Judiciary committee advances several technical and probate bills; votes at a glance
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Summary
The committee reported favorably on CS/HB131 (curators of estates), CS/HB623 (felony battery predicate), HB895 (trustee settlement and discharge), HB893 (attorney trust‑fund accounts), and HB831 (problem‑solving court reporting). Most passed unanimously or with near‑unanimous support.
TALLAHASSEE — In addition to higher‑education safety and pretrial legislation, the House Judiciary Committee advanced a set of technical and probate bills Wednesday. Outcomes and brief descriptions follow:
- CS/HB131 (Curators of estates): Reported favorably, 19‑0. Sponsor described the bill as giving courts a clear tool to protect estates exposed to loss. Proponent Jan Gorey waived in support.
- CS/HB623 (Felony battery predicate): Reported favorably, 18‑1. Representative Gentry said the CS adds resisting an officer with violence to the list of predicate offenses that elevate a subsequent battery conviction to a third‑degree felony; multiple law‑enforcement groups waived support.
- HB895 (Trustee settlement and discharge): Reported favorably, 19‑0. Representative Hodges said the bill allows administrative discharge of nonadversarial irrevocable trusts to save time and court resources; the Real Property & Probate Section waived support.
- HB893 (Trust fund interest for purposes approved by Supreme Court): Reported favorably, 20‑0. Representative Koster said the bill updates Florida law to align attorney trust fund management with a comparable Supreme Court rule; banking groups waived support.
- HB831 (Transparency of problem‑solving courts): Reported favorably, 20‑0. Representative Cassell said the bill standardizes outcome reporting for drug and mental‑health courts to allow reliable legislature oversight of program effectiveness.
Each of these measures was reported favorably by the committee and will proceed under the House calendar.