| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Operating Trust Fund; creating s. |
| 3 | 25.3844, F.S.; creating the Operating Trust Fund within |
| 4 | the state courts system; providing for sources of funds |
| 5 | and purposes; providing for future review and termination |
| 6 | or re-creation of the trust fund; amending ss. 25.241, |
| 7 | 25.383, 29.0195, and 35.22, F.S.; conforming provisions; |
| 8 | directing certain fees collected by the Clerk of the |
| 9 | Supreme Court, the trial court administrator of each |
| 10 | circuit, and the clerk of each district court and certain |
| 11 | fees paid to the Supreme Court by court reporters to be |
| 12 | deposited into the trust fund in lieu of another trust |
| 13 | fund; providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Section 25.3844, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 18 | to read: |
| 19 | 25.3844 Operating Trust Fund.-- |
| 20 | (1) The Operating Trust Fund is created within the state |
| 21 | courts system. |
| 22 | (2) The fund is established for use as a depository of |
| 23 | fees and related revenue for the purpose of supporting the |
| 24 | program operations of the judicial branch and for such other |
| 25 | purposes as may be appropriate and shall be expended only |
| 26 | pursuant to legislative appropriation or an approved amendment |
| 27 | to the agency's operating budget pursuant to the provisions of |
| 28 | chapter 216. |
| 29 | (3) In accordance with s. 19(f)(2), Art. III of the State |
| 30 | Constitution, the Operating Trust Fund shall, unless terminated |
| 31 | sooner, be terminated on July 1, 2010. Before its scheduled |
| 32 | termination, the trust fund shall be reviewed as provided in s. |
| 33 | 215.3206(1) and (2). |
| 34 | Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 25.241, Florida |
| 35 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 36 | 25.241 Clerk of Supreme Court; compensation; assistants; |
| 37 | filing fees, etc.-- |
| 38 | (5) The Clerk of the Supreme Court is hereby required to |
| 39 | prepare a statement of all fees collected each month and remit |
| 40 | such statement, together with all fees collected by him or her, |
| 41 | to the Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer |
| 42 | shall deposit $250 of each $300 filing fee and all other fees |
| 43 | collected into the General Revenue Fund. The Chief Financial |
| 44 | Officer shall deposit $50 of each filing fee collected into the |
| 45 | state court's Operating Grants and Donations Trust Fund to fund |
| 46 | court improvement projects as authorized in the General |
| 47 | Appropriations Act. |
| 48 | Section 3. Section 25.383, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 49 | read: |
| 50 | 25.383 Standards for court reporters; procedures; rules of |
| 51 | professional conduct, discipline, and training.--The Supreme |
| 52 | Court shall establish minimum standards and procedures for |
| 53 | qualifications, certification, discipline, and training for |
| 54 | court reporters. The Supreme Court shall determine the amount of |
| 55 | fees to charge applicants for certification and renewal of |
| 56 | certification. Fees shall be set in an amount necessary to |
| 57 | recover the full cost of administering the certification |
| 58 | process. All proceeds from fees collected pursuant to this |
| 59 | section shall be deposited into the Operating Grants and |
| 60 | Donations Trust Fund within the state courts. The Supreme Court |
| 61 | may appoint or employ such personnel as are necessary to assist |
| 62 | the court in exercising its powers and performing its duties |
| 63 | under this section. |
| 64 | Section 4. Section 29.0195, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 65 | to read: |
| 66 | 29.0195 Recovery of expenditures for state-funded |
| 67 | services.--The trial court administrator of each circuit shall |
| 68 | recover expenditures for state-funded services when those |
| 69 | services have been furnished to a user of the state court system |
| 70 | who possesses the present ability to pay. The rate of |
| 71 | compensation for such services shall be the actual cost of the |
| 72 | services, including the cost of recovery. The trial court |
| 73 | administrator shall deposit moneys recovered under this section |
| 74 | in the Operating Grants and Donations Trust Fund within the |
| 75 | state court system. The trial court administrator shall recover |
| 76 | the costs of court reporter services and transcription; court |
| 77 | interpreter services, including translation; and any other |
| 78 | service for which state funds were used to provide a product or |
| 79 | service within the circuit. This section does not authorize cost |
| 80 | recovery from entities described in ss. 29.005, 29.006, and |
| 81 | 29.007. |
| 82 | Section 5. Subsection (6) of section 35.22, Florida |
| 83 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 84 | 35.22 Clerk of district court; appointment; compensation; |
| 85 | assistants; filing fees; teleconferencing.-- |
| 86 | (6) The clerk of each district court of appeal is required |
| 87 | to deposit all fees collected in the State Treasury to the |
| 88 | credit of the General Revenue Fund, except that $50 of each $300 |
| 89 | filing fee collected shall be deposited into the state court's |
| 90 | Operating Grants and Donations Trust Fund to fund court |
| 91 | improvement projects as authorized in the General Appropriations |
| 92 | Act. The clerk shall retain an accounting of each such |
| 93 | remittance. |
| 94 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |