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 – H i l l s b o r o u g h C o u n t y C l e r k o f C o u r t & C o m p t r o l l e r
NewDomesticviolenceinjunctionLaw signedbygovernor
HillsboroughCountyClerkandstateLegislators achievechangestogether .
one of my key commitments as Clerk of Court in Hillsborough County is improving public safety for my constituents .
Every year , my office assists more than 6,500 domestic violence survivors who request restraining orders from the court .
Time matters — seconds matter for survivors who wait for these injunctions to be signed and served . In June , governor ron Desantis signed legislation modernizing how Clerks statewide transmit domestic violence injunctions .
Early in my term as Clerk , my staff and I discovered an outdated state law provision . Domestic violence protection orders , particularly those sent from one county to another , were being sent using the U . s . Postal service .
We found examples in counties outside of Hillsborough where victims were sometimes waiting days for a sheriff ’ s office to issue the protective
injunction against a defendant , not to mention the amount of time it took for victims to receive confirmation the defendant had received the injunction . I brought this issue to the attention of state senator Janet Cruz , and she was surprised to learn this law had not yet been updated . our bi-partisan partners in Tallahassee , bill sponsors state senator Cruz and state representative Elizabeth Fetterhoff , guided this law ( sB 654 and HB 905 ) to the governor ’ s desk .
This law is about protecting victims . This law will save lives . Time matters . seconds matter . We as Clerks already perform this process with thoughtful care and concern . The new law will allow Clerks to transmit these official documents electronically , through email ,
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