicle title records of this state to ide ntify any 130
property interests of the applicant under this paragraph. The 131
clerk may evaluate and consider the results of the review in 132
making a determination under this subsection. If a review is 133
conducted, the clerk must maintain the results of the review i n 134
a file with the application and provide the file to the court if 135
an applicant seeks review under subsection (4) of the clerk's 136
determination of indigent status. 137
(d) The duty of the clerk in determining whether an 138
applicant is indigent is limited to rec eiving the application , 139
conducting a review of records under subparagraph (a)3., and 140
comparing the information provided in the application and 141
identified in the review of records to the criteria prescribed 142
in this subsection. The determination of indigent status is a 143
ministerial act of the clerk and may not a decision be based on 144
further investigation or the exercise of independent judgment by 145
the clerk. The clerk may contract with third parties to perform 146
functions assigned to the clerk under this section . 147
Section 5. Subsection (3) is added to section 322.29, 148
Florida Statutes, to read: 149
322.29 Surrender and return of license. — 150
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(3) The department must work with the clerks of court, 151
through their association, to ensure the ability within their 152
technology systems for clerks of court to reinstate suspended 153
driver licenses for failure to pay court obligations. 154
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 155