Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1562
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì841202cÎ841202                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/18/2017           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and
       Economic Development (Brandes) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Present subsections (5) and (6) of section
    6  338.166, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
    7  and (7), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added to that
    8  section, to read:
    9         338.166 High-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.—
   10         (5) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel
   11  speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per
   12  hour, the customer shall be charged the minimum express lane
   13  toll. A customer’s express lane average travel speed is his or
   14  her average travel speed from the customer’s entry point to the
   15  customer’s exit point.
   16         Section 2. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of
   17  section 338.2216, Florida Statutes, to read:
   18         338.2216 Florida Turnpike Enterprise; powers and
   19  authority.—
   20         (1)
   21         (e) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel
   22  speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per
   23  hour, the customer shall be charged the general toll lane toll
   24  amount plus 25 cents. A customer’s express lane average travel
   25  speed is his or her average travel speed from the customer’s
   26  entry point to the customer’s exit point.
   27         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   28  338.231, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   29         338.231 Turnpike tolls, fixing; pledge of tolls and other
   30  revenues.—The department shall at all times fix, adjust, charge,
   31  and collect such tolls and amounts for the use of the turnpike
   32  system as are required in order to provide a fund sufficient
   33  with other revenues of the turnpike system to pay the cost of
   34  maintaining, improving, repairing, and operating such turnpike
   35  system; to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds issued
   36  to finance or refinance any portion of the turnpike system as
   37  the same become due and payable; and to create reserves for all
   38  such purposes.
   39         (3)(a) For the period July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2027
   40  2017, the department shall, to the maximum extent feasible,
   41  program sufficient funds in the tentative work program such that
   42  the percentage of turnpike toll and bond financed commitments in
   43  Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County as
   44  compared to total turnpike toll and bond financed commitments
   45  shall be at least 90 percent of the share of net toll
   46  collections attributable to users of the turnpike system in
   47  Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County as
   48  compared to total net toll collections attributable to users of
   49  the turnpike system. This subsection does not apply when the
   50  application of such requirements would violate any covenant
   51  established in a resolution or trust indenture relating to the
   52  issuance of turnpike bonds. The department may at any time for
   53  economic considerations establish lower temporary toll rates for
   54  a new or existing toll facility for a period not to exceed 1
   55  year, after which the toll rates adopted pursuant to s. 120.54
   56  shall become effective.
   57         Section 4. Present subsections (6) through (9) of section
   58  348.0004, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (7)
   59  through (10), respectively, paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of
   60  that section is amended, and new subsections (6), (11), and (12)
   61  are added to that section, to read:
   62         348.0004 Purposes and powers.—
   63         (2) Each authority may exercise all powers necessary,
   64  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of
   65  its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following
   66  rights and powers:
   67         (e) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls,
   68  rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and
   69  facilities system, which tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other
   70  charges must always be sufficient to comply with any covenants
   71  made with the holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the
   72  Florida Expressway Authority Act. However, such right and power
   73  may be assigned or delegated by the authority to the department.
   74         1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
   75  contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained
   76  in documents securing any indebtedness outstanding on July 1,
   77  2017, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1):
   78         a. The authority may not increase a toll unless the
   79  increase is justified to the satisfaction of the authority by a
   80  traffic and revenue study conducted by an independent third
   81  party, except for an increase to the extent necessary to adjust
   82  for inflation pursuant to the procedure for toll rate
   83  adjustments provided in s. 338.165.
   84         b. A toll increase must be approved by a two-thirds vote of
   85  the expressway authority board.
   86         c. The amount of toll revenues used for administrative
   87  expenses by the authority may not be greater than 10 percent
   88  above the annual state average of administrative costs
   89  determined as provided in this sub-subparagraph. The Florida
   90  Transportation Commission shall determine the annual state
   91  average of administrative costs based on the annual
   92  administrative expenses of all the expressway authorities of
   93  this state. For purposes of this sub-subparagraph,
   94  administrative expenses include, but are not limited to,
   95  employee salaries and benefits, small business outreach,
   96  insurance, professional service contracts not directly related
   97  to the operation and maintenance of the expressway system, and
   98  other overhead costs. The commission may adopt rules necessary
   99  for the implementation of this sub-subparagraph.
  100         2. Notwithstanding s. 338.165 or any other provision of law
  101  to the contrary, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), to
  102  the extent surplus revenues exist, they may be used for purposes
  103  enumerated in subsection (8) (7), provided the expenditures are
  104  consistent with the metropolitan planning organization’s adopted
  105  long-range plan.
  106         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  107  contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained
  108  in documents securing any outstanding indebtedness payable from
  109  tolls, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), the board of
  110  county commissioners may, by ordinance adopted on or before
  111  September 30, 1999, alter or abolish existing tolls and
  112  currently approved increases thereto if the board provides a
  113  local source of funding to the county expressway system for
  114  transportation in an amount sufficient to replace revenues
  115  necessary to meet bond obligations secured by such tolls and
  116  increases.
  117         (6) Subject to compliance with any covenants made with the
  118  holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the Florida Expressway
  119  Authority Act, an authority in any county as defined in s.
  120  125.011(1) may, at the time that any toll is incurred, reduce
  121  the toll charged on any of the authority’s toll facilities by up
  122  to 10 percent for each SunPass registrant having an account in
  123  good standing and having the license plate of the vehicle or
  124  vehicles incurring the toll registered to the SunPass account at
  125  the time the toll is incurred. The authority may not impose
  126  additional requirements for receipt of the reduced toll amount.
  127         (11)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Florida
  128  Expressway Authority Act, at least 10 percent, but not greater
  129  than 30 percent, of the surplus revenue as defined in s.
