| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to regional transportation authorities; |
| 3 | amending s. 120.52, F.S.; revising a definition; amending |
| 4 | s. 212.0606, F.S.; requiring deposit into an account of |
| 5 | the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority |
| 6 | certain proceeds subject to being deposited into the State |
| 7 | Transportation Trust Fund and collected within certain |
| 8 | counties within the service area of the authority; |
| 9 | authorizing certain other regional transportation |
| 10 | authorities to elect to receive certain proceeds subject |
| 11 | to being deposited into the State Transportation Trust |
| 12 | Fund and collected within certain counties within the |
| 13 | service area of such authorities; requiring notice to the |
| 14 | Department of Revenue of such election; providing an |
| 15 | effective date for such election; providing a method for |
| 16 | determining amounts due to such authorities; amending s. |
| 17 | 341.303, F.S.; relieving the department's funding |
| 18 | obligation to certain regional transportation authorities |
| 19 | to conform; revising the department's obligation to fund |
| 20 | certain regional transportation authorities under certain |
| 21 | circumstances; amending s. 343.58, F.S.; relieving certain |
| 22 | counties of certain funding obligations to the South |
| 23 | Florida Regional Transportation Authority under certain |
| 24 | circumstances to conform; repealing part III of chapter |
| 25 | 343, F.S., relating to the Tampa Bay Commuter Transit |
| 26 | Authority; providing an effective date. |
| 27 |
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| 28 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 120.52, Florida |
| 31 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 32 | 120.52 Definitions.--As used in this act: |
| 33 | (1) "Agency" means: |
| 34 | (a) The Governor in the exercise of all executive powers |
| 35 | other than those derived from the constitution. |
| 36 | (b) Each: |
| 37 | 1. State officer and state department, and each |
| 38 | departmental unit described in s. 20.04. |
| 39 | 2. Authority, including a regional water supply authority. |
| 40 | 3. Board, including the Board of Governors of the State |
| 41 | University System and a state university board of trustees when |
| 42 | acting pursuant to statutory authority derived from the |
| 43 | Legislature. |
| 44 | 4. Commission, including the Commission on Ethics and the |
| 45 | Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when acting pursuant |
| 46 | to statutory authority derived from the Legislature. |
| 47 | 5. Regional planning agency. |
| 48 | 6. Multicounty special district with a majority of its |
| 49 | governing board comprised of nonelected persons. |
| 50 | 7. Educational units. |
| 51 | 8. Entity described in chapters 163, 373, 380, and 582 and |
| 52 | s. 186.504. |
| 53 | (c) Each other unit of government in the state, including |
| 54 | counties and municipalities, to the extent they are expressly |
| 55 | made subject to this act by general or special law or existing |
| 56 | judicial decisions. |
| 57 |
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| 58 | This definition does not include any legal entity or agency |
| 59 | created in whole or in part pursuant to chapter 361, part II, |
| 60 | any metropolitan planning organization created pursuant to s. |
| 61 | 339.175, any separate legal or administrative entity created |
| 62 | pursuant to s. 339.175 of which a metropolitan planning |
| 63 | organization is a member, an expressway authority pursuant to |
| 64 | chapter 348 or any transportation authority under chapter 343 or |
| 65 | chapter 349, any legal or administrative entity created by an |
| 66 | interlocal agreement pursuant to s. 163.01(7), unless any party |
| 67 | to such agreement is otherwise an agency as defined in this |
| 68 | subsection, or any multicounty special district with a majority |
| 69 | of its governing board comprised of elected persons; however, |
| 70 | this definition shall include a regional water supply authority. |
| 71 | Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section |
| 72 | 212.0606, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 73 | 212.0606 Rental car surcharge.-- |
| 74 | (2)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 212.20, |
| 75 | and less costs of administration, 80 percent of the proceeds of |
| 76 | this surcharge shall be deposited in the State Transportation |
| 77 | Trust Fund, 15.75 percent of the proceeds of this surcharge |
| 78 | shall be deposited in the Tourism Promotional Trust Fund created |
| 79 | in s. 288.122, and 4.25 percent of the proceeds of this |
| 80 | surcharge shall be deposited in the Florida International Trade |
| 81 | and Promotion Trust Fund. Of the proceeds subject to be |
| 82 | deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund, in fiscal |
| 83 | year 2008-2009 and each year thereafter, the proceeds collected |
| 84 | within each county within the service territory of the South |
| 85 | Florida Regional Transportation Authority established under |
| 86 | chapter 343 shall be deposited into an account of the authority. |
| 87 | The Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority and the |
| 88 | Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority established |
| 89 | under chapter 343 may receive the proceeds deposited into the |
| 90 | State Transportation Trust Fund that are attributed to each |
| 91 | county within the service territory of that authority, by |
| 92 | notifying the department of such election in writing. The |
| 93 | election shall not be effective until the first day of the month |
