The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice
Committee; Judiciary Committee; and Senator Hutson and others
SUBJECT: Clerks of the Court
DATE: February 29, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Bond Cibula JU Fav/CS
2. Kolich Harkness ACJ Fav/CS
3. Kolich Sadberry AP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 amends a number of statutes which increase revenue for clerks through the
redistribution of specified service charges and fees. Specifically, the bill:
Amends ss. 27.52, 27.54, 57.082, and 501.2101, F.S., to revise which trust funds certain
moneys are deposited into.
Amends s. 28.35, F.S., to allow clerks of court to utilize funding for improving court
technology.
Amends ss. 34.041 and 318.18, F.S., to reduce the amount of fees distributed to the General
Revenue Fund.
Creates s. 322.76, F.S., to authorize the establishment of the Miami-Dade County Clerk of
Court Driver License Reinstatement Pilot Program.
Amends s. 27.703, F.S., to require appointed capital collateral regional counsel or other
appointed attorney to be paid from funds appropriated to the Justice Administrative
Commission (JAC).
Amends s. 110.112, F.S., to eliminate state attorney and public defender reporting
requirements regarding affirmative action programs.
Amends s. 186.003, F.S., to update the definition of “state agency” or “agency” in the state
and regional planning chapter of the Florida Statutes.
The bill redirects an estimated $28,938,779 million in revenues from the General Revenue Fund
to the Clerks’ Fine and Forfeiture Fund and Public Records Modernization Trust Fund starting in
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 Page 2
Fiscal Year 2024-2025. The Miami-Dade pilot program is estimated to reduce revenues accruing
to the General Revenue Fund by a total of $1.6 million in Fiscal Years 2024-2025 and 2025-
2026. See Section V., Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill takes effect upon becoming a law.
I. Present Situation:
Clerk of the Circuit Court
The clerk of the circuit court is a constitutional officer. Each of Florida’s 67 counties are
required to elect a clerk of the circuit court1 to serve as both the clerk of court, completing
judiciary functions, and as the “ex officio[2] clerk of the board of county commissioners, auditor,
recorder, and custodian of all county funds.”3 In the clerk’s role as auditor and custodian of
county funds, the clerk may also be referred to as the comptroller.4
Funding for the Clerks’ Court-Related Functions
In its capacity as the clerk of the circuit and county courts, the clerk is required to perform
various court-related, administrative, and ministerial functions. Court funding is governed by
Art. V, s. 14 of the Florida Constitution. For the clerks of the circuit courts, Art. V, s. 14(b)
provides that the clerks are self-sustaining and are to fund their court-related functions through
the collection of filing fees, service charges, and other costs. Specifically, Art. V, s. 14(b) states:
All funding for the offices of the clerks of the circuit and county courts
performing court-related functions, except as otherwise provided in this
subsection and subsection (c), shall be provided by adequate and
appropriate filing fees for judicial proceedings and service charges and costs
for performing court-related functions as required by general law. Selected
salaries, costs, and expenses of the state courts system may be funded from
appropriate filing fees for judicial proceedings and service charges and costs
for performing court-related functions, as provided by general law. Where
the requirements of either the United States Constitution or the Constitution
of the State of Florida preclude the imposition of filing fees for judicial
proceedings and service charges and costs for performing court-related
functions sufficient to fund the court-related functions of the offices of the
clerks of the circuit and county courts, the state shall provide, as determined
1
FLA. CONST. art. V, s. 16; FLA. CONST. art. VIII, s. 1.
2
See BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (10th ed. 2014) (“ex officio” means “By virtue or because of an office; by virtue of the
authority implied by office.”).
3
FLA. CONST. art. V, s. 16. This provision also provides that two officials may split the position, one serving as clerk of court
and one serving in the ex officio position. Additionally, this provision permits the election of a county clerk of court when
authorized by general or special law. Id.
