HB 487

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Commission for the Transportation
3	Disadvantaged; amending s. 427.012, F.S.; revising the
4	membership of the commission; establishing term limits;
5	directing each member of the commission to serve without
6	regional bias; providing qualifications for appointment to
7	membership on the commission; providing for nonvoting
8	advisory members; requiring candidates for appointment to
9	the commission to meet certain standards for background
10	screening; requiring the Department of Transportation to
11	inform the commission if a candidate fails to meet the
12	screening standards; providing that costs of screening be
13	borne by the department or the candidate for appointment;
14	authorizing the commission to appoint technical advisory
15	committees; amending s. 427.013, F.S.; requiring the
16	commission to develop an allocation methodology to
17	equitably distribute transportation funds under the
18	control of the commission to counties, community
19	transportation coordinators, or other entities providing
20	services to the transportation disadvantaged; providing an
21	effective date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1.  Section 427.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
26	to read:
27	427.012  The Commission for the Transportation
28	Disadvantaged.--There is created the Commission for the
29	Transportation Disadvantaged in the Department of
30	Transportation.
31	(1)  The commission shall consist of seven members, all of
32	whom shall be appointed by the Governor.
33	(a)  Five of the members must have significant experience
34	in the operation of a business and it is the intent of the
35	Legislature that, when making an appointment, the Governor
36	select persons who reflect the broad diversity of the business
37	community in this state, as well as the racial, ethnic,
38	geographical, and gender diversity of the population of this
39	state.
40	(b)  Two of the members must have a disability and use the
41	transportation disadvantaged system.
42	(c)  Each member shall represent the needs of the
43	transportation disadvantaged throughout the state. A member may
44	not subordinate the needs of the transportation disadvantaged in
45	general in order to favor the needs of others residing in a
46	specific location in the state.
47	(d)  Each member shall be appointed to a term of 4 years. A
48	member may be reappointed for one additional 4-year term.
49	(e)  A member must be a resident of the state and a
50	registered voter.
51	(f)  The Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of
52	Children and Family Services, the director of Workforce
53	Innovation, the executive director of the Department of
54	Veterans' Affairs, the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, the
55	Secretary of Health Care Administration, the director of the
56	Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and an elected local
57	government official who is appointed by the Governor, or a
58	designee of each, shall serve as ex officio, nonvoting advisors
59	to the commission.
60	(g)  A member may not, within the 5 years immediately
61	before his or her appointment, or during his or her term on the
62	commission, have or have had a financial relationship with, or
63	represent or have represented as a lobbyist as defined in s.
64	11.045, the following:
65	1.  A transportation operator;
66	2.  A community transportation coordinator;
67	3.  A metropolitan planning organization;
68	4.  A designated official planning agency;
69	5.  A purchaser agency;
70	6.  A local coordinating board;
71	7.  A broker of transportation; or
72	8.  A provider of transportation services. the following
73	members:
74	(a)  The secretary of the Department of Transportation or
75	the secretary's designee.
76	(b)  The secretary of the Department of Children and Family
77	Services or the secretary's designee.
78	(c)  The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner's
79	designee.
80	(d)  The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation or
81	the director's designee.
82	(e)  The executive director of the Department of Veterans'
83	Affairs or the executive director's designee.
84	(f)  The secretary of the Department of Elderly Affairs or
85	the secretary's designee.
86	(g)  The director of the Agency for Health Care
87	Administration or the director's designee.
88	(h)  A representative of the Florida Association for
89	Community Action, who shall serve at the pleasure of that
90	association.
91	(i)  A representative of the Florida Transit Association,
92	who shall serve at the pleasure of that association.
93	(j)  A person over the age of 60 who is a member of a
94	recognized statewide organization representing elderly
95	Floridians. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
96	represent elderly Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a
97	term of 4 years.
98	(k)  A handicapped person who is a member of a recognized
99	statewide organization representing handicapped Floridians. Such
100	person shall be appointed by the Governor to represent
101	handicapped Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a term of
102	4 years.
103	(l)  Two citizen advocate representatives who shall be
104	appointed by the Governor for a term of 4 years, one
105	representing rural citizens and one representing urban citizens.
106	(m)  A representative of the community transportation
107	coordinators. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
108	represent all community transportation coordinators and shall be
109	appointed to serve a term of 4 years.
110	(n)  One member of the Early Childhood Council. Such person
111	shall be appointed by the Governor to represent maternal and
112	child health care providers and shall be appointed to serve a
113	term of 4 years.
114	(o)  Two representatives of current private for-profit or
115	private not-for-profit transportation operators each of which
116	have a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
117	broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair/stretcher type
118	transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles and
119	including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
120	shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
121	term of 4 years.