| 94 | following 60 days after the department receives written |
| 95 | notification from that authority. For the purposes of this |
| 96 | subsection, "proceeds" of the surcharge means all funds |
| 97 | collected and received by the department under this section, |
| 98 | including interest and penalties on delinquent surcharges. The |
| 99 | department shall provide the Department of Transportation rental |
| 100 | car surcharge revenue information for the previous state fiscal |
| 101 | year by September 1 of each year. Monthly proceeds due to each |
| 102 | regional transportation authority under this paragraph shall be |
| 103 | based upon the percentage attributable to each participating |
| 104 | county as determined in this paragraph as of September 1 of the |
| 105 | preceding fiscal year, which shall be used for the subsequent |
| 106 | fiscal year. |
| 107 | Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section |
| 108 | 341.303, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 109 | 341.303 Funding authorization and appropriations; |
| 110 | eligibility and participation.-- |
| 111 | (4) FUND PARTICIPATION; SERVICE DEVELOPMENT.-- |
| 112 | (a) The department may is authorized to fund up to 50 |
| 113 | percent of the net operating costs of any eligible intercity or |
| 114 | commuter rail service development project that is local in |
| 115 | scope, not to exceed the local match, except the department has |
| 116 | no obligation to provide such funding to any regional |
| 117 | transportation authority established pursuant to chapter 343 if |
| 118 | such authority receives a recurring dedicated funding source |
| 119 | that provides 80 percent of the amount of rental car surcharge |
| 120 | proceeds collected pursuant to s. 212.0606(2)(c) in counties |
| 121 | within the authority's service territory or an equivalent |
| 122 | recurring funding source and after receipt of funds from such |
| 123 | recurring dedicated funding source begins. If such receipt of |
| 124 | funds begins in the middle of a fiscal year, the department's |
| 125 | funding of any of the authority's operating costs pursuant to |
| 126 | this paragraph shall be prorated. If the funding source is |
| 127 | discontinued for any reason, the department shall have the same |
| 128 | authorization to fund net operating costs of the authority as |
| 129 | any other commuter rail service in the state. |
| 130 | Section 4. Section 343.58, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 131 | read: |
| 132 | 343.58 County funding for the South Florida Regional |
| 133 | Transportation Authority.-- |
| 134 | (1) Each county served by the South Florida Regional |
| 135 | Transportation Authority must dedicate and transfer not less |
| 136 | than $2.67 million to the authority annually. The recurring |
| 137 | annual $2.67 million must be dedicated by the governing body of |
| 138 | each county before October 31 of each fiscal year. |
| 139 | (2) If At least $45 million of a state-authorized, local |
| 140 | option recurring funding source is dedicated available to |
| 141 | Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties is directed to the |
| 142 | authority to fund its capital, operating, and maintenance |
| 143 | expenses, which source provides at least 80 percent of the |
| 144 | amount of rental car surcharge revenues collected pursuant to s. |
| 145 | 212.0606 in counties within the authority's service territory or |
| 146 | is an equivalent recurring funding source, counties within the |
| 147 | authority's service territory may be relieved of their funding |
| 148 | obligation under subsections (1) and (3). The funding source |
| 149 | shall be dedicated to the authority only if Broward, Miami-Dade, |
| 150 | and Palm Beach counties impose the local option funding source. |
| 151 | (3) In addition, each county shall continue to annually |
| 152 | fund the operations of the South Florida Regional Transportation |
| 153 | Authority in an amount not less than $1.565 million. Revenue |
| 154 | raised pursuant to this subsection shall also be considered a |
| 155 | dedicated funding source. |
| 156 | (4) The current funding obligations under subsections (1) |
| 157 | and (3) shall cease upon commencement of the collection of |
| 158 | funding from the funding source under subsection (2). If the |
| 159 | funding under subsection (2) is discontinued for any reason, the |
| 160 | funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) shall resume |
| 161 | when collection from the funding source under subsection (2) |
| 162 | ceases. If counties are relieved of any funding obligations |
| 163 | under subsections (1) and (3): |
| 164 | (a) Payment by the counties shall be on a pro rata basis |
| 165 | the first year following collection cessation of the funding |
| 166 | under subsection (2). |
| 167 | (b) The authority shall refund a pro rata share of the |
| 168 | payments for the current fiscal year made pursuant to the |
| 169 | current funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) as |
| 170 | soon as reasonably practicable after it begins to receive funds |
| 171 | under subsection (2). |
| 172 |
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| 173 | If, by December 31, 2015, the South Florida Regional |
| 174 | Transportation Authority has not received federal matching funds |
| 175 | based upon the dedication of funds under subsection (1), |
| 176 | subsection (1) shall be repealed. |
| 177 | Section 5. Sections 343.71, 343.72, 343.73, 343.74, |
| 178 | 343.75, 343.76, and 343.77, Florida Statutes, are repealed. |
| 179 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |