HB 1099

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to court actions involving families;
3	amending ss. 39.001, 61.001, and 985.02, F.S.; providing
4	additional purposes relating to implementing a unified
5	family court program in the circuit courts; providing
6	legislative intent; providing an effective date.
7
8	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10	Section 1.  Paragraph (n) is added to subsection (1) of
11	section 39.001, Florida Statutes, to read:
12	39.001  Purposes and intent; personnel standards and
13	screening.--
14	(1)  PURPOSES OF CHAPTER.--The purposes of this chapter
15	are:
16	(n)  To provide all children and families affected by the
17	legal process with a coordinated judicial system that minimizes
18	multiple actions and provides one decisionmaker for each child
19	or family and a coordinated approach in dealing with the
20	applicable issues of the child or family. It is the intent of
21	the Legislature to encourage the circuit courts of this state to
22	implement a unified family court program as endorsed by the
23	Florida Supreme Court and establish such a unified family court
24	by local rule or administrative order to be submitted to the
25	Florida Supreme Court for approval as directed by the Florida
26	Supreme Court. It is the intent of the Legislature to improve
27	the resolution of disputes within the judicial system for
28	children and families by promoting the implementation of the
29	Coordinated Management Model as established by the Florida
30	Supreme Court and the concept of "one family, one judge" to
31	coordinate multiple cases involving one family.
32	Section 2.  Section 61.001, Florida Statutes, is amended to
33	read:
34	61.001  Purpose of chapter.--
35	(1)  This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied.
36	(2)  Its purposes are:
37	(a)  To preserve the integrity of marriage and to safeguard
38	meaningful family relationships;
39	(b)  To promote the amicable settlement of disputes that
40	arise between parties to a marriage; and
41	(c)  To mitigate the potential harm to the spouses and
42	their children caused by the process of legal dissolution of
43	marriage.
44	(d)  To provide all children and families affected by the
45	legal process with a coordinated judicial system that minimizes
46	multiple actions and provides one decisionmaker for each child
47	or family and a coordinated approach in dealing with the
48	applicable issues of the child or family. It is the intent of
49	the Legislature to encourage the circuit courts of this state to
50	implement a unified family court program as endorsed by the
51	Florida Supreme Court and establish such a unified family court
52	by local rule or administrative order to be submitted to the
53	Florida Supreme Court for approval as directed by the Florida
54	Supreme Court. It is the intent of the Legislature to improve
55	the resolution of disputes within the judicial system for
56	children and families by promoting the implementation of the
57	Coordinated Management Model as established by the Florida
58	Supreme Court and the concept of "one family, one judge" to
59	coordinate multiple cases involving one family.
60	Section 3.  Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (1) of
61	section 985.02, Florida Statutes, to read:
62	985.02  Legislative intent for the juvenile justice
63	system.--
64	(1)  GENERAL PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN.--It is a purpose of
65	the Legislature that the children of this state be provided with
66	the following protections:
67	(j)  To all children and their families affected by the
68	legal process, a coordinated judicial system that minimizes
69	multiple actions and provides one decisionmaker for each child
70	or family and a coordinated approach in dealing with the
71	applicable issues of the child or family. It is the intent of
72	the Legislature to encourage the circuit courts of this state to
73	implement a unified family court program as endorsed by the
74	Florida Supreme Court and establish such a unified family court
75	by local rule or administrative order to be submitted to the
76	Florida Supreme Court for approval as directed by the Florida
77	Supreme Court. It is the intent of the Legislature to improve
78	the resolution of disputes within the judicial system for
79	children and families by promoting the implementation of the
80	Coordinated Management Model as established by the Florida
81	Supreme Court and the concept of "one family, one judge" to
82	coordinate multiple cases involving one family.
83	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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