HB 1027

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Department of Transportation;
3	amending s. 20.23, F.S.; authorizing the secretary of the
4	department to appoint an additional assistant secretary
5	and deputy assistant secretaries or directors; revising
6	the organization of the department to specify areas of
7	program responsibility; authorizing the secretary to
8	reorganize offices within the department in consultation
9	with the Executive Office of the Governor; amending s.
10	95.361, F.S.; providing that certain filed claims shall
11	not affect rights of certain public utilities; amending s.
12	110.205, F.S.; conforming provisions relating to career
13	service to changes made by the act; amending s. 337.401,
14	F.S.; exempting public utilities from the application of
15	certain permit-delegation agreements between the
16	department and other governmental entities; providing an
17	effective date.
18
19	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21	Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), subsection
22	(3), and paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 20.23,
23	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
24	20.23  Department of Transportation.--There is created a
25	Department of Transportation which shall be a decentralized
26	agency.
27	(1)
28	(d)  The secretary may shall appoint up to three two
29	assistant secretaries who shall be directly responsible to the
30	secretary and who shall perform such duties as are assigned by
31	the secretary. The secretary may delegate to any assistant
32	secretary the authority to act in the absence of the secretary.
33	(3)(a)  The central office shall establish departmental
34	policies, rules, procedures, and standards and shall monitor the
35	implementation of such policies, rules, procedures, and
36	standards in order to ensure uniform compliance and quality
37	performance by the districts and central office units that
38	implement transportation programs.  Major transportation policy
39	initiatives or revisions shall be submitted to the commission
40	for review.
41	(b)  The secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary for
42	Transportation Development and Operations and an Assistant
43	Secretary for Transportation Support.
44	(b)(c)  The secretary may appoint positions at the level of
45	deputy assistant secretary or director which the secretary deems
46	necessary to accomplish the mission and goals of the department,
47	including, but not limited to, the areas of program
48	responsibility provided in this paragraph following offices are
49	established and shall be headed by a manager, each of whom shall
50	be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the secretary. The
51	secretary may combine, separate, or abolish offices as needed in
52	consultation with the Executive Office of the Governor. The
53	department's areas of program responsibility include, but are
54	not limited to positions shall be classified at a level equal to
55	a division director:
56	1.  The Office of Administration.;
57	2.  The Office of Planning. and Environmental Management;
58	3.  Public transportation.
59	4.3.  The Office of Design.;
60	5.4.  The Office of Highway operations.;
61	6.5.  The Office of Right-of-way.;
62	7.6.  The Office of Toll operations.;
63	8.7.  The Office of Information systems.;
64	9.8.  The Office of Motor carrier compliance.;
65	10.9.  The Office of Management and budget.;
66	11.10.  The Office of Comptroller.;
67	12.11.  The Office of Construction.;
68	13.12.  The Office of Maintenance.; and
69	14.13.  The Office of Materials.
70	(c)(d)  Other offices may be established in accordance with
71	s. 20.04(7). The heads of such offices are exempt from part II
72	of chapter 110. No office or organization shall be created at a
73	level equal to or higher than a division without specific
74	legislative authority.
75	(d)(e)  The secretary shall appoint an inspector general
76	pursuant to s. 20.055 who shall be directly responsible to the
77	secretary and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.
78	(e)(f)  The secretary shall appoint a general counsel who
79	shall be directly responsible to the secretary. The general
80	counsel is responsible for all legal matters of the department.
81	The department may employ as many attorneys as it deems
82	necessary to advise and represent the department in all
83	transportation matters.
84	(g)  The secretary shall appoint a state transportation
85	development administrator. This position shall be classified at
86	a level equal to a deputy assistant secretary.
87	(h)  The secretary shall appoint a state transportation
88	operations administrator. This position shall be classified at a
89	level equal to a deputy assistant secretary.
90	(i)  The secretary shall appoint a state public
91	transportation and modal administrator. This position shall be
92	classified at a level equal to a deputy assistant secretary.
93	(4)
94	(b)  Each district secretary may appoint up to three a
95	district directors director for transportation development, a
96	district director for transportation operations, and a district
97	director for transportation support or, until July 1, 2005, each
98	district secretary may appoint up to four a district directors
99	director for planning and programming, a district director for
100	production, a district director for operations, and a district
101	director for administration. These positions are exempt from
102	part II of chapter 110.
103	Section 2.  Section 95.361, Florida Statutes, is amended to
104	read:
105	95.361  Roads presumed to be dedicated.--
106	(1)  When a road, constructed by a county, a municipality,
107	or the Department of Transportation, has been maintained or
108	repaired continuously and uninterruptedly for 4 years by the
109	county, municipality, or the Department of Transportation,
110	jointly or severally, the road shall be deemed to be dedicated
111	to the public to the extent in width that has been actually
112	maintained for the prescribed period, whether or not the road
113	has been formally established as a public highway. The
114	dedication shall vest all right, title, easement, and
115	appurtenances in and to the road in:
116	(a)  The county, if it is a county road;
117	(b)  The municipality, if it is a municipal street or road;
118	or
119	(c)  The state, if it is a road in the State Highway System
120	or State Park Road System,
121
122	whether or not there is a record of a conveyance, dedication, or
123	appropriation to the public use.
