Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1180 By Senator Simon 3-00545-23 20231180__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to costs of supervision or care; 3 amending s. 985.039, F.S.; prohibiting a child, 4 including a child who is found to be dependent, or the 5 childs parent or legal guardian or a young adult 6 eligible for continued care from being ordered or 7 deemed obligated to pay any fees for the cost of 8 supervision or cost of care; providing that on or 9 after a specified date the balance of any cost-of 10 supervision or cost-of-care fees ordered or deemed 11 obligated pursuant to specified provisions against 12 certain persons are unenforceable and uncollectable; 13 providing that as of a specified date, the portion of 14 a court order imposing such costs is vacated; 15 prohibiting any necessary procedures from requiring 16 any affirmative action on the part of the affected 17 persons; requiring the vacatur and discharge of all 18 such fees by a specified date; providing that on or 19 after a specified date all unsatisfied civil judgments 20 or portions thereof for certain unpaid fees against 21 certain persons are deemed null and void and are 22 vacated and discharged; prohibiting any necessary 23 procedures from requiring any affirmative action on 24 the part of the affected persons; requiring the 25 vacatur and discharge of all such civil judgments by a 26 specified date; providing that on or after a specified 27 date certain warrants issued solely on the alleged 28 failure of certain persons to pay or appear to pay 29 certain fees are deemed null and void; prohibiting any 30 necessary procedures from requiring any affirmative 31 action on the part of the affected persons; requiring 32 the rescinding and expungement of all such warrants by 33 a specified date; providing that on or after a 34 specified date certain persons who have had their 35 driver license suspended solely for nonpayment of 36 cost-of-supervision or cost-of care-fees are 37 immediately eligible to have their driver licenses 38 reinstated; deleting provisions requiring the parent 39 of certain children to pay specified fees for the cost 40 of supervision or cost of care; deleting provisions 41 requiring the parent of certain children to provide 42 specified information to the department or a court; 43 deleting provisions relating to a court receiving 44 information and making determinations regarding a 45 parents ability to pay; deleting provisions requiring 46 a court to order the payment of certain fees; deleting 47 provisions authorizing a court to order that a child 48 pay certain fees; deleting provisions requiring the 49 department to seek a certain federal waiver; deleting 50 provisions authorizing the department to employ and 51 work with a collections agency; deleting a definition; 52 amending ss. 985.145 and 985.514, F.S.; conforming 53 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 54 effective date. 55 56 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 57 58 Section 1.Section 985.039, Florida Statutes, is amended to 59 read: 60 985.039Cost of supervision; cost of care. 61 (1)A child, including a child who is found to be dependent 62 as defined in s. 39.01, or the childs parent or legal guardian, 63 or a young adult eligible for continued care pursuant to s. 64 39.6251 may not be ordered or deemed obligated to pay any fees 65 for the cost of supervision or cost of care. 66 (2)(a)On or after July 1, 2023, the balance of any cost 67 of-supervision or cost-of-care fees ordered or deemed obligated 68 against a child, including a child who is found to be dependent 69 as defined in s. 39.01, or the childs parent or legal guardian, 70 pursuant to former s. 985.039, Florida Statutes 2023, is 71 unenforceable and uncollectable, and on January 1, 2024, the 72 portion of the court order imposing those costs is vacated. 73 (b)Any procedures necessary to accomplish the purposes of 74 this subsection may not require any affirmative action on the 75 part of any child, including a child who is found to be 76 dependent as defined in s. 39.01, or the childs parent or legal 77 guardian subject to such fees. Such procedures must be designed 78 and implemented so as to accomplish the vacatur and discharge of 79 all such fees by January 1, 2024. 80 (3)(a)On or after July 1, 2023, all unsatisfied civil 81 judgments, or portions of judgments based on unpaid fees for the 82 cost of supervision or cost of care ordered or deemed obligated 83 pursuant to former s. 985.039, Florida Statutes 2023, on a 84 child, including a child who is found to be dependent as defined 85 in s. 39.01, or the childs parent or legal guardian, are deemed 86 to be null and void and, for all legal purposes, are vacated and 87 discharged. 88 (b)Any procedures necessary to accomplish the purposes of 89 this subsection may not require any affirmative action on the 90 part of any delinquent child or the childs parent or legal 91 guardian subject to such judgment. Such procedures must be 92 designed and implemented so as to accomplish the vacatur and 93 discharge of all such civil judgments by January 1, 2024. 