HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-279RESOLUTION NO. 03-279
A RESOLUTION OF THE ST. LUCIE COUNT~
BOARD OF COUNT~ COMMISSIONERS:
REQUESTING SUPPORT FROM INDIVIDUALS
AND GROUPS FOR ADE(~UATE LAW LTBRAR¥
FUNDING; AND PROVIDING MEANS FOR
IMPLEMENTATION
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made
the following determinations:
1. Public law libraries provide the legal information necessary to effective
functioning of the justice system and provide legal information to judicial officers and their
support staff; government attorneys, attorneys in private practice, corporate attorneys, and
the general public.
2. Internet technology is no substitute for adequately funded law libraries
inasmuch as there are large amounts of legal information available only in print, microfilm or
commercial data bases and, public law libraries remain the best source for older case law,
annotated status (current and superceded), continuing legal education seminar materials,
older legal periodicals, current texts and treatises.
3. Public Iow libraries not only provide access to legal information, but also
research assistance, web publishing, training and other value-added services.
4. By providing ready access to legal information, public Iow libraries ploy o
fundamental role in preserving access to justice and in promoting, through knowledge, trust
and confidence in the justice system.
5. lin ~Tuly, 2003, the Miami-Dada County Law Library, at the request of the Chief
~Tudge of the 11th ~Tudicial Circuit, surveyed all county law libraries within the State on their
sources of funding and such survey found that twenty-two (22) out of twenty-three (23)
responding libraries are funded in whole or in part by service fees surcharged on case filing
fees.
6. Such funding through service fees was, and is currently, authorized by Fla.
Stat. Section 28.2401(3).
7. The Rupert ~T. Smith Law Library of St. Lucie County is created by Fla. Ch.
2001-326 pursuant to Fla. Stat. Section 189.429 as an independent special district, for the
purpose of establishing, operating and maintaining one or more law library facilities within St.
The Rupert ~T. Smith Law Library of St. Lucia County is funded wholly through
service fees under the Laws of Florida, Ch. 2001-326, Section 2.
9. The Rupert ~T. Smith Law Library of St. Lucia County's operating expenses were
$169,388.37 in 2002, were $240,463.48 in 2003, and are projected to amount to
$270,543.27 in 2004.
10. The Rupert ~T. Smith Law Library of St. Lucia County records thirty-five
percent (35%) more attorney visits in 2003 than for a similar period in 2002, with growth in
use overall in 2003 between attorney and the general public of twenty-five percent (25%),
with such use almost evenly divided between attorneys fifty-two percent (5;~%) and members
of the general public forty-eight percent (48%).
Lucia County.
8.
11 .The 200,3 legislature adopted House Bill 0113A, Laws of Florida, Ch. 2003-402,
to take effect in relevant part on ,Tuly 1, 2004, so as to implement an initiative amendment
to Article V of the Florida Constitution, wherein such legislation does not provide for County
law libraries as an essential element of the courts so as to be entitled to state funding, and
further repeals and eliminates s. 28.2401(3) so as to remove service fees as a source of
funding for law libraries and makes no provision for alternative sources of funding.
12. It is proper that the cost of law library services be borne by the consumers
of such services, through user fees os currently permitted by ordinance or general and
special law, rather than be paid by taxpayers as o whole through general tax revenues.
13. At its annual meeting of October 18, 2003, Florida State, Court and County Law
Libraries, Inc., voted to appeal for Legislative restoration of county law library funding
through service fees os permitted by s. 28.2401(3), and wherein proposed "glitch bills" for
amendment of House Bill 0115A, Fla. Ch. 2003-402 are being, or will be, drafted by groups
including the Florida Clerk of Courts Operations Conference, and the Trial Court Budget
Commission, which draft proposals may or may not address adequate law library funding.
14. The St. Lucia County Bar Association Executive Committee, on behalf of the
membership of the St. Lucia County Bar Association, voted to approve this resolution.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St.
Lucia County, Florida:
1. This Board supports a continuation of funding through service fees for the
Rupert ,T. Smith Law Library of St. Lucia County in their present form and therefore supports
amendment of Fla. Ch. 2003-402 so as to restore Fla. Stat. Section 28.2401(3) as it is and
was prior to enactment of HB0113A.
2. The County Administrator is hereby directed to forward a copy of this
resolution to the St. Lucie County Legislative Delegation and the Florida Association of
Counties.
After motion and second the vote on this resolution was as follows:
Chairman Cliff Barnes AYE
Vice Chairman Poula A. Lewis
AYE
Commissioner Frannie Hutchinson
AYE
Commissioner Doug Coward AYE
Commissioner ,Tohn b. Bruhn AYE
PA55Eb AND DULY ADOPTED this 4th day of November, 2003.
ATTEST:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMZSSZONERS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM AND
CO~RECTNE$$.~/-~