Bill Text: FL S0490 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: District Courts of Appeal

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Judiciary [S0490 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S0490-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 490
       
       
        
       By Senator Grall
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00882-24                                            2024490__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the district courts of appeal;
    3         expressing the intent of the Legislature relating to
    4         excess judicial capacity in certain appellate
    5         districts; amending s. 35.06, F.S.; providing for the
    6         reduction in the number of judges on the First
    7         District Court of Appeal and the Second District Court
    8         of Appeal upon the occurrence of an event that
    9         otherwise would have resulted in a judicial vacancy;
   10         providing a limitation on the automatic reduction of
   11         judges on the First District Court of Appeal and the
   12         Second District Court of Appeal; requiring the Chief
   13         Justice of the Supreme Court to notify the Governor
   14         and the Legislature of the occurrence of a specified
   15         event; providing an effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to establish
   20  a process to address excess judicial capacity in the First
   21  District Court of Appeal and the Second District Court of
   22  Appeal, which has resulted from changes made to the
   23  jurisdictional boundaries of appellate districts to create the
   24  Sixth District Court of Appeal. Chapter 2022-163, Laws of
   25  Florida, which reorganized the appellate districts to create the
   26  Sixth District Court of Appeal and revised the number of judges
   27  in affected districts, reflects the policy of the Legislature to
   28  allow a judge who may have been otherwise affected by the
   29  jurisdictional boundary changes to continue serving in the
   30  district, as reconfigured, where he or she resided before the
   31  creation of the Sixth District Court of Appeal. To address
   32  excess judicial capacity in the First District Court of Appeal
   33  and in the Second District Court of Appeal consistent with this
   34  policy, this act reduces the number of statutorily authorized
   35  judgeships in these districts based on attrition and without
   36  requiring a judge to vacate his or her position involuntarily.
   37  This process is consistent with the Florida Supreme Court’s
   38  recommendation in In re Certification of Need for Additional
   39  Judges, Opinion No. SC22-1621 (Dec. 22, 2022), the Court’s
   40  opinion addressing the need to increase or decrease the number
   41  of judges in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
   42         Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 35.06,
   43  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   44         35.06 Organization of district courts of appeal.—A district
   45  court of appeal shall be organized in each of the six appellate
   46  districts to be named District Court of Appeal, .... District.
   47  The number of judges of each district court of appeal shall be
   48  as follows:
   49         (1)(a) In the first district there shall be 13 judges.
   50         (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), upon the occurrence of
   51  an event that otherwise would have resulted in a vacancy in the
   52  office of judge of the first district, the number of judges is
   53  reduced by 1, and in the first district there shall be 12
   54  judges.
   55         (2)(a) In the second district there shall be 15 judges.
   56         (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), upon each occurrence of
   57  an event that otherwise would have resulted in a vacancy in the
   58  office of judge of the second district, the number of judges is
   59  reduced by 1 until 12 judges remain, and in the second district
   60  there shall be 12 judges.
   61         Section 3. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
   62  notify the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
   63  Speaker of the House of Representatives of the occurrence of an
   64  event that otherwise would have resulted in a vacancy in the
   65  office of judge of the First District Court of Appeal or the
   66  Second District Court of Appeal as provided in s. 35.06(1) and
   67  (2), Florida Statutes, respectively.
   68         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.