Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 328
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì928418?Î928418                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Brandes) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Substitute for Amendment (977268) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 357 - 398
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 34.01, Florida
    7  Statutes, is amended to read:
    8         34.01 Jurisdiction of county court.—
    9         (1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:
   10         (a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit
   11  courts.;
   12         (b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances.;
   13         (c)1. Of all actions at law filed on or before December 31,
   14  2019, in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum
   15  of $15,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney
   16  attorney’s fees, except those within the exclusive jurisdiction
   17  of the circuit courts.; and
   18         2. Of all actions at law filed on or after January 1, 2020,
   19  in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum of
   20  $30,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney fees,
   21  except:
   22         a. Actions within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit
   23  courts; and
   24         b. Actions relating to damages or losses covered by an
   25  insurance policy, including coverage disputes, in which the
   26  matter in controversy exceeds the sum of $25,000, exclusive of
   27  interest, costs, and attorney fees.
   28         3. Of all actions at law filed on or after January 1, 2022,
   29  in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum of
   30  $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney fees,
   31  except:
   32         a. Actions within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit
   33  courts; and
   34         b. Actions relating to damages or losses covered by an
   35  insurance policy, including coverage disputes, in which the
   36  matter in controversy exceeds the sum of $25,000, exclusive of
   37  interest, costs, and attorney fees.
   38  
   39  The limits in subparagraph 3. must be adjusted every 10 years
   40  after January 1, 2022, to reflect the rate of inflation or
   41  deflation as indicated in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
   42  Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as
   43  reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of
   44  Labor Statistics, or its successor. Such adjustments must be
   45  rounded to the nearest $5,000.
   46         (d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations
   47  as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with
   48  jurisdiction of the circuit courts.
   49  
   50  By March 1, 2021, the State Courts Administrator shall make
   51  recommendations regarding the adjustment of county court
   52  jurisdiction to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
   53  the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The recommendation
   54  must include an analysis of workflow, timely access to court by
   55  litigants, and any resulting fiscal impact to the state as a
   56  result of adjusted jurisdictional limits.
   57         Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 28.241, Florida
   58  Statutes, is amended to read:
   59         28.241 Filing fees for trial and appellate proceedings.—
   60         (2)(a) Upon the institution of any appellate proceeding
   61  from any lower court to the circuit court of any such county,
   62  including appeals filed by a county or municipality as provided
   63  in s. 34.041(5), or from the circuit court to an appellate court
   64  of the state, the clerk shall charge and collect from the party
   65  or parties instituting such appellate proceedings:
   66         1. A filing fee not to exceed $280 for filing a notice of
   67  appeal from the county court to the circuit court, excluding a
   68  civil case where the matter in controversy was more than
   69  $15,000. and,
   70         2. A filing fee not to exceed $400 for filing a notice of
   71  appeal from the county court to the circuit court for a civil
   72  case where the matter in controversy was more than $15,000. The
   73  clerk shall remit $250 of each filing fee collected under this
   74  subparagraph to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
   75  General Revenue Fund, and the clerk shall remit $50 of each
   76  filing fee to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
   77  State Courts Revenue Trust Fund to fund court operations as
   78  authorized in the General Appropriations Act. The clerk shall
   79  retain an accounting of each such remittance.
   80         3. In addition to the filing fee required under s. 25.241
   81  or s. 35.22, $100 for filing a notice of appeal from the circuit
   82  court to the district court of appeal or to the Supreme Court.
   83         (b) If the party is determined to be indigent, the clerk
   84  shall defer payment of the fee required by this subsection.
   85         Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 34.041, Florida
   86  Statutes, is amended to read:
   87         34.041 Filing fees.—
   88         (1)(a) Filing fees are due at the time a party files a
   89  pleading to initiate a proceeding or files a pleading for
   90  relief. Reopen fees are due at the time a party files a pleading
   91  to reopen a proceeding if at least 90 days have elapsed since
   92  the filing of a final order or final judgment with the clerk. If
   93  a fee is not paid upon the filing of the pleading as required
   94  under this section, the clerk shall pursue collection of the fee
   95  pursuant to s. 28.246. Upon the institution of any civil action,
   96  suit, or proceeding in county court, the party shall pay the
   97  following filing fee, not to exceed:
   98         1. For all claims less than $100.....................$50.
   99         2. For all claims of $100 or more but not more than
  100  $500........................................................$75.
