F R O M T H E C L E R K O F C O U R T & C O M P T R O L L E R C i n d y S t u a r t – C l e r k o f C o u r t & C o m p t r o l l e r , T h i r t e e n t h J u d i c i a l C i r c u i t
SupporttheFloridaClerksofCourt 2023Legislativepriorities
Clerksstatewideseekmorestablerevenuesources forcourt-relatedresponsibilities .
First , I greatly appreciate the commitment legislators have shown to help and support the Clerk of Courts funding structure . We are very grateful the legislature worked with us on significant structural changes enacted over the past few years through the passage of SB 838 by Senator Boyd ( 2021 ) and HB 397 by Representative Clemons ( 2022 ). The incremental changes captured in those bills have no doubt brought more stability to the system that funds Clerk services .
These bills provided assistance to the Clerk ’ s statewide budgeting process , established a new statutory process to improve the cost and workload for mental health and substance abuse case types , enhanced payment options , and improved efficiency and customer service for certain driver ’ s license reinstatements .
However , Clerk budgets are still largely dependent on funding from fines , fees , and court costs — especially civil traffic citations . Even with all the help and the backfill
appropriations , Clerks across the state essentially have the same statewide budget as we had about a decade ago .
Florida ’ s Clerks of Court rallied behind the 2023 Clerk Legislative Priorities this session to create a more sustainable , long-term solution . The Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation ( CCOC ) found that the Clerks of Court are operating with a $ 36.5 million funding gap between their needs-based budget and their current revenue-limited budget . To close this year ’ s funding gap and begin addressing some longstanding issues , SB 1130 and HB 977 contain three main priorities :
• Diversify Clerk Revenues by redirecting the statutory distribution of certain revenues for courtrelated services , enabling Clerks of Court to retain more revenue for the services they provide ( ex . Foreclosure filing fees , Issuance of Summons , Dissolution of Marriage )
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