E-filing costs go up.

It is costing slightly more to electronically file documents with the Florida court system following a raise in credit card and electronic check fees for using the system's statewide e-filing portal.

The Florida Courts E-Filing Authority at its June 27 meeting voted to raise its credit card convenience fees from 3 to 3.5 percent and the cost for using an electronic check to pay filing fees and costs from $3 to $5 for its 2016-17 budget. That action became effective July 1 with the start of the 2016-17 fiscal year.

The authority vote included initiating discussions with the Supreme Court and the Office of the State Courts Administrator about ways to cover costs of portal operations to make it self-sufficient.

About 33 percent of filers pay via credit card and virtually all of the remainder with electronic checking.

The budget issues with the portal originate with the way the authority was formed. At the time, the court system was looking for ways to establish an electronic document filing system and the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers offered to set up the system using computers and software already owned by the clerks.

The result was an interlocal agreement between the courts and the FCCC that created the e-filing authority to oversee the electronic filing system and the statewide portal through which the filing is done. As part of the arrangement, the FCCC agreed to pay the costs for the first five million filings annually. In 2015, there were 14 million filings. The authority contracts with the FCCC to operate the portal.

Aside from the FCCC contribution, the authority also receives credit card convenience and electronic check fees paid by filers. Under the interlocal agreement, that income is required to provide for e-filing, electronic service of documents, and batch filing of documents for state attorneys and public defenders as well as other delineated services at no cost to users beyond those fees. The hike in credit card and electronic check fees is the first since the portal began operations in 2011 and attorneys were required to use it in 2013.

E-filing authority Secretary/Treasurer Tara Green, Clay County clerk of court, presented four budget options to the authority board. One called for accepting Visa (the portal currently only accepts American Express, Discover, and MasterCard); one for continuing with the present charges and credit card companies; one raising the convenience fees to 3.5 percent and the electronic check...