Florida Senate - 2018                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/HB 7061, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì719884YÎ719884                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: WD/2R          .                                
             03/08/2018 12:21 PM       .                                
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       Senator Passidomo moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (136072) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 346 - 435
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 7. Effective upon this act becoming a law,
    7  subsection (1) of section 34.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    8  read:
    9         34.01 Jurisdiction of county court.—
   10         (1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:
   11         (a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit
   12  courts.;
   13         (b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances.;
   14         (c)1. Of all actions at law in which the matter in
   15  controversy does not exceed the sum of $15,000, exclusive of
   16  interest, costs, and attorney attorney’s fees, except those
   17  within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit courts.; and
   18         2. Of all actions at law filed on or after January 1, 2020,
   19  in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum of
   20  $20,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney fees, except
   21  those within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit courts.
   22  
   23  By December 1, 2018, the State Courts Administrator shall make
   24  recommendations regarding the potential adjustment of county
   25  court jurisdiction to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
   26  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
   27  recommendation must include an analysis on workflow, timely
   28  access to court by litigants, and any resulting fiscal impact to
   29  the state as a result of adjusted jurisdictional limits.
   30         (d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations
   31  as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with
   32  jurisdiction of the circuit courts.
   33         Section 8. Subsections (9), (12), (17), and (28) of section
   34  34.022, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   35         34.022 Number of county court judges for each county.—The
   36  number of county court judges in each county shall be as
   37  follows:
   38  
   39  COUNTY                                                     TOTAL
   40         (9) Citrus............................................2 1
   41         (12) Columbia.........................................2 1
   42         (17) Flagler..........................................2 1
   43         (28) Hillsborough...................................19 17
   44         Section 9. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of
   45  section 34.041, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (e)
   46  is added to that subsection, to read:
   47         34.041 Filing fees.—
   48         (1)(a) Filing fees are due at the time a party files a
   49  pleading to initiate a proceeding or files a pleading for
   50  relief. Reopen fees are due at the time a party files a pleading
   51  to reopen a proceeding if at least 90 days have elapsed since
   52  the filing of a final order or final judgment with the clerk. If
   53  a fee is not paid upon the filing of the pleading as required
   54  under this section, the clerk shall pursue collection of the fee
   55  pursuant to s. 28.246. Upon the institution of any civil action,
   56  suit, or proceeding in county court, the party shall pay the
   57  following filing fee, not to exceed:
   58         1. For all claims less than $100.....................$50.
   59         2. For all claims of $100 or more but not more than
   60  $500........................................................$75.
   61         3. For all claims of more than $500 but not more than
   62  $2,500.....................................................$170.
   63         4. For all claims of more than $2,500 but not more than
   64  $20,000....................................................$295.
   65         5. For all claims of more than $20,000	$395.
   66  
   67  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   68  And the title is amended as follows:
   69         Delete lines 587 - 594
   70  and insert:
   71         34.01, F.S.; increasing the limit of the amount in
   72         controversy in certain actions at law, filed on or
   73         after a certain date, under which the county court has
   74         original jurisdiction; requiring the State Courts
   75         Administrator to make certain recommendations to the
   76         Governor and Legislature by a specified date;