Florida Senate - 2011                                    SB 2116
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Budget
       
       
       
       
       576-03556-11                                          20112116__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the state judicial system; creating
    3         the Judicial Caseload Incentive Plan; prescribing the
    4         purpose of the plan; providing for performance goals
    5         for each judicial circuit; authorizing financial
    6         awards to certain judges based on the performance of
    7         the circuit in meeting the goals; amending s. 27.511,
    8         F.S.; authorizing each office of criminal conflict and
    9         civil regional counsel to create a direct-support
   10         organization; prescribing requirements related to the
   11         creation and operation of the direct-support
   12         organization; amending s. 27.5304, F.S.; authorizing
   13         the Office of the State Courts Administrator to pay
   14         private court-appointed counsel if a court orders
   15         payment above specified flat-fee amounts; providing
   16         for a portion of such payments to be paid from funds
   17         appropriated to the office for that purpose; amending
   18         s. 318.18, F.S.; requiring the clerk of court and the
   19         Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation to
   20         submit reports on local traffic assessments in an
   21         electronic format; providing an effective date.
   22  
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Judicial Caseload Incentive Plan.—
   26         (1) PURPOSE.—There is created the Judicial Caseload
   27  Incentive Plan, the purpose of which is to resolve civil
   28  disputes in a timely manner and reduce legal costs in the state
   29  courts system by allowing certain judges within each judicial
   30  circuit meeting the established performance goals to earn a
   31  nonrecurring award.
   32         (2)PERFORMANCE GOALS.—The Legislature shall prescribe
   33  annual performance goals in the General Appropriations Act for
   34  specified case types in each judicial circuit. The Office of the
   35  State Courts Administrator shall calculate the performance of a
   36  circuit toward meeting its performance goal using data collected
   37  from the clerks of court. The office shall divide the annual
   38  performance goals into equal quarterly goals.
   39         (3)AWARDS.
   40         (a)Based on data collected from the clerks of court, the
   41  Office of the State Courts Administrator shall collect data to
   42  determine if a circuit meets all of the performance goals for a
   43  quarter. The office:
   44         1. Shall evaluate performance relating to each goal
   45  separately; and
   46         2. May not consider performance data from prior quarters.
   47         (b)1. If the office determines that a circuit meets all of
   48  the performance goals for a quarter, each judge assigned the
   49  types of cases specified in the General Appropriations Act as
   50  part of the Judicial Caseload Incentive Plan shall receive an
   51  award for that quarter equal to $3,000. The office shall prorate
   52  the award of a judge who takes office during the quarter for
   53  which the circuit meets its quarterly goals or transfers into or
   54  out of the relevant divisions handling the types of cases
   55  specified in the Judicial Caseload Incentive Plan.
   56         2. A judge may not receive more than one full award per
   57  quarter.
   58         3. An award under this section is contingent upon the
   59  appropriation of, and shall be paid from, funds in the General
   60  Appropriations Act.
   61         (4)REPORTS.—Within 30 days after the end of each quarter,
   62  the Office of the State Courts Administrator shall report
   63  electronically to the chairs of the appropriations committees of
   64  the Senate and the House of Representatives the progress of each
   65  circuit in meeting performance goals for the quarter and the
   66  number and amount of awards provided.
   67         Section 2. Subsection (10) is added to section 27.511,
   68  Florida Statutes, to read:
   69         27.511 Offices of criminal conflict and civil regional
   70  counsel; legislative intent; qualifications; appointment;
   71  duties.—
   72         (10) Each office of criminal conflict and civil regional
   73  counsel may create a direct-support organization.
   74         (a) The direct-support organization must be registered in
   75  this state as a nonprofit corporation under chapter 617. The
   76  direct-support organization shall be exempt from the filing fees
   77  under s. 617.0122.
   78         (b) The direct-support organization shall be organized and
   79  operated to conduct programs and activities; raise funds;
   80  request and receive grants, gifts, and bequests of moneys;
   81  acquire, receive, hold, invest, and administer, in its own name,
   82  securities, funds, objects of value, or other property, real or
   83  personal; and make expenditures to or for the direct or indirect
   84  benefit of the office of criminal conflict and civil regional
   85  counsel.
   86         (c) The direct-support organization shall operate under a
   87  written contract with the regional counsel. The written contract
   88  must, at a minimum, provide for:
   89         1. Approval of the articles of incorporation and bylaws of
   90  the direct-support organization by the regional counsel.
   91         2. Submission of an annual budget for the approval by the
   92  regional counsel.
