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Clerks seek reimbursements for injunctions, Baker/Marchman processing and juror management in legislative budget request
Summary
Clerks’ representatives urged the Appropriations Committee to approve three reimbursement requests — $3.3 million for injunctions, $2.5 million for Baker/Marchman/******** violent‑predator processing and $4.8 million for juror management — and asked lawmakers to consider funding 'the whole courtroom' if new judges are certified.
Jason Welty, executive director of the Clerk’s Court Operations Corporation, and Miami‑Dade Clerk Juan Fernandez Barquin told the Appropriations Committee that clerks statewide need targeted reimbursements to cover court‑mandated duties that are not funded through clerk fee revenue.
Welty said the clerk system’s court‑related budget has fallen behind court funding over the last decade and presented three specific legislative budget requests (LBRs): $3,300,000 to reimburse clerks for processing injunctions for protection; $2,500,000 for processing Baker Act, Marchman Act and “******** violent predators” cases; and $4,800,000 to expand juror management funding. “An investment in the Florida clerks is an investment in the efficiency, accessibility, and the integrity of our state’s justice system,” Welty told the committee.
Why it matters: Welty said fee‑based revenues available to clerks have not kept pace with court needs. He told senators that if clerks’ budgets had tracked the trial court increases since 2014–15, the clerks’ 2023–24 budget would be roughly $667,000,000 instead of $486,000,000. He and Clerk Fernandez Barquin argued that some court duties are effectively unfunded mandates and that rising personnel costs (notably Florida Retirement System increases) have forced clerks to cut positions.
Details of requests and rationale Welty outlined the three reimbursements the clerks are asking the Legislature to authorize and fund: a $3.3 million reimbursement tied to injunctions (domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence and related orders), a $2.5 million reimbursement for involuntary‑treatment and civil‑commitment case types (Baker Act, Marchman Act and the transcript‑redacted “******** violent predators”), and $4.8 million to address juror management shortfalls.
He said clerks already receive $11,700,000 in recurring general revenue for juror operations, the same amount since 2015–16, and that increased juror costs and higher compensation have produced operating deficits. “This request is $4,800,000 to cover the increases that we have seen since 2015–16,” Welty said.
Clerk Fernandez Barquin described local impacts in Miami‑Dade and urged additional structural changes: some trust funds that clerks collect are tiny, he said, and many collect so little that they cost more to administer than they produce. Fernandez Barquin asked the committee to consider redirecting or reprioritizing certain trust‑fund flows and said his office has separate county and court budgets that are not fungible.
Committee questions and related points Senators asked whether the governor’s office had adopted the LBRs. Welty said the governor’s budget picked up the $2.5 million request for Baker/Marchman/predator processing. Senators and clerks discussed collections strategies: payment plans, compliance efforts, and where discretionary portions of traffic and filing fees are distributed. Clerk Fernandez Barquin said his office had implemented payment plans and reported improved collection totals in some criminal‑cost areas statewide.
Stakeholder comments Jack Campbell, state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit, spoke in support of adequate funding for the full courtroom, saying prosecutors and defense counsel also need staff when new judgeships are created. Several clerks in the room were recognized by name during the presentation.
What the committee record shows The clerks presented data and three specific reimbursement requests. Committee members asked operational and statutory questions about trust funds, fee allocation and whether changing fee distributions would require a two‑thirds legislative vote; clerks’ legal counsel and members suggested reallocations would not necessarily trigger a two‑thirds rule if they are redistributions rather than new fees.
Next steps Welty and Fernandez Barquin asked the committee to consider the three reimbursement requests and to fund court partners in tandem with any approvals for new judgeships. The governor reportedly included the $2.5 million LBR in his budget recommendation; the committee will consider those requests as part of the budget process.
