A bill which would place term limits on Florida Supreme Court justices and appellate judges passed by the Florida House panel on Thursday. The contentious measure targets a judiciary that has had a hand in overturning many of the Gov. Scott's and the Republican-controlled state legislature's signature laws.

The legislation, HJR 1, would put a constitutional amendment on the 2018 ballot that, if approved by at least 60 percent of the voters, it would limit judges to two six-year terms on the bench. Judges are currently required to stand for the merit retention votes every six years, meaning voters can decide whether they stay on the bench or not.

The sitting governor appoints the Florida Supreme Court justices.

"There is never been a justice or judge that has not been retained," State Rep. Jennifer Sullivan (R-Mount Dora) told to the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee before its vote on the measure. "An accountability system that does not hold people accountable is not truly an accountability system."

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The judicial term limit legislation is a priority for the House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Land O'Lakes), who in his inaugural address in November railed against a judicial branch he believes has acted with the impunity. In the recent years, the Florida Supreme Court and the district courts of appeal have overturned Republican initiatives ranging from school voucher programs to caps on workers compensation attorney fees.

But Democrats believe that it is legislative leaders, not the judges, that are running roughshod over the state's system of checks and balances. Judicial term limits, they warn, would cause the catastrophic turnover, weakening an essential branch of the government.

The bill's prospects, are uncertain. It appears to enjoy the lukewarm support in Senate, and even some rank-and-file House Republicans have reservations about changing the long-established rules of another branch.

By Mrudula.