On the heels of several defeats of Republican efforts to reform the judiciary and unseat three Florida Supreme Court justices -- both before and at the November ballot box -- the upcoming legislative session is shaping up to be a far quieter one as far as the courts are concerned.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees are usually among the most-watched of the Florida Legislature, in part because so much legislation passes through it, and in part because so much of that legislation over the last couple of years aimed at dramatically reforming the states judicial system.
But if Tuesdays first meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee which lasted barely over 20 minutes was any indication, the 2013 legislative session probably will not see a revival of the last couple of years attempts to reform the structure of the courts or the way judges are appointed.
No member has approached me with any intention of exploring those ideas, Sen. Tom Lee, committee chairman, told Sunshine State News when asked about the prospects of the Legislature again taking up the issues put to a vote last month under the Florida Supreme Court Amendment 5. Were in the process right now of sifting through the issues that are holdovers from the election and last session; no one, including [Senate] President [Don] Gaetz, has indicated to me that this is going to be a high priority.
After introducing themselves to meeting attendees, the six Republican and three Democratic senators who make up the committee heard from two speakers, one representing the state judiciary and the other representing county clerks of court.
State courts administrator Lisa Goodner offered a proposed budget for the judicial system for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. She insisted the courts were not seeking substantial increases, in state funding, just enough to keep on doing what they already are, but a little more efficiently.
Goodner told the senators the courts need enough funding to maintain current staff levels, and said a priority for the court system would be to explore ways to achieve full automation for court operation, from the processing of legal filings to enabling judges to review documents electronically.
She said that while many clerks of court already enable e-filing, many judges still need to have those documents printed out for them because they lack the technological resources to review them electronically.
Goodner said the court system still has a total of about 377,000 foreclosures on its dockets, nearly the same number it had at the beginning of 2012. We dont have enough horsepower to move cases along as quickly as wed like to, she told senators.
Finally, she said many appeals court buildings are in need of repair.
Attorney Fred W. Baggett, general counsel for the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, pleaded for an increase in funds over those allotted this fiscal year, and said his group would request the passing of a housekeeping bill that would assist in enhancement of collection tools and the cleanup of office operations.
Sen. Lee told the News it was probably too soon to tell whether the Judiciary Committee would be considering more high-profile legislation in the months to come. I certainly dont have an agenda to do anything aggressive with respect to the court system, except trying to help make it more efficient.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at (954) 235-9116.
