ISSUE: Should the Legislature revise the way the Court System is funded in order to ensure it has adequate revenue to carry out its mission.

DISCUSSION: The Court Administrator has demonstrated that insufficient funding of the court system adversely impacts their ability to handle and resolve civil cases in a timely manner, disproportionately affecting Florida businesses. The State Courts Administrator, along with representatives of trial and appeals courts, including the Florida Supreme Court, have asked the business community for assistance in requesting that the court system be spared any proposed government spending cuts.

The work of the courts and clerks is inter-related, and each entity depends on the other to provide justice to the people. The two entities should be considered the Core Court System for funding purposes. Filing fees and service charges in the Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal should not be directed into general revenue but into the courts’ trust fund, with all court related revenue being distributed to the courts and clerks in an amount sufficient to support their authorized budgets before distributions are made to other government programs and services. Additionally, there are certain court functions that are a requirement of state government: judges, court reporters, and interpreters. As such, their salaries should be paid from general revenue, not court user fees and costs. These proposals will enable the courts and clerks to have the funding necessary to support the budget authorized by the legislature.

POSITION: The Florida Retail Federation supports the implementation of a more stable funding mechanism for the State Court System.