   93         3. The reversion without penalty to the office of criminal
   94  conflict and civil regional counsel, or to the state if the
   95  office ceases to exist, of all moneys and property held in trust
   96  by the direct-support organization for the office if the direct
   97  support organization ceases to exist or if the contract is
   98  terminated.
   99         4. The fiscal year of the direct-support organization,
  100  which must begin July 1 of each year and end June 30 of the
  101  following year.
  102         5. The disclosure of material provisions of the contract
  103  and the distinction between the regional counsel and the direct
  104  support organization to donors of gifts, contributions, or
  105  bequests, as well as on all promotional and fundraising
  106  publications.
  107         (d) If the regional counsel determines that the direct
  108  support organization is operating in a manner that is
  109  inconsistent with the goals and purposes of the office of
  110  criminal conflict and civil regional counsel or is not acting in
  111  the best interest of the state, the regional counsel may
  112  terminate the contract, and thereafter the organization may not
  113  use the name of the office.
  114         (e) The regional counsel shall appoint a board of directors
  115  for the direct-support organization. The regional counsel may
  116  designate employees of the office of criminal conflict and civil
  117  regional counsel to serve on the board of directors. Members of
  118  the board shall serve at the pleasure of the regional counsel.
  119         (f) The regional counsel:
  120         1. May authorize the use of facilities and property other
  121  than money which are owned by the office of criminal conflict
  122  and civil regional counsel to be used by the direct-support
  123  organization.
  124         2. May authorize the use of personnel services provided by
  125  employees of the office.
  126         3. May prescribe the conditions by which the direct-support
  127  organization may use property, facilities, or personnel services
  128  of the office.
  129         4. May not authorize the use of property, facilities, or
  130  personnel services of the direct-support organization if the
  131  organization does not provide equal employment opportunities to
  132  all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, or
  133  national origin.
  134  
  135  For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “personnel
  136  services” includes full-time personnel and part-time personnel
  137  as well as payroll processing.
  138         (g) Moneys of the direct-support organization may be held
  139  in a depository account in the name of the direct-support
  140  organization which is separate from the accounts of the office,
  141  but which is subject to the provisions of the contract with the
  142  regional counsel.
  143         (h) The direct-support organization shall provide for an
  144  annual financial audit in accordance with s. 215.981.
  145         (i) The direct-support organization may not exercise any
  146  power under s. 617.0302(12) or (16). A state employee may not
  147  receive compensation from the direct-support organization for
  148  service on the board of directors or for services rendered to
  149  the direct-support organization.
  150         Section 3. Subsections (1) and (12) of section 27.5304,
  151  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  152         27.5304 Private court-appointed counsel; compensation.—
  153         (1) Private court-appointed counsel shall be compensated by
  154  the Justice Administrative Commission and the Office of the
  155  State Courts Administrator as provided in this section and the
  156  General Appropriations Act. The flat fees prescribed in this
  157  section are limitations on compensation. The specific flat fee
  158  amounts for compensation shall be established annually in the
  159  General Appropriations Act. The attorney also shall be
  160  reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses in accordance
  161  with s. 29.007. If the attorney is representing a defendant
  162  charged with more than one offense in the same case, the
  163  attorney shall be compensated at the rate provided for the most
  164  serious offense for which he or she represented the defendant.
  165  This section does not allow stacking of the fee limits
  166  established by this section.
  167         (12) The Legislature recognizes that on rare occasions an
  168  attorney may receive a case that requires extraordinary and
  169  unusual effort.
  170         (a) If counsel seeks compensation that exceeds the limits
  171  prescribed under this section and the General Appropriations
  172  Act, he or she must file a motion with the chief judge for an
  173  order approving payment of attorney’s fees in excess of these
  174  limits.
  175         1. Prior to filing the motion, the counsel shall deliver a
  176  copy of the intended billing, together with supporting
  177  affidavits and all other necessary documentation, to the Justice
  178  Administrative Commission.
  179         2. The Office of the State Courts Administrator Justice
  180  Administrative Commission shall review the billings, affidavit,
  181  and documentation for completeness and compliance with
  182  contractual and statutory requirements. If the State Courts
  183  Administrator Justice Administrative Commission objects to any
  184  portion of the proposed billing, the objection and reasons
  185  therefor shall be communicated in writing to the private court
  186  appointed counsel. The counsel may thereafter file his or her
  187  motion, which must specify whether the State Courts
  188  Administrator commission objects to any portion of the billing
  189  or the sufficiency of documentation, and shall attach the
  190  commission’s letter stating its objection.
  191         (b) Following receipt of the motion to exceed the fee
  192  limits, the chief judge or a designee shall hold an evidentiary
  193  hearing.
