Florida House District 3 Representative Nathan Boyles has filed HB 421, the Judicial Efficiency and Transparency (JET) Act, legislation that creates a new statewide reporting standard for the performance of Florida’s circuit and county court judges. The bill establishes section 28.51, Florida Statutes, requiring each Clerk of Court to prepare and publicly publish an annual judicial performance report for every judge in their jurisdiction. These reports will include the number of cases assigned to each judge, the number of cases that reach final disposition, the clearance rates for each reporting period, the average age of active pending cases, the number of civil cases pending more than three years, and the average scheduling-to-hearing time for all hearings.
These reports must be posted publicly each year by April 1st, on the clerk’s website and the respective court’s website, and remain posted and accessible for the duration of a judge’s tenure. Judges are also authorized to submit explanatory statements to contextualize their performance metrics, subject to approval by the Chief Judge. The first reporting year will be 2028.
Florida residents rely on the courts to deliver timely, fair, and efficient justice. Yet most Floridians have no accessible way to evaluate fundamental judicial performance metrics; such as clearance rates, case blockages, or delays in scheduling. This lack of transparency limits accountability, hinders informed voting in judicial retention elections, and makes it difficult for policymakers to identify systemic inefficiencies.
Floridians deserve a court system that operates with the same transparency, accountability, and efficiency expected of any other branch of government. This legislation will bring sunlight to judicial operations and give citizens straightforward, consistent data on how their courts are performing, how their cases are being handled, and how effectively their taxpayer-funded judicial resources are being used. A more transparent judiciary is a more trustworthy judiciary, and the JET Act helps ensure Florida’s courts uphold these principles.
For questions concerning this matter, please contact Representative Boyle’s district office at 850.750.4470 or contact his legislative aide, Noah Brown, at Noah.Brown@FLHouse.gov.
