Senate Bill sb2110c1

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110

    By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Sebesta





    306-2272-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to metropolitan planning

  3         organizations; amending s. 120.52, F.S.;

  4         redefining the term "agency" for the purposes

  5         of the Administrative Procedure Act; amending

  6         s. 339.175, F.S.; providing authority for

  7         metropolitan planning organizations and

  8         political subdivisions to form separate legal

  9         or administrative entities for the purpose of

10         coordinating regional transportation planning

11         and development goals and purposes; specifying

12         how the entity shall be created and operated;

13         exempting the entity from the Administrative

14         Procedure Act; providing an effective date.

15  

16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

17  

18         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 120.52, Florida

19  Statutes, is amended to read:

20         120.52  Definitions.--As used in this act:

21         (1)  "Agency" means:

22         (a)  The Governor in the exercise of all executive

23  powers other than those derived from the constitution.

24         (b)  Each:

25         1.  State officer and state department, and each

26  departmental unit described in s. 20.04.

27         2.  Authority, including a regional water supply

28  authority.

29         3.  Board.

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110
    306-2272-03




 1         4.  Commission, including the Commission on Ethics and

 2  the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when acting

 3  pursuant to statutory authority derived from the Legislature.

 4         5.  Regional planning agency.

 5         6.  Multicounty special district with a majority of its

 6  governing board comprised of nonelected persons.

 7         7.  Educational units.

 8         8.  Entity described in chapters 163, 373, 380, and 582

 9  and s. 186.504.

10         (c)  Each other unit of government in the state,

11  including counties and municipalities, to the extent they are

12  expressly made subject to this act by general or special law

13  or existing judicial decisions.

14  

15  This definition does not include any legal entity or agency

16  created in whole or in part pursuant to chapter 361, part II,

17  any metropolitan planning organization created pursuant to s.

18  339.175, any separate legal or administrative entity created

19  pursuant to s. 339.175 of which a metropolitan planning

20  organization is a member, an expressway authority pursuant to

21  chapter 348, any legal or administrative entity created by an

22  interlocal agreement pursuant to s. 163.01(7), unless any

23  party to such agreement is otherwise an agency as defined in

24  this subsection, or any multicounty special district with a

25  majority of its governing board comprised of elected persons;

26  however, this definition shall include a regional water supply

27  authority.

28         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraph

29  (b) of subsection (2), and paragraph (h) of subsection (5) of

30  section 339.175, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph

31  (i) is added to subsection (5) of that section to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110
    306-2272-03




 1         339.175  Metropolitan planning organization.--It is the

 2  intent of the Legislature to encourage and promote the safe

 3  and efficient management, operation, and development of

 4  surface transportation systems that will serve the mobility

 5  needs of people and freight within and through urbanized areas

 6  of this state while minimizing transportation-related fuel

 7  consumption and air pollution. To accomplish these objectives,

 8  metropolitan planning organizations, referred to in this

 9  section as M.P.O.'s, shall develop, in cooperation with the

10  state and public transit operators, transportation plans and

11  programs for metropolitan areas. The plans and programs for

12  each metropolitan area must provide for the development and

13  integrated management and operation of transportation systems

14  and facilities, including pedestrian walkways and bicycle

15  transportation facilities that will function as an intermodal

16  transportation system for the metropolitan area, based upon

17  the prevailing principles provided in s. 334.046(1).  The

18  process for developing such plans and programs shall provide

19  for consideration of all modes of transportation and shall be

20  continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive, to the degree

21  appropriate, based on the complexity of the transportation

22  problems to be addressed.

23         (1)  DESIGNATION.--

24         (a)1.  An M.P.O. shall be designated for each urbanized

25  area of the state; however, this does not require that an

26  individual M.P.O. be designated for each such area.  Such

27  designation shall be accomplished by agreement between the

28  Governor and units of general-purpose local government

29  representing at least 75 percent of the population of the

30  urbanized area; however, the unit of general-purpose local

31  government that represents the central city or cities within

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110
    306-2272-03




 1  the M.P.O. jurisdiction, as defined by the United States

 2  Bureau of the Census, must be a party to such agreement.

 3         2.  More than one M.P.O. may be designated within an

 4  existing metropolitan planning area only if the Governor and

 5  the existing M.P.O. determine that the size and complexity of

 6  the existing metropolitan planning area makes the designation

 7  of more than one M.P.O. for the area appropriate.

