Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 138
       
       
        
       By Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       
       33-00474-19                                            2019138__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to judicial nominating commissions;
    3         amending s. 43.291, F.S.; revising the composition of
    4         judicial nominating commissions; establishing
    5         additional restrictions regarding commission members;
    6         terminating the terms of commission members as of a
    7         specified date; providing for initial appointments and
    8         staggered terms for the reconstituted commissions;
    9         prohibiting a commission member from serving more than
   10         two full terms; providing an exception; requiring
   11         appointing authorities to consider certain attributes
   12         in making appointments to ensure diversity; requiring
   13         appointing authorities to collect and release certain
   14         demographic data regarding commission members and
   15         applicants for commission membership; requiring that
   16         such demographic data be collected through anonymous
   17         surveys and released in the statistical aggregate;
   18         specifying circumstances under which a commission
   19         member may not vote on a matter and must disclose a
   20         conflict; requiring a commission member to complete an
   21         educational course after his or her appointment;
   22         prescribing minimum requirements for the course;
   23         providing an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 43.291, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   28  read:
   29         43.291 Judicial nominating commissions.—
   30         (1) Each judicial nominating commission is shall be
   31  composed of the following members:
   32         (a) Three Four members of The Florida Bar, appointed by the
   33  Board of Governors of The Florida Bar Governor, who are engaged
   34  in the practice of law, each of whom must be engaged in the
   35  practice of law and be is a resident of the territorial
   36  jurisdiction served by the commission to which the member is
   37  appointed. The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar shall
   38  submit to the Governor three recommended nominees for each
   39  position. The Governor shall select the appointee from the list
   40  of nominees recommended for that position, but the Governor may
   41  reject all of the nominees recommended for a position and
   42  request that the Board of Governors submit a new list of three
   43  different recommended nominees for that position who have not
   44  been previously recommended by the Board of Governors.
   45         (b) Three Five members appointed by the Governor, each of
   46  whom is a resident of the territorial jurisdiction served by the
   47  commission to which the member is appointed, of which only at
   48  least two may be are members of The Florida Bar engaged in the
   49  practice of law.
   50         (c)Three members, each of whom is a resident of the
   51  territorial jurisdiction served by the commission to which the
   52  member is appointed, who are not members of The Florida Bar and
   53  are not engaged in the practice of law, selected and appointed
   54  by a majority vote of the members of the commission appointed
   55  pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b).
   56  
   57  No more than five members of each commission may be of the same
   58  political party.
   59         (2) A member of a judicial nominating commission may not:
   60         (a)Concurrently serve as a member of more than one
   61  judicial nominating commission.
   62         (b)Concurrently serve as a member of the Judicial
   63  Qualifications Commission and a term of office on a judicial
   64  nominating commission.
   65         (c)Concurrently hold any elective or appointive state,
   66  federal, or other political office and serve on a judicial
   67  nominating commission.
   68         (d) Be appointed to any state judicial office within 2
   69  years after his or her term on the judicial nominating
   70  commission expires justice or judge may not be a member of a
   71  judicial nominating commission. A member of a judicial
   72  nominating commission may hold public office other than judicial
   73  office. A member of a judicial nominating commission is not
   74  eligible for appointment, during his or her term of office and
   75  for a period of 2 years thereafter, to any state judicial office
   76  for which that commission has the authority to make nominations.
   77         (3) All acts of a judicial nominating commission must be
   78  made with a concurrence of a majority of its members.
   79         (4)(3)Effective July 1, 2019, the terms of all members of
   80  judicial nominating commissions are terminated. In order to
   81  achieve staggered terms, new members to judicial nominating
   82  commissions must be initially appointed in the following manner:
   83         (a) One appointment for a term ending July 1, 2020, for
   84  each appointing authority specified in paragraphs (1)(a), (b),
   85  and (c).
   86         (b) One appointment for a term ending July 1, 2021, for
   87  each appointing authority specified in paragraphs (1)(a), (b),
   88  and (c).
