| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the judiciary; amending s. 26.031, |
| 3 | F.S.; increasing the number of judges in specified |
| 4 | judicial circuits; amending s. 34.022, F.S.; increasing |
| 5 | the number of judges in specified county courts; providing |
| 6 | that the act does not preclude the Governor from |
| 7 | simultaneously notifying any judicial nominating |
| 8 | commission of any vacancies created in this act, whether |
| 9 | or not the vacancies may be filled on the same date; |
| 10 | providing effective dates. |
| 11 |
|
| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsections (1), (5), (6), (7), (9), (10), |
| 15 | (11), (13), (17), (18), (19), and (20) of section 26.031, |
| 16 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 17 | 26.031 Judicial circuits; number of judges.--The number of |
| 18 | circuit judges in each circuit shall be as follows: |
| 19 |
|
| 20 | JUDICIAL CIRCUIT TOTAL |
| 21 | (1) First 22 21 |
| 22 | (5) Fifth 27 25 |
| 23 | (6) Sixth 42 41 |
| 24 | (7) Seventh 25 24 |
| 25 | (9) Ninth 39 38 |
| 26 | (10) Tenth 24 22 |
| 27 | (11) Eleventh 76 74 |
| 28 | (13) Thirteenth 39 37 |
| 29 | (17) Seventeenth 55 53 |
| 30 | (18) Eighteenth 25 24 |
| 31 | (19) Nineteenth 17 15 |
| 32 | (20) Twentieth 26 23 |
| 33 | Section 2. Effective January 1, 2006, subsections (1), |
| 34 | (2), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (13), (14), (15), |
| 35 | (17), and (19) of section 26.031, Florida Statutes, as amended |
| 36 | by this act, are amended to read: |
| 37 | 26.031 Judicial circuits; number of judges.--The number of |
| 38 | circuit judges in each circuit shall be as follows: |
| 39 |
|
| 40 | JUDICIAL CIRCUIT TOTAL |
| 41 | (1) First 23 22 |
| 42 | (2) Second 16 15 |
| 43 | (5) Fifth 29 27 |
| 44 | (6) Sixth 44 42 |
| 45 | (7) Seventh 26 25 |
| 46 | (8) Eighth 13 12 |
| 47 | (9) Ninth 41 39 |
| 48 | (10) Tenth 26 24 |
| 49 | (11) Eleventh 78 76 |
| 50 | (13) Thirteenth 41 39 |
| 51 | (14) Fourteenth 10 9 |
| 52 | (15) Fifteenth 35 34 |
| 53 | (17) Seventeenth 57 55 |
| 54 | (19) Nineteenth 19 17 |
| 55 | Section 3. Effective April 1, 2006, subsections (1), (2), |
| 56 | (4), (5), (6), (7), (9), (10), (11), (13), (17), and (18) of |
| 57 | section 26.031, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, are |
| 58 | amended to read: |
| 59 | 26.031 Judicial circuits; number of judges.--The number of |
| 60 | circuit judges in each circuit shall be as follows: |
| 61 |
|
| 62 | JUDICIAL CIRCUIT TOTAL |
| 63 | (1) First 24 23 |
| 64 | (2) Second 17 16 |
| 65 | (4) Fourth 34 31 |
| 66 | (5) Fifth 32 29 |
| 67 | (6) Sixth 46 44 |
| 68 | (7) Seventh 28 26 |
| 69 | (9) Ninth 43 41 |
| 70 | (10) Tenth 29 26 |
| 71 | (11) Eleventh 81 78 |
| 72 | (13) Thirteenth 43 41 |
| 73 | (17) Seventeenth 59 57 |
| 74 | (18) Eighteenth 26 25 |
| 75 | Section 4. Effective January 1, 2006, subsections (3), |
| 76 | (5), (6), (11), (12), (26), (28), (34), (35), (40), (41), (42), |
| 77 | (43), (48), (50), (51), (52), (56), (59), and (64) of section |
| 78 | 34.022, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 79 | 34.022 Number of county court judges for each county.--The |
| 80 | number of county court judges in each county shall be as |
| 81 | follows: |
| 82 |
|
| 83 | COUNTY TOTAL |
| 84 | (3) Bay 4 3 |
| 85 | (5) Brevard 10 8 |
| 86 | (6) Broward 29 26 |
| 87 | (11) Collier 4 3 |
| 88 | (12) Columbia 2 1 |
| 89 | (26) Hernando 2 1 |
| 90 | (28) Hillsborough 17 15 |
| 91 | (34) Lake 3 2 |
| 92 | (35) Lee 8 7 |
| 93 | (40) Manatee 4 3 |
| 94 | (41) Marion 4 3 |
| 95 | (42) Martin 3 2 |
| 96 | (43) Miami-Dade 42 41 |
| 97 | (48) Orange 17 15 |
| 98 | (50) Palm Beach 18 17 |
| 99 | (51) Pasco 5 4 |
| 100 | (52) Pinellas 16 14 |
| 101 | (56) St. Lucie 4 3 |
| 102 | (59) Seminole 6 5 |
| 103 | (64) Volusia 10 9 |
| 104 | Section 5. Effective March 1, 2006, subsections (5), (6), |
| 105 | (11), (28), (41), (43), (48), (50), (51), and (52) of section |
| 106 | 34.022, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, are amended to |
| 107 | read: |
| 108 | 34.022 Number of county court judges for each county.--The |
| 109 | number of county court judges in each county shall be as |
| 110 | follows: |
| 111 |
|
| 112 | COUNTY TOTAL |
| 113 | (5) Brevard 12 10 |
| 114 | (6) Broward 32 29 |
| 115 | (11) Collier 5 4 |
| 116 | (28) Hillsborough 19 17 |
| 117 | (41) Marion 5 4 |
| 118 | (43) Miami-Dade 43 42 |
| 119 | (48) Orange 18 17 |
| 120 | (50) Palm Beach 19 18 |
| 121 | (51) Pasco 6 5 |
| 122 | (52) Pinellas 18 16 |
| 123 | Section 6. Nothing in this act shall preclude the Governor |
| 124 | from simultaneously providing notice to any judicial nominating |
| 125 | commission of any vacancies created in this act, whether or not |
| 126 | the vacancies may be filled on the same date. |
| 127 | Section 7. Except as otherwise provided herein, this act |
| 128 | shall take effect October 1, 2005. |