(1) There is hereby created and established a body politic and corporate, an agency of the state, to be known as the “Greater Miami Expressway Agency.”
(2)(a) The governing body of the agency shall consist of nine voting members. Except for the district secretary of the department, each member must be a permanent resident of the county and may not hold, or have held in the previous 2 years, elected or appointed office in the county. Each member may only serve two terms of 4 years each. Three members shall be appointed by the Governor. Two members, who must be residents of an unincorporated portion of the county residing within 15 miles of an area with the highest amount of agency toll roads, shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners of the county. Three members, who must be residents of incorporated municipalities within the county, shall be appointed by the metropolitan planning organization for the county. The district secretary of the department serving in the district that contains the county shall serve as an ex officio voting member of the governing body.
(b) Initial appointments to the governing body of the agency shall be made by July 31, 2019. For the initial appointments:1. The Governor shall appoint one member for a term of 2 years, one member for a term of 3 years, and one member for a term of 4 years.
2. The board of county commissioners shall appoint one member for a term of 1 year and one member for a term of 3 years.
3. The metropolitan planning organization shall appoint one member for a term of 1 year, one member for a term of 2 years, and one member for a term of 4 years.
(c) Persons who, on or after July 1, 2009, were members of the governing body or employees of the former Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority may not be appointed members of the governing body of the agency. This paragraph does not apply to appointments to the governing body of the agency made by the Governor or to the district secretary of the department serving in an ex officio role pursuant to paragraph (a).
(3)(a) The governing body of the agency shall elect one of its members as chair and shall elect a secretary and a treasurer who need not be members of the governing body. The chair, secretary, and treasurer shall hold their offices at the will of the governing body. A simple majority of the governing body constitutes a quorum, and the vote of a majority of those members present is necessary for the governing body to take any action. A vacancy shall not impair the right of a quorum of the governing body to exercise all of the rights and perform all of the duties of the governing body.
(b) Upon the effective date of his or her appointment, or as soon thereafter as practicable, each member of the governing body of the agency shall enter upon his or her duties. The governing body’s initial board meeting must take place within 15 days after the initial appointments.
(c) Each member of the governing body of the agency, before entering upon his or her official duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath before some official authorized by law to administer oaths that he or she will honestly, faithfully, and impartially perform the duties devolving upon him or her in office as a member of the governing body and that he or she will not neglect any duties imposed upon him or her by this part.
(4)(a) The governing body of the agency may employ an executive secretary, an executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, technical experts, and such engineers and employees, permanent or temporary, as it may require and shall determine the qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons, firms, or corporations. The governing body may employ a fiscal agent or agents; however, the governing body must solicit sealed proposals from at least three persons, firms, or corporations for the performance of any services as fiscal agents. The governing body may delegate to one or more of its agents or employees such of its power as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this act, subject always to the supervision and control of the governing body. Members of the governing body may be removed from office by the Governor for misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office.
(b) Employees of the agency shall serve at the pleasure of the governing body of the agency. The governing body of the agency shall review the employment of all employees of the former Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority to determine whether each employee will continue employment with the agency. In the hiring of an executive director of the agency, the governing body of the agency shall conduct a nationwide search in order to identify the most qualified candidate.
(5) The members of the governing body of the agency shall not be entitled to compensation but shall be entitled to receive per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. 1Note.—Section 15, ch. 2019-169, provides that:“(1) Effective upon this act becoming a law, the governance and control of the Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority is transferred to the Greater Miami Expressway Agency pursuant to the terms of this section. The assets, facilities, tangible and intangible property and any rights in such property, and any other legal rights of the authority, including the expressway system operated by the authority, are transferred to the agency. The agency succeeds to all powers of the authority, and the operations and maintenance of the expressway system shall be under the control of the agency. Revenues collected on the expressway system shall be considered agency revenues but shall be subject to the lien of the trust indentures securing the Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority bonds. The agency also assumes all liability for bonds of the authority pursuant to subsection (2) and the satisfaction of any judgment against the authority that may ultimately become due as a result of litigation commenced before the effective date of this act. The agency shall, in consultation with the Division of Bond Finance, review all other contracts, financial obligations, and contractual relationships and liabilities of the authority, and the agency may assume responsibility for the obligations that are determined to be necessary or desirable for the continued operation of the expressway system. Employees, officers, and members of the authority may not sell, dispose, encumber, transfer, or expend the assets of the authority as existed and reflected in the authority’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, other than in the ordinary course of business. For purposes of this section, incurring debt or issuing bonds for projects contained in the 5-year work program approved and adopted by the authority on December 5, 2017, is not considered the ordinary course of business. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained herein shall prevent the authority from designing, planning, and constructing projects contained in the 5-year work program approved and adopted by the authority on December 5, 2017. The S.R. 836/Dolphin Expressway Southwest Extension to 136th Street, commonly referred to as the Kendall Parkway, shall be a top priority for design, planning, and construction.
“(2) The transfer pursuant to this section is subject to all terms and covenants provided for the protection of the holders of the Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority bonds in the trust indentures or resolutions adopted in connection with the issuance of such bonds. Further, the transfer does not impair the terms of the contract between the authority and the bondholders, does not act to the detriment of the bondholders, and does not diminish the security for the bonds. After the transfer, the agency shall operate and maintain the expressway system and any other facilities of the authority in accordance with the terms, conditions, and covenants contained in the trust indentures or bond resolutions securing such bonds. The agency shall collect toll revenues and apply them to the payment of debt service as provided in the trust indentures or bond resolutions securing such bonds and expressly assumes all obligations relating to the bonds to ensure that the transfer of the authority will have no adverse impact on the security for the bonds of the authority.”
