Wilton Simpson
President of the Senate
THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE
Chris Sprowls
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
March 10, 2022
The Honorable Chris Sprowls
Speaker, House of Representatives
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
President of the Senate
Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. President :
Your Conference Committee on the disagreeing votes of the two houses on CS/ HB 7027, same
being:
An act relating to the judicial branch .
having met, and after full and free conference, do recommend to their respective houses as
follows:
1. That the Senate recede from its Amendment 448776.
2. That the Senate and House of Representatives adopt the Conference Committee
Amendment attached hereto, and by reference made a part of this report.
The Honorable Chris Sprowls
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
March 10, 2022
Page 2
CS/HB 7027
Representative Jay Trumbull, Chair Representative Scott Plakon, Chair
Representative Ramon Alexander, At Large Representative Bryan Avila, At Large
Representative Webster Barnaby Representative Mike Beltran
Representative Christopher Benjamin Representative Kamia L. Brown, At Large
Representative Colleen Burton, At Large Representative James Bush , At Large
Representative Cord Byrd Representative Michael A. Caruso
Representative Charles Wesley Clemons, Sr., At
Large
Representative Tracie Davis
Representative Ben Diamond, At Large Representative Brad Drake, At Large
Representative Fentrice Driskell, At Large Representative Nicholas X. Duran, At Large
Representative Tom Fabricio Representative Juan Alfonso Fernandez-Barquin
Representative Randy Fine, At Large Representative Joseph Geller, At Large
Representative Michael Gottlieb Representative Erin Grall, At Large
Representative Michael Grant, At Large Representative Tommy Gregory
Representative Brett Thomas Hage Representative Blaise Ingoglia, At Large
Representative Evan Jenne, At Large Representative Dotie Joseph The Honorable Chris Sprowls
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
March 10, 2022
Page 3
CS/HB 7027
Representative Traci Koster Representative Chris Latvala, At Large
Representative Andrew Learned Representative Thomas J. Leek, At Large
Representative Ralph E. Massullo, MD, At Large Representative Lawrence McClure, At Large
Representative Anika Tene Omphroy, At Large Representative Bobby Payne, At Large
Representative Daniel Perez, At Large Representative Rene Plasencia, At Large
Representative Michele K. Rayner Representative Paul Renner, At Large
Representative Rick Roth, At Large Representative David Smith
Representative Cyndi Stevenson, At Large Representative Josie Tomkow, At Large
Representative Matt Willhite, At Large Representative Patricia H. Williams, At Large
Representative Jayer Williamson, At Large
Managers on the part of the House of Representatives
The Honorable Chris Sprowls
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
March 10, 2022
Page 4
CS/HB 7027
Senator Kelli Stargel, Chair Senator Ben Albritton
Senator Loranne Ausley Senator Dennis Baxley
Senator Aaron Bean, At Large Senator Lori Berman
Senator Lauren Book, At Large Senator Jim Boyd
Senator Randolph Bracy Senator Jennifer Bradley
Senator Jason Brodeur
Senator Doug Broxson Senator Danny Burgess
Senator Janet Cruz Senator Manny Diaz
Senator Gary M. Farmer Senator George B. Gainer
Senator Ileana Garcia Senator Audrey Gibson, At Large
Senator Joe Gruters Senator Gayle Harrell
Senator Ed Hooper Senator Travis Hutson
Senator Shevrin D. Jones Senator Debbie Mayfield, At Large
Senator Kathleen Passidomo, At Large Senator Keith Perry, At Large
Senator Jason W. B. Pizzo Senator Tina Scott Polsky The Honorable Chris Sprowls
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
March 10, 2022
Page 5
CS/HB 7027
Senator Bobby Powell, At Large Senator Ray Wesley Rodrigues
Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez Senator Darryl Ervin Rouson, At Large
Senator Wilton Simpson Senator Linda Stewart, At Large
Senator Annette Taddeo Senator Victor M. Torres
Senator Tom A. Wright
Conferees on the part of the Senate
The Honorable Chris Sprowls
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
March 10, 2022
Page 6
CS/HB 7027
The Conference Committee Amendment for CS/HB 7027, relating to the judicial branch, creates
a sixth appellate district court of appeal, which will have its headquarters in Lakeland, Polk
County, Florida. The bill realigns the judicial circuits within the existing First, Second, and Fifth
districts and creates a sixth district composed of the Ninth, Tenth, and Twentieth circuits. The
Third and Fourth districts remain unchanged. Under the bill, the First DCA will decrease from
15 appellate judges to 13; the Second DCA will decrease from 16 appellate judges to 15; the
Fifth DCA will increase from 11 appellate judges to 12; and the Sixth DCA will have 9 appellate
judges. The bill ultimately adds a total of seven new appellate judgeships overall, in accordance
with the Supreme Court’s certification. The creation of the Sixth DCA and the realignment of
existing districts is effective January 1, 2023.
The bill makes conforming changes to statute to account for the creation of the sixth district and
specifies which judicial circuits constitute the five Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel
districts. The bill recognizes the addition of a judicial nominating commission for the sixth
district, effective January 1, 2023. The bill also makes conforming changes to the Office of the
Judges of Compensation Claims, to account for the addition of a sixth appellate district.
The bill adds one additional county court judgeship in Lake County, Florida, as recommended in
the Supreme Court’s certification.
The bill will have a significant fiscal impact on state government expenditures.
The bill is effective upon becoming a law, unless otherwise expressly provided in the act.