# Florida SB 538: State Courts System Florida SB 538, State Courts System, is a 2025 Senate bill sponsored by Jennifer Bradley (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-06-23 (Chapter No. 2025-163); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-SB538-2025 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Florida SB 538 - State: Florida - Session: 2025 - Title: State Courts System - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-06 - Last action: 2025-06-23, Chapter No. 2025-163 - Sponsor: Jennifer Bradley (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Appropriation, Judiciary, Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, Rules, House Calendar - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 5 (192 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - No upfront fees for protection petitions: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, clerks cannot charge an initial filing fee for petitions seeking domestic violence, repeat, sexual, dating violence, stalking, or vulnerable-adult protection orders. Clerks can request $40 per petition from the state, subject to legislative funding, and must pay serving law… - Judges available for urgent protection hearings: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, each Florida circuit must keep at least one judge available for hearings with little notice. A judge must also be available on weekends, holidays, and weekday after-hours to hear requests for temporary domestic violence orders without advance notice. The chief judge may assi… - Arbitration parties face new cost rules: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2025, parties generally pay arbitrator costs under Florida Supreme Court rules. The law removes the former $1,500-per-day cap for court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration. If a court finds a party indigent and uses state funds, the party must pay what they can afford and follow a cle… - State workers face dependent coverage checks: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2025, the state must hire a service to verify dependents in its group insurance program. Proof depends on the relationship: spouses need marriage or tax records; children need birth or adoption records; guardians and foster parents need court or foster-care records. Stepchildren a… - New checks for sensitive court records: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, judges can authenticate covered sworn papers by signing and printing their name, title, and court. Title insurers, title agents, and attorneys seeking restricted Official Records information must provide identification, a purpose, record details, and required attestations. R… - Disease benefits presumed work-related: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, emergency rescue and public safety workers with hepatitis, meningococcal meningitis, or tuberculosis requiring treatment are presumed disabled in the line of duty if the disease causes disability or death. Competent evidence can rebut the presumption. Workers must submit a s… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Jennifer Bradley (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-29 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 115 | 0 | | | 2025-04-03 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 37 | 0 | | | 2025-03-26 | Senate | Rules Vote | pass | 24 | 0 | | | 2025-03-18 | Senate | Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice Vote | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2025-03-04 | Senate | Judiciary Vote | pass | 11 | 0 | | ## Actions (32) - 2025-06-23: Chapter No. 2025-163 - 2025-06-20: Approved by Governor - 2025-06-18: Signed by Officers and presented to Governor - 2025-04-29: Ordered enrolled (Senate) - 2025-04-29: CS passed; YEAS 115, NAYS 0 (House) - 2025-04-29: Read 3rd time (House) - 2025-04-29: Added to Third Reading Calendar (House) - 2025-04-29: Placed on 3rd reading (House) - 2025-04-29: Read 2nd time (House) - 2025-04-28: 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1) (House) - 2025-04-28: Bill added to Special Order Calendar (4/29/2025) (House) - 2025-04-28: Bill referred to House Calendar (House) - 2025-04-03: In Messages (House) - 2025-04-03: Immediately certified -SJ 330 (Senate) - 2025-04-03: CS passed; YEAS 37 NAYS 0 -SJ 318 (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Read 3rd time -SJ 317 (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Read 2nd time -SJ 317 (Senate) - 2025-04-01: Placed on Special Order Calendar, 04/03/25 (Senate) - 2025-03-26: CS by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice read 1st time (Senate) - 2025-03-26: Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading (Senate) - 2025-03-26: Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 24 NAYS 0 (Senate) - 2025-03-21: On Committee agenda-- Rules, 03/26/25, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building (Senate) - 2025-03-20: Now in Rules (Senate) - 2025-03-20: Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute) (Senate) - 2025-03-18: CS by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; YEAS 5 NAYS 0 (Senate) - 2025-03-13: On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, 03/18/25, 1:00 pm, 37 Senate Building (Senate) - 2025-03-05: Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice (Senate) - 2025-03-04: Introduced (Senate) - 2025-03-04: Favorable by Judiciary; YEAS 11 NAYS 0 (Senate) - 2025-02-27: On Committee agenda-- Judiciary, 03/04/25, 4:00 pm, 110 Senate Building (Senate) - 2025-02-20: Referred to Judiciary; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Rules (Senate) - 2025-02-06: Filed (Senate) ## Bill text - er, 2025-07-01: [HTML](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/er/HTML), [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/er/PDF) - c1, 2025-03-20: [HTML](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/c1/HTML), [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/c1/PDF) - Filed, 2025-02-06: [HTML](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/Filed/HTML), [PDF](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/Filed/PDF) ## Related bills - HB 1427: Nursing Education Programs (vetoed) - HB 1095: Criminal Offender Substance Abuse Program (vetoed) - HB 6017: Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death (vetoed) - HB 1445: Public Officers and Employees (vetoed) - HB 11: Municipal Water and Sewer Utility Rates (vetoed) - HB 5015: State Group Insurance (vetoed) ## Sources - [er (HTML)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/er/HTML) - [er (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/er/PDF) - [c1 (HTML)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/c1/HTML) - [c1 (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/c1/PDF) - [Filed (HTML)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/Filed/HTML) - [Filed (PDF)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/538/BillText/Filed/PDF) ## Related - [HB 1427: Nursing Education Programs](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB1427-2025) - [HB 1095: Criminal Offender Substance Abuse Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB1095-2025) - [HB 6017: Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB6017-2025) - [HB 1445: Public Officers and Employees](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB1445-2025) - [HB 11: Municipal Water and Sewer Utility Rates](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB11-2025) - [HB 5015: State Group Insurance](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-HB5015-2025) - [Florida bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/florida/bills) - [Florida state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/florida) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/FL-SB538-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).