HB 7027 2022
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the judicial branch; amending s. 2
34.022, F.S.; revising the number of county court 3
judges in a specified county; creating s. 35.044, 4
F.S.; creating a sixth appellate district; providing 5
the composition of the district; amending s. 35.06, 6
F.S.; revising the number of judges of each district 7
court of appeal; amending ss. 27.51, 27.511, 27.53, 8
29.001, 35.01, 35.02, 35.03, 35.043, 35.05, 43.291, 9
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 10
act; providing construction; requiring the 11
reallocation of judges residing within a new district; 12
providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Subsection (34) of section 34.022, Florida 17
Statutes, is amended to read: 18
34.022 Number of county court judges for each county. —The 19
number of county court judges in each county shall be as 20
follows: 21
COUNTY TOTAL 22
(34) Lake................................ .............. 43 23
Section 2. Section 35.04 4, Florida Statutes, is created to 24
read: 25
HB 7027 2022
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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
35.044 Sixth Appellate District. —The Sixth Appellate 26
District is composed of the Sixth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth 27
Judicial Circuits. 28
Section 3. Section 35.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to 29
read: 30
35.06 Organization of district courts of appeal. —A 31
district court of appeal shall be organized in each of the six 32
five appellate districts to be named District Court of Appeal, 33
.... District. The number of judges of each district court of 34
appeal shall be as follows: 35
(1) In the first district there shall be 13 15 judges. 36
(2) In the second district there shall be 9 16 judges. 37
(3) In the third district there shall be 10 judges. 38
(4) In the fourth district there shall be 12 judges. 39
(5) In the fifth district there shall be 12 11 judges. 40
(6) In the sixth district there shall be 15 judges. 41
Section 4. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (4) of 42
section 27.51, Florida Statutes, to read: 43
27.51 Duties of public defender. — 44
(4) The public defender for the judicial circuit specified 45
in this subsection shall, after the record on appeal is 46
transmitted to the appellate court by the office of the public 47
defender which handled the trial and if requested by any public 48
defender within the i ndicated appellate district, handle all 49
circuit court and county court appeals within the state courts 50
HB 7027 2022
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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
system and any authorized appeals to the federal courts required 51
of the official making such request: 52
(f) Public defender of the sixth judicial circuit , on 53
behalf of any public defender within the district comprising the 54
Sixth District Court of Appeal. 55
Section 5. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 56
(3) of section 27.511, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 57
27.511 Offices of criminal c onflict and civil regional 58
counsel; legislative intent; qualifications; appointment; 59
duties.— 60
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide 61
adequate representation to persons entitled to court -appointed 62
counsel under the Federal or State Constitutio n or as authorized 63
by general law. It is the further intent of the Legislature to 64
provide adequate representation in a fiscally sound manner, 65
while safeguarding constitutional principles. Therefore, an 66
office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel is 67
created within the geographic boundaries of each of the six five 68
district courts of appeal. The regional counsel shall be 69
appointed as set forth in subsection (3) for each of the six 70
five regional offices. 71
(3)(a) Each regional counsel must be, and mu st have been 72
for the preceding 5 years, a member in good standing of The 73
Florida Bar. Each regional counsel shall be appointed by the 74
Governor and is subject to confirmation by the Senate. The 75
HB 7027 2022
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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
Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, in addition to th e 76
current regional counsel, shall recommend to the Governor not 77
fewer than two or more than five additional qualified candidates 78
for appointment to each of the six five regional counsel 79
positions. The Governor shall appoint the regional counsel for 80
the six five regions from among the recommendations, or, if it 81
is in the best interest of the fair administration of justice, 82
the Governor may reject the nominations and request that the 83
Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission submit three new 84
nominees. The regional counsel shall be appointed to a term of 4 85
years, the term beginning on October 1, 2015. Vacancies shall be 86
filled in the manner provided in paragraph (b). 87
Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 27.53, Florida 88
Statutes, is amended to read: 89
27.53 Appointment of assistants and other staff; method of 90
payment.— 91
(4) The six five criminal conflict and civil regional 92
counsel may employ and establish, in the numbers authorized by 93
the General Appropriations Act, assistant regional counsel and 94
other staff and personnel in each judicial district pursuant to 95
s. 29.006, who shall be paid from funds appropriated for that 96
purpose. Notwithstanding s. 790.01, s. 790.02, or s. 97
790.25(2)(a), an investigator employed by an office of criminal 98
