Senate Bill sb0304
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 304
By Senator Fasano
11-160-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the funding of public
3 guardianship programs; amending s. 318.18,
4 F.S.; authorizing a county to enact an
5 ordinance imposing a surcharge for a
6 noncriminal traffic infraction or violation to
7 fund a county's participation in the public
8 guardianship program; requiring approval of the
9 ordinance by a vote of the board of county
10 commissioners or by the electors of the county;
11 requiring the county to demonstrate that
12 available resources are insufficient to fund
13 the local public guardianship program;
14 prohibiting a court from waiving the surcharge;
15 creating s. 938.065, F.S.; directing each
16 county and circuit court to assess a surcharge
17 for any misdemeanor offense; requiring that the
18 clerk of the court collect and forward the
19 assessed surcharges, less a service charge, for
20 deposit into the General Revenue Fund;
21 requiring that all funds collected be used
22 exclusively to fund public guardianship
23 programs in this state; reenacting s. 318.121,
24 F.S., relating to the preemption of additional
25 fees, fines, and surcharges for civil traffic
26 penalties, to incorporate the amendments made
27 to s. 318.18, F.S., in a reference thereto;
28 providing an effective date.
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30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 304
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1 Section 1. Subsection (13) of section 318.18, Florida
2 Statutes, is amended to read:
3 318.18 Amount of civil penalties.--The penalties
4 required for a noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14
5 are as follows:
6 (13) In addition to any penalties imposed for
7 noncriminal traffic infractions under pursuant to this chapter
8 or imposed for criminal violations listed in s. 318.17 and
9 notwithstanding s. 318.121, a board of county commissioners or
10 any unit of local government which is consolidated as provided
11 by s. 9, Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1885, as
12 preserved by s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the Constitution of 1968:
13 (a) May impose by ordinance a surcharge of up to $15
14 for any infraction or violation to fund state court
15 facilities. The court may shall not waive this surcharge. Up
16 to 25 percent of the revenue from the such surcharge may be
17 used to support local law libraries provided that the county
18 or unit of local government provides a level of service equal
19 to that provided before prior to July 1, 2004, which shall
20 include the continuation of library facilities located in or
21 near the county courthouse or annexes.
22 (b) That imposed increased fees or service charges by
23 ordinance under s. 28.2401, s. 28.241, or s. 34.041 for the
24 purpose of securing payment of the principal and interest on
25 bonds issued by the county before July 1, 2003, to finance
26 state court facilities, may impose by ordinance a surcharge
27 for any infraction or violation for the exclusive purpose of
28 securing payment of the principal and interest on bonds issued
29 by the county before July 1, 2003, to fund state court
30 facilities until the date of stated maturity. The court may
31 shall not waive this surcharge. The Such surcharge may not
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 304
11-160-07
1 exceed an amount per violation calculated as the quotient of
2 the maximum annual payment of the principal and interest on
3 the bonds as of July 1, 2003, divided by the number of traffic
4 citations for county fiscal year 2002-2003 certified as paid
5 by the clerk of the court of the county. The Such quotient
6 shall be rounded up to the next highest dollar amount. The
7 bonds may be refunded only if savings will be realized on
8 payments of debt service and the refunding bonds are scheduled
9 to mature on the same date or before the bonds being refunded.
10 (c) May impose by ordinance an additional surcharge of
11 $15 for any infraction or violation to fund the participation
12 by the county in the public guardianship program authorized
13 under chapter 744. The ordinance to impose this surcharge must
14 be approved by a vote of two-thirds of the board of county
15 commissioners or approved by a majority of the electors of the
16 county voting in a referendum on the surcharge. Before
17 approving the ordinance imposing the surcharge, the county
18 commission must demonstrate that available resources are
19 insufficient to fund participation by the county in the public
20 guardianship program. If the surcharge is approved, a court
21 may not waive this surcharge.
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23 A county may not impose both of the surcharges authorized
24 under paragraphs (a) and (b) concurrently. The clerk of court
25 shall report, no later than 30 days after the end of the
26 quarter, the amount of funds collected under this subsection
27 during each quarter of the fiscal year. The clerk shall submit
28 the report, in a format developed by the Office of State
29 Courts Administrator, to the chief judge of the circuit, the
30 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
31 House of Representatives.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 304
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1 Section 2. Section 938.065, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 938.065 Surcharge for public guardianship programs.--
4 (1) In addition to any fine prescribed by law for any
5 misdemeanor offense, there is assessed as a court cost an
6 additional surcharge of $18 on each fine, which shall be
7 imposed by each county and circuit court and collected by the
8 clerk of the court, together with the fine.
9 (2) The clerk of the court shall collect and forward
10 each month to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
11 General Revenue Fund all surcharges assessed under this
12 section, less $3 per assessment as a service charge to be
13 retained by the clerk. The funds collected under this section
14 shall be used exclusively to fund public guardianship programs
15 in this state.
16 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the
17 amendments made by this act to section 318.18, Florida
18 Statutes, in a reference thereto, section 318.121, Florida
19 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
20 318.121 Preemption of additional fees, fines,
21 surcharges, and costs.--Notwithstanding any general or special
22 law, or municipal or county ordinance, additional fees, fines,
23 surcharges, or costs other than the court costs and surcharges
24 assessed under s. 318.18(11) and (13) may not be added to the
25 civil traffic penalties assessed in this chapter.
26 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Authorizes a county to enact an ordinance imposing a
surcharge for a noncriminal traffic infraction or
4 violation to fund a county's participation in the public
guardianship program. Requires the board of county
5 commissioners to approve the ordinance or a majority of
the electors of the county in a referendum on the
6 surcharge. Requires the county to demonstrate that
available resources are insufficient to fund the local
7 public guardianship program. Prohibits a court from
waiving the surcharge if the surcharge is approved.
8 Directs each county and circuit court to assess a
surcharge for any misdemeanor offense. Requires the clerk
9 of the court to collect and forward the assessed costs,
less a service charge, for deposit into the General
10 Revenue Fund. Requires that all funds collected be used
exclusively to fund public guardianship programs.
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