  101         3. For all claims of more than $500 but not more than
  102  $2,500.....................................................$170.
  103         4. For all claims of more than $2,500 but not more than
  104  $15,000....................................................$295.
  105         5. For all claims more than $15,000.................$395.
  106         6.5. In addition, for all proceedings of garnishment,
  107  attachment, replevin, and distress..........................$85.
  108         7.6. Notwithstanding subparagraphs 3. and 6.5., for all
  109  claims of not more than $1,000 filed simultaneously with an
  110  action for replevin of property that is the subject of the
  111  claim......................................................$125.
  112         8.7. For removal of tenant action...................$180.
  113  
  114  The filing fee in subparagraph 7.6. is the total fee due under
  115  this paragraph for that type of filing, and no other filing fee
  116  under this paragraph may be assessed against such a filing.
  117         (b) The first $15 of the filing fee collected under
  118  subparagraph (a)4. and the first $10 of the filing fee collected
  119  under subparagraph (a)8.(a)7. shall be deposited in the State
  120  Courts Revenue Trust Fund. By the 10th day of each month, the
  121  clerk shall submit that portion of the fees collected in the
  122  previous month which is in excess of one-twelfth of the clerk’s
  123  total budget for the performance of court-related functions to
  124  the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Clerks of the
  125  Court Trust Fund. An additional filing fee of $4 shall be paid
  126  to the clerk. The clerk shall transfer $3.50 to the Department
  127  of Revenue for deposit into the Court Education Trust Fund and
  128  shall transfer 50 cents to the Department of Revenue for deposit
  129  into the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of
  130  Financial Services to fund clerk education provided by the
  131  Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. Postal charges
  132  incurred by the clerk of the county court in making service by
  133  mail on defendants or other parties shall be paid by the party
  134  at whose instance service is made. Except as provided in this
  135  section, filing fees and service charges for performing duties
  136  of the clerk relating to the county court shall be as provided
  137  in ss. 28.24 and 28.241. Except as otherwise provided in this
  138  section, all filing fees shall be retained as fee income of the
  139  office of the clerk of the circuit court. Filing fees imposed by
  140  this section may not be added to any penalty imposed by chapter
  141  316 or chapter 318.
  142         (c) A party in addition to a party described in paragraph
  143  (a) who files a pleading in an original civil action in the
  144  county court for affirmative relief by cross-claim,
  145  counterclaim, counterpetition, or third-party complaint, or who
  146  files a notice of cross-appeal or notice of joinder or motion to
  147  intervene as an appellant, cross-appellant, or petitioner, shall
  148  pay the clerk of court a fee of $295 if the relief sought by the
  149  party under this paragraph exceeds $2,500. The clerk shall remit
  150  the fee to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
  151  General Revenue Fund. This fee does not apply if the cross
  152  claim, counterclaim, counterpetition, or third-party complaint
  153  requires transfer of the case from county to circuit court.
  154  However, the party shall pay to the clerk the standard filing
  155  fee for the court to which the case is to be transferred.
  156         (d) The clerk of court shall collect a service charge of
  157  $10 for issuing a summons or an electronic certified copy of a
  158  summons. The clerk shall assess the fee against the party
  159  seeking to have the summons issued.
  160         (e) Of the first $200 in filing fees payable under
  161  subparagraph (a)5., $195 must be remitted to the Department of
  162  Revenue for deposit into the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund, $4
  163  must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into
  164  the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial
  165  Services and used to fund the contract with the Florida Clerks
  166  of Court Operations Corporation created in s. 28.35, and $1 must
  167  be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
  168  Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial
  169  Services to fund audits of individual clerks’ court-related
  170  expenditures conducted by the Department of Financial Services.
  171  By the 10th day of each month, the clerk shall submit that
  172  portion of the filing fees collected pursuant to this subsection
  173  in the previous month which is in excess of one-twelfth of the
  174  clerk’s total budget to the Department of Revenue for deposit
  175  into the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund.
  176  
  177  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  178  And the title is amended as follows:
  179         Delete line 46
  180  and insert:
  181         Legislature by a specified date; amending s. 28.241,
  182         F.S.; adjusting filing fees for appeals of certain
  183         county court cases; amending s. 34.041, F.S.;
  184         adjusting county court civil filing fees based on
  185         claim values; providing for distribution of the fees;
  186         amending s. 44.108,