94 (4)(a)On or after July 1, 2023, all warrants issued solely 95 based on the alleged failure of a child, including a child who 96 is found to be dependent as defined in s. 39.01, or the childs 97 parent or legal guardian to pay or to appear on a court date set 98 for the sole purpose of payment of fees ordered or deemed 99 obligated pursuant to former s. 985.039, Florida Statutes 2023, 100 are deemed to be null and void. 101 (b)Any procedures necessary to accomplish the purposes of 102 this subsection may not require any affirmative action on the 103 part of a child, including a child who is found to be dependent 104 as defined in s. 39.01, or the childs parent or legal guardian 105 subject to such warrant. Such procedures must be designed and 106 implemented so as to accomplish the rescinding and expungement 107 of all such warrants by January 1, 2024. 108 (5)On or after July 1, 2023, any child, including a child 109 who is found to be dependent pursuant to s. 39.01, or the 110 childs parent or legal guardian who has had their driver 111 license suspended under s. 318.15 or s. 322.245 solely for 112 nonpayment of cost-of-supervision or cost-of-care fees ordered 113 or deemed obligated pursuant to former s. 985.039, Florida 114 Statutes 2023, is immediately eligible to have his or her driver 115 license reinstated. 116 (1)Except as provided in subsection (3) or subsection (4): 117 (a)When any child is placed into supervised release 118 detention, probation, or other supervision status with the 119 department, or is committed to the minimum-risk nonresidential 120 restrictiveness level, the court shall order the parent of such 121 child to pay to the department a fee for the cost of the 122 supervision of such child in the amount of $1 per day for each 123 day that the child is in such status. 124 (b)When any child is placed into secure detention or 125 placed on committed status and the temporary legal custody of 126 such child is placed with the department, the court shall order 127 the parent of such child to pay to the department a fee for the 128 cost of the care of such child in the amount of $5 per day for 129 each day that the child is in the temporary legal custody of the 130 department. 131 (2)The parent of any child who has been placed under the 132 supervision or care of the department shall provide to the 133 department his or her name, address, social security number, 134 date of birth, driver license number or identification card 135 number, and sufficient financial information so as to assist the 136 court in determining the parents ability to pay any fee 137 associated with the cost of the childs supervision or care. If 138 the parent refuses to provide the department with the 139 information required by this subsection, the court shall order 140 the parent to provide such information. The failure of the 141 parent to comply with such order of the court constitutes 142 contempt of court, and the court may punish the parent 143 accordingly. 144 (3)At the time of any detention or disposition hearing, 145 the court shall receive the information described in subsection 146 (2), as well as any other verbal or written information offered 147 as to the ability of the parent of a child who is being placed 148 under the supervision or care of the department to pay any fee 149 imposed pursuant to this section and whether the payment of such 150 fee will create a significant financial hardship. The court may 151 apportion the obligation for the fee to each parent in a manner 152 it deems appropriate; however, the total amount of the daily fee 153 may not exceed the amounts specified in this section. Any 154 finding made by the court as to the ability of the parent to pay 155 such fee, including any finding of indigency or significant 156 financial hardship, shall be in writing and shall contain a 157 detailed description of the facts supporting such finding. If 158 the court makes a finding of indigency and significant financial 159 hardship, the court shall waive the fee or reduce it to an 160 amount deemed appropriate. 161 (4)Notwithstanding subsection (3), the court may reduce or 162 waive the fee as to each parent if the court makes a finding on 163 the record that the parent was the victim of the delinquent act 164 or violation of law for which the child has been placed under 165 the supervision or care of the department and that the parent is 166 cooperating or has cooperated with the investigation of the 167 offense. 168 (5)The court shall order the payment of any fees required 169 in this section as part of the detention or disposition order. 170 Such order must include specific written findings as to what 171 fees are ordered, reduced, or waived. If the court fails to 172 enter an order as required by this section, the parent is deemed 173 to have an obligation to pay to the department a fee in the 174 amount of $1 per day for each day that the child is under the 175 supervision of the department and $5 per day for each day that 176 the child remains in the care of the department. 177 (6)Notwithstanding subsection (1), with respect to a child 178 who reaches the age of 18 prior to the detention or disposition 179 hearing, the court may elect to direct an order required by this 180 section to such child, rather than to the childs parent. With 181 regard to a child who reaches 18 while under the supervision or 182 care of the department, the court may, upon proper motion of any 183 party, hold a hearing as to whether any party should be further 184 obligated to pay any fee associated with cost of the supervision 185 or care of such child. If the court does not enter an order 186 under this subsection, it shall be presumed that the court 187 intended for the parent to pay or to continue to pay the fees 188 specified in this section. Any order entered pursuant to this 189 subsection must include specific findings as to what fees are 190 ordered, reduced, or waived as to the child. 