 8         (2)  VOTING MEMBERSHIP.--

 9         (b)  In metropolitan areas in which authorities or

10  other agencies have been or may be created by law to perform

11  transportation functions and are performing transportation

12  functions that are not under the jurisdiction of a general

13  purpose local government represented on the M.P.O., they shall

14  be provided voting membership on the M.P.O. In all other

15  M.P.O.'s where transportation authorities or agencies are to

16  be represented by elected officials from general purpose local

17  governments, the M.P.O. shall establish a process by which the

18  collective interests of such authorities or other agencies are

19  expressed and conveyed.

20         (5)  POWERS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES.--The powers,

21  privileges, and authority of an M.P.O. are those specified in

22  this section or incorporated in an interlocal agreement

23  authorized under s. 163.01.  Each M.P.O. shall perform all

24  acts required by federal or state laws or rules, now and

25  subsequently applicable, which are necessary to qualify for

26  federal aid. It is the intent of this section that each M.P.O.

27  shall be involved in the planning and programming of

28  transportation facilities, including, but not limited to,

29  airports, intercity and high-speed rail lines, seaports, and

30  intermodal facilities, to the extent permitted by state or

31  federal law.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110
    306-2272-03




 1         (h)  A chair's coordinating committee is created,

 2  composed of the M.P.O's serving Hernando, Hillsborough,

 3  Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota Counties. Any

 4  group of M.P.O.'s which has created a chair's coordinating

 5  committee as of the effective date of this act and is located

 6  within the same Department of Transportation District which is

 7  comprised of four adjacent M.P.O.'s must continue such

 8  committee as provided for in this section. Such committee must

 9  also include one representative from each M.P.O. contiguous to

10  the geographic boundaries of the original committee. The

11  committee must, at a minimum:

12         1.  Coordinate transportation projects deemed to be

13  regionally significant by the committee.

14         2.  Review the impact of regionally significant land

15  use decisions on the region.

16         3.  Review all proposed regionally significant

17  transportation projects in the respective transportation

18  improvement programs which affect more than one of the

19  M.P.O.'s represented on the committee.

20         4.  Institute a conflict resolution process to address

21  any conflict that may arise in the planning and programming of

22  such regionally significant projects.

23         (i)1.  The Legislature finds that the state's rapid

24  growth in recent decades has caused many urbanized areas

25  subject to M.P.O. jurisdiction to become contiguous to each

26  other. As a result, various transportation projects may cross

27  from the jurisdiction of one M.P.O. into the jurisdiction of

28  another M.P.O. To more fully accomplish the purposes for which

29  M.P.O.'s have been mandated, M.P.O.'s shall develop

30  coordination mechanisms with one another to expand and improve

31  transportation within the state. The appropriate method of

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110
    306-2272-03




 1  coordination between M.P.O.'s shall vary depending upon the

 2  project involved and given local and regional needs.

 3  Consequently, it is appropriate to set forth a flexible

 4  methodology that can be used by M.P.O.'s to coordinate with

 5  other M.P.O.'s and appropriate political subdivisions as

 6  circumstances demand.

 7         2.  Any M.P.O. may join with any other M.P.O. or any

 8  individual political subdivision to coordinate activities or

 9  to achieve any federal or state transportation planning or

10  development goals or purposes consistent with federal or state

11  law. When an M.P.O. determines that it is appropriate to join

12  with another M.P.O. or any political subdivision to coordinate

13  activities, the M.P.O. or political subdivision shall enter

14  into an interlocal agreement pursuant to s. 163.01, which, at

15  a minimum, creates a separate legal or administrative entity

16  to coordinate the transportation planning or development

17  activities required to achieve the goal or purpose; provide

18  the purpose for which the entity is created; provide the

19  duration of the agreement and the entity, and specify how the

20  agreement may be terminated, modified, or rescinded; describe

21  the precise organization of the entity, including who has

22  voting rights on the governing board, whether alternative

23  voting members are provided for, how voting members are

24  appointed, and what the relative voting strength is for each

25  constituent M.P.O. or political subdivision; provide the

26  manner in which the parties to the agreement will provide for

27  the financial support of the entity and payment of costs and

28  expenses of the entity; provide the manner in which funds may

29  be paid to and disbursed from the entity; and provide how

30  members of the entity will resolve disagreements regarding

31  interpretation of the interlocal agreement or disputes

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2110
    306-2272-03




 1  relating to the operation of the entity. Such interlocal

 2  agreement shall become effective upon its recordation in the

 3  official public records of each county in which a member of

 4  the entity created by the interlocal agreement has a voting

 5  member. This paragraph does not require any M.P.O.'s to merge,

 6  combine, or otherwise join together as a single M.P.O.

 7         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 8  law.

 9  

10          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
11                         Senate Bill 2110

12                                 

13  The CS provides, in order for an agency which was created by
    law to perform transportation functions to have representation
14  on an MPO, the agency must actually perform transportation
    functions.
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