Bill
SB 2508
Florida SB 2508 adds 10 circuit, 17 county, and 2 appellate judgeships to the judiciary, with funding and staff to support them.
Important note on scope and title
- The bill title you provided ("Mortgage brokers and lenders; authorize to perform organization activities at a remote location.") does not match the legislative documents you supplied. The analysis, fiscal statements, and actions attached to SB 2508 relate to creation of judicial positions (Florida) and associated budget actions.
- The summary below addresses the SB 2508 material contained in the provided documents (the judicial judgeships / appropriations content), not the unrelated mortgage-broker title.
Summary — SB 2508 (as reflected in provided documents)
Purpose
- Implements the Florida Supreme Court’s certification of need for additional judges by creating new trial- and appellate-court judgeships and conforming appropriations to the Senate’s FY 2025–2026 budget.
Key provisions
- Creates 10 new circuit court judgeships by amending s. 26.031, F.S.:
- Fifth Judicial Circuit: increases from 31 to 34 judges.
- Twentieth Judicial Circuit: increases from 32 to 39 judges.
- Creates 17 new county court judgeships by amending s. 34.022, F.S., allocated to:
- Clay (2→3), Duval (17→19), Hernando (2→3), Marion (4→5), Miami‑Dade (43→50), Nassau (1→2), Palm Beach (19→21), Sumter (1→2).
- Creates 2 new appellate judgeships by amending s. 35.06, F.S., for the Sixth District Court of Appeal.
- Conforms statutory changes to the Senate’s proposed FY 2025–2026 General Appropriations Act: authorizes funding and staffing to support the new judgeships.
Who or what is affected
- State judiciary: new judgeships at circuit, county, and appellate levels.
- Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) and Supreme Court certification process: implements recommendations in part.
- Counties: while the state pays for county judges and judicial assistants, counties remain responsible for court facilities, security, communications, and IT (per ss. 29.008 and 29.004, F.S.); adding judges could increase county operating/facility demands.
- No direct private-sector impacts identified.
Fiscal and staffing impact
- The bill aligns with the Senate budget, which includes $13,289,949 in General Revenue funding to support the changes.
- Authorizes 67 full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions with an associated salary rate of $7,828,265 for newly established judgeships and related judicial assistants and attorney staffing.
- The analysis notes counties could incur some additional facility/security/IT costs but expects these costs can likely be absorbed within existing resources.
Background and legal authority
- Based on Florida Constitution, Article V, §9: the Supreme Court establishes uniform criteria for judge-need determinations and certifies recommendations to the Legislature.
- The Supreme Court’s Order No. SC2024-1721 (Dec. 12, 2024) certified the need for additional judges after a June 2024 revision to the weighted‑caseload workload assessment (OSCA/NCSC), which found many case types require more judicial time even without increased filing forecasts.
Procedural and timeline notes
- Introduced (filed) March 13, 2025.
- Committee analyses dated April 1 and April 3, 2025.
- Passed by both houses (conference report adopted June 16, 2025).
- Approved by Governor June 30, 2025 (Chapter No. 2025-202).
- Effective date: July 1, 2025.
Constitutional/technical issues
- Analyses identify no conflicts with municipal/county mandate restrictions, public‑records/open‑meetings laws, trust‑fund limitations, tax/fee increases, or other constitutional issues.
- No technical deficiencies reported.
If you want
- I can: (a) prepare a short one‑page “cheat sheet” listing only the numeric changes by circuit/county; (b) confirm whether you want a summary that instead matches the mortgage‑broker title (if you can provide that bill’s documents); or (c) produce a version tailored for county officials outlining likely local operational impacts. Which would you prefer?
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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