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.