Clerks bills refined: both the House and Senate measures provide for greater budget scrutiny.

House and Senate bills to bring legislative oversight to the clerk of the courts' budgeting process are moving closer in the waning days of the session, but lawmakers say the issue still has a long way to go.

The House and Senate versions of the clerks' funding bill still subject the clerks to the state appropriations process other court related entities go through, but both bills have been stripped of controversial provisions that would have transferred some of the clerks' court supporting duties to the courts.

The House version, however, calls for a study of the clerks' court-related functions that the clerks contend is "predisposed" to adversely impact the way they function.

The clerks favor the Senate bill--which easily cleared that chamber 36-1 on April 16--as a more "workable approach."

The Senate Ways & Means Committee took up, amended, and moved CS/SB 2108 April 7 after Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, offered a strike-all amendment that eliminated the provision that redirected $100 million in court fees collected by the clerks from the general revenue fund to the new state court system trust fund. Pruitt said to leave that fee transfer in the bill would have thrown the Senate's appropriations bill out of balance.

Pruitt said the amendment still gives the Legislature budget oversight of the clerks' court-related functions and clarifies the budgeting process for the clerks as follows:

* The Clerk of Court Operations Corporation would become a budget entity for the clerks' court-related functions and be administratively housed in the Justice Administrative Commission.

* The chief justice would designate one member to serve on the CCOC Executive Council.

* The corporation would develop its performance measures in consultation with the Legislature and the courts.

* The CCOC's budget would be appropriated by the Legislature and CCOC staff would be state employees, while the clerks' staffs will not.

* The clerks would submit budget requests to the CCOC for court-related services based on unit cost for such services. The CCOC would approve the unit costs and submit a comprehensive budget request to the Legislature for the clerks.

* The Legislature would appropriate the total amount for the budgets of the clerks in the General Appropriations Act, and could reject or modify any or all of the unit costs.

* All court-related revenue received by the clerks for use in performing their court-related functions would be considered state funds and...