Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1214
       
       
        
       By Senator Polsky
       
       
       
       
       
       30-00883-24                                           20241214__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to court-ordered nonbinding
    3         arbitration; amending s. 44.103, F.S.; deleting a
    4         provision that limits the amount of per diem expenses
    5         an arbitrator may charge when seeking compensation
    6         from state funds; making technical changes; providing
    7         an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 44.103, Florida
   12  Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         44.103 Court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration.—
   14         (3) Arbitrators must shall be selected and compensated in
   15  accordance with rules adopted by the Supreme Court. Arbitrators
   16  must shall be compensated by the parties, or, upon a finding by
   17  the court that a party is indigent, an arbitrator may be
   18  partially or fully compensated from state funds according to the
   19  party’s present ability to pay. Before At no time may an
   20  arbitrator charge more than $1,500 per diem, unless the parties
   21  agree otherwise. Prior to approving the use of state funds to
   22  reimburse an arbitrator, the court shall must ensure that the
   23  party reimburses the portion of the total cost that the party is
   24  immediately able to pay and that the party has agreed to a
   25  payment plan established by the clerk of the court that will
   26  fully reimburse the state for the balance of all state costs for
   27  both the arbitrator and any costs of administering the payment
   28  plan and any collection efforts that may be necessary in the
   29  future. Whenever possible, qualified individuals who have
   30  volunteered their time to serve as arbitrators must shall be
   31  appointed. If an arbitration program is funded pursuant to s.
   32  44.108, volunteer arbitrators are shall be entitled to
   33  reimbursement be reimbursed pursuant to s. 112.061 for all
   34  actual expenses necessitated by service as an arbitrator.
   35         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.