  130  348.0002(12), as well as the establishment of prudent reserves
  131  as determined by the board, shall be dedicated to
  132  transportation- and transit-related expenses for projects in
  133  municipalities and counties in which the authority operates. The
  134  authority may determine which specific transportation- and
  135  transit-related expenses to fund from proposals submitted by
  136  municipalities and counties. Transportation- and transit-related
  137  expenses funded pursuant to this subsection must have a rational
  138  nexus to the transportation facilities of the authority and may
  139  include, but are not limited to, expenses associated with the
  140  planning, design, acquisition, construction, extension,
  141  rehabilitation, equipping, preservation, maintenance, or
  142  improvement of public transportation facilities, transit
  143  facilities, intermodal facilities, or multimodal corridors owned
  144  or operated by such municipality or county, and transit-related
  145  expenses that impact the capacity or use of the transportation
  146  facilities of the authority. For the purpose of this subsection,
  147  a rational nexus must demonstrate that the proposed
  148  transportation expenditure makes a substantial impact on the
  149  capacity or use of the transportation facilities of the
  150  authority, or that the proposed transit expenditure complements
  151  the operation of, or expands the access to, the transportation
  152  facilities of the authority.
  153         (12) An authority established in any county as defined in
  154  125.011(1) must have an audit conducted by an independent third
  155  party not less than biannually, and the audit report must be
  156  made publicly available on the authority’s website.
  157         Section 5. Section 348.00115, Florida Statutes, is created
  158  to read:
  159         348.00115 Public accountability.—An expressway authority in
  160  a county as defined in s. 125.011(1) shall post the following
  161  information on its website:
  162         (1) Audited financial statements and any interim financial
  163  reports.
  164         (2) Board and committee meeting agendas, meeting packets,
  165  and minutes.
  166         (3) Bond covenants for any outstanding bond issues.
  167         (4) Authority budgets.
  168         (5) Authority contracts. For purposes of this subsection,
  169  the term “contract” means a written agreement or purchase order
  170  issued for the purchase of goods or services or a written
  171  agreement for the receipt of state or federal financial
  172  assistance.
  173         (6) Authority expenditure data, which must include the name
  174  of the payee, the date of the expenditure, and the amount of the
  175  expenditure. Such data must be searchable by name of the payee,
  176  name of the paying agency, and fiscal year and must be
  177  downloadable in a format that allows offline analysis.
  178         (7) Information relating to current, recently completed,
  179  and future projects on authority facilities.
  180         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
  181  
  182  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  183  And the title is amended as follows:
  184         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  185  and insert:
  186                        A bill to be entitled                      
  187         An act relating to limited access and toll facilities;
  188         amending s. 338.166, F.S.; requiring, as of a
  189         specified date, that a customer be charged the minimum
  190         express lane toll if his or her average travel speed
  191         for a trip in an express lane falls below a specified
  192         rate; providing for measurement of a customer’s
  193         express lane average travel speed; amending s.
  194         338.2216, F.S.; requiring, as of a specified date,
  195         that a customer be charged a general toll lane toll
  196         amount plus a specified amount if his or her average
  197         travel speed for a trip in an express lane falls below
  198         a specified rate; providing for measurement of a
  199         customer’s express lane average travel speed; amending
  200         s. 338.231, F.S.; extending the timeframe during which
  201         the Department of Transportation must program
  202         sufficient funds in the tentative work program such
  203         that the percentage of turnpike toll and bond financed
  204         commitments in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and
  205         Palm Beach County are at least a specified percent of
  206         a certain share of certain net toll collections;
  207         amending s. 348.0004, F.S.; providing applicability;
  208         requiring toll increases by authorities in certain
  209         counties to be justified by an independent study by a
  210         third party; providing an exception for an increase to
  211         adjust for inflation pursuant to a specified procedure
  212         for toll rate adjustments; requiring toll increases to
  213         be approved by a specified margin in a vote of the
  214         expressway authority board; prohibiting the amount of
  215         toll revenues used for administrative expenses by the
  216         authority from being greater than a specified percent
  217         above the annual state average of administrative
  218         costs; requiring the Florida Transportation Commission
  219         to determine the annual state average of
  220         administrative costs based on the annual
  221         administrative expenses of all the expressway
  222         authorities of this state; authorizing the commission
  223         to adopt certain rules; conforming a cross-reference;
  224         authorizing authorities in certain counties to reduce
  225         toll charges up to a specified amount at the time that
  226         any toll is incurred for certain SunPass registrants,
  227         subject to certain requirements; prohibiting such
  228         authorities from imposing additional requirements for
  229         receipt of the reduced toll amount; requiring a
  230         certain amount of the surplus revenue, as well as the
  231         establishment of prudent reserves as determined by the
  232         board, be dedicated to transportation- and transit
  233         related expenses for projects in municipalities and
  234         counties in which the authority operates; authorizing
  235         the authority to determine which specific
  236         transportation- and transit-related expenses to fund
  237         from proposals submitted by municipalities and
  238         counties; requiring the transportation- and transit
  239         related expenses funded to have a rational nexus to
  240         the transportation facilities of the authority;
  241         requiring a rational nexus to demonstrate that the
  242         proposed transportation expenditure makes a
  243         substantial impact on the capacity or use of the
  244         transportation facilities of the authority or that the
  245         proposed transit expenditure complements the operation
  246         of, or expands the access to, the transportation
  247         facilities of the authority; requiring an authority
  248         established in a certain county to conduct an audit by
  249         an independent third party not less than biannually;
  250         requiring such audit be made publicly available on the
  251         authority’s website; creating s. 348.00115, F.S.;
  252         requiring authorities in certain counties to post
  253         certain information on a website; defining the term
  254         “contract”; providing an effective date.