F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 921 2023
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to fines and fees; amending s. 28.24,
3 F.S.; authorizing the clerk of the circuit court to
4 accept monthly installment payments for a certain
5 administrative processing charge; conforming
6 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s.
7 28.246, F.S.; revising the methods by which the clerk
8 of the circuit court may accept payments for certain
9 fees, charges, costs, and fines; providing
10 requirements for the payment plan; authorizing the
11 court to modify the payment plan or reduce, waive, or
12 convert to community service the outstanding fees,
13 service charges, costs, or fines; providing
14 construction; requiring payment plans to reflect all
15 fines, fees, and court costs incurred by an
16 individual; prohibiting the clerk from sending an
17 incarcerated individual's account to a collection
18 agency for collection or suspending an incarcerated
19 individual's driver license; authorizing the clerk to
20 enroll an individual in an automatic payment plan if
21 certain conditions exist; requiring the clerk to work
22 with the court to develop a process to meet with the
23 individual upon disposition; authorizing the clerk to
24 waive certain fees for an individual who enrolls in an
25 automatic payment plan; providing for the early
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26 termination of a payment plan for an indigent
27 individual if certain conditions exist; authorizing
28 the clerk to send certain notices; conforming a cross -
29 reference; conforming provisions to changes made by
30 the act; amending s. 318.15, F.S.; deleting provisions
31 specifying procedures to be used if a person fails to
32 comply with certain court-ordered requirements;
33 requiring a person's driver license to be reinstated
34 if certain conditions are met; authorizing such person
35 to have his or her driver license reinstated under
36 specified conditions; requiring the clerk to submi t a
37 specified list to the Department of Highway Safety and
38 Motor Vehicles by a specified date; conforming
39 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s.
40 322.245, F.S.; revising the specified offenses that
41 would lead to the suspension of a person's driver
42 license upon the failure to comply with court
43 directives; authorizing a person to apply for
44 reinstatement of his or her driver license if certain
45 conditions exist; requiring the clerk to submit a
46 certain list to the department by a specified date;
47 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
48 amending s. 322.29, F.S.; specifying that a single
49 service fee should be collected when a license is
50 reinstated after certain conditions are met; making
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51 technical changes; amending ss. 27.52, 34.191, 57.082,
52 and 320.03, F.S.; conforming cross-references; making
53 technical changes; reenacting ss. 318.20, 775.083(3),
54 and 938.27(2)(a), F.S., relating to notification,
55 fines, and judgments for costs of prosecution and
56 investigation, respectively, to incorporate the
57 amendments made to s. 28.246, F.S., in references
58 thereto; providing an effective date.
59
60 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
61
62 Section 1. Subsection (27) of section 28.24, Florida
63 Statutes, is amended to read:
64 28.24 Service charges.—The clerk of the circuit court
65 shall charge for services rendered manually or electronically by
66 the clerk's office in recording documents and instruments and in
67 performing other specified duties. These charges may not exceed
68 those specified in this section, except as provided in s.
69 28.345.
70 (27)(a) For receiving and disbursing all restitution
71 payments, per payment: 3.50, from which the clerk shall remit
72 0.50 per payment to the Department of Revenue for deposit into
73 the General Revenue Fund.
74 (b) For receiving and disbursing all partial payments,
75 other than restitution payments, for which an administrative
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76 processing service charge is not imposed pursuant to s. 28.246,
77 per month: 5.00.
78 (c) For setting up a payment plan, a one-time
79 administrative processing charge of in lieu of a per month
80 charge under paragraph (b): 25.00. The charge may be paid in
81 five equal monthly payments of 5.00.
82 Section 2. Section 28.246, Florida Statutes, is amended to
83 read:
84 28.246 Payment of court-related fines or other monetary
85 penalties, fees, charges, and costs; monthly partial payments;
86 community service; distribution of funds.—
87 (1) The clerk of the circuit court shall report the
88 following information to the Legislature and the Florida Clerks
89 of Court Operations Corporation on a form, and using guidelines
90 developed by the clerks of court, through their association and
91 in consultation with the Office of the State Courts
92 Administrator:
93 (a) The total amount of mandatory fees, service charges,
94 and costs assessed; the total amount underassessed, if any,
95 which is the amount less than the minimum amount required by law
96 to be assessed; and the total amount collected.
97 (b) The total amount of discretionary fees, service
98 charges, and costs assessed and the total amount collected.
99 (c) The total amount of mandatory fines and other monetary
100 penalties assessed; the total amount underassessed, if any,
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101 which is the amount less than the minimum amount required by law
102 to be assessed; and the total amount collected.
103 (d) The total amount of discretionary fines and other
104 monetary penalties assessed and the total amount collected.
