Bar, section, and Bar committee legislative positions have expired with the end of the 2007-08 fiscal year, and the Legislation Committee is reminding sections and committees to review which positions they wish to renew for the 2008-10 biennium.
Bar President-elect Jesse Diner, chair of the Legislation Committee, told the Bar Board of Governors recently that under Bar policies all legislative positions taken by the Bar and its sections and committees sunset every two years.
They are, however, free to request any position be renewed, Diner noted.
Under Bar policies, sections — which have voluntary memberships — are given wide latitude on lobbying issues, provided they fall under the sections’ purview and don’t cause deep emotional or philosophical divisions among Bar members.
Diner and outside legislative consultant Steve Metz also discussed matters likely to come before the Legislature that will affect the legal system, which Diner summarized as one topic.
“Money is the main issue,” he said. “It was the main issue this year and for the foreseeable future it’s going to be the main issue.”
Budget cutbacks meant 23 positions were cut in the Broward County court system, and 276.5 positions were eliminated statewide, which includes both vacant jobs and layoffs, he said.
Diner also warned that although the courts and state budget in general had large cuts for 2008-09, more may be in the offering as state revenues failed to meet projections for the spring, indicating more reductions may be needed.
Metz noted that initial budget cut projections had the courts absorbing up to about 700 job losses, but that wound up at 153 actual layoffs.
“The challenge that we have is that this court system of ours doesn’t need to be put in the position of every year being treated like the Department of Community Affairs or the Department of Corrections and come to our Legislature to beg,” said Metz.
“We need a permanent, trust-funded source of money.”
The Legislature raised various court fees and costs by $136 million in the spring legislative session, but much of that money went to noncourt-related functions, he said.
For next year, “We need to walk into that session with a pretty good game plan about trust-funding these dollars,” said Metz.
That issue is already getting some attention as the Legislature has ordered an audit of the court system.
Sen. Victor Crist of Tampa, chair of the committee that oversees judicial appropriations, has said that audit could be a springboard for better court funding, including using trust funds to protect court funding from economic vagaries.
— Courtesy Florida Bar News