conflict and civil reg ional counsel, while actually carrying out 99
official duties, is authorized to carry concealed weapons if the 100
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investigator complies with s. 790.25(3)(o). However, such 101
investigators are not eligible for membership in the Special 102
Risk Class of the Florida Ret irement System. The six five 103
regional counsel shall jointly develop recommended modifications 104
to the classification plan and the salary and benefits plan for 105
the Justice Administrative Commission. The recommendations shall 106
be submitted to the commission, t he office of the President of 107
the Senate, and the office of the Speaker of the House of 108
Representatives before January 1 of each year. Such 109
recommendations shall be developed in accordance with policies 110
and procedures of the Executive Office of the Governo r 111
established in s. 216.181. Each assistant regional counsel 112
appointed by the regional counsel under this section shall serve 113
at the pleasure of the regional counsel. Each investigator 114
employed by the regional counsel shall have full authority to 115
serve any witness subpoena or court order issued by any court or 116
judge in a criminal case in which the regional counsel has been 117
appointed to represent the accused. 118
Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 29.001, Florida 119
Statutes, is amended to read: 120
29.001 State courts system elements and definitions. — 121
(1) For the purpose of implementing s. 14, Art. V of the 122
State Constitution, the state courts system is defined to 123
include the enumerated elements of the Supreme Court, district 124
courts of appeal, circuit courts, county courts, and certain 125
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supports thereto. The offices of public defenders and state 126
attorneys are defined to include the enumerated elements of the 127
20 state attorneys' offices and the enumerated elements of the 128
20 public defenders' offices and six five offices of criminal 129
conflict and civil regional counsel. Court -appointed counsel are 130
defined to include the enumerated elements for counsel appointed 131
to ensure due process in criminal and civil proceedings in 132
accordance with state and federal constitution al guarantees. 133
Funding for the state courts system, the state attorneys' 134
offices, the public defenders' offices, the offices of criminal 135
conflict and civil regional counsel, and other court -appointed 136
counsel shall be provided from state revenues appropriat ed by 137
general law. 138
Section 8. Section 35.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to 139
read: 140
35.01 District courts of appeal; districts. —Six Five 141
district courts of appeal are created, and the state is divided 142
into six five appellate districts of contiguous ci rcuits. 143
Section 9. Section 35.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to 144
read: 145
35.02 First Appellate District. —The First Appellate 146
District is composed of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, 147
Eighth, and Fourteenth Judicial Circuits. 148
Section 10. Section 35 .03, Florida Statutes, is amended to 149
read: 150
HB 7027 2022
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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
35.03 Second Appellate District. —The Second Appellate 151
District is composed of the Ninth Sixth, Tenth, Twelfth, 152
Thirteenth, and Twentieth Judicial Circuits. 153
Section 11. Section 35.043, Florida Statutes, is amended 154
to read: 155
35.043 Fifth Appellate District. —The Fifth Appellate 156
District is composed of the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and 157
Eighteenth Judicial Circuits. 158
Section 12. Subsection (1) of section 35.05, Florida 159
Statutes, is amended to read: 160
35.05 Headquarters.— 161
(1) The headquarters of the First Appellate District shall 162
be in the Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Leon County; of 163
the Second Appellate District in the Tenth Judicial Circuit, 164
Lakeland, Polk County; of the Third Appellate Distr ict in the 165
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami -Dade County; of the Fourth 166
Appellate District in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach 167
County; of and the Fifth Appellate District in the Seventh 168
Judicial Circuit, Daytona Beach, Volusia County ; and of the 169
Sixth Appellate District in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas 170
County. 171
Section 13. Subsection (8) is added to section 43.291, 172
Florida Statutes, to read: 173
43.291 Judicial nominating commissions. — 174
(8) To effectuate the changes in judicial nominating 175
HB 7027 2022
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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
commissions necessitated by the creation of the Sixth District 176
Court of Appeal, each current member of the first, second, and 177
fifth judicial nominating commissions shall continue to serve 178
the same term of office, but the member's seat is transferred to 179
the nominating commission for the district in which he or she 180
resides. 181
Section 14. No judicial vacancy may be deemed to occur as 182
a result of the addition of a sixth appellate district or 183
district realignment under this act. A current district court of 184
appeal judge residing in a county, the district of which is 185
realigned under this act, shall be a district court of appeal 186
judge of the new district where he or she resides upon the 187
effective date of this act. 188
Section 15. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 189