Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 462
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì447100aÎ447100                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/12/2019           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Powell) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 60 - 62
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 2. The changes made by this act to s. 48.23,
    6  Florida Statutes, are intended to clarify existing law and shall
    7  apply to actions pending on the effective date of this act.
    8         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 48.021, Florida
    9  Statutes, is amended to read:
   10         48.021 Process; by whom served.—
   11         (1) All process shall be served by the sheriff of the
   12  county where the person to be served is found, except initial
   13  nonenforceable civil process, criminal witness subpoenas, and
   14  criminal summonses may be served by a special process server
   15  appointed by the sheriff as provided for in this section or by a
   16  certified process server as provided for in s. 48.27 ss. 48.25
   17  48.31. Civil witness subpoenas shall may be served by any person
   18  authorized by rules of civil procedure.
   19         Section 4. Subsections (2) and (5) and paragraph (a) of
   20  subsection (6) of section 48.031, Florida Statutes, are amended
   21  to read:
   22         48.031 Service of process generally; service of witness
   23  subpoenas.—
   24         (2)(a) Substituted Substitute service may be made on the
   25  spouse of the person to be served may be made at any place in a
   26  the county by an individual authorized under s. 48.021 or s.
   27  48.27 to serve process in that county, if the cause of action is
   28  not an adversarial adversary proceeding between the spouse and
   29  the person to be served, if the spouse requests such service or
   30  the spouse is also a party to the action, and if the spouse and
   31  person to be served reside are residing together in the same
   32  dwelling, regardless of whether such dwelling is located in the
   33  county where substituted service is made.
   34         (b) Substituted Substitute service may be made on an
   35  individual doing business as a sole proprietorship at his or her
   36  place of business, during regular business hours, by serving the
   37  person in charge of the business at the time of service if two
   38  attempts to serve the owner are have been made at the place of
   39  business.
   40         (5) A person serving process shall place, on the first page
   41  only of at least one of the processes served, the date and time
   42  of service, his or her initials or signature, and, if
   43  applicable, his or her identification number and initials for
   44  all service of process. The person serving process shall list on
   45  the return-of-service form all initial pleadings delivered and
   46  served along with the process. The person requesting service or
   47  the person authorized to serve the process shall file the
   48  return-of-service form with the court.
   49         (6)(a) If the only address for a person to be served which
   50  is discoverable through public records is a private mailbox, a
   51  virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite,
   52  substituted substitute service may be made by leaving a copy of
   53  the process with the person in charge of the private mailbox,
   54  virtual office, or executive office or mini suite, but only if
   55  the process server determines that the person to be served
   56  maintains a mailbox, a virtual office, or an executive office or
   57  mini suite at that location.
   58         Section 5. Subsection (4) of section 48.062, Florida
   59  Statutes, is amended to read:
   60         48.062 Service on a limited liability company.—
   61         (4) If the address provided for the registered agent,
   62  member, or manager is a residence, a or private mailbox, a
   63  virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite, service on
   64  the domestic or foreign limited liability company, domestic or
   65  foreign, may be made by serving the registered agent, member, or
   66  manager in accordance with s. 48.031.
   67         Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 48.194, Florida
   68  Statutes, is amended to read:
   69         48.194 Personal service outside state.—
   70         (1) Except as otherwise provided herein, service of process
   71  on persons outside of this state shall be made in the same
   72  manner as service within this state by any person officer
   73  authorized to serve process in the state where the person is
   74  served. No order of court is required. A An affidavit of the
   75  officer shall be filed, stating the time, manner, and place of
   76  service. The court may consider the return-of-service form
   77  described in s. 48.21 affidavit, or any other competent
   78  evidence, in determining whether service has been properly made.
   79  Service of process on persons outside the United States may be
   80  required to conform to the provisions of the Hague Convention on
   81  the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in
   82  Civil or Commercial Matters.
   83         Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 48.21, Florida
   84  Statutes, is amended to read:
   85         48.21 Return of execution of process.—
   86         (1) Each person who effects service of process shall note
   87  on a return-of-service form attached thereto, the date and time
   88  when it comes to hand, the date and time when it is served, the
   89  manner of service, the name of the person on whom it was served,
   90  and, if the person is served in a representative capacity, the
   91  position occupied by the person. The return-of-service form must
   92  list all pleadings served and be signed by the person who
   93  effects the service of process. However, a person who is
   94  authorized under this chapter to serve process and employed by a
   95  sheriff who effects such the service of process may sign the
   96  return-of-service form using an electronic signature certified
   97  by the sheriff.
   98  
   99  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  100  And the title is amended as follows:
  101         Delete lines 2 - 9
  102  and insert:
  103         An act relating to judicial process; amending s.
  104         48.23, F.S.; providing that a person who acquires for
  105         value a lien on property during the course of
  106         specified legal actions takes such lien free of claims
  107         in certain circumstances; specifying the effect of a
  108         valid, recorded notice of lis pendens in certain
  109         circumstances involving a judicial sale; providing
  110         applicability; amending s. 48.021, F.S.; revising
  111         authority of special process servers; revising a
  112         cross-reference; requiring that civil witness
  113         subpoenas be served by certain persons; amending s.
  114         48.031, F.S.; revising requirements for substituted
  115         service on the spouse of the person to be served;
  116         revising requirements for documenting service of
  117         process; conforming terminology; amending s. 48.062,
  118         F.S.; revising requirements for service on limited
  119         liability companies; amending s. 48.194, F.S.;
  120         revising provisions specifying who may serve process
  121         outside of the state; revising requirements for
  122         documenting that service has been properly made
  123         outside the state; amending s. 48.21, F.S.; revising
  124         requirements for return-of-service forms; authorizing
  125         certain persons to electronically sign return-of
  126         service forms; providing an effective date.