Revenue outlooks for trust funds that help to fund Florida’s judicial system are nearly $50 million below fiscal-year estimates made in December of 2019 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
That was the conclusion of a report from Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference, which found that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Statewide Safer at Home order contributed to reductions in traffic on roads and highways, closures of state and local government offices, and restraints on foreclosures and other legal actions.
“The shortfalls across the judicial system (county court, circuit court, family court and traffic court) and the clerks were widespread, leading to a combined loss across all categories and revenue recipients of $48.3 million,” the conference’s July 20 report states.
But the Office of the State Courts Administrator points out the funds that were the subject of the conference’s report make up only a small part of court funding. And according to the Florida Courts website, the 2019-20 fiscal year budget for the judicial branch in Florida was about $555 million.
“First, I need to point out the Revenue Estimating Conference report concerns outlooks for trust funds,” Paul Flemming, spokesman for the Office of the State Courts Administrator, told the Florida Record. “While important, this is a relatively smaller portion of courts’ funding. Second, the bulk of that report is about funding for clerks of court.”
The conference report also forecasts continuing decreased funding estimates for the judicial system in future years. In addition, home foreclosure filings in fiscal year 2020-21 are expected to jump by more than 13,000.
“Judicial leadership and Office of the State Courts Administrator staff are closely monitoring how the public health emergency is affecting state revenues, including trust funds dedicated to courts and clerks operations,” Lisa Kiel, the state courts administrator, said in a prepared statement. “It’s important to prepare for a changing fiscal landscape to best position resources for the effective operation of the courts on behalf of the people who rely on it for justice and resolution of disputes.”
The state courts are aware and sensitive to their partners in the administration of justice, Kiel said, including clerks of court.