DeSantis OKs a plan to add judges, including two county judges in Hillsborough

Share
Scales of Justice Law
Scales of Justice. By www.ccPixs.com (CC).

©2024 The News Service of Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed 11 bills, including a measure that will increase the number of circuit court and county judges and a bill that will revise a major housing law, known as the “Live Local Act,” that passed in 2023.

HB 5401

The bill adding judges (HB 5401) will create a circuit judge position in the 1st Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.

It also will create a circuit judge position in the 20th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.

The bill also will add three county judges in Orange County, two county judges in Hillsborough County and one county judge each in Columbia and Santa Rosa counties.

The bill exceeds the recommendations of the Florida Supreme Court, which in November called for a new judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit, three new county judges in Orange County and two new county judges in Hillsborough County.

In a fiscal year 2024-2025 budget passed in March, lawmakers included just over $1 million for the circuit court positions and $2.66 million for the county court judgeships.

The Legislature has not formally sent the budget to DeSantis for approval and vetoes.

SB 328

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, made a priority in 2023 of passing the Live Local Act to try to provide more affordable housing.

The bill signed Thursday (SB 328) makes changes to the law and sets aside $100 million for the Florida Hometown Hero Program, which was created to help people such as teachers, healthcare workers and police officers buy homes.

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

student meal
Next school year Hillsborough public schools are offering free meals

Hillsborough Public Schools are offering students free meals for the...

Correspondence Through Poetry. A Mind-Numbing Week.

Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems by Herbert Gold...

The sound of change: Music’s influence on anti-war and human rights movements

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful catalyst for...

a man in a tye dye shirt talking on a radio microphone
Recreational pot for Florida is on the ballot this fall—let’s talk about it

In four months, Florida voters have the opportunity to vote...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

Traffic Jam - All Souls Edition
Player position: