Senate Bill 2000

    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2000

    By Senator Cowin





    11-557-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to judicial nominating

  3         commissions; amending s. 43.29, F.S.; deleting

  4         a requirement for appointment based upon race

  5         or gender and requiring consideration of those

  6         factors in making appointments; providing for

  7         the judicial nominating commission of a

  8         judicial circuit to include among its members

  9         and electors at least one resident from each

10         county within the judicial circuit; providing

11         an effective date.

12

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14

15         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 43.29, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended and subsection (4) is added to that

17  section to read:

18         43.29  Judicial nominating commissions.--

19         (1)  Each judicial nominating commission shall be

20  composed of the following:

21         (a)  Three members, at least one of whom must be a

22  member of a racial or ethnic minority group or a woman,

23  appointed by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar from

24  among The Florida Bar members who are actively engaged in the

25  practice of law with offices within the territorial

26  jurisdiction of the affected court, or in the district or

27  circuit;

28         (b)  Three electors, at least one of whom must be a

29  member of a racial or ethnic minority group or a woman, who

30  reside in the territorial jurisdiction of the court or in the

31  circuit appointed by the Governor; and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2000
    11-557-99




  1         (c)  Three electors, at least one of whom must be a

  2  member of a racial or ethnic minority group or a woman, who

  3  reside in the territorial jurisdiction of the court or in the

  4  circuit and who are not members of the bar of Florida,

  5  selected and appointed by a majority vote of the other six

  6  members of the commission.

  7

  8  The appointing authorities shall consider whether the existing

  9  commission members, together with potential appointees,

10  reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, as well as

11  the geographic distribution, of the population within the

12  territorial jurisdiction of the court for which they are

13  making nominations.

14         (4)  The judicial nominating commission for each of the

15  twenty judicial circuits must include among its members and

16  electors at least one resident from each county within the

17  judicial circuit. This subsection shall apply only to members

18  or electors appointed on or after July 1, 1999.

19         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

20

21            *****************************************

22                          SENATE SUMMARY

23    Modifies existing criteria for the composition of
      judicial nominating commissions. Deletes the requirement
24    that appointments be based on race or gender, but
      requires that consideration of such factors be considered
25    in making appointments. Requires the judicial nomination
      commission in each judicial circuit to include among its
26    members and electors at least one resident from each
      county within the circuit.
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