Senate Bill 0846
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Florida Senate - 1999 (NP) SB 846
By Senator McKay
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1 A reviser's bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Statutes;
3 amending s. 44.102, Florida Statutes, and
4 repealing ss. 794.03 and 838.15, Florida
5 Statutes, to conform to judicial decisions
6 holding said provisions or parts thereof
7 unconstitutional.
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9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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11 Section 1. Section 44.102, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 44.102 Court-ordered mediation.--
14 (1) Court-ordered mediation shall be conducted
15 according to rules of practice and procedure adopted by the
16 Supreme Court.
17 (2) A court, under rules adopted by the Supreme Court:
18 (a) May refer to mediation all or any part of a filed
19 civil action.
20 (b) In circuits in which a family mediation program
21 has been established and upon a court finding of a dispute,
22 shall refer to mediation all or part of custody, visitation,
23 or other parental responsibility issues as defined in s.
24 61.13. Upon motion or request of a party, a court shall not
25 refer any case to mediation if it finds there has been a
26 history of domestic violence that would compromise the
27 mediation process.
28 (c) In circuits in which a dependency or in need of
29 services mediation program has been established, may refer to
30 mediation all or any portion of a matter relating to
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1 dependency or to a child in need of services or a family in
2 need of services.
3 (3) Each party involved in a court-ordered mediation
4 proceeding has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to
5 prevent any person present at the proceeding from disclosing,
6 communications made during such proceeding. All oral or
7 written communications in a mediation proceeding, other than
8 an executed settlement agreement, shall be exempt from the
9 requirements of chapter 119 and shall be confidential and
10 inadmissible as evidence in any subsequent legal proceeding,
11 unless all parties agree otherwise.
12 (4) There shall be no privilege and no restriction on
13 any disclosure of communications made confidential in
14 subsection (3) in relation to disciplinary proceedings filed
15 against mediators pursuant to s. 44.106 and court rules, to
16 the extent the communication is used for the purposes of such
17 proceedings. In such cases, the disclosure of an otherwise
18 privileged communication shall be used only for the internal
19 use of the body conducting the investigation. Prior to the
20 release of any disciplinary files to the public, all
21 references to otherwise privileged communications shall be
22 deleted from the record. When an otherwise confidential
23 communication is used in a mediator disciplinary proceeding,
24 such communication shall be inadmissible as evidence in any
25 subsequent legal proceeding. "Subsequent legal proceeding"
26 means any legal proceeding between the parties to the
27 mediation which follows the court-ordered mediation.
28 (5) The chief judge of each judicial circuit shall
29 maintain a list of mediators who have been certified by the
30 Supreme Court and who have registered for appointment in that
31 circuit.
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1 (a) Whenever possible, qualified individuals who have
2 volunteered their time to serve as mediators shall be
3 appointed. If a mediation program is funded pursuant to s.
4 44.108, volunteer mediators shall be entitled to reimbursement
5 pursuant to s. 112.061 for all actual expenses necessitated by
6 service as a mediator.
7 (b) Nonvolunteer mediators shall be compensated
8 according to rules adopted by the Supreme Court. If a
9 mediation program is funded pursuant to s. 44.108, a mediator
10 may be compensated by the county or by the parties. When a
11 party has been declared indigent or insolvent, that party's
12 pro rata share of a mediator's compensation shall be paid by
13 the county at the rate set by administrative order of the
14 chief judge of the circuit.
15 (6)(a) When an action is referred to mediation by
16 court order, the time periods for responding to an offer of
17 settlement pursuant to s. 45.061, or to an offer or demand for
18 judgment pursuant to s. 768.79, respectively, shall be tolled
19 until:
20 1. An impasse has been declared by the mediator; or
21 2. The mediator has reported to the court that no
22 agreement was reached.
23 (b) Sections 45.061 and 768.79 notwithstanding, an
24 offer of settlement or an offer or demand for judgment may be
25 made at any time after an impasse has been declared by the
26 mediator, or the mediator has reported that no agreement was
27 reached. An offer is deemed rejected as of commencement of
28 trial.
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30 Reviser's note.--The Florida Supreme Court in
31 Knealing v. Puleo, 675 So.2d 593 (Fla. 1996),
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1 held the time requirements set forth in s.
2 44.102(6) unconstitutional as an intrusion upon
3 the rule-making authority of the Supreme Court.
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5 Section 2. Section 794.03, Florida Statutes, is
6 repealed.
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8 Reviser's note.--The Florida Supreme Court in
9 State v. Globe Communications Corporation, 648
10 So.2d 110 (Fla. 1994), affirmed the district
11 court's decision holding s. 794.03 facially
12 invalid under the free speech and free press
13 provisions of both the United States and
14 Florida Constitutions.
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16 Section 3. Section 838.15, Florida Statutes, is
17 repealed.
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19 Reviser's note.--The Florida Supreme Court in
20 Roque v. State, 664 So.2d 928 (Fla. 1995), held
21 s. 838.15 to be invalid as impermissibly vague
22 and subject to arbitrary application.
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