Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 420
       
       
        
       By Senator Bracy
       
       
       
       
       
       11-00267A-18                                           2018420__
    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 on
   13         commissions; requiring appointing authorities to
   14         collect and release certain demographic data regarding
   15         commission members and applicants to commissions;
   16         specifying circumstances under which a commission
   17         member may not vote on a matter and must disclose a
   18         conflict; requiring a commission member to complete an
   19         educational course after his or her appointment;
   20         prescribing minimum requirements for the course;
   21         providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Section 43.291, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   26  read:
   27         43.291 Judicial nominating commissions.—
   28         (1) Each judicial nominating commission is shall be
   29  composed of the following members:
   30         (a) Three Four members of The Florida Bar, appointed by the
   31  Board of Governors of The Florida Bar Governor, who are engaged
   32  in the practice of law, each of whom is a resident of the
   33  territorial jurisdiction served by the commission to which the
   34  member is appointed. The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar
   35  shall submit to the Governor three recommended nominees for each
   36  position. The Governor shall select the appointee from the list
   37  of nominees recommended for that position, but the Governor may
   38  reject all of the nominees recommended for a position and
   39  request that the Board of Governors submit a new list of three
   40  different recommended nominees for that position who have not
   41  been previously recommended by the Board of Governors.
   42         (b) Three Five members appointed by the Governor, each of
   43  whom is a resident of the territorial jurisdiction served by the
   44  commission to which the member is appointed, of which only at
   45  least two may be are members of The Florida Bar engaged in the
   46  practice of law.
   47         (c)Three members, each of whom is a resident of the
   48  territorial jurisdiction served by the commission to which the
   49  member is appointed, and who are not members of The Florida Bar
   50  and are not engaged in the practice of law, selected and
   51  appointed by a majority vote of the members of the commission
   52  appointed pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b).
   53  
   54  No more than five members of each commission may be of the same
   55  political party.
   56         (2) A member of a judicial nominating commission may not:
   57         (a) Serve as a member of more than one judicial nominating
   58  commission at the same time.
   59         (b) Serve as a member of the Judicial Qualifications
   60  Commission concurrent with a term of office on a judicial
   61  nominating commission.
   62         (c) Hold any elective or appointive state, federal, or
   63  other political office while serving on a judicial nominating
   64  commission.
   65         (d) Be appointed to any state judicial office for 2 years
   66  after his or her term on the judicial nominating commission
   67  expires justice or judge may not be a member of a judicial
   68  nominating commission. A member of a judicial nominating
   69  commission may hold public office other than judicial office. A
   70  member of a judicial nominating commission is not eligible for
   71  appointment, during his or her term of office and for a period
   72  of 2 years thereafter, to any state judicial office for which
   73  that commission has the authority to make nominations.
   74         (3) All acts of a judicial nominating commission must be
   75  made with a concurrence of a majority of its members.
   76         (4)(3)Effective July 1, 2018, the terms of all members of
   77  judicial nominating commissions are terminated. In order to
   78  achieve staggered terms, new members to judicial nominating
   79  commissions shall be initially appointed in the following
   80  manner:
   81         (a) One appointment for a term ending July 1, 2019, for
   82  each appointing authority listed under paragraphs (1)(a), (b),
   83  and (c).
   84         (b) One appointment for a term ending July 1, 2020, for
   85  each appointing authority listed under paragraphs (1)(a), (b),
   86  and (c).
   87         (c) One appointment for a term ending July 1, 2021, for
   88  each appointing authority listed under paragraphs (1)(a), (b),
   89  and (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
   90  each current member of a judicial nominating commission
   91  appointed directly by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar
   92  shall serve the remainder of his or her term, unless removed for
   93  cause. The terms of all other members of a judicial nominating
   94  commission are hereby terminated, and the Governor shall appoint
   95  new members to each judicial nominating commission in the
   96  following manner:
   97         (a) Two appointments for terms ending July 1, 2002, one of
   98  which shall be an appointment selected from nominations
   99  submitted by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar pursuant
  100  to paragraph (1)(a);
  101         (b) Two appointments for terms ending July 1, 2003; and
  102         (c) Two appointments for terms ending July 1, 2004.
  103  
  104  Every subsequent appointment, except an appointment to fill a
  105  vacant, unexpired term, shall be for 4 years. Each expired term
  106  or vacancy shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as
  107  the member whose position is being filled. A member of any
  108  judicial nominating commission may not serve more than two full
  109  terms, which does not include any balance remaining on an
  110  unexpired term if the initial appointment was to fill a vacancy.
  111         (5)(4) In making an appointment, the Governor, the Board of
  112  Governors of The Florida Bar, and members of the judicial
  113  nominating commissions shall seek to ensure that, to the extent
  114  possible, the membership of the commission reflects the racial,
  115  ethnic, and gender diversity as to ethnicity, race, disability,
  116  veteran status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and
  117  as well as the geographic distribution, of the population within
  118  the territorial jurisdiction of the court for which nominations
  119  will be considered. The Governor, the Board of Governors of The
  120  Florida Bar, and members of the judicial nominating commissions
  121  shall also consider the adequacy of representation of each
  122  county within the judicial circuit.
  123         (a)The Executive Office of the Governor shall collect and
  124  release annually, on an aggregate statewide and commission-level
  125  basis, the demographic data provided by all members of judicial
  126  nominating commissions and all applicants to a judicial
  127  nominating commission received by the Governor relative to
  128  ethnicity, race, disability, veteran status, gender, gender
  129  identity, and sexual orientation.
  130         (b)The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar shall collect
  131  and release annually, on an aggregate statewide and commission
  132  level basis, the demographic data provided by all members of
  133  judicial nominating commissions and all applicants to a judicial
  134  nominating commission received by the Board of Governors of The
  135  Florida Bar relative to ethnicity, race, disability, veteran
  136  status, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
  137         (c)The judicial nominating commissions shall collect and
  138  release annually, on a commission-level basis, the demographic
  139  data provided by all members of that judicial nominating
  140  commission and all applicants to a judicial nominating
  141  commission received by the members of the respective commission
  142  relative to ethnicity, race, disability, veteran status, gender,
  143  gender identity, and sexual orientation.
  144         (d) Demographic data of members of judicial nominating
  145  commissions and applicants shall be collected through anonymous
  146  surveys and released in the statistical aggregate.
  147         (6) A member may not vote on any matter in which he or she
  148  has a substantial personal or pecuniary interest. Any member who
  149  believes that his or her personal or business relationship to
  150  any applicant for a judicial vacancy might prevent the member
  151  from fairly and objectively considering the qualifications of
  152  that applicant, or might otherwise involve a conflict of
  153  interest or create the appearance thereof, shall disclose the
  154  circumstances of the actual or apparent conflict to the
  155  commission and shall recuse himself or herself from discussing
  156  or voting on the nomination of that applicant.
  157         (7)(5) A member of a judicial nominating commission may be
  158  suspended for cause by the Governor pursuant to uniform rules of
  159  procedure established by the Executive Office of the Governor
  160  consistent with s. 7 of Art. IV of the State Constitution.
  161         (8)(6) A quorum of the judicial nominating commission is
  162  necessary to take any action or transact any business. For
  163  purposes of this section, a quorum consists of a majority of
  164  commission members currently appointed.
  165         (9)Within the first 6 months of appointment, each member
  166  of a judicial nominating commission shall complete an
  167  educational course designed to familiarize a member with the
  168  rules of procedure of the judicial nominating commission to
  169  which the member is appointed. In addition, the educational
  170  course must include content on implicit bias in order to educate
  171  members about the science surrounding bias and how to develop a
  172  nominating process that is as free from bias as possible.
  173         (10)(7) The Executive Office of the Governor shall provide
  174  all administrative support for each judicial nominating
  175  commission.
  176         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.