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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to clerks of court; amending s. 27.52, 2
F.S.; revising the fund into which moneys recovered by 3
certain state attorneys must be remitted; amending s. 4
27.54, F.S.; revising the fund into which certain 5
payments received must be remitted as related to 6
public defenders or regional counsels; amending s. 7
27.703, F.S.; revising the entity that funds the 8
capital collateral regional counsel ; amending s. 9
28.35, F.S.; revising the list of court -related 10
functions that clerks may fund from filing fees, 11
service charges, court costs, and fines; amending s. 12
34.041, F.S.; revising the fund into which certain 13
filing fees are to be deposited; amending 57.082, 14
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 15
act; amending s. 110.112, F.S.; removing a provision 16
requiring each state attorney to publish an annual 17
report addressing results of his or her affirmative 18
action program; amending s. 142.01, F.S. ; authorizing 19
clerks of the circuit court to invest specified funds 20
in an interest-bearing account; requiring that 21
interest earned in the fine and forfeiture fund be 22
deposited in the Public Records Modernization Trust 23
Fund and used exclusively for certain operations and 24
enhancements; amending s. 186.003, F.S.; revising the 25
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definition of "state agency" for certain purposes; 26
amending s. 318.18, F.S.; revising the distribution of 27
certain administrative fees; creating s. 322.76, F.S.; 28
creating the Clerk of the Court Driver License 29
Reinstatement Pilot Program; authorizing the Clerk of 30
the Circuit Court for Miami -Dade County to reinstate 31
or provide an affidavit to the department to reinstate 32
certain suspended driver licenses; establishing 33
requirements for the cler k under the program to be 34
performed by a date certain; providing for expiration 35
of the program; amending s. 501.2101, F.S.; revising 36
the funds into which certain moneys received by state 37
attorneys must be deposited; providing an effective 38
date. 39
40
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 41
42
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 43
27.52, Florida Statutes is amended to read: 44
27.52 Determination of indigent status. — 45
(7) FINANCIAL DISCREPANCIES; FRAUD; FALSE INFORMATION. — 46
(b) If the court has reason to believe that any applicant, 47
through fraud or misrepresentation, was improperly determined to 48
be indigent or indigent for costs, the matter shall be referred 49
to the state attorney. Twenty -five percent of any amount 50
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recovered by the state attorney as reasonable value of the 51
services rendered, including fees, charges, and costs paid by 52
the state on the person's behalf, shall be remitted to the 53
Department of Revenue for deposit into the Grants and Donations 54
Trust Fund of the applicable state attorney within the Justice 55
Administrative Commission . Seventy-five percent of any amount 56
recovered shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for 57
deposit into the General Revenue Fund. 58
Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of sec tion 59
27.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to 60
27.54 Limitation on payment of expenditures other than by 61
the state.— 62
(2) A county or municipality may contract with, or 63
appropriate or contribute funds to, the operation of the offices 64
of the various public defenders and regional counsels counsel as 65
provided in this subsection. A public defender or regional 66
counsel defending violations of special laws or county or 67
municipal ordinances punishable by incarceration and not 68
ancillary to a state charge shall contr act with counties and 69
municipalities to recover the full cost of services rendered on 70
an hourly basis or reimburse the state for the full cost of 71
assigning one or more full -time equivalent attorney positions to 72
work on behalf of the county or municipality. Notwithstanding 73
any other provision of law, in the case of a county with a 74
population of less than 75,000, the public defender or regional 75
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counsel shall contract for full reimbursement, or for 76
reimbursement as the parties otherwise agree. In local ordinan ce 77
violation cases, the county or municipality shall pay for due 78
process services that are approved by the court, including 79
deposition costs, deposition transcript costs, investigative 80
costs, witness fees, expert witness costs, and interpreter 81
costs. The person charged with the violation shall be assessed a 82
fee for the services of a public defender or regional counsel 83
and other costs and fees paid by the county or municipality, 84
which assessed fee may be reduced to a lien, in all instances in 85
which the person enters a plea of guilty or no contest or is 86
found to be in violation or guilty of any count or lesser 87
included offense of the charge or companion case charges, 88
regardless of adjudication. The court shall determine the amount 89
of the obligation. The county or municipality may recover 90
assessed fees through collections court or as otherwise 91
permitted by law, and any fees recovered pursuant to this 92
section shall be forwarded to the applicable county or 93
municipality as reimbursement. 94
(c) Any payments received pursuant to this subsection 95
shall be deposited into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of 96
