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HB1391 • 2026

Family Court Report Cards

Family Court Report Cards

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Basabe
Last action
2026-03-13
Official status
House - Died in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
Effective date
2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide detailed specifics on how personal identifying information will be protected beyond stating it cannot be included.

Family Court Report Cards

This bill requires the Office of State Courts Administrator to establish a pilot program and publish annual report cards for family court judges starting in 2027, aiming to improve transparency and accountability.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes a pilot program in three judicial circuits beginning July 1, 2026, to refine data definitions, reporting standards, publication tools, and methods before statewide implementation of family court report cards.
  • Requires the Office of State Courts Administrator to prepare and publish annual family court report cards for each judge who presides over family law proceedings in each judicial circuit starting July 1, 2027.
  • Includes specific performance metrics such as average time to final judgment, percentage of cases resolved through mediation or settlement, number and percentage of cases requiring court-ordered psychological evaluations, average cost to parties for court-appointed professionals (if available), rate of postjudgment modifications within three years after entry of final judgment, compliance rate with statutory time requirements for rulings on motions and reports, and aggregate rate of reversal on appeal in family law cases.
  • Maintains a publicly accessible online database of report cards and annual statewide summaries identifying trends and resource disparities across all judicial circuits.
  • Requests the Supreme Court to adopt rules for standardized data definitions, reporting procedures, and quality assurance requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Family court judges
  • The Office of State Courts Administrator
  • Litigants in family law proceedings

Terms To Know

Judicial circuit
A geographic area designated for the administration of justice, including courts and related agencies.
Supreme Court
The highest court in Florida that has ultimate authority over all other state courts.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It is unclear what the exact impact on public confidence and transparency will be after implementation.
  • The effectiveness of the pilot program in refining data definitions and reporting standards before statewide implementation remains to be seen.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-13 House

    • Died in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

  2. 2026-01-15 House

    • Referred to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee • Referred to Information Technology Budget & Policy Subcommittee • Referred to Judiciary Committee • Now in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

  3. 2026-01-13 House

    • 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)

  4. 2026-01-09 House

    • Filed

Official Summary Text

Family Court Report Cards; Requires Office of State Courts Administrator to establish pilot program beginning on specified date; provides appropriation; requires office to prepare & publish on its website annual family court report card of each judge who presides over family law proceedings in each judicial circuit beginning on specified date; requires office to maintain publicly accessible online database of report cards & certain statewide summaries; requesting Supreme Court to adopt rules.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB 1391 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1391-00
Page 1 of 4
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to family court report cards; creating 2
s. 25.396, F.S.; requiring the Office of the State 3
Courts Administrator to establish a pilot program 4
beginning on a specified date; providing the purpose 5
of the pilot program; providing a reporting 6
requirement; providing an appropriation; requiring the 7
office to prepare and publish on its website an annual 8
family court report card of each judge who presides 9
over family law proceedings in each judicial circuit 10
beginning on a specified date; providing a purpose for 11
the report card; requiring that the report card 12
include specified information; requiring the office to 13
maintain a publicly accessible online database of the 14
report cards and certain statewide summaries; 15
prohibiting the report cards from containing certain 16
personal identifying information; requesting the 17
Supreme Court to adopt rules; providing an effective 18
date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
22
Section 1. Section 25.396, Florida Statutes, is created to 23
read: 24
25.396 Family court report cards pilot program.— 25

HB 1391 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(1)(a)1. Beginning on July 1, 2026, the Office of the 26
State Courts Administrator shall establish a pilot program in 27
three judicial circuits to implement the provisions of this 28
section. 29
2. The purpose of the pilot program is to refine data 30
definitions, reporting standards, publication tools, and methods 31
before the family court report cards are implemented statewide 32
pursuant to this section. 33
3. No later than March 1, 2027, the Office of the State 34
Courts Administrator shall submit to the Governor, the President 35
of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a 36
report on the findings of the pilot program. 37
(b) The Legislature shall provide funding necessary for 38
the Office of the State Courts Administrator to implement the 39
pilot program, including personnel and information technology 40
resources dedicated to data collection, verification, and 41
publication. 42
(2)(a) Beginning July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, 43
the Office of the State Courts Administrator shall prepare and 44
publish on its website a family court report card of each judge 45
who presides over family law proceedings in each judicial 46
circuit. 47
(b) The report card is intended to promote transparency, 48
accountability, and public confidence in the family law system 49
by providing standardized performance metrics regarding case 50

HB 1391 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

management, timeliness, and outcomes. 51
(c) At a minimum, each report card must include all of the 52
following: 53
1. The average time to final judgment in dissolution and 54
time-sharing cases. 55
2. The percentage of cases resolved through mediation or 56
settlement. 57
3. The number and percentage of cases requiring court-58
ordered psychological evaluations. 59
4. The average cost to parties for court-appointed 60
professionals, if such data is available. 61
5. The rate of postjudgment modifications within 3 years 62
after entry of final judgment. 63
6. The compliance rate with statutory time requirements 64
for rulings on motions and reports. 65
7. The aggregate rate of reversal on appeal in family law 66
cases. 67
(d) To ensure accurate interpretation of the metrics under 68
this subsection, each report card must also include all of the 69
following: 70
1. Circuit caseload volume and yearly changes. 71
2. Available judicial and administrative resources for 72
family court operations. 73
3. Indicators of case complexity, when quantifiable. 74
4. Optional narrative statements not to exceed 500 words 75

HB 1391 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

by a presiding judge to provide context for the metrics. 76
(3) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall 77
maintain a publicly accessible, searchable, online database of 78
report cards and annual statewide summaries. Such summaries must 79
identify trends and resource disparities across all of the 80
judicial circuits of this state. 81
(4) Report cards may not contain personal identifying 82
information about litigants or minor children. 83
(5) The Supreme Court is requested to adopt rules to 84
implement this section, including standardized data definitions, 85
reporting procedures, and quality assurance requirements. 86
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 87