| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to retirement; amending s. 25.073, F.S.; |
| 3 | providing for a former justice or judge to be qualified to |
| 4 | serve as a retired justice or judge under certain |
| 5 | conditions; providing circumstances under which such |
| 6 | justice or judge may not serve as a retired justice or |
| 7 | judge; amending s. 121.053, F.S.; exempting retired judges |
| 8 | consenting to temporary duty from certain termination and |
| 9 | reemployment limitations; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of Florida has certified the |
| 12 | need for additional judgeships to meet the workload of the |
| 13 | court, but due to economic conditions, none have been funded by |
| 14 | the Legislature since 2007, and |
| 15 | WHEREAS, the trial courts in this state have experienced a |
| 16 | tremendous increase in foreclosure cases, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, senior judges provide temporary replacement |
| 18 | coverage of scheduled dockets of judges who become ill, injured, |
| 19 | or unexpectedly obligated to attend to other duties, and, thus, |
| 20 | prevent litigants from suffering unwanted delay of their cases, |
| 21 | and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, unlike other employees who return to state service |
| 23 | after retirement, senior judges are paid a daily fixed stipend, |
| 24 | and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, a 1-year delay in a retired judge's performance of |
| 26 | senior judge duties will detrimentally affect the currency of |
| 27 | experience and critical skills required of a judge to properly |
| 28 | and appropriately rule on legal issues, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 31 |
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| 32 | Section 1. Present subsections (2) and (3) of section |
| 33 | 25.073, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) and |
| 34 | (4), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to that |
| 35 | section, to read: |
| 36 | 25.073 Retired justices or judges assigned to temporary |
| 37 | duty; additional compensation; appropriation.- |
| 38 | (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a former justice or |
| 39 | judge who has failed to win reelection or be retained after more |
| 40 | than 12 years of service as a justice or judge may be qualified |
| 41 | to serve as a retired justice or judge unless: |
| 42 | (a) The former justice or judge has been reprimanded, |
| 43 | fined, suspended, or disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court |
| 44 | for violations of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct or the |
| 45 | rules regulating The Florida Bar; |
| 46 | (b) The Judicial Qualifications Commission has brought |
| 47 | charges against the former justice or judge which were not |
| 48 | dismissed, or the former justice or judge was not exonerated of |
| 49 | all such charges; or |
| 50 | (c) Any party objects to the assignment of the former |
| 51 | justice or judge when the former justice or judge is to preside |
| 52 | over a civil case, including any appeal of a civil case. |
| 53 | Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 121.053, Florida |
| 54 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 55 | 121.053 Participation in the Elected Officers' Class for |
| 56 | retired members.- |
| 57 | (6) A retired judge consenting to temporary duty in any |
| 58 | court, as assigned by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in |
| 59 | accordance with s. 2, Art. V of the State Constitution, is not |
| 60 | subject to the renewed membership provisions of this section, to |
| 61 | termination as defined in s. 121.021(39), or to the 12-month |
| 62 | reemployment limitation in s. 121.091(9). |
| 63 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |