| 1 | Representative Steinberg offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove everything after the resolving clause and insert: |
| 5 | That the following amendment to Section 14 of Article V of |
| 6 | the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to |
| 7 | the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next |
| 8 | general election: |
| 9 | ARTICLE V |
| 10 | JUDICIARY |
| 11 | SECTION 14. Funding.- |
| 12 | (a) All justices and judges shall be compensated only by |
| 13 | state salaries fixed by general law. Funding for the state |
| 14 | courts system, state attorneys' offices, public defenders' |
| 15 | offices, and court-appointed counsel, except as otherwise |
| 16 | provided in subsection (c), shall be provided from state |
| 17 | revenues appropriated by general law. |
| 18 | (b) All funding for the offices of the clerks of the |
| 19 | circuit and county courts performing court-related functions, |
| 20 | except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subsection |
| 21 | (c), shall be provided by adequate and appropriate filing fees |
| 22 | for judicial proceedings and service charges and costs for |
| 23 | performing court-related functions as required by general law. |
| 24 | Selected salaries, costs, and expenses of the state courts |
| 25 | system may be funded from appropriate filing fees for judicial |
| 26 | proceedings and service charges and costs for performing court- |
| 27 | related functions, as provided by general law. Where the |
| 28 | requirements of either the United States Constitution or the |
| 29 | Constitution of the State of Florida preclude the imposition of |
| 30 | filing fees for judicial proceedings and service charges and |
| 31 | costs for performing court-related functions sufficient to fund |
| 32 | the court-related functions of the offices of the clerks of the |
| 33 | circuit and county courts, the state shall provide, as |
| 34 | determined by the legislature, adequate and appropriate |
| 35 | supplemental funding from state revenues appropriated by general |
| 36 | law. |
| 37 | (c) No county or municipality, except as provided in this |
| 38 | subsection, shall be required to provide any funding for the |
| 39 | state courts system, state attorneys' offices, public defenders' |
| 40 | offices, court-appointed counsel or the offices of the clerks of |
| 41 | the circuit and county courts performing court-related |
| 42 | functions. Counties shall be required to fund the cost of |
| 43 | communications services, existing radio systems, existing multi- |
| 44 | agency criminal justice information systems, and the cost of |
| 45 | construction or lease, maintenance, utilities, and security of |
| 46 | facilities for the trial courts, public defenders' offices, |
| 47 | state attorneys' offices, and the offices of the clerks of the |
| 48 | circuit and county courts performing court-related functions. |
| 49 | Counties shall also pay reasonable and necessary salaries, |
| 50 | costs, and expenses of the state courts system to meet local |
| 51 | requirements as determined by general law. |
| 52 | (d) The judiciary shall have no power to fix |
| 53 | appropriations. |
| 54 | (e) Commencing with the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the total |
| 55 | appropriation of general revenue and State Courts Revenue Trust |
| 56 | Fund funds to the state courts system in a fiscal year shall |
| 57 | equal no less than 2.25 percent of the total general revenue |
| 58 | funds appropriated in the general appropriations act for that |
| 59 | fiscal year. Federal funds, grants, and funds received for the |
| 60 | benefit of agencies and subdivisions not included in the state |
| 61 | courts system shall not be included in the calculation of the |
| 62 | 2.25 percent. The funds allocated to the state courts system |
| 63 | shall not be reduced in any special appropriations act by an |
| 64 | amount greater than the percentage reduction taken to general |
| 65 | revenue funds in the act as compared to the general |
| 66 | appropriations act then in effect. The funding allocated to the |
| 67 | state courts system shall not be automatically reduced due to |
| 68 | declines in general revenue. For purposes of this subsection, |
| 69 | state courts system shall include the courts included in Section |
| 70 | 1 of this article, including their direct administrative and |
| 71 | support entities and the Judicial Qualifications Commission. |
| 72 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be |
| 73 | placed on the ballot: |
| 74 | CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT |
| 75 | ARTICLE V, SECTION 14 |
| 76 | STATE COURTS.-Proposing an amendment to the State |
| 77 | Constitution regarding the courts. State appropriations are made |
| 78 | annually by general law. Current law does not require any |
| 79 | specific level of funding for any agency or department. This |
| 80 | amendment requires that the courts, including their direct |
| 81 | administrative and support entities and the Judicial |
| 82 | Qualifications Commission, be appropriated a minimum of 2.25 |
| 83 | percent of general revenue and State Courts Revenue Trust Fund |
| 84 | funding beginning with the 2013-2014 fiscal year. |
| 85 |
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| 86 |
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| 87 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 88 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 89 | Remove the entire title and insert: |
| 90 | House Joint Resolution |
| 91 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 14 of |
| 92 | Article V of the State Constitution to require that a specified |
| 93 | minimum percentage of general revenue and State Courts Revenue |
| 94 | Trust Fund funds be appropriated to the state courts system. |