Fla. Stat. § 318.21 — Florida Code / Title XXIII / Chapter 318 / Section 318.21
318.21 Disposition of civil penalties by county courts.
Status: in_force

All civil penalties received by a county court pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be distributed and paid monthly as follows:

(1) One dollar from every civil penalty shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Child Welfare Training Trust Fund for child welfare training purposes pursuant to s. 402.40. One dollar from every civil penalty shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Juvenile Justice Training Trust Fund for juvenile justice purposes pursuant to s. 985.66.

(2) Of the remainder: (a) Twenty and six-tenths percent shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund of the state, except that the first $300,000 shall be deposited into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund in the Justice Administrative Commission for administrative costs, training costs, and costs associated with the implementation and maintenance of Florida foster care citizen review panels in a constitutional charter county as provided for in s. 39.702. (b) Seven and two-tenths percent shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund for the purposes set forth in s. 401.113. (c) Five and one-tenth percent shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Additional Court Cost Clearing Trust Fund established pursuant to s. 938.01 for criminal justice purposes. (d) Eight and two-tenths percent shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund for the purposes set forth in s. 381.79. (e) Two percent shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education. (f) Five-tenths percent shall be paid to the clerk of the court for administrative costs. (g)1. If the violation occurred within a special improvement district of the Seminole Indian Tribe or Miccosukee Indian Tribe, 56.4 percent shall be paid to that special improvement district. 2. If the violation occurred within a municipality, 50.8 percent shall be paid to that municipality and 5.6 percent shall be deposited into the fine and forfeiture trust fund established pursuant to s. 142.01. 3. If the violation occurred within the unincorporated area of a county, including the unincorporated areas, if any, of a government created pursuant to s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution, that is not within a special improvement district of the Seminole Indian Tribe or Miccosukee Indian Tribe, 56.4 percent shall be deposited into the fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01.

(3) Moneys paid to a municipality or special improvement district under subparagraph (2)(g)1. must be used to fund local criminal justice training as provided in s. 938.15 when such a program is established by ordinance; to fund a municipal school crossing guard training program; and for any other lawful purpose.

(4) Of the additional fine assessed under s. 318.18(3)(g) for a violation of s. 316.1301, 40 percent must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the Division of Blind Services of the Department of Education, and 60 percent must be distributed pursuant to subsections (1) and (2).

(5) Of the additional fine assessed under s. 318.18(3)(g) for a violation of s. 316.1303(1), 60 percent must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Education, and 40 percent must be distributed pursuant to subsections (1) and (2).

(6) For every violation of s. 316.613 or s. 316.614, $5 will be deducted from the civil penalty assessed under this chapter and remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Epilepsy Services Trust Fund established under s. 385.207. The remainder must be distributed pursuant to subsections (1) and (2).

(7) For fines assessed under s. 318.18(3) for unlawful speed, the following amounts must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund: For speed exceeding the limit by: Fine: 1-5 mph .......... $ 0.00 6-9 mph .......... $ 0.25 10-14 mph .......... $ 3.00 15-19 mph .......... $ 4.00 20-29 mph .......... $ 5.00 30 mph and above .......... $10.00 The remaining amount must be distributed pursuant to subsections (1) and (2).

(8) Fines and forfeitures received from violations committed within a municipality must be paid monthly to that municipality; fines and forfeitures received from violations committed within a special improvement district created for the Seminole Indian Tribe or Miccosukee Indian Tribe under s. 285.17 must be paid monthly to that special improvement district. These fines and forfeitures must be paid monthly to that municipality or special improvement district in addition to any other fines and forfeitures received by a county court which are required to be paid to that municipality or special improvement district under any other law. If, on February 1, 1972, any chartered county court that has countywide jurisdiction was trying traffic offenses committed within a municipality in that county, two-thirds of the fines and forfeitures received as a result of violations of this chapter, or of any ordinances adopting matter covered by this chapter, committed within a municipality must be paid and distributed to the municipality, and the remainder must be paid into the fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01, except as otherwise provided in subsection (5). The amount of fines and forfeitures payable to a special improvement district created under s. 285.17 which is located in a charter county must be determined in the same manner as the amount of fines and forfeitures payable to a municipality in that county. All fines and forfeitures received by any county court as the result of citations issued under s. 316.640(2)(c)1. must be paid into the fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01 whether or not such citations were issued for parking violations that occurred within a municipality or special improvement district created under s. 285.17.

(9) Twelve dollars and fifty cents from each moving traffic violation must be used by the county to fund that county’s participation in an intergovernmental radio communication program approved by the Department of Management Services. If the county is not participating in such a program, funds collected must be used to fund local law enforcement automation and must be distributed to the municipality or special improvement district in which the violation occurred or to the county if the violation occurred within the unincorporated area of the county.

(10) The additional costs and surcharges on criminal traffic offenses provided for under ss. 938.03 and 938.04 must be collected and distributed by the clerk of the court as provided in those sections. The additional costs and surcharges must also be collected for the violation of any ordinances adopting the criminal traffic offenses enumerated in s. 318.17.

