| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to transportation; amending s. 311.22, |
| 3 | F.S.; authorizing a 25-percent match of funds for certain |
| 4 | dredging projects; amending s. 334.351, F.S., relating to |
| 5 | youth work experience programs in the Department of |
| 6 | Transportation; providing criteria for participation in |
| 7 | the program; amending s. 339.08, F.S.; allowing moneys in |
| 8 | the State Transportation Trust Fund to be used to pay the |
| 9 | cost of the Enhanced Bridge Program; creating s. 339.282, |
| 10 | F.S.; creating the Enhanced Bridge Program for Sustainable |
| 11 | Transportation within the Department of Transportation; |
| 12 | providing for the use of funds in the program; providing |
| 13 | project guidelines for program funding; providing an |
| 14 | effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 311.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 19 | read: |
| 20 | 311.22 Additional authorization for funding certain |
| 21 | dredging projects.-- |
| 22 | (1) The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic |
| 23 | Development Council shall establish a program to fund dredging |
| 24 | projects in counties having a population of fewer than 300,000 |
| 25 | according to the last official census. Funds made available |
| 26 | under this program may be used to fund approved projects for the |
| 27 | dredging or deepening of channels, turning basins, or harbors on |
| 28 | a 25-percent local 50-50 matching basis with any port authority, |
| 29 | as such term is defined in s. 315.02(2), which complies with the |
| 30 | permitting requirements in part IV of chapter 373 and the local |
| 31 | financial management and reporting provisions of part III of |
| 32 | chapter 218. |
| 33 | (2) The council shall adopt rules for evaluating the |
| 34 | projects that may be funded pursuant to this section. The rules |
| 35 | must provide criteria for evaluating the economic benefit of the |
| 36 | project. The rules must include the creation of an |
| 37 | administrative review process by the council which is similar to |
| 38 | the process described in s. 311.09(5)-(12), and provide for a |
| 39 | review by the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of |
| 40 | Transportation, and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 41 | Development of all projects submitted for funding under this |
| 42 | section. |
| 43 | (3) For the 2006-2007 fiscal year only and notwithstanding |
| 44 | the matching basis specified in subsection (1), funding for |
| 45 | projects in subsection (1) shall require a minimum 25 percent |
| 46 | match of funds received pursuant to this section. This |
| 47 | subsection expires July 1, 2007. |
| 48 | Section 2. Section 334.351, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 49 | to read: |
| 50 | 334.351 Youth work experience program; findings and |
| 51 | intent; authority to contract; limitation.-- |
| 52 | (1) The Legislature finds and declares that young men and |
| 53 | women of the state should be given an opportunity to obtain |
| 54 | public service work and training experience that protects and |
| 55 | conserves the valuable resources of the state and promotes |
| 56 | participation in other community enhancement projects. |
| 57 | Notwithstanding the requirements of chapters 287 and 337, the |
| 58 | Department of Transportation is authorized to contract with |
| 59 | public agencies and nonprofit organizations for the performance |
| 60 | of work related to the construction and maintenance of |
| 61 | transportation-related facilities by youths enrolled in youth |
| 62 | work experience programs. The total amount of contracts entered |
| 63 | into by the department under this section in any fiscal year may |
| 64 | not exceed the amount specifically appropriated by the |
| 65 | Legislature for this program. |
| 66 | (2) Any youth who is participating in a nonprofit youth |
| 67 | organization that provides services under contract to the |
| 68 | department must be certified by the youth organization as a |
| 69 | resident of this state and must possess a valid Florida driver's |
| 70 | license or identification card. |
| 71 | (3) Before awarding a contract under this section, the |
| 72 | department shall consider the following criteria when selecting |
| 73 | a nonprofit youth organization to perform work on |
| 74 | transportation-related facilities: |
| 75 | (a) The number of participants receiving life-management |
| 76 | skills training; |
| 77 | (b) The number of participants receiving a high school |