4
See generally Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers, Role of the Clerk and Comptroller,
https://www.flclerks.com/page/RoleoftheClerk (last visited Jan. 19, 2024). See also BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (10th ed.
2014) (“comptroller” means, “[a]n officer of a business or a private, state, or municipal corporation who is charged with
duties usu. relating to fiscal affairs, including auditing and examining accounts and reporting the financial status
periodically.”).
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 Page 3
by the Legislature, adequate and appropriate supplemental funding from
state revenues appropriated by general law.5
The court-related functions authorized by law or court rule which must be funded by the clerk’s
collection of filing fees, service charges, costs, and fines, include the following:
Case maintenance.
Records management.
Court preparation and attendance.
Processing the assignment, reopening, and reassignment of cases.
Processing appeals.
Collection and distribution of fines, fees, service charges, and court costs.
Data collection and reporting.
Determinations of indigent status.
Paying reasonable administrative support costs to enable the clerks to carry out court-related
functions.6
Public Defender Services; Due Process Costs; Reimbursement
The state must provide an attorney to an indigent criminal defendant facing imprisonment.7 A
criminal defendant must apply for indigent status.8 In practice, the applications are generally
summarily approved upon filing if facially valid, but subject to later audit. The indigent status
may be challenged by the state attorney at a later time. If the state attorney prevails, 25 percent of
monies recovered are payable to the Grants and Donations Trust Fund within the Justice
Administrative Commission ("JAC") and the remaining 75 percent is paid to the General
Revenue Fund.
Some city and county ordinance violations may result in incarceration of the defendant, thus
requiring appointment of an attorney if the defendant is indigent. The cost of providing a state
public defender related to a city or county ordinance violation (not otherwise related to a state
criminal charge) is the responsibility of the city or county, but the city or county may seek
reimbursement from a defendant found guilty or who has pled no contest.9 If there is a recovery,
the monies recovered are payable to the Grants and Donations Trust Fund within the JAC.10
II. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Court System Fiscal and Operational Changes
The bill provides that, when a state attorney recovers monies from a person who wrongfully
claimed to be indigent or indigent for costs, the 25 percent split is redirected from the Grants and
5
FLA. CONST. art. V, s. 14(b) (emphasis added).
6
Section 28.35(3)(a), F.S. See also Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers, Role of the Clerk and Comptroller,
https://www.flclerks.com/page/RoleoftheClerk (last visited Jan. 19, 2024).
7
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963).
8
Section 27.52(1), F.S.
9
Section 27.54, F.S.
10
Section 27.54(2)(c). F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 Page 4
Donations Trust Fund within the JAC to the Grants and Donations Trust Funds of the state
attorney who made the recovery. This applies to criminal and civil cases.
The bill provides that, when a public defender recovers monies from a person who was charged
with a city or county ordinance not related to a state criminal charge who was provided public
defender services (or costs if found indigent for costs), the recovery is redirected from the Grants
and Donations Trust Fund within the JAC to the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the public
defender who made the recovery.
The bill corrects s. 27.703(2), F.S., to provide that conflict counsel are paid through the JAC and
not the Chief Financial Officer.
The bill repeals the requirement for each state attorney and public defender to report annually to
the JAC on the implementation, continuance, updating, and results of his or her affirmative
action program for the previous fiscal year.
The bill removes the state attorneys, public defenders, capital collateral regional counsels, and
the JAC from the definition of “agency” as applied to the chapter on state and regional planning.
The bill corrects s. 501.2101, F.S., to provide that, when a state attorney recovers monies from a
person who has violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the recovery is
payable into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund at the JAC for that state attorney and not the
Consumer Frauds Trust Fund for that state attorney. The Consumer Frauds Trust Fund within the
JAC was terminated in 2004.11
Clerks of Court Fiscal Changes
Redirection of Certain Fees to the Benefit of the Clerks of Court
Any funds collected by a clerk that are not directed to a particular fund are retained by the clerk
for use in operating the office of the clerk. Because a direction of monies collected is in statute
and not in the state budget, a change in direction stays in effect until changed by a future
Legislature. The bill redirects the following:
The $12.50 administrative fee imposed on every noncriminal moving and nonmoving traffic
violation is redirected from the General Revenue Fund, half of which is redirected to the
Public Records Modernization Trust Fund to be used exclusively for funding court-related
technology needs of the clerk, and half into the fine and forfeiture fund to benefit the clerk.
