NEW LAW SENDS MILLIONS MORE TO FLORIDA COURT CLERKS

Court clerks say all Floridians who rely on their services will benefit from a bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed May 22.

Hernando County Court Clerk Doug Chorvat, Jr., president of Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers, issued a statement praising DeSantis and the bill sponsors, Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Ft. Pierce, and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee.

“This priority legislation represents a meaningful investment in Florida’s Clerks of Court and Comptrollers and the essential services our offices provide every day,” Chorvat said.

HB 925 authorizes court clerks to retain all, instead of half, of the “cumulative revenue excess” that state economists predict court programs will generate each year for state coffers, a change sponsors say will redirect an additional $13.3 million to clerks statewide.

Another provision gives clerks an “equal split” of civil traffic fines collected by municipalities, raising the clerks’ share from 5.6% to 28.2%, and generating another $8.1 million for clerk statewide.

The legislation will also give clerks a 10% share of photo-enforced school bus infraction detection programs, aligning the formula with other photo-enforced traffic enforcement programs.

Finally, the bill expands legal notice publication options for clerks, authorizing them to publish notices regarding real property on their websites.

“I filed this bill to fix key structural problems in how clerks of court are funded and reimbursed, ensuring the constitutional and statutory role of clerks is preserved while improving access to justice and reducing financial strain on local governments,” Trabulsy said in a statement when she filed the bill late last year.

At a Capitol rally earlier this year, Chorvat and other FCCC officers warned that clerks are facing a $75 million funding gap statewide. HB 925 was one of four priority bills the clerks supported in the 2026 regular session.

HB 759 by Rep. David Smith, R-Winter Springs, called for raising civil filing fees and service charges to a 2019 level, had they been tied to the Consumer Price Index in 2008, the last time lawmakers approved across-the-board increases. State economists estimated the bill would have generated an additional $40 million for clerks statewide in the first year.

Since 2008, clerks launched digital check-in systems for juries, online self-help centers to aid court users, e-notify systems for court events, and developed the E-Filing Portal, “which has become a model for court systems across the country,” Chorvat wrote in an editorial. But labor costs have tripled since 2008, and technology can stretch limited resources only so far, Chorvat said.

“While business can pass these costs on to consumers through higher prices, Florida’s clerks of court cannot.”

The House voted 114-0 in February to approve HB 759. It died in the Senate Rules Committee.