Florida Senate - 2009 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 2108
Barcode 773676
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations
(Crist) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5
6 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 28.36, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 28.36 Budget procedure.—There is hereby established a
9 budget procedure for the court-related functions of the clerks
10 of the court.
11 (4) If a clerk of the court estimates that available funds
12 plus projected revenues from fines, fees, service charges, and
13 costs for court-related services are insufficient to meet the
14 anticipated expenditures for the standard list of court-related
15 functions in s. 28.35(4)(a) performed by his or her office, the
16 clerk must report the revenue deficit to the Clerks of Court
17 Operations Corporation in the manner and form prescribed by the
18 corporation pursuant to contract with the Chief Financial
19 Officer. The corporation shall verify that the proposed budget
20 is limited to the standard list of court-related functions in s.
21 28.35(4)(a).
22 (a) If the corporation verifies that the proposed budget is
23 limited to the standard list of court-related functions in s.
24 28.35(4)(a) and a revenue deficit is projected, a clerk seeking
25 to retain revenues pursuant to this subsection shall increase
26 all fees, service charges, and any other court-related clerk
27 fees and charges to the maximum amounts specified by law or the
28 amount necessary to resolve the deficit, whichever is less. If,
29 after increasing fees, service charges, and any other court
30 related clerk fees and charges to the maximum amounts specified
31 by law, a revenue deficit is still projected, the corporation
32 shall, pursuant to the terms of the contract with the Chief
33 Financial Officer, certify a revenue deficit and notify the
34 Department of Revenue that the clerk is authorized to retain
35 revenues, in an amount necessary to fully fund the projected
36 revenue deficit, which he or she would otherwise be required to
37 remit to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
38 Department of Revenue Clerks of the Court Trust Fund pursuant to
39 s. 28.37. If a revenue deficit is projected for that clerk after
40 retaining all of the projected collections from the court
41 related fines, fees, service charges, and costs, the Department
42 of Revenue shall certify the amount of the revenue deficit
43 amount to the Executive Office of the Governor and request
44 release authority for funds appropriated for this purpose from
45 the Department of Revenue Clerks of the Court Trust Fund.
46 Notwithstanding provisions of s. 216.192 related to the release
47 of funds, the Executive Office of the Governor may approve the
48 release of funds appropriated to resolve projected revenue
49 deficits in accordance with the notice, review, and objection
50 procedures set forth in s. 216.177 and shall provide notice to
51 the Chief Financial Officer. The Department of Revenue is
52 directed to request monthly distributions from the Chief
53 Financial Officer in equal amounts to each clerk certified to
54 have a revenue deficit, in accordance with the releases approved
55 by the Governor.
56 (b) If the Chief Financial Officer finds the court-related
57 budget proposed by a clerk includes functions not included in
58 the standard list of court-related functions in s. 28.35(4)(a),
59 the Chief Financial Officer shall notify the clerk of the amount
60 of the proposed budget not eligible to be funded from fees,
61 service charges, costs, and fines for court-related functions
62 and shall identify appropriate corrective measures to ensure
63 budget integrity. The clerk shall then immediately discontinue
64 all ineligible expenditures of court-related funds for this
65 purpose and reimburse the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund for any
66 previously ineligible expenditures made for non-court-related
67 functions, and shall implement any corrective actions identified
68 by the Chief Financial Officer.
69 (b)1. Each clerk shall prepare his or her budget using
70 prior-year expenditures, unit costs, and the proposed budget
71 specified in these core services:
72 a. Case processing;
73 b. Financial processing;
74 c. Jury management; and
75 d. Information and reporting.
76 2. Central administrative costs shall be allocated among
77 the core-services categories. The unit cost for the core
78 services must be identified for each clerk in his or her budget
79 pursuant to instructions to be provided by the corporation.
80 (c) The corporation shall review each individual clerk’s
81 budget, prior-year expenditures, unit costs, and the proposed
82 budget for each of the core-services categories. The corporation
83 shall compare each clerk’s prior-year expenditures and unit
84 costs for core services with a peer group of clerk offices
85 having a population of a similar size and a similar number of
86 case filings. If the corporation finds that the expenditures,
87 unit costs, or budget of a clerk are significantly higher than
88 those of clerks in that clerk’s peer group, the corporation
89 shall require the clerk to submit documentation justifying the
90 difference in each core-services category. Justification for
91 higher expenditures may include, but need not be limited to,
92 collective bargaining agreements, county civil service
93 agreements, the cost of retirement programs, and the number and
94 distribution of courthouses served by the clerk. If the
95 expenditures and unit costs are not justified, the corporation
96 shall make a reduction in the funding for that core-services
97 category in the budget to an amount similar to the peer group of
98 clerks or to an amount that the corporation determines is
99 justified.
100 (d) The salaries provided to employees of a clerk of court
101 may be adjusted only by the average percentage increase or
102 decrease in the salaries of state career service employees for
103 the current state fiscal year. The corporation shall review
104 prior-year expenditures and proposed budgets to ensure that each
105 clerk of court complies with this paragraph. If the corporation
106 finds that a clerk violated this paragraph, the corporation
107 shall reduce the budget for a clerk violating this paragraph by
108 the amount of the unauthorized expenditure.
109 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
110
111 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
112 And the title is amended as follows:
113 Delete everything before the enacting clause
114 and insert:
115
116 A bill to be entitled
117 An act relating to the clerks of court; amending s.
118 28.36, F.S.; providing a procedure for preparing
119 budget for the court-related functions of clerks of
120 court; requiring a clerk of court to prepare a budget
121 based on specified core services; requiring the
122 corporation to compare a clerk’s expenditures and
123 costs with the clerk’s peer group; limiting salary
124 adjustments for employees of a clerk of court based on
125 salary adjustments for career service employees;
126 providing an effective date.