within the applicable public defender or criminal conflict and 97
civil regional counsel Justice Administrative Commission for 98
appropriation by the Legislature. 99
Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 27.703, Florida 100
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Statutes, is amended to read: 101
27.703 Conflict of interest and substitute counsel. — 102
(2) Appointed counsel shall be paid from funds 103
appropriated to the Justice Administrative Commission Chief 104
Financial Officer. The hourly rate may not exceed $100. However, 105
all appointments of private counsel under this section shall be 106
in accordance with ss. 27.710 and 27.711. 107
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 108
28.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 109
28.35 Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. — 110
(3)(a) The list of court -related functions that clerks may 111
fund from filing fees, service charges, court costs, and fines 112
is limited to those functions expressly authorized by law or 113
court rule. Those functions include the following: case 114
maintenance; records management; court preparation and 115
attendance; processing the assignment, reopening, and 116
reassignment of cases; processing of appeals; collection and 117
distribution of fines, fees, service charges, and court costs; 118
processing of bond forfeiture payments; data collection and 119
reporting; determinations of indigent status; improving court 120
technology; and paying reasonable administrative support costs 121
to enable the clerk of the court to carry out these court-122
related functions. 123
Section 5. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 124
34.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 125
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34.041 Filing fees.— 126
(1) 127
(d) The clerk of court shall collect a service charge of 128
$10 for issuing a summons or an electronic certified copy of a 129
summons, which the clerk shall deposit into the fine and 130
forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01 remit to the 131
Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue 132
Fund. The clerk shall assess the fee against the party seeking 133
to have the summons issued. 134
Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 135
57.082, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 136
57.082 Determination of civil indigent status. — 137
(7) FINANCIAL DISCREPANCIES; FRAUD; FALSE INFORMATION. — 138
(b) If the court has reason to believe that any applicant, 139
through fraud or misrepresentation, was improperly determined to 140
be indigent, the matter shall be referred t o the state attorney. 141
Twenty-five percent of any amount recovered by the state 142
attorney as reasonable value of the services rendered, including 143
fees, charges, and costs paid by the state on the person's 144
behalf, shall be remitted to the Department of Revenu e for 145
deposit into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of within the 146
applicable state attorney Justice Administrative Commission . 147
Seventy-five percent of any amount recovered shall be remitted 148
to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General 149
Revenue Fund. 150
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Section 7. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 151
110.112, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 152
110.112 Affirmative action; equal employment opportunity. — 153
(4) Each state attorney and public defender shall: 154
(d) Report annually to the J ustice Administrative 155
Commission on the implementation, continuance, updating, and 156
results of his or her affirmative action program for the 157
previous fiscal year. 158
Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 142.01, Florida 159
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (3), subsection (1) is 160
amended, and a new subsection (2) is added to that section, to 161
read: 162
142.01 Fine and forfeiture fund; disposition of revenue; 163
clerk of the circuit court. — 164
(1)(a) There shall be established by the clerk of the 165
circuit court in each county of this state a separate fund to be 166
known as the fine and forfeiture fund for use by the clerk of 167
the circuit court in performing court -related functions. The 168
fund shall consist of the following: 169
1.(a) Fines and penalties pursuant to ss. 28.240 2(2), 170
34.045(2), 316.193, 327.35, 327.72, 379.2203(1), and 775.083(1). 171
2.(b) That portion of civil penalties directed to this 172
fund pursuant to s. 318.21. 173
3.(c) Court costs pursuant to ss. 28.2402(1)(b), 174
34.045(1)(b), 318.14(10)(b), 318.18(11)(a), 327.7 3(9)(a) and 175
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(11)(a), and 938.05(3). 176
4.(d) Proceeds from forfeited bail bonds, unclaimed bonds, 177
unclaimed moneys, or recognizances pursuant to ss. 321.05(4)(a), 178
379.2203(1), and 903.26(3)(a). 179
5.(e) Fines and forfeitures pursuant to s. 34.191. 180
6.(f) Filing fees received pursuant to ss. 28.241 and 181
34.041, unless the disposition of such fees is otherwise 182
required by law. 183
7.(g) All other revenues received by the clerk as revenue 184
authorized by law to be retained by the clerk. 185
(b) The clerk of the circui t court in each county may 186
invest funds held in the fine and forfeiture fund as provided in 187
paragraph (a) in an interest -bearing account. 188
(2) Interest earned in the fine and forfeiture fund must 189
