FL
Florida House Bill H0853

Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0853 Compare Versions

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1010 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
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to translation services; amending ss. 2
1616 28.35 and 28.215, F.S.; authorizing a clerk of the 3
1717 circuit court to provide translation services; 4
1818 creating s. 28.217, F.S.; authorizing a clerk of the 5
1919 circuit court to contract with a third -party 6
2020 translation service provider to provide translation 7
2121 services; requiring that such service by a clerk of 8
2222 the circuit court be ministerial assistance only; 9
2323 prohibiting a clerk of the circuit court from 10
2424 providing legal advice; providing construction; 11
25-providing that the clerk of the circuit court is not 12
26-required to provide translation services; providing an 13
27-effective date. 14
25+providing an effective date. 12
26+ 13
27+Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
2828 15
29-Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
30- 17
31- Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 18
32-28.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 19
33- 28.35 Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. — 20
34- (3)(a) The list of court -related functions that clerks may 21
35-fund from filing fees, service charges, court costs, and fines 22
36-is limited to those functions expressly authorized by law or 23
37-court rule. Those functions include the following: case 24
38-maintenance; records management; court preparation and 25
29+ Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 16
30+28.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 17
31+ 28.35 Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. — 18
32+ (3)(a) The list of court -related functions that clerks may 19
33+fund from filing fees, service charges, court costs, and fines 20
34+is limited to those functions expressly authorized by law or 21
35+court rule. Those functions include the following: case 22
36+maintenance; records management; court preparation and 23
37+attendance; translation services; processing the assignment, 24
38+reopening, and reassignment of cases; processing of appeals; 25
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4747 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
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51-attendance; translation services; processing the assignment, 26
52-reopening, and reassignment of cases; processing of appeals; 27
53-collection and distribution of fines, fees, service charges, and 28
54-court costs; processing of bond forfeiture payments; data 29
55-collection and reporting; determinations of indigent s tatus; and 30
56-paying reasonable administrative support costs to enable the 31
57-clerk of the court to carry out these court -related functions. 32
58- Section 2. Section 28.215, Florida Statutes, is amended to 33
59-read: 34
60- 28.215 Pro se assistance. —The clerk of the circuit court 35
61-shall provide ministerial assistance to pro se litigants. 36
62- (1) Assistance may shall not include the provision of 37
63-legal advice. 38
64- (2) Assistance may include translation services to pro se 39
65-litigants under s. 28.217. 40
66- Section 3. Section 28.217, Flo rida Statutes, is created to 41
67-read: 42
68- 28.217 Translation services. — 43
69- (1) The clerk of the circuit court may contract with a 44
70-third-party translation service provider for translation 45
71-services for civil cases. The provision of such services is 46
72-ministerial and constitutes a court-related function under s. 47
73-28.35(3)(a), and such services are an allowable expenditure by 48
74-the clerk of the circuit court under s. 28.36. 49
75- (2) Translation services may be made available to any 50
51+collection and distribution of fines, fees, service charges, and 26
52+court costs; processing of bond forfeiture payments; data 27
53+collection and reporting; determinations of indigent status; and 28
54+paying reasonable administrative support costs to enable the 29
55+clerk of the court to c arry out these court -related functions. 30
56+ Section 2. Section 28.215, Florida Statutes, is amended to 31
57+read: 32
58+ 28.215 Pro se assistance. —The clerk of the circuit court 33
59+shall provide ministerial assistance to pro se litigants. 34
60+ (1) Assistance may shall not include the provision of 35
61+legal advice. 36
62+ (2) Assistance may include translation services to pro se 37
63+litigants under s. 28.217. 38
64+ Section 3. Section 28.217, Florida Statutes, is created to 39
65+read: 40
66+ 28.217 Translation services. — 41
67+ (1) The clerk of the circu it court may contract with a 42
68+third-party translation service provider for translation 43
69+services for civil cases. The provision of such services is 44
70+ministerial and constitutes a court -related function under s. 45
71+28.35(3)(a), and such services are an allowable expenditure by 46
72+the clerk of the circuit court under s. 28.36. 47
73+ (2) Translation services may be made available to any 48
74+party requesting such services, regardless of whether the party 49
75+is represented by counsel. The clerk of the circuit court shall 50
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8484 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
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88-party requesting such services, regardless of whether the party 51
89-is represented by counsel. The clerk of the circuit court shall 52
90-provide ministerial assistance only in making such services 53
91-available, and such assistance may not include the provision of 54
92-legal advice. 55
93- (3) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a 56
94-party from providing for his or own translation service or 57
95-third-party translation service provider. 58
96- (4) The provision of translation services under this 59
97-section is an optional court -related function and nothing in 60
98-this section requires the clerk of the circuit court to provide 61
99-such services. 62
100- Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023. 63
88+provide ministerial assistance only in making such services 51
89+available, and such assistance may not include the provision of 52
90+legal advice. 53
91+ (3) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a 54
92+party from providing for his or own translation service or 55
93+third-party translation service provider. 56
94+ Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023. 57