| 1 | House Joint Resolution |
| 2 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 2 of |
| 3 | Article V of the State Constitution to remove authority of |
| 4 | the Supreme Court to adopt rules of practice and procedure |
| 5 | in all courts; to create the judicial conference; to |
| 6 | empower the judicial conference to propose rules of |
| 7 | practice and procedure in all courts; to empower the |
| 8 | Legislature to adopt, amend, or reject rules proposed by |
| 9 | the judicial conference by general law; and to empower the |
| 10 | Legislature to amend or repeal rules of practice and |
| 11 | procedure in all courts by general law. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | That the amendment to Section 2 of Article V of the State |
| 16 | Constitution set forth below is agreed to and shall be submitted |
| 17 | to the electors of Florida for approval or rejection at the |
| 18 | general election to be held in November 2004: |
| 19 | ARTICLE V |
| 20 | JUDICIARY |
| 21 | SECTION 2. Administration of courts; judicial conference; |
| 22 | rules of practice and procedure.-- |
| 23 | (a) A judicial conference is created. The duty of the |
| 24 | judicial conference is to propose rules of practice and |
| 25 | procedure in all courts. |
| 26 | (1) The judicial conference shall be composed of members |
| 27 | in the manner as provided by general law. |
| 28 | (2) The members of the judicial conference shall, by |
| 29 | majority vote, choose their chair and adopt rules to govern |
| 30 | their proceedings. |
| 31 | (3) The clerk of the supreme court shall serve as clerk of |
| 32 | the judicial conference. |
| 33 | (4) Rules of practice and procedure proposed by the |
| 34 | judicial conference shall be submitted to the legislature for |
| 35 | consideration. The legislature may adopt, amend, or reject such |
| 36 | rules by general law. Unless and until adopted by general law, |
| 37 | rules proposed by the judicial conference shall be of no force |
| 38 | or effect. If the legislature takes no action upon a proposed |
| 39 | rule before the next general election, the proposed rule shall |
| 40 | be deemed rejected. |
| 41 | (5) Rules proposed by the judicial conference shall not be |
| 42 | inconsistent with general law and shall not abridge, enlarge, or |
| 43 | modify any substantive right. |
| 44 | (6) Rules of practice and procedure may be repealed or |
| 45 | amended by general law. The supreme court shall adopt rules for |
| 46 | the practice and procedure in all courts including the time for |
| 47 | seeking appellate review, the administrative supervision of all |
| 48 | courts, the transfer to the court having jurisdiction of any |
| 49 | proceeding when the jurisdiction of another court has been |
| 50 | improvidently invoked, and a requirement that no cause shall be |
| 51 | dismissed because an improper remedy has been sought. The |
| 52 | supreme court shall adopt rules to allow the court and the |
| 53 | district courts of appeal to submit questions relating to |
| 54 | military law to the federal Court of Appeals for the Armed |
| 55 | Forces for an advisory opinion. Rules of court may be repealed |
| 56 | by general law enacted by two-thirds vote of the membership of |
| 57 | each house of the legislature. |
| 58 | (b) The chief justice of the supreme court shall be chosen |
| 59 | by a majority of the members of the court; shall be the chief |
| 60 | administrative officer of the judicial system; and shall have |
| 61 | the power to assign justices or judges, including consenting |
| 62 | retired justices or judges, to temporary duty in any court for |
| 63 | which the judge is qualified and to delegate to a chief judge of |
| 64 | a judicial circuit the power to assign judges for duty in that |
| 65 | circuit. |
| 66 | (c) A chief judge for each district court of appeal shall |
| 67 | be chosen by a majority of the judges thereof or, if there is no |
| 68 | majority, by the chief justice. The chief judge shall be |
| 69 | responsible for the administrative supervision of the court. |
| 70 | (d) A chief judge in each circuit shall be chosen from |
| 71 | among the circuit judges as provided by supreme court rule. The |
| 72 | chief judge shall be responsible for the administrative |
| 73 | supervision of the circuit courts and county courts in his |
| 74 | circuit. |
| 75 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the title and substance of the |
| 76 | amendment proposed herein shall appear on the ballot as follows: |
| 77 | COURT RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE |
| 78 | Proposes an amendment to Section 2 of Article V of the |
| 79 | State Constitution to remove the Supreme Court's current |
| 80 | authority to adopt rules of practice and procedure in all |
| 81 | courts. The amendment creates a judicial conference empowered to |
| 82 | propose rules of practice and procedure in all courts. The |
| 83 | amendment provides that the judicial conference shall be |
| 84 | composed of members in a manner provided by general law. The |
| 85 | amendment requires the judicial conference to submit its rule |
| 86 | proposals to the Legislature. The amendment empowers the |
| 87 | Legislature to amend, adopt, reject, or repeal by general law |
| 88 | rules of practice and procedure proposed by the judicial |
| 89 | conference and to amend or repeal by general law existing rules |
| 90 | of practice and procedure that were not proposed by the judicial |
| 91 | conference. Under the amendment, rules proposed by the judicial |
| 92 | conference will have no force or effect unless and until adopted |
| 93 | by general law. If no action is taken by the Legislature to |
| 94 | adopt the rule by the next general election, the rule proposal |
| 95 | shall be deemed rejected. The amendment provides that rules |
| 96 | proposed by the judicial conference shall not be inconsistent |
| 97 | with general law and shall not abridge, enlarge, or modify any |
| 98 | substantive right. |