122	(p)  Four representatives of current private for-profit or
123	private not-for-profit transportation operators, each of which
124	having a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
125	broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair or stretcher-
126	type transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles, and
127	including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
128	shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
129	term of 4 years.
130	(q)  Six citizens representing the nontransportation
131	business community of the state, three members appointed by the
132	President of the Senate and three members appointed by the
133	Speaker of the House of Representatives.
134	(2)  The chairperson shall be appointed by the Governor and
135	the vice chairperson of the commission shall be elected annually
136	from the membership of the commission.
137	(3)  Members of the commission shall serve without
138	compensation but shall be allowed per diem and travel expenses,
139	as provided in s. 112.061.
140	(4)  The commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more
141	frequently at the call of the chairperson. Five Nine members of
142	the commission constitute a quorum, and a majority vote of the
143	members present is necessary for any action taken by the
144	commission.
145	(5)  The Governor may remove any member of the commission
146	for cause.
147	(6)  Each candidate for appointment to the commission must,
148	before accepting the appointment, undergo background screening
149	under s. 435.04 by filing with the Department of Transportation
150	a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law
151	enforcement agency. The fingerprints must be submitted to the
152	Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and that
153	department shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau
154	of Investigation for federal processing. The Department of
155	Transportation shall screen the background results and inform
156	the commission of any candidate who does not meet level 2
157	screening standards. A candidate who has not met level 2
158	screening standards may not be appointed to the commission. The
159	cost of the background screening may be borne by the Department
160	of Transportation or the candidate.
161	(7)(6)  The commission shall appoint an executive director
162	who shall serve under the direction, supervision, and control of
163	the commission. The executive director, with the consent of the
164	commission, shall employ such personnel as may be necessary to
165	perform adequately the functions of the commission within
166	budgetary limitations. All Employees of the commission are
167	exempt from the Career Service System.
168	(8)  The commission shall appoint a technical advisory
169	committee that includes representatives of private paratransit
170	providers. The committee shall advise the commission on issues
171	of importance to the state, including information, advice, and
172	direction regarding the coordination of services for the
173	transportation disadvantaged. The commission may appoint other
174	technical advisory committees whose members may include
175	representatives of community transportation coordinators;
176	metropolitan planning organizations; regional planning councils;
177	experts in insurance, marketing, economic development, or
178	financial planning; and persons who use transportation for the
179	transportation disadvantaged, or their relatives, parents,
180	guardians, or service professionals who tend to their needs.
181	(9)(7)  The commission is assigned to the office of the
182	secretary of the Department of Transportation for administrative
183	and fiscal accountability purposes, but it shall otherwise
184	function independently of the control, supervision, and
185	direction of the department.
186	(10)(8)  The commission shall develop a budget pursuant to
187	chapter 216. The budget is not subject to change by the
188	department staff after it has been approved by the commission,
189	but it shall be transmitted to the Governor, as head of the
190	department, along with the budget of the department.
191	Section 2.  Subsection (12) of section 427.013, Florida
192	Statutes, is amended to read:
193	427.013  The Commission for the Transportation
194	Disadvantaged; purpose and responsibilities.--The purpose of the
195	commission is to accomplish the coordination of transportation
196	services provided to the transportation disadvantaged. The goal
197	of this coordination shall be to assure the cost-effective
198	provision of transportation by qualified community
199	transportation coordinators or transportation operators for the
200	transportation disadvantaged without any bias or presumption in
201	favor of multioperator systems or not-for-profit transportation
202	operators over single operator systems or for-profit
203	transportation operators. In carrying out this purpose, the
204	commission shall:
205	(12)(a)  Have the authority to apply for and accept funds,
206	grants, gifts, and services from the Federal Government, state
207	government, local governments, or private funding sources.
208	Applications by the commission for local government funds shall
209	be coordinated through the appropriate coordinating board. Funds
210	acquired or accepted under this subsection shall be administered
211	by the commission and shall be used to carry out the
212	commission's responsibilities.
213	(b)  Develop an allocation methodology or formula that
214	equitably distributes all funds, including Medicaid nonemergency
215	transportation funds, under the control of the commission to
216	compensate counties, community transportation coordinators, or
217	other entities providing transportation disadvantaged services.
218	The formula shall consider not only the actual costs of each
219	trip provided for the transportation disadvantaged but also
220	efficiencies that a provider might adopt to reduce costs,
221	including cost efficiencies of trips when comparing like
222	services to the local cost of private paratransit providers.
223	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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