THE BILL ITSELF
HB 421
Performance Reports of Circuit and County Court Judges
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to performance reports of circuit and
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county court judges; providing a short title; creating
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s. 28.51, F.S.; requiring each clerk of the circuit
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court to prepare an annual performance report with
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specified information regarding each circuit and
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county court judge; requiring such reports to be
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posted by a certain date on specified websites;
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requiring such reports to remain posted for a
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specified time period; authorizing judges to prepare a
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specified explanatory statement; requiring such
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statements to be posted with the relevant reports in
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certain circumstances; providing for a specified
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reporting period; providing an effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Judicial
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Efficiency and Transparency (JET) Act."
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Section 2. Section 28.51, Florida Statutes, is created to
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read:
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28.51 Performance reports of circuit and county court
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judges.—
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(1) Each clerk of the circuit court shall prepare an
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annual performance report regarding the judicial efficiency of
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each circuit and county court judge in this state. The report
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shall detail the judicial activities during the preceding
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calendar year and contain, but need not be limited to, the
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following information, all of which shall be separated by court
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division:
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(a) The number of cases assigned to each judge.
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(b) The number of cases that have reached final
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disposition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "final
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disposition" means the rendering of a decision or a judgment by
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a judge in a judicial proceeding in which a case is finally
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determined by adjudication, dismissal, or other final
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disposition.
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(c) The clearance rate, stated as the total percentage of
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cases filed during each reporting period which were disposed of.
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(d) The average length of all active pending cases,
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measured as the number of days from filing until the end of each
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reporting period.
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(e) The number of civil cases assigned to each judge,
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except civil cases placed on inactive status, pending for 3
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years or more, measured from the filing of a complaint or other
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filing initiating a case until the end of each reporting period.
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(f) The average number of days, beginning on the date a
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hearing is scheduled and ending on the date the hearing is held,
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for each hearing held in each reporting period.
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(2) On or before April 1 of each year, each report shall
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be posted on the website of the clerk of the circuit court, as
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applicable, and on the website of each circuit and county court
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and shall remain posted for the duration of the tenure of the
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subject judge.
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(3) A judge may prepare an explanatory statement detailing
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the basis for any extenuating circumstance that the judge
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believes impacts the metrics reported pursuant to this section.
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Upon approval of the Chief Judge of each circuit, the
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explanatory statement shall be posted with the annual
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performance report pursuant to subsection (2).
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(4) The first reporting period required by this section
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shall be the 2028 calendar year.
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Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.