Florida Supreme Court revises rule amendment process
The Florida Supreme Court, citing a 2022 Florida Bar-commissioned study, has revised the process for developing procedural rules.
The January 9 decision, Amendments to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.140, SC2023-1373, is here SC2023-1373 Opinion.
In it, justices declined to adopt a Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee proposal to rewrite Rule 2.140, and focused on two recommendations in the report by former State Courts Administrator Lisa Kiel.
“We decline to amend rule 2.140 as proposed and reorganized by the Committee and instead amend the existing version of the rule to align with the two recommendations from the Kiel report,” the orders states.
The Kiel report, “Evaluation of Development and Review of Court Rules Proposals by The Florida Bar Rules Committees,” identified factors that either prolong or delay the process, and recommended ways to make it more streamlined and efficient, justices note.
One recommendation was to alter the publication requirements for proposed rule amendments.
In the order, justices noted the existing rule requires rules committees to publish proposed amendments for comment on the Bar’s website and in the print edition of The Florida Bar News before filing them with the Supreme Court.
The order also notes that the Supreme Court generally republishes proposed rule amendments for comment once they are filed on its website, the Bar’s website, and the print editions of The Florida Bar News.
The order then points to Kiel’s recommendation for doing away with publication in the print edition of The Florida Bar News and allowing, at least at the rules committee level, proposed rule changes to be published only on the Bar’s website.
“We agree with Kiel’s recommendation and amend Rule 2.140(b)(2) to make the Bar’s website the only place rules committees are required to publish proposed rule amendments before filing their reports with the Court,” the order states. “Under the amended rule, rules committees may continue to publish proposed rule amendments in the print edition of The Florida Bar News to obtain as much feedback as possible on a proposal before filing a report with the Court.”
It continues, “If a rules committee elects to publish proposed rule amendments in the print edition of The Florida Bar News, the deadline for comments in response to the print publication must be the same as the deadline for comments in response to the publication on the Bar’s website.”
Justices then point to a second Kiel recommendation, altering the Board of Governors’ role in the rule amendment process.
The order notes that since 1980, and under the Bar-appointed rules committee system for amending procedural rules, the board has been required to vote to recommend acceptance, rejection, or amendment of every committee proposal.
“To expedite the rule development process and to get the Board involved in the process sooner, Kiel recommends doing away with the requirement that the Board vote on each rule proposal,” the order states. “She suggests engaging the Board through the comment process when rule proposals are pending at the rules committee level and before the Supreme Court.”
Justices agreed with that recommendation, too, and revised Rule 2.140 accordingly.
“Instead, the Board will have the option to submit a comment on a proposed rule change when it is pending before a rules committee or the Court,” the order states.
To ensure that the Board is made aware of all proposed rule changes, justices amended Rule 2.140(b)(2) to require the Board to receive a copy of each proposal when it is published for comment by a rules committee. A newly re-lettered subdivision (b)(3) is amended to require each rules committee to provide the Board with a copy of its report when it is filed with the Supreme Court, the order notes.
The order makes a final revision to Rule 2.140(f)(2) (No Action Recommendations), to clarify that rules committees must submit all “no action reports” to the clerk of the Supreme Court.
The amendments become effective April 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m.