The $10 fee for issuance of a summons in a county court civil action from the General
Revenue Fund to the applicable county's Fine and Forfeiture Fund.
Clerk Budgeting and Expenditures
The bill adds “improving court technology” to the list of authorized categories of expenditures
that can be made by a clerk of court.
11
Chapter 2004-220, Laws of Fla.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 Page 5
Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court Driver License Reinstatement Pilot Program
The bill creates the Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court Driver License Reinstatement Pilot
Program. The program allows the Miami-Dade county clerk of courts to reinstate a driver license
when the driver has satisfied all obligations and conditions for reinstatement. The program will
operate between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2026.
Currently, once all financial and court-related obligations are met, the reinstatement fee is $60. If
reinstated by the clerk of the court, $37.50 is retained by the clerk and $22.50 is remitted to the
Department of Revenue for deposit into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. Currently in
Miami-Dade County, most reinstatements are processed by the Department of Highway Safety
and Motor Vehicles, although plans are in place to shift department responsibility to the local tax
collector. The department estimates that this pilot program would move approximately 18
percent of reinstatements to the Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts from the department.12
The bill also requires the program to issue a report regarding the program by December 31, 2025,
to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
the executive director of the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation containing:
Number of driver license reinstatements.
Amount of fees and costs collected, including the aggregate funds received by the clerk, local
governmental entities, and state entities, including the General Revenue Fund.
The personnel, operating, and other expenditures incurred by the clerk.
Feedback received from the community, if any, in response to the clerk’s participation in the
pilot program.
Whether the pilot program led to improved timeliness for the reinstatement of driver licenses.
The clerk’s recommendation as to whether the pilot program should be extended in Miami-
Dade County or expanded to other clerks’ offices.
Any other information the clerk deems necessary.
Effective Date
This bill takes effect upon becoming a law.
III. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
The bill does not require counties or municipalities to spend funds or limit their authority
to raise revenue or receive state-shared revenues as specified in Art. VII, s. 18 of the
Florida Constitution.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
12
2024 Revenue Estimating Conference, Impact Conference Reports, at pg. 149.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 Page 6
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
IV. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met on January 12, 2024, and determined the
categories in this bill will redirect approximately $28.9 million in recurring funds from
the General Revenue Fund to the Clerks’ Fine and Forfeiture Trust Fund and the Public
Records Modernization Trust Fund beginning in Fiscal Year 2024-2025.13
The REC estimated the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 fiscal impact of the individual fee
categories in the bill as follows:
Section 34.041(1)(d), F.S., relating to county summons: $8,433,502.
Section 318.18(8)(a), F.S., relating to $12.50 traffic fee: $20,505,277.
The REC estimated that the Miami-Dade Pilot Program will result in a $0.8 million
reduction in the General Revenue Fund in Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and in Fiscal Year
2025-2026 for a total of $1.6 million.
Sections 1, 2, 3, 6, and 11 relating to the Justice Administrative Commission are
estimated to have no fiscal impact on state funds.
V. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
13
2024 Revenue Estimating Conference, Impact Conference Reports, at pgs. 147-153.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1470 Page 7
VI. Related Issues:
None.
VII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 27.52, 27.54,
27.703, 28.35, 34.041, 57.082, 110.112, 186.003, 318.18, and 501.2101.
The bill creates section 322.76 of the Florida Statutes.
VIII. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS/CS/CS by Appropriations on February 27, 2024:
The committee substitute:
Amends ss. 27.52, 27.54, 57.082, and 501.2101, F.S., to revise