  194         1. At the hearing, the attorney seeking compensation must
  195  prove by competent and substantial evidence that the case
  196  required extraordinary and unusual efforts. The chief judge or
  197  designee shall consider criteria such as the number of
  198  witnesses, the complexity of the factual and legal issues, and
  199  the length of trial. The fact that a trial was conducted in a
  200  case does not, by itself, constitute competent substantial
  201  evidence of an extraordinary and unusual effort. In a criminal
  202  case, relief under this section may not be granted if the number
  203  of work hours does not exceed 75 or the number of the state’s
  204  witnesses deposed does not exceed 20.
  205         2. The chief judge or designee shall enter a written order
  206  detailing his or her findings and identifying the extraordinary
  207  nature of the time and efforts of the attorney in the case which
  208  warrant exceeding the flat fee established by this section and
  209  the General Appropriations Act.
  210         (c) A copy of the motion and attachments shall be served on
  211  the Justice Administrative Commission at least 5 business days
  212  prior to the date of a hearing. The Justice Administrative
  213  Commission shall have standing to appear before the court,
  214  including at the hearing under paragraph (b), to contest any
  215  motion for an order approving payment of attorney’s fees, costs,
  216  or related expenses and may participate in a hearing on the
  217  motion by use of telephonic or other communication equipment
  218  unless ordered otherwise. The Justice Administrative Commission
  219  may contract with other public or private entities or
  220  individuals to appear before the court for the purpose of
  221  contesting any motion for an order approving payment of
  222  attorney’s fees, costs, or related expenses. The fact that the
  223  Justice Administrative Commission has not objected to any
  224  portion of the billing or to the sufficiency of the
  225  documentation is not binding on the court.
  226         (c)(d) If the chief judge or designee finds that counsel
  227  has proved by competent and substantial evidence that the case
  228  required extraordinary and unusual efforts, the chief judge or
  229  designee shall order the compensation to be paid to the attorney
  230  at a percentage above the flat fee rate, depending on the extent
  231  of the unusual and extraordinary effort required. The percentage
  232  shall be only the rate necessary to ensure that the fees paid
  233  are not confiscatory under common law. The percentage may not
  234  exceed 200 percent of the established flat fee, absent a
  235  specific finding that 200 percent of the flat fee in the case
  236  would be confiscatory. If the chief judge or designee determines
  237  that 200 percent of the flat fee would be confiscatory, he or
  238  she shall order the amount of compensation using an hourly rate
  239  not to exceed $75 per hour for a noncapital case and $100 per
  240  hour for a capital case. However, the compensation calculated by
  241  using the hourly rate shall be only that amount necessary to
  242  ensure that the total fees paid are not confiscatory.
  243         (d)(e) Any order granting relief under this subsection must
  244  be attached to the final request for a payment submitted to the
  245  Office of the State Courts Administrator Justice Administrative
  246  Commission.
  247         (e)(f)The Justice Administrative Commission shall provide
  248  to the Office of the State Courts Administrator data concerning
  249  the number of cases approved for compensation in excess of the
  250  limitation and the amount of these awards by circuit and by
  251  judge. The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall report
  252  the number of cases paid and the amount paid per case by circuit
  253  data quarterly to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of
  254  the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
  255  Court, and the chief judge of each circuit.
  256         (f) The portion of compensation paid to private court
  257  appointed counsel under this subsection which exceeds the
  258  compensation limits prescribed elsewhere under this section and
  259  the General Appropriations Act shall be paid from funds
  260  appropriated to the Office of the State Courts Administrator for
  261  this purpose.
  262         Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of section
  263  318.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  264         318.18 Amount of penalties.—The penalties required for a
  265  noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal
  266  offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows:
  267         (13)
  268         (b) A county may impose a surcharge under subparagraph
  269  (a)1., subparagraph(a)2., or subparagraph(a)3., but may not
  270  impose more than one surcharge under this subsection. A county
  271  may elect to impose a different authorized surcharge but may not
  272  impose more than one surcharge at a time. The clerk of court
  273  shall report, no later than 30 days after the end of the
  274  quarter, the amount of funds collected under this subsection
  275  during each quarter of the fiscal year. The clerk shall submit
  276  the report, in an electronic a format developed by the Florida
  277  Clerks of Court Operations Corporation Office of State Courts
  278  Administrator, to the chief judge of the circuit and the Florida
  279  Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. The corporation shall
  280  submit the report in an electronic format to, the Governor, the
  281  President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
  282  Representatives, and the board of county commissioners.
  283         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.