# Supreme Court of Florida

____________ No. SC15

- 176

____________
IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO RULE S OF THE SUPREME COURT

RELATING TO ADMISSIONS TO THE BAR .

[June 4, 2015]
PER CURIAM. This matter is before the Court for consideration of an amendment to Rule of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar 1

- 21 (Membership) proposed by The Florida Board of Bar Examiners (Board)

. See Fla. Bar Admiss. R. 1

- 12. 1 After considering the Board’s propos al, rather than amending rule 1

- 21 as proposed, w e adopt new rule 1

- 21.1 ( Additional Members )

. Rule 1

- 21 currently provides that the “Florida Board of Bar Examiners consists of 12 members of The Florida Bar and 3 public members who are not lawyers .” T he Board asks the Court to amend rule 1

- 21 to allo w the Board to petition the Court for additional members to serve on the Board, as necessitated by

1

. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 15, Fla. Const.- 2

-

the Board’s fluctuating workload . According to the Board, having the option to request additional members will allow the Board to process applicant files in the most efficient manner possible

. The B oard recognizes that its workload ma y vary as the number of applicants fluctuates. Therefore, the proposed amendment to rule
1

- 21 is intended to allow the size of the B oard to expand when necessary, while allowing for a reduction to standard membership when the additional member s’ terms end, if no replacement for the additional members proves necessary. In the petition seeking to amend the rule , the Board also asks the Court to appoint two additional attorney members and one additional public member

. 2
T he Board’s general proposal to allow for additional Board members i s well justified

. How ever , the Board’s proposed rule amen dment fails to include procedures for reque sting add itional members and for appointing specific public or attorney members once the Court approv es adding member s. The proposed rule amendment also fails to clarify the duration of the terms of the additional members

. Therefo re, rather than amending rule 1

- 21 as proposed, we adopt new rule 1

- 21.1 (Additional Members) to provide the necessary procedures , as follows :

1
- 21.1 Additional Members. The board may submit to the court a request for additional members to serve, as necessary. The request and a ppointee recommendations must be submitted in the

2

. Although the Board’s request for appointment of additional members suggests terms of service for the additional members, it fails to include specific appointee recommendations

.- 3

-

same manner as appointee recommendations under rules 1

- 22.2 and 1

- 23.2. The term of service of a member appointed under this rule will be as provided in rules 1

- 22.3 and 1

- 23.3 or as otherwise approved by t he court. We also decline to address the Board ’ s request for appointment of additional members in this rules case. Accordingly, we amend the Rule s of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar as set forth in the appendix to this opinion. New l anguage is indicated by underscoring

. The amendment shall become effective immediately upon the release of this opinion. The Board may submit its request for additional members and appointee recommendations to t he Court in accordance with new rule
1

- 2 1 .1

. It is so ordered. LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, and PERRY, JJ., concur.
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS. Original Proceeding

– Rules of the Supreme Court of Florida Relating to Admissions to the Florida Bar Daryl M. Manning , Chair, Michele A. Gavagni, Executive Director, and Robert G. Blythe , General Counsel, Florida Board of Bar Examiners, Tallahassee, Flo rida, for Petitioner- 4

- APPENDIX

1
- 20 Florida Board of Bar Examiners. 1
- 21 Membership . The Florida Board of Bar Examiners consists of 12 members of The Florida Bar and 3 public members who are not lawyers. 1
- 21.1 Additional Members . The board may submit to the court a request for additional members to s erve, as necessary. The request and appointee recommendations must be submitted in the same manner as appointee recommendations under rules 1

- 22.2 and 1

- 23.2. The term of service of a member appointed under this rule will be as provided in rules 1

- 22.3 and 1

- 23.3 or as otherwise approved by the court.