SESSION WATCH
Became law SENATE · SESSION 2026 · CHAPTER 2026-139

No. CS/SB 820

Problem-solving Court Reports
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SPONSOR
Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Bradley
FILED BY
Jennifer Bradley — District 6, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026

Filed under Healthcare.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Problem-solving Court Reports; Requiring the Office of the State Courts Administrator to provide a problem-solving court report to the Legislature annually by a specified date; requiring specified court programs to collect certain data and information for program evaluation; requiring each such court program to report such data and information annually to the office, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Requires uniform yearly data reporting from every problem-solving court.

Every problem-solving court -- drug courts, veterans courts, mental health courts, and more -- must now collect the same nine data points, from participant counts to job and housing changes, for a single statewide report.

Early childhood court and veterans treatment court programs get this data-collection duty for the first time; mental health courts and drug courts simply swap their old bespoke lists for the new uniform standard.

Full statewide compliance phases in over two years -- just 30 percent of state-funded courts the first year, then all of them, then every problem-solving court regardless of funding source by 2027-2028.

Community courts are removed from the list of programs counted as "problem-solving courts," taking them out of this reporting requirement; every other program keeps its January 31 annual reporting deadline to the Legislature.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Creates a uniform, mandatory data set for every problem-solving court majors. 43.51

AIEvery problem-solving court must now collect nine specific data points for OSCA's annual report, including participant counts, offense type, treatment compliance, completion status, court appearance frequency, and changes in employment, housing, and child custody.

“Provide all of the following uniform aggregate data for each problem-solving court” bill text, line 38 →
§ 2 Adds early childhood and dependency drug courts to the definition majors. 43.51

AIThe definition of a problem-solving court now expressly includes early childhood court programs and dependency drug courts, pulling both into the same annual data and reporting scheme as drug courts and veterans courts.

“an early childhood court pursuant to s. 39.01304” bill text, line 58 →
§ 3 Creates a new data duty for early childhood court programs majors. 39.01304

AIEarly childhood court programs, which had no data-collection duty under this statute before, must now collect the uniform data set plus admissions, terminations, and treatment details, and report it to OSCA every year.

“Each early childhood court program shall collect the data and information prescribed in s. 43.51(1) for purposes of program evaluation” bill text, line 69 →
§ 4 Creates a new data duty for veterans treatment court programs majors. 394.47891

AIVeterans treatment court programs, which had no dedicated data-collection subsection before, must now collect the uniform data set plus admissions, terminations, and treatment details, and report annually to OSCA.

“Each veterans treatment court program shall collect the data and information prescribed in s. 43.51(1) for purposes of program evaluation” bill text, line 83 →
§ 5 Drops community courts from the problem-solving court definition moderates. 43.51

AICommunity courts, previously named in the list of programs the term "problem-solving court" covers, are removed from that list, taking them out of this section's data-collection and reporting requirement.

“a community court pursuant to s. 948.081” bill text, line 62 →
§ 6 Standardizes mental health court reporting to the uniform data set moderates. 394.47892

AIMental health court programs drop their own bespoke client-level and programmatic data lists and instead collect the same uniform data set now defined for every problem-solving court.

“Each mental health court program shall collect the data and information prescribed in s. 43.51(1) for purposes of program evaluation”
§ 7 Sets a January 31 deadline for OSCA's annual report moderates. 43.51

AIOSCA's annual problem-solving court report to the Senate President and House Speaker must now be filed no later than January 31 each year, covering the previous fiscal year -- a specific deadline the law didn't set before.

“on problem-solving courts no later than January 31 of each year for the previous fiscal year” bill text, line 25 →
§ 8 Phases in full statewide coverage of the data mandate moderates. 43.51

AIFull uniform reporting is required for every state-funded problem-solving court starting in fiscal year 2026-2027, one year after a partial 30 percent benchmark applies, before covering every problem-solving court regardless of funding source the year after that.

“for every problem solving court funded by the state courts system's problem solving court appropriation” bill text, line 149 →
TIMELINE
6/12/2026
Chapter No. 2026-139
6/12/2026
Approved by Governor
6/9/2026
Signed by Officers and presented to Governor
3/17/2026
Ordered enrolled
3/10/2026
CS passed; YEAS 114, NAYS 0
3/10/2026
Read 3rd time
3/10/2026
Added to Third Reading Calendar
3/10/2026
Read 2nd time
3/9/2026
1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)
3/9/2026
Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/10/2026)
3/9/2026
Bill referred to House Calendar
2/19/2026
In Messages
2/19/2026
Immediately certified -SJ 356
2/19/2026
CS passed; YEAS 37 NAYS 1 -SJ 352
2/19/2026
Read 3rd time -SJ 352
2/19/2026
Read 2nd time -SJ 352
2/18/2026
Placed on Special Order Calendar, 02/19/26
2/18/2026
Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
2/17/2026
Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 24 NAYS 0
2/12/2026
On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/17/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
2/10/2026
CS by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice read 1st time
2/6/2026
Now in Rules
2/6/2026
Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
2/4/2026
CS by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; YEAS 8 NAYS 0
1/30/2026
On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Criminal and...
1/27/2026
Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice
1/27/2026
Favorable by Judiciary; YEAS 10 NAYS 0
1/22/2026
On Committee agenda-- Judiciary, 01/27/26, 1:00 pm, 110 Senate Building
1/13/2026
Introduced
12/16/2025
Referred to Judiciary; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and...
12/9/2025
Filed
25 EARLIER →
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 43.51
+150 / −31
s. 39.01304
+78 / −0
s. 394.47891
+80 / −0
s. 394.47892
+46 / −87
s. 397.334
+38 / −77
s. 39.01304
+0 / −0
STAFF ANALYSES
2 MORE →