CRC - 2017 CS for P 55 By the Committee on Judicial; and Commissioner Kruppenbacher 315-00195-17 201755c1 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; and to require 6 the clerks of the circuit and county courts to submit 7 an annual cumulative budget for performing court 8 related functions to the Legislature. 9 10 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of 11 Florida: 12 13 Section 14 of Article V of the State Constitution is 14 amended to read: 15 ARTICLE V 16 JUDICIARY 17 SECTION 14. Funding.— 18 (a) All justices and judges shall be compensated only by 19 state salaries fixed by general law. Funding for the state 20 courts system, state attorneys’ offices, public defenders’ 21 offices, and court-appointed counsel, except as otherwise 22 provided in subsection (c), shall be provided from state 23 revenues appropriated by general law. 24 (b) All funding for the offices of the clerks of the 25 circuit and county courts performing court-related functions, 26 except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subsection 27 (c), shall be provided by adequate and appropriate filing fees 28 for judicial proceedings and service charges and costs for 29 performing court-related functions as required by general law. 30 By general law, the legislature shall provide for the payment of 31 filing fees, service charges, and other costs for judicial 32 proceedings in criminal and other cases where the parties 33 participating do not pay filing fees. Such payment must be 34 sufficient to offset the cost of the clerks’ services in those 35 cases. Selected salaries, costs, and expenses of the state 36 courts system may be funded from appropriate filing fees for 37 judicial proceedings and service charges and costs for 38 performing court-related functions, as provided by general law. 39 Where the requirements of either the United States Constitution 40 or the Constitution of the State of Florida preclude the 41 imposition of filing fees for judicial proceedings and service 42 charges and costs for performing court-related functions 43 sufficient to fund the court-related functions of the offices of 44 the clerks of the circuit and county courts, the state shall 45 provide, as determined by the legislature, adequate and 46 appropriate supplemental funding from state revenues 47 appropriated by general law. 48 (c) No county or municipality, except as provided in this 49 subsection, shall be required to provide any funding for the 50 state courts system, state attorneys’ offices, public defenders’ 51 offices, court-appointed counsel or the offices of the clerks of 52 the circuit and county courts performing court-related 53 functions. Counties shall be required to fund the cost of 54 communications services, existing radio systems, existing multi 55 agency criminal justice information systems, and the cost of 56 construction or lease, maintenance, utilities, and security of 57 facilities for the trial courts, public defenders’ offices, 58 state attorneys’ offices, and the offices of the clerks of the 59 circuit and county courts performing court-related functions. 60 Counties shall also pay reasonable and necessary salaries, 61 costs, and expenses of the state courts system to meet local 62 requirements as determined by general law. 63 (d) The judiciary shall have no power to fix 64 appropriations.