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.