Bill Commons

FL HB 965

dead

Voluntary Trial Resolution

Florida · 2026 Regular Session · lower

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Quick answers

Did FL HB 965 pass?

No. FL HB 965 did not pass — it was defeated or died in the legislative process. Latest recorded action (2026-03-13): Died in Judiciary Committee

What is FL HB 965 about?

Voluntary Trial Resolution; Removes provisions relating to voluntary trial resolution; authorizes parties to civil cases, family law cases, or probate cases to agree to or stipulate appointment of voluntary trial resolution judge; requires parties to promptly serve copy of joint motion & form on presiding judge; requires presiding judge to enter specified order within certain time period; requires appointed voluntary trial resolution judge to take & subscribe to specified oath; provides exception; requires voluntary trial resolution judge to adjudicate case until final determination of case; requires case to be returned to presiding judge; requires immediate disclosure by voluntary trial resolution judge to parties of circumstances requiring disqualification; authorizes waiver of disqualification; provides for compensation of voluntary trial resolution judge; requires presiding judge to retain jurisdiction for specified purpose; requires clerk of court to treat cases referred to voluntary trial resolution in specified manner; requires chief judge or his or her designee to make available public facilities & personnel in proceedings assigned to voluntary trial resolution judge in specified manner; requires chief judge & clerk to coordinate provision of jurors with voluntary trial resolution judge for certain actions; authorizes parties to agree to use certain facilities for other specified matters; specifies that parties are responsible for certain costs; provides scope of judicial functions of voluntary trial resolution judge; requires presiding judge to maintain jurisdiction to perform certain judicial functions; requires voluntary trial resolution judge to conduct proceedings under specified rules of court; requires voluntary trial resolution proceedings to be noticed & open to public.

Who sponsors FL HB 965?

Partington, Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee are the primary sponsors of FL HB 965.

Description

Voluntary Trial Resolution; Removes provisions relating to voluntary trial resolution; authorizes parties to civil cases, family law cases, or probate cases to agree to or stipulate appointment of voluntary trial resolution judge; requires parties to promptly serve copy of joint motion & form on presiding judge; requires presiding judge to enter specified order within certain time period; requires appointed voluntary trial resolution judge to take & subscribe to specified oath; provides exception; requires voluntary trial resolution judge to adjudicate case until final determination of case; requires case to be returned to presiding judge; requires immediate disclosure by voluntary trial resolution judge to parties of circumstances requiring disqualification; authorizes waiver of disqualification; provides for compensation of voluntary trial resolution judge; requires presiding judge to retain jurisdiction for specified purpose; requires clerk of court to treat cases referred to voluntary trial resolution in specified manner; requires chief judge or his or her designee to make available public facilities & personnel in proceedings assigned to voluntary trial resolution judge in specified manner; requires chief judge & clerk to coordinate provision of jurors with voluntary trial resolution judge for certain actions; authorizes parties to agree to use certain facilities for other specified matters; specifies that parties are responsible for certain costs; provides scope of judicial functions of voluntary trial resolution judge; requires presiding judge to maintain jurisdiction to perform certain judicial functions; requires voluntary trial resolution judge to conduct proceedings under specified rules of court; requires voluntary trial resolution proceedings to be noticed & open to public.

Introduced
—
Latest action
2026-03-13 — Died in Judiciary Committee
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Partingtonprimary
  • Civil Justice & Claims Subcommitteeprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-03-13

    Died in Judiciary Committee

    failure

  2. 2026-02-20

    Now in Judiciary Committee

  3. 2026-02-20

    Referred to Judiciary Committee

    referral-committee

  4. 2026-02-18

    1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)

    reading-1

  5. 2026-02-18

    CS Filed

    filing

  6. 2026-02-18

    Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)

    deferral

  7. 2026-02-18

    Reported out of Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

  8. 2026-02-18

    Favorable with CS by Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

    committee-passage-favorable

  9. 2026-02-16

    Added to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee agenda

  10. 2026-01-13

    1st Reading (Original Filed Version)

    filing,reading-1

  11. 2026-01-12

    Now in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

  12. 2026-01-12

    Referred to Judiciary Committee

    referral-committee

  13. 2026-01-12

    Referred to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

    referral-committee

  14. 2026-01-05

    Filed

    filing

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • Favorable With Committee Substitute (Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee)

    2026-02-18 · pass · 15-0

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:19:20.677932Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Session-wide evidence can include changes to other bills:

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Known limitations

  • Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
  • Committee referrals are not yet captured.

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