124	(2)  In those instances where a road has been constructed
125	by a nongovernmental entity, or where the road was not
126	constructed by the entity currently maintaining or repairing it,
127	or where it cannot be determined who constructed the road, and
128	when such road has been regularly maintained or repaired for the
129	immediate past 7 years by a county, a municipality, or the
130	Department of Transportation, whether jointly or severally, such
131	road shall be deemed to be dedicated to the public to the extent
132	of the width that actually has been maintained or repaired for
133	the prescribed period, whether or not the road has been formally
134	established as a public highway. The dedication shall vest all
135	rights, title, easement, and appurtenances in and to the road
136	in:
137	(a)  The county, if it is a county road;
138	(b)  The municipality, if it is a municipal street or road;
139	or
140	(c)  The state, if it is a road in the State Highway System
141	or State Park Road System, whether or not there is a record of
142	conveyance, dedication, or appropriation to the public use.
143	(3)  The filing of a map in the office of the clerk of the
144	circuit court of the county where the road is located showing
145	the lands and reciting on it that the road has vested in the
146	state, a county, or a municipality in accordance with subsection
147	(1) or subsection (2) or by any other means of acquisition, duly
148	certified by:
149	(a)  The secretary of the Department of Transportation, or
150	the secretary's designee, if the road is a road in the State
151	Highway System or State Park Road System;
152	(b)  The chair and clerk of the board of county
153	commissioners of the county, if the road is a county road; or
154	(c)  The mayor and clerk of the municipality, if the road
155	is a municipal road or street,
156
157	shall be prima facie evidence of ownership of the land by the
158	state, county, or municipality, as the case may be.
159	(4)  Any person, firm, corporation, or entity having or
160	claiming any interest in and to any of the property affected by
161	subsection (2) shall have and is hereby allowed a period of 1
162	year after the effective date of this subsection, or a period of
163	7 years after the initial date of regular maintenance or repair
164	of the road, whichever period is greater, to file a claim in
165	equity or with a court of law against the particular governing
166	authority assuming jurisdiction over such property to cause a
167	cessation of the maintenance and occupation of the property.
168	Such timely filed and adjudicated claim shall prevent the
169	dedication of the road to the public pursuant to subsection (2).
170	This subsection shall not apply to a public utility.
171	(5)  Nothing in this section shall negate or affect the
172	rights of a public utility with facilities on the property
173	affected by this section.
174	Section 3.  Paragraphs (j) and (m) of subsection (2) of
175	section 110.205, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
176	110.205  Career service; exemptions.--
177	(2)  EXEMPT POSITIONS.--The exempt positions that are not
178	covered by this part include the following:
179	(j)  The appointed secretaries, assistant secretaries,
180	deputy secretaries, and deputy assistant secretaries of all
181	departments; the executive directors, assistant executive
182	directors, deputy executive directors, and deputy assistant
183	executive directors of all departments; the directors of all
184	divisions and those positions determined by the department to
185	have managerial responsibilities comparable to such positions,
186	which positions include, but are not limited to, program
187	directors, assistant program directors, district administrators,
188	deputy district administrators, the Director of Central
189	Operations Services of the Department of Children and Family
190	Services, the State Transportation Development Administrator,
191	State Public Transportation and Modal Administrator, district
192	secretaries, district directors of transportation development,
193	transportation operations, transportation support, and the
194	managers of the offices specified in s. 20.23(3)(b) s.
195	20.23(3)(c), of the Department of Transportation. Unless
196	otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the salary and
197	benefits of these positions in accordance with the rules of the
198	Senior Management Service; and the county health department
199	directors and county health department administrators of the
200	Department of Health.
201	(m)  All assistant division director, deputy division
202	director, and bureau chief positions in any department, and
203	those positions determined by the department to have managerial
204	responsibilities comparable to such positions, which positions
205	include, but are not limited to:
206	1.  Positions in the Department of Health and the
207	Department of Children and Family Services that are assigned
208	primary duties of serving as the superintendent or assistant
209	superintendent of an institution.
210	2.  Positions in the Department of Corrections that are
211	assigned primary duties of serving as the warden, assistant
212	warden, colonel, or major of an institution or that are assigned
213	primary duties of serving as the circuit administrator or deputy
214	circuit administrator.
215	3.  Positions in the Department of Transportation that are
216	assigned primary duties of serving as regional toll managers and
217	managers of offices as defined in s. 20.23(3)(b) s. 20.23(3)(c)
218	and (4)(d), and captains and majors of the Office of Motor
219	Carrier Compliance.
220	4.  Positions in the Department of Environmental Protection
221	that are assigned the duty of an Environmental Administrator or
222	program administrator.
223	5.  Positions in the Department of Health that are assigned
224	the duties of Environmental Administrator, Assistant County
225	Health Department Director, and County Health Department
226	Financial Administrator.
227
228	Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the
229	salary and benefits of the positions listed in this paragraph in
230	accordance with the rules established for the Selected Exempt
231	Service.
232	Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 337.401, Florida
233	Statutes, is amended to read:
234	337.401  Use of right-of-way for utilities subject to
235	regulation; permit; fees.--
236	(1)  The department and local governmental entities,
237	referred to in ss. 337.401-337.404 as the "authority," that have
238	jurisdiction and control of public roads or publicly owned rail
239	corridors are authorized to prescribe and enforce reasonable
240	rules or regulations with reference to the placing and
241	maintaining along, across, or on any road or publicly owned rail
242	corridors under their respective jurisdictions any electric
243	transmission, telephone, telegraph, or other communications
244	services lines; pole lines; poles; railways; ditches; sewers;
245	water, heat, or gas mains; pipelines; fences; gasoline tanks and
246	pumps; or other structures hereinafter referred to as the
247	"utility." The department may enter into a permit-delegation
248	agreement with a governmental entity if issuance of a permit is
249	based on requirements that the department finds will ensure the
250	safety and integrity of facilities of the Department of
251	Transportation; however, such permit-delegation agreement shall
252	not apply to facilities of public utilities.
253	Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.