Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers announced March 3 the filing of legislation to provide a more stable revenue source for their court-related responsibilities.
Senate Bill 1130 Clerks of the Court is sponsored by state Sen. Travis Hutson, a Republican who represents District 7 in St. Johns, Flagler and part of Volusia counties; and House Bill 977 Clerks of Court is sponsored by state Rep. Adam Botana, a Republican who represents District 80 in Collier and Lee counties.
The bills aim to diversify revenue, support staffing needs and account for services without a dedicated funding source.
The Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation identified that clerks of court are operating with a $36.5 million funding gap between their needs-based budget and their current revenue-limited budget.
To close this year’s funding gap and begin addressing some long-standing issues, SB 1130 and HB 977 contain three main priorities:
Clerks’ current funding model relies on revenue sources that can fluctuate dramatically. Clerks retain only about half of the fines and fees they collect, with 46% distributed to general revenue and outside trust funds.