105
106 The clerk, in reporting to the Legislature and corporation,
107 shall separately identify the monetary amount assessed and
108 subsequently discharged or converted to community service, to a
109 judgment or lien, or to time served. The form developed by the
110 clerks must shall include separate entries for recording the
111 amount discharged and the amount converted. If a court waives,
112 suspends, or reduces an assessment as authorized by law, the
113 portion waived, suspended, or reduced may not be deemed assessed
114 or underassessed for purposes of the reporting requirements of
115 this section. The clerk also shall report a collection rate for
116 mandatory and discretionary assessments. In calculating the
117 rate, the clerk shall deduct amounts discharged or converted
118 from the amount assessed. The clerk shall submit the report on
119 an annual basis 90 days after the end of the county fiscal year.
120 The clerks and the courts shall develop by October 1, 2012, the
121 form and guidelines to govern the accurate and consistent
122 reporting statewide of assessments as provided in this section.
123 The clerk shall use the new reporting form and guidelines in
124 submitting the report for the county fiscal year ending
125 September 30, 2013, and for each year thereafter.
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126 (2) The clerk of the circuit court shall establish and
127 maintain a system of accounts receivable for court-related fees,
128 charges, and costs.
129 (3) Court costs, fines, and other dispositional
130 assessments shall be enforced by order of the courts, collected
131 by the clerks of the circuit and county courts, and dis bursed in
132 accordance with authorizations and procedures as established by
133 general law.
134 (4)(a) Each clerk of the circuit court shall accept
135 monthly partial payments for each case type for court-related
136 fees, service charges, court costs, and fines electronically, by
137 mail, or in person in accordance with the terms of the an
138 established uniform payment plan form developed by the clerk.
139 (b) An individual seeking to defer payment of fees,
140 service charges, court costs, or fines imposed by operation of
141 law or order of the court under any provision of general law
142 must shall apply to the clerk for enrollment in a payment plan.
143 The clerk must shall enter into a payment plan with an
144 individual who the court determines is indigent for costs. If an
145 individual is not in custody, the plan must provide a 30-day
146 grace period for the person to make the first payment. It is the
147 responsibility of an individual who is released from
148 incarceration and has outstanding court obligations to contact
149 the clerk within 30 days after release to pay fees, service
150 charges, court costs, and fines in full, or to apply for
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151 enrollment in a payment plan. If an individual is released from
152 incarceration, the plan must provide a 90-day grace period from
153 the day of release for the person to make the first payment.
154 1. A monthly payment amount, calculated based upon all
155 fees and all anticipated fees, service charges, court costs, and
156 fines, is presumed to correspond to the person's ability to pay
157 if the amount does not exceed the greater of:
158 a. Two percent of the person's annual net income, as
159 defined in s. 27.52(1), divided by 12; or
160 b. Twenty-five dollars.
161 2. Any amount required by the clerk as down payment to
162 initially establish a payment plan shall be the lesser of 10
163 percent of the total amount owed or $100. The amount does not
164 include the imposition of a service charge pursuant to s.
165 28.24(27)(b), and both the service charge and down payment may
166 be paid monthly as provided in s. 28.24(27)(b) or (c). The clerk
167 shall establish all terms of a payment plan, and the court may,
168 on its own motion or by petition, review and modify the
169 reasonableness of the payment plan or reduce, waive, or convert
170 to community service the outstanding fees, service charges,
171 costs, or fines. Nothing in this sub-paragraph shall be
172 construed to allow or waive restitution or child support .
173 3. If a county has more than one case open for an
174 individual against whom fines, service charges, fees, or court
175 costs have been assessed, the monthly payment plan must include
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176 the amounts assessed for all of the cases.
177 (c) If an individual is incarcerated, the clerk may not
178 refer the individual's account to collections as provided in
179 subsection (7) or send a notice to the Department of Highway
180 Safety and Motor Vehicles to suspend the individual's driver
181 license for nonpayment or failure to comply with the terms of a
182 payment plan.
183 (d) The clerk may enroll an individual with a deposit or
184 credit card account, or with other means of automatic
185 withdrawal, in an automatic payment plan arrangement to ensure
186 timely payment under the plan. Each clerk shall work with the
187 court to develop a process in which the individual will meet
188 with the clerk upon disposition or as soon thereafter as
189 practicable. The clerk of the court may waive the fees
190 referenced in s. 28.24(27)(b) for an individual who enrolls in
191 an automatic electronic debit payment plan.
192 (5) An individual who is indigent as described in s.
193 27.52(2), an individual who receives public assistance as
194 defined in s. 409.2554, or an individual whose income is below
195 200 percent of the federal poverty level based on the current
196 year's federal poverty guidelines may petition the court to
197 declare that the financial obligations under the payment plan
198 have been met and to terminate the payment plan if, up to the
199 date of the petition, the individual made timely payments for:
200 (a) Twelve consecutive months for any financial obligation
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201 that was $500 or less;
202 (b) Twenty-four consecutive months for any financial
203 obligation that was more than $500, but less than or equal to
204 $1,000; or
205 (c) Thirty-six consecutive months for any financial
206 obligation that was greater than $1,000.
207 (6)(a) The clerk may send notices electronically or by
208 mail to remind an individual of an upcoming or missed payment.
209 (b) When receiving monthly partial payment of fees,
210 service charges, court costs, and fines, clerks shall distribute
211 funds according to the following order of priority:
212 1.(a) That portion of fees, service c