   89         (c) One appointment for a term ending July 1, 2022, for
   90  each appointing authority specified in paragraphs (1)(a), (b),
   91  and (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
   92  each current member of a judicial nominating commission
   93  appointed directly by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar
   94  shall serve the remainder of his or her term, unless removed for
   95  cause. The terms of all other members of a judicial nominating
   96  commission are hereby terminated, and the Governor shall appoint
   97  new members to each judicial nominating commission in the
   98  following manner:
   99         (a) Two appointments for terms ending July 1, 2002, one of
  100  which shall be an appointment selected from nominations
  101  submitted by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar pursuant
  102  to paragraph (1)(a);
  103         (b) Two appointments for terms ending July 1, 2003; and
  104         (c) Two appointments for terms ending July 1, 2004.
  105  
  106  Every subsequent appointment, except an appointment to fill a
  107  vacant, unexpired term, shall be for 4 years. Each expired term
  108  or vacancy shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as
  109  the member whose position is being filled. A member of any
  110  judicial nominating commission may not serve more than two full
  111  terms, which does not include any balance remaining on an
  112  unexpired term if the initial appointment was to fill a vacancy.
  113         (5)(4) In making an appointment, the Governor, the Board of
  114  Governors of The Florida Bar, and members of the judicial
  115  nominating commissions shall seek to ensure that, to the extent
  116  possible, the membership of the commission reflects the racial,
  117  ethnic, and gender diversity as to ethnicity, race, disability,
  118  veteran status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and
  119  as well as the geographic distribution, of the population within
  120  the territorial jurisdiction of the court for which nominations
  121  will be considered. The Governor, the Board of Governors of The
  122  Florida Bar, and members of the judicial nominating commissions
  123  shall also consider the adequacy of representation of each
  124  county within the judicial circuit.
  125         (a)The Executive Office of the Governor shall collect and
  126  release annually, on an aggregate statewide and commission-level
  127  basis, the demographic data provided by all members of judicial
  128  nominating commissions and all applicants for membership on a
  129  judicial nominating commission received by the Governor relative
  130  to ethnicity, race, disability, veteran status, gender, gender
  131  identity, and sexual orientation.
  132         (b)The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar shall collect
  133  and release annually, on an aggregate statewide and commission
  134  level basis, the demographic data provided by all members of
  135  judicial nominating commissions and all applicants for
  136  membership on a judicial nominating commission received by the
  137  Board of Governors of The Florida Bar relative to ethnicity,
  138  race, disability, veteran status, gender, gender identity, and
  139  sexual orientation.
  140         (c)The judicial nominating commissions shall collect and
  141  release annually, on a commission-level basis, the demographic
  142  data provided by all members of that judicial nominating
  143  commission and all applicants for membership on a judicial
  144  nominating commission received by the members of the respective
  145  commission relative to ethnicity, race, disability, veteran
  146  status, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
  147         (d) Demographic data of members of judicial nominating
  148  commissions and applicants must be collected through anonymous
  149  surveys and released in the statistical aggregate.
  150         (6) A member may not vote on any matter in which he or she
  151  has a substantial personal or pecuniary interest. Any member who
  152  believes that his or her personal or business relationship to
  153  any applicant for a judicial vacancy might prevent the member
  154  from fairly and objectively considering the qualifications of
  155  that applicant, or might otherwise involve a conflict of
  156  interest or create the appearance thereof, shall disclose the
  157  circumstances of the actual or apparent conflict to the
  158  commission and shall recuse himself or herself from discussing
  159  or voting on the nomination of that applicant.
  160         (7)(5) A member of a judicial nominating commission may be
  161  suspended for cause by the Governor pursuant to uniform rules of
  162  procedure established by the Executive Office of the Governor
  163  consistent with s. 7 of Art. IV of the State Constitution.
  164         (8)(6) A quorum of the judicial nominating commission is
  165  necessary to take any action or transact any business. For
  166  purposes of this section, a quorum consists of a majority of
  167  commission members currently appointed.
  168         (9)Within the first 6 months after his or her appointment,
  169  each member of a judicial nominating commission shall complete
  170  an educational course designed to familiarize members with the
  171  rules of procedure of the judicial nominating commission to
  172  which they are appointed. In addition, the educational course
  173  must include content on implicit bias in order to educate
  174  members on the science surrounding bias and how to develop a
  175  nominating process that is as free from bias as possible.
  176         (10)(7) The Executive Office of the Governor shall provide
  177  all administrative support for each judicial nominating
  178  commission.
  179         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.