Senate Bill sb2726

    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2726

    By Senator Rich





    34-1565-06                                              See HB

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to court actions involving

  3         families; amending ss. 39.001, 61.001, and

  4         985.02, F.S.; providing additional purposes

  5         relating to implementing a unified family court

  6         program in the circuit courts; providing

  7         legislative intent; providing an effective

  8         date.

  9  

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

11  

12         Section 1.  Paragraph (n) is added to subsection (1) of

13  section 39.001, Florida Statutes, to read:

14         39.001  Purposes and intent; personnel standards and

15  screening.--

16         (1)  PURPOSES OF CHAPTER.--The purposes of this chapter

17  are:

18         (n)  To provide all children and families affected by

19  the legal process with a coordinated judicial system that

20  minimizes multiple actions and provides one decisionmaker for

21  each child or family and a coordinated approach in dealing

22  with the applicable issues of the child or family. It is the

23  intent of the Legislature to encourage the circuit courts of

24  this state to implement a unified family court program as

25  endorsed by the Florida Supreme Court and establish such a

26  unified family court by local rule or administrative order to

27  be submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for approval as

28  directed by the Florida Supreme Court. It is the intent of the

29  Legislature to improve the resolution of disputes within the

30  judicial system for children and families by promoting the

31  implementation of the Coordinated Management Model as

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2726
    34-1565-06                                              See HB




 1  established by the Florida Supreme Court and the concept of

 2  "one family, one judge" to coordinate multiple cases involving

 3  one family.

 4         Section 2.  Section 61.001, Florida Statutes, is

 5  amended to read:

 6         61.001  Purpose of chapter.--

 7         (1)  This chapter shall be liberally construed and

 8  applied.

 9         (2)  Its purposes are:

10         (a)  To preserve the integrity of marriage and to

11  safeguard meaningful family relationships;

12         (b)  To promote the amicable settlement of disputes

13  that arise between parties to a marriage; and

14         (c)  To mitigate the potential harm to the spouses and

15  their children caused by the process of legal dissolution of

16  marriage.

17         (d)  To provide all children and families affected by

18  the legal process with a coordinated judicial system that

19  minimizes multiple actions and provides one decisionmaker for

20  each child or family and a coordinated approach in dealing

21  with the applicable issues of the child or family. It is the

22  intent of the Legislature to encourage the circuit courts of

23  this state to implement a unified family court program as

24  endorsed by the Florida Supreme Court and establish such a

25  unified family court by local rule or administrative order to

26  be submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for approval as

27  directed by the Florida Supreme Court. It is the intent of the

28  Legislature to improve the resolution of disputes within the

29  judicial system for children and families by promoting the

30  implementation of the Coordinated Management Model as

31  established by the Florida Supreme Court and the concept of

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2726
    34-1565-06                                              See HB




 1  "one family, one judge" to coordinate multiple cases involving

 2  one family.

 3         Section 3.  Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (1) of

 4  section 985.02, Florida Statutes, to read:

 5         985.02  Legislative intent for the juvenile justice

 6  system.--

 7         (1)  GENERAL PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN.--It is a purpose

 8  of the Legislature that the children of this state be provided

 9  with the following protections:

10         (j)  To all children and their families affected by the

11  legal process, a coordinated judicial system that minimizes

12  multiple actions and provides one decisionmaker for each child

13  or family and a coordinated approach in dealing with the

14  applicable issues of the child or family. It is the intent of

15  the Legislature to encourage the circuit courts of this state

16  to implement a unified family court program as endorsed by the

17  Florida Supreme Court and establish such a unified family

18  court by local rule or administrative order to be submitted to

19  the Florida Supreme Court for approval as directed by the

20  Florida Supreme Court. It is the intent of the Legislature to

21  improve the resolution of disputes within the judicial system

22  for children and families by promoting the implementation of

23  the Coordinated Management Model as established by the Florida

24  Supreme Court and the concept of "one family, one judge" to

25  coordinate multiple cases involving one family.

26         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.