191 (7)With respect to a child who has been placed under the 192 supervision or care of the department and whose parent receives 193 public assistance for any portion of such childs care, the 194 department must seek a federal waiver to garnish or otherwise 195 order the payment of a portion of the public assistance relating 196 to such child, in an amount not to exceed the amount of the 197 parents obligation, in order to offset the costs to the 198 department associated with providing supervision or care of such 199 child. 200 (8)If any order entered pursuant to this section affects 201 the guardianship of an estate, a certified copy of such order 202 shall be delivered to the judge having jurisdiction over the 203 guardianship of the estate. 204 (9)The department may employ a collection agency for the 205 purpose of receiving, collecting, and managing the payment of 206 any fees ordered pursuant to this section that have gone 207 delinquent or unpaid for 90 days or more. The collection agency 208 must be registered and in good standing under chapter 559. The 209 department may pay for the services of the collection agency 210 from available authorized funds or from funds generated by any 211 collections under this subsection. Alternatively, the department 212 may authorize the collection agency to withhold a specified 213 amount of any fee collected as payment for its services. 214 (10)The department or the collection agency shall provide 215 to the payor documentation of the payment of any fee paid 216 pursuant to this section. Except as provided in subsection (9), 217 all payments received by the department or the collection agency 218 pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the departments 219 Grants and Donations Trust Fund. 220 (11)Under no circumstance shall the court or the 221 department extend the childs length of stay in the departments 222 supervision or care solely for the purpose of collecting the 223 fees specified in this section. 224 (12)No parent or child shall be liable for any fee 225 provided in this section unless: 226 (a)The child is adjudicated delinquent, or has 227 adjudication of delinquency withheld, for the offense that gave 228 rise to the supervision or care; or 229 (b)The child is found to have violated an order of the 230 court, including any order of supervision or care, and the costs 231 are associated with the violation of such order. 232 233 If any funds are paid for the supervision or care of a child who 234 is determined not to meet the criteria specified in paragraph 235 (a) or paragraph (b), such funds shall be refunded to the payor 236 forthwith. 237 (13)For purposes of this section, parent means any 238 person who meets the definition of parent or legal custody or 239 guardian in s. 985.03. 240 Section 2.Subsection (2) of section 985.145, Florida 241 Statutes, is amended to read: 242 985.145Responsibilities of the department during intake; 243 screenings and assessments. 244 (2)Prior to requesting that a delinquency petition be 245 filed or prior to filing a dependency petition, the department 246 may request the parent or legal guardian of the child to attend 247 a course of instruction in parenting skills, training in 248 conflict resolution, and the practice of nonviolence; to accept 249 counseling; or to receive other assistance from any agency in 250 the community which notifies the clerk of the court of the 251 availability of its services. Where appropriate, the department 252 shall request both parents or guardians to receive such parental 253 assistance. The department may, in determining whether to 254 request that a delinquency petition be filed, take into 255 consideration the willingness of the parent or legal guardian to 256 comply with such request. The parent or guardian must provide 257 the department with identifying information, including the 258 parents or guardians name, address, date of birth, social 259 security number, and driver license number or identification 260 card number in order to comply with s. 985.039. 261 Section 3.Section 985.514, Florida Statutes, is amended to 262 read: 263 985.514Responsibility for cost of care; fees. 264 (1)When any child is placed into detention care or into 265 other placement for the purpose of being supervised by the 266 department pursuant to a court order following a detention 267 hearing, the court may not shall order the childs parents to 268 pay fees to the department as provided in s. 985.039. 269 (2)When any child is found by the court to have committed 270 a delinquent act and is placed on probation, regardless of 271 adjudication, under the supervision of or in the temporary legal 272 custody of the department, the court may not shall order the 273 childs parents to pay fees to the department as provided in s. 274 985.039. 275 (3)When the court under s. 985.565 orders any child 276 prosecuted as an adult to be supervised by or committed to the 277 department for treatment in any of the departments programs for 278 children, the court may not shall order the childs parents to 279 pay fees as provided in s. 985.039. 280 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.