(11)(a) A county or municipality may, by majority vote of the governing board of the respective county or municipality, impose a surcharge on parking fines for the sole purpose of funding school crossing guard programs; however, the governing body may set aside funds from this surcharge to pay for startup costs and recurring administrative costs related to printing new tickets or other means of implementing the program. The surcharge must be authorized by ordinance requiring public hearings. (b) The proceeds of this surcharge must be placed in a trust fund established by the governing body of the county or municipality called the School Crossing Guard Trust Fund. Funds collected from this surcharge must be distributed quarterly to fund the school crossing guard programs provided in subsection (3). (c) If a county government is operating a school crossing guard program in the exercise of its municipal responsibilities, the county may, by majority vote of its governing board, impose a countywide surcharge on parking fines for the sole purpose of funding school crossing guard programs throughout the county; however, the governing body may set aside funds from this surcharge to pay for startup costs and recurring administrative costs related to printing new tickets or other means of implementing the program. The surcharge must be authorized by an ordinance requiring public hearings. This surcharge, established by the governing body of the county, must be placed in a trust fund called the School Crossing Guard Trust Fund. Funds collected from this surcharge must be distributed quarterly to jurisdictions to fund school crossing guard programs based on each jurisdiction’s percentage of the school crossing guards in the county school district.

(12) As of July 1, 2002, the proceeds from the fine as defined in s. 316.126(1)(b) shall be paid to the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund administered by the Office of the Attorney General.

(13) Of the proceeds from the fine under s. 318.18(16), $65 shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Administrative Trust Fund of the Department of Health and the remaining $60 shall be distributed pursuant to subsections (1) and (2).

(14) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the proceeds from the mandatory civil penalties imposed pursuant to s. 318.14(5) shall be distributed as provided in that section.

(15) Of the additional fine assessed under s. 318.18(3)(f) for a violation of s. 316.1893, 50 percent of the moneys received from the fines shall be appropriated to the Agency for Health Care Administration as general revenue to provide an enhanced Medicaid payment to nursing homes that serve Medicaid recipients with brain and spinal cord injuries. The remaining 50 percent of the moneys received from the enhanced fine imposed under s. 318.18(3)(f) shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue and deposited into the Department of Health Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund to provide financial support to certified trauma centers in the counties where enhanced penalty zones are established to ensure the availability and accessibility of trauma services. Funds deposited into the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund under this subsection shall be allocated as follows: (a) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally among all Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers in recognition of readiness costs for maintaining trauma services. 1 (b) Fifty percent shall be allocated among Level I, Level II, and pediatric trauma centers based on each center’s relative volume of trauma cases as calculated using the hospital discharge data collected pursuant to s. 408.061.

(16) The proceeds from the fines described in s. 318.18(17) shall be remitted to the law enforcement agency that issues the citation for a violation of s. 316.622. The funds must be used for continued education and enforcement of s. 316.622 and other related safety measures contained in chapter 316.

(17) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the proceeds from the administrative fee imposed under s. 318.18(18) shall be distributed as provided in that subsection. This subsection expires July 1, 2026.

(18) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the proceeds from the administrative fee imposed under s. 318.18(19) shall be distributed as provided in that subsection.

(19) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the proceeds from the fees imposed under s. 318.18(20) shall be distributed as provided in that subsection.

(20) For fines assessed under s. 318.18(3) for unlawful speed, effective for violations occurring on or after the effective date of this act, the following amounts shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit in the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund; however, these amounts are not revenue for purposes of s. 28.36 and may not be used in establishing the budget of the clerk of the court under that section or s. 28.35: For speed exceeding the limit by: Fine: 1-5 mph .......... $ .00 6-9 mph .......... $ .00 10-14 mph .......... $ .00 15-19 mph .......... $25 20-29 mph .......... $25 30 mph and above .......... $ .00 The remaining amount shall be distributed pursuant to subsections (1) and (2).

(21) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) or any other provision of law, the civil penalties and the proceeds from the additional penalties imposed pursuant to s. 318.18(5)(a)2., (b)2., and (c) and (21) shall be distributed as provided in that section.

History: s. 1, ch. 74-377; s. 39, ch. 76-31; s. 9, ch. 86-154; s. 3, ch. 87-108; s. 4, ch. 87-186; s. 2, ch. 88-73; s. 7, ch. 90-208; s. 4, ch. 91-200; s. 4, ch. 92-194; s. 3, ch. 92-195; s. 2, ch. 94-324; s. 59, ch. 95-267; s. 49, ch. 96-350; ss. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 97-235; s. 33, ch. 97-271; s. 94, ch. 98-279; ss. 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, ch. 98-280; ss. 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, ch. 98-403; s. 95, ch. 99-13; s. 254, ch. 99-248; s. 4, ch. 2000-139; s. 43, ch. 2000-152; s. 36, ch. 2000-171; ss. 11, 12, ch. 2001-122; s. 20, ch. 2001-254; s. 42, ch. 2002-1; s. 5, ch. 2002-217; s. 7, ch. 2003-2; s. 100, ch. 2003-402; s. 61, ch. 2004-265; s. 12, ch. 2005-164; s. 4, ch. 2005-194; s. 49, ch. 2005-236; s. 10, ch. 2006-81; s. 107, ch. 2006-120; ss. 4, 7, ch. 2006-296; s. 22, ch. 2007-196; s. 4, ch. 2009-6; s. 13, ch. 2009-61; s. 2, ch. 2009-138; s. 59, ch. 2010-5; s. 4, ch. 2010-161; s. 1, ch. 2011-118; s. 7, ch. 2012-141; s. 19, ch. 2012-181; s. 2, ch. 2017-75; s. 3, ch. 2018-66; s. 2, ch. 2021-3; s. 13, ch. 2023-174; s. 27, ch. 2024-57; s. 10, ch. 2025-149.