| 78 | diploma or GED; |
| 79 | (c) The number of participants receiving scholarships; |
| 80 | (d) The number of participants receiving bonuses; |
| 81 | (e) The number of participants who have secured full-time |
| 82 | jobs; and |
| 83 | (f) The other programs or services that support the |
| 84 | development of disadvantaged youths. |
| 85 | (4) Each nonprofit youth organization under contract with |
| 86 | the department shall: |
| 87 | (a) Submit an annual report to the department by January 1 |
| 88 | of each year. The report must include, but need not be limited |
| 89 | to, the applicable performance of the organization when measured |
| 90 | by the criteria in subsection (3) for the organization's most |
| 91 | recently completed fiscal year. |
| 92 | (b) Submit an independent audit of the organization's |
| 93 | financial records to the department each year. The |
| 94 | organization's contract with the department must allow the |
| 95 | department the right to inspect the organization's financial and |
| 96 | program records. |
| 97 | (c) Demonstrate participation in a peer assessment or |
| 98 | review process, such as the National Association of Service and |
| 99 | Conservation Corps Excellence in Corps Operations. |
| 100 | Section 3. Paragraph (j) of subsection (1) of section |
| 101 | 339.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 102 | 339.08 Use of moneys in State Transportation Trust Fund.-- |
| 103 | (1) The department shall expend moneys in the State |
| 104 | Transportation Trust Fund accruing to the department, in |
| 105 | accordance with its annual budget. The use of such moneys shall |
| 106 | be restricted to the following purposes: |
| 107 | (j) To pay the cost of county or municipal road projects |
| 108 | selected in accordance with the County Incentive Grant Program |
| 109 | created in s. 339.2817, and the Small County Outreach Program |
| 110 | created in s. 339.2818, and the Enhanced Bridge Program created |
| 111 | in s. 339.282. |
| 112 | Section 4. Section 339.282, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 113 | to read: |
| 114 | 339.282 Enhanced Bridge Program for Sustainable |
| 115 | Transportation.-- |
| 116 | (1) There is created within the Department of |
| 117 | Transportation the Enhanced Bridge Program for Sustainable |
| 118 | Transportation for the purpose of providing funds to improve the |
| 119 | sufficiency rating of local bridges and to improve congested |
| 120 | roads on the State Highway System or local corridors on which |
| 121 | high-cost bridges are located in order to improve a corridor or |
| 122 | provide an alternative corridor. |
| 123 | (2) Matching funds provided from the program may fund up |
| 124 | to 50 percent of project costs. |
| 125 | (3) The department shall allocate a minimum of 25 percent |
| 126 | of funding available for the program for local bridge projects |
| 127 | to replace, rehabilitate, paint, or install scour |
| 128 | countermeasures to highway bridges located on public roads, |
| 129 | other than those on the State Highway System. A project to be |
| 130 | funded must, at a minimum: |
| 131 | (a) Be classified as a structurally deficient bridge |
| 132 | having a poor condition rating for the deck, superstructure, |
| 133 | substructure component, or culvert; |
| 134 | (b) Have a sufficiency rating of 35 or below; and |
| 135 | (c) Have average daily traffic of at least 500 vehicles. |
| 136 | (4) Special consideration shall be given to bridges that |
| 137 | are closed to all traffic or that have a load restriction of |
| 138 | less than 10 tons. |
| 139 | (5) The department shall allocate remaining funding |
| 140 | available for the program to improve highly congested roads on |
| 141 | the State Highway System or local corridors on which high-cost |
| 142 | bridges are located in order to improve the corridor or provide |
| 143 | an alternative corridor. A project to be funded must, at a |
| 144 | minimum: |
| 145 | (a) Be on or provide direct relief to an existing corridor |
| 146 | that is backlogged or constrained; and |
| 147 | (b) Be a major bridge having an estimated cost greater |
| 148 | than $25 million. |
| 149 | (6) Preference shall be given to bridge projects located |
| 150 | on corridors that connect to the Strategic Intermodal System |
| 151 | created under s. 339.64 and that have been identified as |
| 152 | regionally significant in accordance with s. 339.155(5)(c), (d), |
| 153 | and (e). |
| 154 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |