Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 788
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì895102uÎ895102                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/02/2014           .                                
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       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 40.32, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         40.32 Clerks to disburse money; payments to jurors and
    8  witnesses.—
    9         (3) Jurors and witnesses shall be paid by the clerk of the
   10  court either in cash, by check, or by warrant within 20 days
   11  after completion of jury service or of completion of service as
   12  a witness.
   13         (a) If Whenever the clerk of the court pays a juror or
   14  witness by cash, the juror or witness shall sign the payroll in
   15  the presence of the clerk, a deputy clerk, or some other person
   16  designated by the clerk.
   17         (b) If Whenever the clerk pays a juror or witness by
   18  warrant, he or she shall endorse on the payroll opposite the
   19  juror’s or witness’s name the words “Paid by warrant,” giving
   20  the number and date of the warrant.
   21         Section 2. Section 77.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   22  read:
   23         77.27 No appeal until fees are paid.—If the writ is
   24  dismissed or plaintiff fails to sustain his or her claim, an no
   25  appeal from the judgment is not shall be permitted until the
   26  attorney attorney’s fee provided in s. 77.28 has been paid into
   27  court.
   28         Section 3. Section 77.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   29  read:
   30         77.28 Garnishment; attorney attorney’s fees, costs,
   31  expenses; deposit required.—Before issuance of any writ of
   32  garnishment, the party applying for it shall pay deposit $100 in
   33  the registry of the court which shall be paid to the garnishee
   34  on the garnishee’s demand at any time after the service of the
   35  writ for the payment or part payment of his or her attorney
   36  attorney’s fee which the garnishee expends or agrees to expend
   37  in obtaining representation in response to the writ. At the time
   38  of deposit, the clerk shall collect the statutory fee provided
   39  by s. 28.24(10) in addition to the $100 deposited into the
   40  registry of the court. On rendering final judgment, the court
   41  shall determine the garnishee’s costs and expenses, including a
   42  reasonable attorney attorney’s fee, and in the event of a
   43  judgment in favor of the plaintiff, the amount is shall be
   44  subject to offset by the garnishee against the defendant whose
   45  property or debt owing is being garnished. In addition, the
   46  court shall tax the garnishee’s costs and expenses as costs. The
   47  plaintiff may recover in this manner the sum advanced by him or
   48  her plaintiff and paid into registry of court, and, if the
   49  amount allowed by the court is greater than the amount paid of
   50  the deposit, together with any offset, judgment for the
   51  garnishee shall be entered against the party against whom the
   52  costs are taxed for the deficiency.
   53         Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 197.432, Florida
   54  Statutes, is amended to read:
   55         197.432 Sale of tax certificates for unpaid taxes.—
   56         (4) A tax certificate representing less than $250 in
   57  delinquent taxes on property that has been granted a homestead
   58  exemption for the year in which the delinquent taxes were
   59  assessed may not be sold at public auction or by electronic sale
   60  as provided in subsection (1) but must be issued by the tax
   61  collector to the county at the maximum rate of interest allowed.
   62  Section The provisions of s. 197.4725 or s. 197.502(3) may not
   63  be invoked if the homestead exemption is granted to the person
   64  who received the homestead exemption for the year in which the
   65  tax certificate was issued unless any. However, if all such tax
   66  certificates and accrued interest represent an amount of $250 or
   67  more, s. 197.502(3) shall be used to determine whether the
   68  county must apply for a tax deed.
   69         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 197.472, Florida
   70  Statutes, is amended to read:
   71         197.472 Redemption of tax certificates.—
   72         (1) A Any person may redeem a tax certificate at any time
   73  after the certificate is issued and before a tax deed is issued
   74  unless full payment for a tax deed is made to the clerk of the
   75  court, including documentary stamps and recording fees or the
   76  property is placed on the list of lands available for sale. The
   77  person redeeming a tax certificate shall pay the tax collector
   78  the face amount plus all interest, costs, and charges.
   79         Section 6. Subsections (2) and (7) of section 197.502,
   80  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   81         197.502 Application for obtaining tax deed by holder of tax
   82  sale certificate; fees.—
   83         (2) A certificateholder, other than the county, who makes
   84  application for a tax deed shall pay the tax collector at the
   85  time of application all amounts required for redemption or
   86  purchase of all other outstanding tax certificates, plus
   87  interest, any omitted taxes, plus interest, any delinquent
   88  taxes, plus interest, and current taxes, if due, covering the
   89  property. In addition, the certificateholder shall pay the costs
   90  of resale, if applicable, and failure to pay such costs within
   91  30 days after notice from the clerk shall result in the clerk’s
   92  entering the land on a list entitled “lands available for
   93  taxes.”
   94         (7) On county-held or individually held certificates for
   95  which there are no bidders at the public sale and for which the
   96  certificateholder fails to timely pay costs of resale or fails
   97  to pay the amounts due for issuance of a tax deed within 30 days
   98  after the sale, the clerk shall enter the land on a list
   99  entitled “lands available for taxes” and shall immediately
  100  notify the county commission and all other persons holding
  101  certificates against the property that the property is
  102  available. During the first 90 days after the property is placed
  103  on the list, the county may purchase the land for the opening
  104  bid or may waive its rights to purchase the property.
  105  Thereafter, any person, the county, or any other governmental
  106  unit may purchase the property from the clerk, without further
  107  notice or advertising, for the opening bid, except that if the
  108  county or other governmental unit is the purchaser for its own
  109  use, the board of county commissioners may cancel omitted years’
  110  taxes, as provided under s. 197.447. If the county does not
  111  elect to purchase the property, the county must notify each
  112  legal titleholder of property contiguous to the property
  113  available for taxes, as provided in paragraph (4)(h), before
  114  expiration of the 90-day period. Interest on the opening bid
  115  continues to accrue through the month of sale as prescribed by
  116  s. 197.542.
  117         Section 7. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 197.542,
  118  Florida Statues, are amended to read:
  119         197.542 Sale at public auction.—
  120         (1) Real property advertised for sale to the highest bidder
  121  as a result of an application filed under s. 197.502 shall be
  122  sold at public auction by the clerk of the circuit court, or his
  123  or her deputy, of the county where the property is located on
  124  the date, at the time, and at the location as set forth in the
  125  published notice, which must be during the regular hours the
  126  clerk’s office is open. The amount required to redeem the tax
  127  certificate, plus the amounts paid by the holder to the clerk in
  128  charges for costs of sale, redemption of other tax certificates
  129  on the same property, and all other costs to the applicant for
  130  tax deed, plus interest at the rate of 1.5 percent per month for
  131  the period running from the month after the date of application
  132  for the deed through the month of sale and costs incurred for
  133  the service of notice provided for in s. 197.522(2), shall be
  134  the bid of the certificateholder for the property. If tax
  135  certificates exist or if delinquent taxes accrued subsequent to
  136  the filing of the tax deed application, the amount required to
  137  redeem such tax certificates or pay such delinquent taxes must
  138  be included in the minimum bid. However, if the land to be sold
  139  is assessed on the latest tax roll as homestead property, the
  140  bid of the certificateholder must be increased to include an
  141  amount equal to one-half of the assessed value of the homestead
  142  property as required by s. 197.502. If there are no higher bids,
  143  the property shall be struck off and sold to the
  144  certificateholder, who shall pay to the clerk any amounts
  145  included in the minimum bid not already paid, including, but not
  146  limited to, the documentary stamp tax, the and recording fees,
  147  and, if the property is homestead property, the moneys to cover
  148  the one-half value of the homestead within 30 days after the
  149  sale due. Upon payment, a tax deed shall be issued and recorded
  150  by the clerk. If the certificateholder fails to make full
  151  payment when due, the clerk shall enter the land on a list
  152  entitled “lands available for taxes.”
  153         (3) If the sale is canceled for any reason, or the buyer
  154  fails to make full payment within the time required, the clerk
  155  shall immediately readvertise the sale to be held within 30 days
  156  after the buyer’s nonpayment or, if canceled, within 30 days
  157  after the clerk receives the costs of resale. The sale shall be
  158  held within 30 days after readvertising after the date the sale
  159  was canceled. Only one advertisement is necessary. The amount of
  160  the opening bid shall be increased by the cost of advertising,
  161  additional clerk’s fees as provided for in s. 28.24(21), and
  162  interest as provided for in subsection (1). If, at the
  163  subsequent sale, there are no bidders at the tax deed sale and
  164  the certificateholder fails to pay the moneys due within 30 days
  165  after the sale, the clerk may not readvertise the sale and shall
  166  place the property on a list entitled “lands available for
  167  taxes.” This process must be repeated until the property is sold
  168  and the clerk receives full payment or the clerk does not
  169  receive any bids other than the bid of the certificateholder.
  170  The clerk must receive full payment before the issuance of the
  171  tax deed.
  172         Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 197.582, Florida
  173  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is added to that
  174  section, to read:
  175         197.582 Disbursement of proceeds of sale.—
  176         (2) If the property is purchased for an amount in excess of
  177  the statutory bid of the certificateholder, the excess must be
  178  paid over and disbursed by the clerk. If the property purchased
  179  is homestead property and the statutory bid includes an amount
  180  equal to at least one-half of the assessed value of the
  181  homestead, that amount must be treated as excess and distributed
  182  in the same manner. The clerk shall distribute the excess to the
  183  governmental units for the payment of any lien of record held by
  184  a governmental unit against the property, including any tax
  185  certificates not incorporated in the tax deed application and
  186  omitted taxes, if any. If the excess is not sufficient to pay
  187  all of such liens in full, the excess shall be paid to each
  188  governmental unit pro rata. If, after all liens of governmental
  189  units are paid in full, there remains a balance of undistributed
  190  funds, the balance shall be retained by the clerk for the
  191  benefit of persons described in s. 197.522(1)(a), except those
  192  persons described in s. 197.502(4)(h), as their interests may
  193  appear. The clerk shall mail notices to such persons notifying
  194  them of the funds held for their benefit. Such notice
  195  constitutes compliance with the requirements of s. 717.117(4).
  196  Any service charges, at the rate prescribed in s. 28.24(10), and
  197  costs of mailing notices shall be paid out of the excess balance
  198  held by the clerk. Excess proceeds shall be held and disbursed
  199  in the same manner as unclaimed redemption moneys in s. 197.473.
  200  For purposes of identifying unclaimed property pursuant to s.
  201  717.113, excess proceeds shall be presumed payable or
  202  distributable on the date the notice is sent. If excess proceeds
  203  are not sufficient to cover the service charges and mailing
  204  costs, the clerk shall receive the total amount of excess
  205  proceeds as a service charge.
  206         (3)If unresolved claims against the property exist on the
  207  date the property is purchased, the clerk shall ensure that the
  208  excess funds are paid according to the priorities of the claims.
  209  If a lien appears to be entitled to priority and the lienholder
  210  has not made a claim against the excess funds, payment may not
  211  be made on any lien that is junior in priority. If potentially
  212  conflicting claims to the funds exist, the clerk may initiate an
  213  interpleader action against the lienholders involved, and the
  214  court shall determine the proper distribution of the
  215  interpleaded funds. The clerk may move the court for an award of
  216  reasonable fees and costs from the interpleaded funds.
  217         Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.
  218  
  219  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  220  And the title is amended as follows:
  221         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  222  and insert:
  223                        A bill to be entitled                      
  224         An act relating to clerks of court; amending s. 40.32,
  225         F.S.; authorizing jurors and witnesses to be paid by
  226         check; amending s. 77.27, F.S.; conforming a provision
  227         to changes made by the act; amending s. 77.28, F.S.;
  228         requiring a party applying for garnishment to pay a
  229         deposit to the garnishee, rather than in the registry
  230         of the court; deleting a provision that requires the
  231         clerk to collect a specified fee; amending s. 197.432,
  232         F.S.; providing requirements for the sale of tax
  233         certificates; amending s. 197.472, F.S.; revising
  234         requirements for the redemption of tax certificates;
  235         amending s. 197.502, F.S.; requiring the
  236         certificateholder to pay costs of resale within 30
  237         days under certain circumstances; providing
  238         circumstances under which land shall be placed on a
  239         specified list; deleting a provision relating to a
  240         notification procedure; amending s. 197.542, F.S.;
  241         requiring the certificateholder to pay a specified
  242         amount of the assessed value of the homestead under
  243         certain circumstances; providing circumstances under
  244         which land shall be placed on a specified list;
  245         amending s. 197.582, F.S; clarifying notice
  246         requirements; providing for excess proceeds relating
  247         to unclaimed property; requiring the clerk to ensure
  248         that excess funds are paid according to specified
  249         priorities; providing for interpleader actions and the
  250         award of reasonable fees and costs; providing an
  251         effective date.