Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 666
       
       
        
       By Senator Bernard
       
       
       
       
       
       24-01274-26                                            2026666__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to performance reports of circuit and
    3         county court judges; providing a short title; creating
    4         s. 28.51, F.S.; requiring each clerk of the circuit
    5         court to prepare an annual performance report with
    6         specified information regarding each circuit and
    7         county court judge; defining the term “final
    8         disposition”; requiring such reports to be posted by a
    9         certain date on specified websites; requiring such
   10         reports to remain posted for a specified time period;
   11         authorizing judges to prepare a specified explanatory
   12         statement; requiring such statements to be posted with
   13         the relevant reports in certain circumstances;
   14         providing for a specified reporting period; providing
   15         an effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Judicial
   20  Efficiency and Transparency (JET) Act.”
   21         Section 2. Section 28.51, Florida Statutes, is created to
   22  read:
   23         28.51 Performance reports of circuit and county court
   24  judges.—
   25         (1) Each clerk of the circuit court shall prepare an annual
   26  performance report regarding the judicial efficiency of each
   27  circuit and county court judge in this state. The report shall
   28  detail the judicial activities during the preceding calendar
   29  year and contain, but need not be limited to, the following
   30  information, all of which shall be separated by court division:
   31         (a) The number of cases assigned to each judge.
   32         (b) The number of cases that have reached final
   33  disposition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “final
   34  disposition” means the rendering of a decision or a judgment by
   35  a judge in a judicial proceeding in which a case is finally
   36  determined by adjudication, dismissal, or other final
   37  disposition.
   38         (c) The clearance rate, stated as the total percentage of
   39  cases filed during each reporting period which were disposed of.
   40         (d) The average length of all active pending cases,
   41  measured as the number of days from filing until the end of each
   42  reporting period.
   43         (e) The number of civil cases assigned to each judge,
   44  except civil cases placed on inactive status, pending for 3
   45  years or more, measured from the filing of a complaint or other
   46  filing initiating a case until the end of each reporting period.
   47         (f) The average number of days, beginning on the date a
   48  hearing is scheduled and ending on the date the hearing is held,
   49  for each hearing held in each reporting period.
   50         (2) On or before April 1 of each year, each report shall be
   51  posted on the website of the clerk of the circuit court, as
   52  applicable, and on the website of each circuit and county court
   53  and shall remain posted for the duration of the tenure of the
   54  subject judge.
   55         (3) A judge may prepare an explanatory statement detailing
   56  the basis for any extenuating circumstance that the judge
   57  believes impacts the metrics reported pursuant to this section.
   58  Upon approval of the chief judge of each circuit, the
   59  explanatory statement shall be posted with the annual
   60  performance report pursuant to subsection (2).
   61         (4) The first reporting period required by this section
   62  shall be the 2028 calendar year.
   63         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.