Budget Resource
Center

...providing state budgets, reports, and current news to help the court community make informed budgetary decisions.

Florida

Actions Underway

• Judges, trial court administrators and court reporters are funded by the state.  For their court related functions, clerks are funded by the state.  The state and the counties divide up other costs.
• Florida’s budget was reduced by $23 million (5-8%) in FY09.  While it was not reduced again in FY10, Florida has gone from an 08/09 budget that was 89.5% funded from the general fund and 10.5% from court generated revenue, to an 09/10 budget that is 70% funded from court generated revenue and 30% funded from the general fund.   Its appropriation has remained the same.
• Florida has had a full or partial hiring freeze for over a year.  Florida has had to layoff 280 employees out of it 3,100 person workforce.  No raises of any kind are anticipated.   All judges and elected officials are taking a 2% pay cut, including judges.  
• Florida is considering the consolidation of court operations into fewer facilities and the merging of internal court operations.
• Florida received $19,250,000 in economic stimulus funds for drug court enhancement for data collection, case management and treatment services.
• Florida is moving to electronic filing, an integrated case management system and digital recording.
• Clerks will be taking a substantial reduction in the next fiscal year. Hillsborough County - Circuit Court has 3 scheduled furlough days, all of which fall on holidays. Days that the office would be closed anyway, but now employees will not be paid on those days. The dates are: May 25 (Memorial Day); July 3 (the day off coinciding with Independence Day; and Sept. 7 (Labor Day).
  

Reports and Articles

• "Florida Court Clerks Feel $90 Million Budget Pinch ." The Miami Herald. September 3, 2009.
• Public Information. The Florida Supreme Court.
• Funding Florida Courts. The Florida Bar.
• "Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Cases." The Florida Supreme Court.
• Pat Gillespie. "Towering Costs, Falling Revenue." News-Press.com. July 26, 2009.
• Henry A. Stephens. "Number of Clerks at Indian River County Courthouse Reduced by 19." TCPalm.com. July 15, 2009.
• "Increase in Foreclosures, Staff Cuts Means Court Clerks Must Work on Saturdays." Naples Daily News. June 24, 2009.
• Eloisa Ruano Gonzalez. "Expect Higher Fees, Longer Waits as Clerk-of-Courts Offices Cut Staff and Budgets." The Orlando Sentinel. June 17, 2009.
• Jordana Mishory. "Fla. County Clerk's Offices Lose at Least 259 Due to Budget Cuts." Law.com. June 9, 2009.
• John W. Allman. "Clerk's Office to Lose Dozens of Jobs." Tampa Tribune. March 13, 2009.
• Taylor Shutt. "Court Employees Face Furlough Days." Wmbb.com. May 12, 2009.
• Jordana Mishory. "Fla. Government Lawyers, Staffers Take to Street to Protest Salary Cuts." Law.com. April 24, 2009.
• Sue Carlton. "Budget Cuts would Dim Kids' Voice in Florida Courtrooms." St. Petersburg Times. April 15, 2009.
• Todd Ruger. "Furloughs May Clog Courts." HeraldTribune.com. March 30, 2009.
• Richard Prior. "Court Hit by Money Woes." The St. Augustine Record. March 29, 2009.
• Roger Weeder. "Court System Faces Challenges of Possible Furloughs." firstcoastnews.com. March 27, 2009.
• "Akerman Shareholder to Join Florida Supreme Court Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures." PRNewswire. March 23, 2009.
• Bill Kaczor. "Supreme Court Seeks 68 New Judges for Florida." BradentonHerald.com. February 26, 2009.
• Kelly Cobiella. "Glut Of Foreclosures Clogs Courts." CBS News. February 19, 2009.
• The Washington Economics Group, Inc. "The Economic Impacts of Delays in Civil Trials in Florida's Courts Due to Under-funding of Court System." Interim Report. January 12, 2009.
• Billy Shields. "Justice System Seeks to Avoid Budget Cuts." Daily Business Review. January 5, 2009.
• Killian, Mark D. "Lawyers Sound Off on Impact of Budget Cuts." The Florida Bar News. January 1, 2009.
• Blankenship, Gary. "It's All About the Money." The Florida Bar News. December 15, 2008.
• Blankenship, Gary. "Building Support for Court Funding." The Florida Bar News. November 15, 2008.
• Pudlow, Jan. "Sen. Crist Fires Back At Critics for Court Budget Reductions." The Florida Bar News. March 1, 2008.
• Blankenship, Gary. "Even at 4.2% Judicial Branch Will Feel a the Budget Sting." The Florida Bar News. September 15, 2007.

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State Links

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