CRC - 2017                                                  P 55
       
       
        
       By Commissioner Kruppenbacher
       
       kruppenbf-00073-17                                      201755__
    1                         A proposal to amend                       
    2         Section 14 of Article V of the State Constitution to
    3         require the Legislature to provide by general law for
    4         the payment of filing fees, service charges, and other
    5         costs for certain judicial proceedings; to require the
    6         clerks of the circuit and county courts to submit an
    7         annual cumulative budget for performing court-related
    8         functions to the Legislature; and to authorize the
    9         clerks of the circuit and county courts to appeal to
   10         the Governor and Cabinet if the Legislature fails to
   11         take certain action regarding a budget deficit.
   12          
   13  Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
   14  Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 14 of Article V of the State Constitution is
   17  amended to read:
   18                              ARTICLE V                            
   19                              JUDICIARY                            
   20         SECTION 14. Funding.—
   21         (a) All justices and judges shall be compensated only by
   22  state salaries fixed by general law. Funding for the state
   23  courts system, state attorneys’ offices, public defenders’
   24  offices, and court-appointed counsel, except as otherwise
   25  provided in subsection (c), shall be provided from state
   26  revenues appropriated by general law.
   27         (b) All funding for the offices of the clerks of the
   28  circuit and county courts performing court-related functions,
   29  except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subsection
   30  (c), shall be provided by adequate and appropriate filing fees
   31  for judicial proceedings and service charges and costs for
   32  performing court-related functions as required by general law.
   33  By general law, the legislature shall provide for the payment of
   34  filing fees, service charges, and other costs for judicial
   35  proceedings in criminal and other cases where the parties
   36  participating do not pay filing fees. Such payment must be
   37  sufficient to offset the cost of the clerks’ services in those
   38  cases. Selected salaries, costs, and expenses of the state
   39  courts system may be funded from appropriate filing fees for
   40  judicial proceedings and service charges and costs for
   41  performing court-related functions, as provided by general law.
   42  Where the requirements of either the United States Constitution
   43  or the Constitution of the State of Florida preclude the
   44  imposition of filing fees for judicial proceedings and service
   45  charges and costs for performing court-related functions
   46  sufficient to fund the court-related functions of the offices of
   47  the clerks of the circuit and county courts, the state shall
   48  provide, as determined by the legislature, adequate and
   49  appropriate supplemental funding from state revenues
   50  appropriated by general law. The clerks of the circuit and
   51  county courts shall annually submit a cumulative budget for
   52  performing court-related functions to the legislature, including
   53  any projected deficit based on the most recent official
   54  consensus estimate of fines and service charges set by general
   55  law that are available to fund the budgets of the clerks. If the
   56  legislature fails to address such deficit during the next
   57  regular legislative session following submission of the budget,
   58  the clerks of the circuit and county courts may file an appeal
   59  by petitioning the governor and cabinet to conduct a budget
   60  hearing, to determine the amount of any deficit, and to request
   61  relief from the legislature from unobligated moneys in the state
   62  treasury.
   63         (c) No county or municipality, except as provided in this
   64  subsection, shall be required to provide any funding for the
   65  state courts system, state attorneys’ offices, public defenders’
   66  offices, court-appointed counsel or the offices of the clerks of
   67  the circuit and county courts performing court-related
   68  functions. Counties shall be required to fund the cost of
   69  communications services, existing radio systems, existing multi
   70  agency criminal justice information systems, and the cost of
   71  construction or lease, maintenance, utilities, and security of
   72  facilities for the trial courts, public defenders’ offices,
   73  state attorneys’ offices, and the offices of the clerks of the
   74  circuit and county courts performing court-related functions.
   75  Counties shall also pay reasonable and necessary salaries,
   76  costs, and expenses of the state courts system to meet local
   77  requirements as determined by general law.
   78         (d) The judiciary shall have no power to fix
   79  appropriations.