| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to court costs; amending s. 938.01, F.S.; |
| 3 | increasing the court cost assessed against any person |
| 4 | convicted of violating a state penal or criminal statute |
| 5 | or convicted of violating a municipal or county ordinance |
| 6 | or whose adjudication is withheld under specified |
| 7 | provisions; increasing the amount deducted from every bond |
| 8 | estreature or forfeited bail bond related to such penal |
| 9 | statutes which is remitted to the Department of Revenue; |
| 10 | revising the allocation of funds received from the court |
| 11 | costs and distributed to the Department of Law Enforcement |
| 12 | Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund, the |
| 13 | Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust Fund for the |
| 14 | Criminal Justice Grant Program, and the Department of |
| 15 | Children and Family Services Domestic Violence Trust Fund |
| 16 | for the domestic violence program; amending s. 938.30, |
| 17 | F.S.; requiring defendants to pay all outstanding criminal |
| 18 | costs and fines prior to the court entering an order to |
| 19 | seal or expunge criminal history records unless the court |
| 20 | makes specified written findings; amending ss. 318.18 and |
| 21 | 327.73, F.S., relating to civil penalties for noncriminal |
| 22 | traffic and boating infractions; conforming provisions to |
| 23 | changes made by the act; providing an effective date. |
| 24 |
|
| 25 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 26 |
|
| 27 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 938.01, Florida |
| 28 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 29 | 938.01 Additional Court Cost Clearing Trust Fund.-- |
| 30 | (1) All courts created by Art. V of the State Constitution |
| 31 | shall, in addition to any fine or other penalty, require every |
| 32 | person convicted for violation of a state penal or criminal |
| 33 | statute or convicted for violation of a municipal or county |
| 34 | ordinance to pay $4 $3 as a court cost. Any person whose |
| 35 | adjudication is withheld pursuant to the provisions of s. |
| 36 | 318.14(9) or (10) shall also be liable for payment of such cost. |
| 37 | In addition, $4 $3 from every bond estreature or forfeited bail |
| 38 | bond related to such penal statutes or penal ordinances shall be |
| 39 | remitted to the Department of Revenue as described in this |
| 40 | subsection. However, no such assessment may be made against any |
| 41 | person convicted for violation of any state statute, municipal |
| 42 | ordinance, or county ordinance relating to the parking of |
| 43 | vehicles. |
| 44 | (a) All costs collected by the courts pursuant to this |
| 45 | subsection shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue in |
| 46 | accordance with administrative rules adopted by the executive |
| 47 | director of the Department of Revenue for deposit in the |
| 48 | Additional Court Cost Clearing Trust Fund. |
| 49 | 1. These funds and the funds deposited in the Additional |
| 50 | Court Cost Clearing Trust Fund pursuant to s. 318.21(2)(c) shall |
| 51 | be distributed as follows: |
| 52 | a.1. Ninety-four Ninety-two percent to the Department of |
| 53 | Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust |
| 54 | Fund. |
| 55 | b.2. Four and seven-tenths Six and three-tenths percent to |
| 56 | the Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust Fund for the |
| 57 | Criminal Justice Grant Program. |
| 58 | c.3. One and three-tenths and seven-tenths percent to the |
| 59 | Department of Children and Family Services Domestic Violence |
| 60 | Trust Fund for the domestic violence program pursuant to s. |
| 61 | 39.903(3). |
| 62 | 2. The funds deposited in the Additional Court Cost |
| 63 | Clearing Trust Fund pursuant to s. 318.21(2)(c) shall be |
| 64 | distributed as follows: |
| 65 | a. Ninety-two percent to the Department of Law Enforcement |
| 66 | Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund. |
| 67 | b. Six and three-tenths percent to the Department of Law |
| 68 | Enforcement Operating Trust Fund for the Criminal Justice Grant |
| 69 | Program. |
| 70 | c. One and seven-tenths percent to the Department of |
| 71 | Children and Family Services Domestic Violence Trust Fund for |
| 72 | the domestic violence program pursuant to s. 39.903(3). |
| 73 | (b) All funds in the Department of Law Enforcement |
| 74 | Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund shall be |
| 75 | disbursed only in compliance with s. 943.25(9). |
| 76 | Section 2. Present subsection (12) of section 938.30, |
| 77 | Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (13), and a new |
| 78 | subsection (12) is added to that section to read: |
| 79 | 938.30 Financial obligations in criminal cases; |
| 80 | supplementary proceedings.-- |
| 81 | (12) The court shall not enter an order sealing or |
| 82 | expunging criminal history records under Rule 3.692, Florida |
| 83 | Rules of Criminal Procedure, and ss. 943.0585 and 943.059, until |
| 84 | the person has paid all outstanding criminal costs and fines |
| 85 | assessed against the moving party, unless the court makes |
| 86 | written findings about the appropriateness of sealing or |
| 87 | expunging despite the outstanding costs and fines. |
| 88 | Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (11) of section |
| 89 | 318.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 90 | 318.18 Amount of penalties.--The penalties required for a |
| 91 | noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal |
| 92 | offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows: |
| 93 | (11) |
| 94 | (d) In addition to the court cost required under paragraph |
| 95 | (a), a $4 $3 court cost must be paid for each infraction to be |
| 96 | distributed as provided in s. 938.01 and a $2 court cost as |
| 97 | provided in s. 938.15 when assessed by a municipality or county. |
| 98 | Section 4. Subsection (11) of section 327.73, Florida |
| 99 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 100 | 327.73 Noncriminal infractions.-- |
| 101 | (11)(a) Court costs that are to be in addition to the |
| 102 | stated civil penalty shall be imposed by the court in an amount |
| 103 | not less than the following: |
| 104 | 1. For swimming or diving infractions, $3. |
| 105 | 2. For nonmoving boating infractions, $6. |
| 106 | 3. For boating infractions listed in s. 327.731(1), $10. |
| 107 | (b) In addition to the court cost assessed under paragraph |
| 108 | (a), the court shall impose a $4 $3 court cost for each |
| 109 | noncriminal infraction, to be distributed as provided in s. |
| 110 | 938.01, and a $2 court cost as provided in s. 938.15 when |
| 111 | assessed by a municipality or county. |
| 112 |
|
| 113 | Court costs imposed under this subsection may not exceed $30. A |
| 114 | criminal justice selection center or both local criminal justice |
| 115 | access and assessment centers may be funded from these court |
| 116 | costs. |
| 117 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |