Passidomo briefs the Board of Governors
‘We rely on the Bar, and I want to continue that . . . relationship, and I know my colleagues do’
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo
Fresh from her first regular session as presiding officer, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo told the Board of Governors the Legislature considers the Bar a valuable partner.
She pointed to a record $117 billion proposed state budget for FY 2023-24 that calls for fully funding many third-branch priorities.
“We heard you loud and clear, particularly with regard to the court system,” Passidomo said.
The veteran lawmaker delivered welcoming remarks at a May 12 board meeting in Naples, her hometown.
Passidomo said Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz met with her and made a compelling case that the court system needs more competitive salaries.
The budget provides a 5% across-the-board pay raise for all state workers, including jurists, and sets aside an additional $4.8 million for “discretionary salary adjustments” for the courts.
The Legislature completed an “historic” session without going into overtime, Passidomo said, because her two negotiating partners, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and House Speaker Paul Renner, are also lawyers. That trust helped her agree to back Renner’s K-12 education reforms and helped Renner back her landmark affordable housing and land preservation initiatives, before the session started, Passidomo said.
“And we accomplished those goals in the first two weeks of session, which left the rest of session to focus on those things that are important to you all,” she said.
Passidomo said sweeping civil litigation reforms, which drew opposition from the Florida Justice Association and consumer advocates, were a DeSantis priority.
But they were necessary, when paired with consumer-friendly insurance reforms, to address the excessive litigation that is behind skyrocketing insurance rates, Passidomo said.
Passidomo said much of the blame rests with a handful of law firms that generate most of the litigation, and three or four insurance companies that invite lawsuits by unfairly denying claims.
“Both bills, the tort reform bill, the insurance accountability bill, will together…bring down some of the costs of insurance in our state, because it will bring down litigation,” she said.
The legal profession has changed a great deal since she was admitted to the Bar nearly 44 years ago, Passidomo said.
As it grows, it needs to do a better job disciplining its own, she said.
“I’m asking you to work with us, to try and rein in the bad actors so that the good things that we do as lawyers are the things that people talk about,” she said.
An alimony reform effort sailed through the Legislature with little fanfare because lawmakers worked with the Family Law Section, Passidomo said.
“That’s a tribute to the Bar,” she said. “In the past, alimony was global thermal nuclear war.”
Passidomo said many nonlawyer legislators come to her for advice on bills that have “judicial impact,” because she is active in Bar work, including membership in the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section.
“We rely on the Bar, and I want to continue that . . . relationship, and I know my colleagues do.”