be deposited into the Public Records Modernization Trust Fu nd to 190
be used exclusively for additional court -related operations and 191
enhancements. 192
Section 9. Subsection (6) of section 186.003, Florida 193
Statutes, is amended to read: 194
186.003 Definitions; ss. 186.001 -186.031, 186.801-195
186.901.—As used in ss. 186.001 -186.031 and 186.801-186.901, the 196
term: 197
(6) "State agency" or "agency" means any official, officer, 198
commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department 199
of the executive branch of state government. For purposes of 200
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this chapter, "state agency" or "agency" includes state 201
attorneys, public defenders, the capital collateral regional 202
counsel, the Justice Administrative Commission, and the Public 203
Service Commission. 204
Section 10. Subsection (18) of section 318.18, Florida 205
Statutes, is amended to read: 206
318.18 Amount of penalties. —The penalties required for a 207
noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal 208
offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows: 209
(18) In addition to any penalties imposed, an 210
administrative fee of $12.50 must be paid for all noncriminal 211
moving and nonmoving violations under chapters 316, 320, and 212
322. Of this administrative fee, $6.25 must be deposited into 213
the Public Records Modernizati on Trust Fund and used exclusively 214
for funding court-related technology needs of the clerk, as 215
defined in s. 29.008(1)(f)2. and (h), and $6.25 must be 216
deposited into the fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant 217
to s. 142.01 The clerk shall remit the a dministrative fee to the 218
Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund . 219
Section 11. Section 322.76, Florida Statutes, is created 220
to read: 221
322.76 Miami-Dade County the Clerk of Court Driver License 222
Reinstatement Pilot Program. -There is created in Miami-Dade 223
County the Clerk of Court Driver License Reinstatement Pilot 224
Program. 225
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(1) As used in this section, the term "clerk" means the 226
Clerk of the Circuit Court for Miami -Dade County. 227
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision to the con trary in 228
this chapter, the clerk may reinstate or provide an affidavit to 229
the department to reinstate a suspended driver license: 230
(a) For a person's failure to fulfill a court -ordered 231
child support obligation. 232
(b) As a result of the end of suspension b ecause of 233
points, under s. 322.27, notwithstanding hardship license. 234
(c) For failure to comply with any provision of chapter 235
318 or this chapter. 236
(3) Notwithstanding s. 322.29(1), an examination is not 237
required for the reinstatement of a driver license suspended 238
under s. 318.15 or s. 322.245 unless an examination is otherwise 239
required by this chapter. A person applying for the 240
reinstatement of a driver license suspended under s. 318.15 or 241
s. 322.245 must present to the clerk certification from the 242
court that he or she has either complied with all obligations 243
and penalties imposed pursuant to s. 318.15 or with all 244
directives of the court and the requirements of s. 322.245. 245
(4) A nonrefundable service fee must be paid pursuant to 246
s. 322.29(2). 247
(5) Before July 1, 2024, the department shall work with 248
the clerk, through its association, to ensure the ability within 249
its technology system for the clerk to reinstate suspended 250
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driver licenses under the pilot program, to begin on July 1, 251
2024. 252
(6) By December 31, 2025, the clerk must submit the 253
Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 254
of Representatives, and the Executive Director of the Florida 255
Clerks of Court Operations Corporation a report containing the 256
following information: 257
(a) Number of driver license reinstatements. 258
(b) Amount of fees and costs collected, including the 259
aggregate funds received by the clerk, local governmental 260
entities, and state entities, including the General Revenue 261
Fund. 262
(c) The personnel, operating, and other expenditures 263
incurred by the clerk. 264
(d) Feedback received from the community, if any, in 265
response to the clerk's participation in the pilot program. 266
(e) Whether the pilot program led to improved timeliness 267
for the reinstatement of driver licenses . 268
(f) The clerk's recommendation as to whether the pilot 269
program should be extended in Miami -Dade County or to other 270
clerks' offices. 271
(g) Any other information the clerk deems necessary. 272
(7) This section is repealed on July 1, 2026. 273
Section 12. Subsection (1) of section 501.2101, Florida 274
Statutes, is amended to read: 275
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501.2101 Enforcing authorities; moneys received in certain 276
proceedings.— 277
(1) Any moneys received by an enforcing authority for 278
attorney attorney's fees and costs of investigation o r 279
litigation in proceedings brought under the provisions of s. 280
501.207, s. 501.208, or s. 501.211 shall be deposited as 281
received in the Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund if the action 282
is brought by the Department of Legal Affairs, and in the Grants 283
and Donations Consumer Frauds Trust Fund of a state attorney the 284
Justice Administrative Commission if the action is brought by 285
the a state attorney. 286
Section 13. This act shall take effect upon becoming a 287
law. 288