CS/HB 1297

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Northeast Florida regional
3	transportation; creating the Northeast Florida Regional
4	Transportation Study Commission; providing for membership
5	and organization; providing for reimbursement of expenses;
6	providing for removal and suspension of commission
7	members; providing for the Jacksonville Transportation
8	Authority to staff the commission; providing for funding
9	of the commission; providing that the costs of staffing
10	and the amount of funding are determined by the board of
11	the Jacksonville Transportation Authority; providing for
12	committees within the commission; providing for commission
13	meetings; providing for the commission to make available
14	to the public its meeting minutes, reports, and
15	recommendations and publish its reports and
16	recommendations electronically; directing the authority to
17	make its Internet site available for such purposes;
18	requiring the commission to submit reports to the Governor
19	and the Legislature; providing that a county's membership
20	in the commission and participation of a county's
21	appointees does not constitute consent of the county to
22	inclusion within the jurisdiction of a regional
23	transportation authority; providing for expiration of the
24	act and termination of the commission; providing an
25	effective date.
26
27	WHEREAS, pursuant to House Bill 1213, 2009, the Department
28	of Transportation directed the Jacksonville Transportation
29	Authority to prepare a report to recommend to the Legislature
30	the framework for a regional transportation authority for the
31	northeast region of the state comprised of Baker, Clay, Duval,
32	Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties, and
33	WHEREAS, the report was completed and received by the
34	Legislature on February 1, 2010, and
35	WHEREAS, based upon the recommendations of the report, it
36	is necessary and appropriate to create a study commission to
37	continue the work commenced, NOW, THEREFORE,
38
39	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41	Section 1.  Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Study
42	Commission.-
43	(1)  There is created the Northeast Florida Regional
44	Transportation Study Commission, which shall be composed of 20
45	members designated and to be appointed as follows:
46	(a)  Two citizens of Baker County appointed by the Board of
47	County Commissioners of Baker County.
48	(b)  Two citizens of Clay County appointed by the Board of
49	County Commissioners of Clay County.
50	(c)  Four citizens of Duval County appointed by the City
51	Council of the City of Jacksonville.
52	(d)  Two citizens of Flagler County appointed by the Board
53	of County Commissioners of Flagler County.
54	(e)  Two citizens of Nassau County appointed by the Board
55	of County Commissioners of Nassau County.
56	(f)  Two citizens of Putnam County appointed by the Board
57	of County Commissioners of Putnam County.
58	(g)  Two citizens of St. Johns County appointed by the
59	Board of County Commissioners of St. Johns County.
60	(h)  The chair of the Jacksonville Transportation
61	Authority, who shall serve as chair of the commission.
62	(i)  The Department of Transportation's district secretary
63	serving in district II, who shall be a nonvoting member of the
64	commission.
65	(j)  The chair of the Northeast Florida Regional Council,
66	who shall be a nonvoting member of the commission.
67	(k)  The chair of the North Florida Transportation Planning
68	Organization, who shall be a nonvoting member of the commission.
69	(2)(a)  Members shall serve until the work of the
70	commission is completed and the commission is terminated, except
71	that persons serving under paragraphs (1)(h)-(k) shall cease
72	membership if they no longer serve in the position indicated in
73	paragraphs (1)(h)-(k) and shall be replaced by the person
74	replacing them in such position.
75	(b)  Members of the commission shall serve without
76	compensation but shall be reimbursed for all necessary expenses
77	in the performance of their duties, including travel expenses,
78	in accordance with s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
79	(c)  A county commission, or the city council in the case
80	of Duval County, may remove or suspend a member appointed by it
81	for cause, including, but not limited to, failure to attend two
82	or more meetings of the commission during any 9-month period.
83	(3)  The Jacksonville Transportation Authority shall staff
84	the commission and shall supply such information, assistance,
85	and facilities as are deemed necessary for the commission to
86	carry out its duties. The commission shall be funded by the
87	Jacksonville Transportation Authority with its existing
88	resources and by such other funds that may be provided from its
89	constituent counties. The amount of funding, including the costs
90	of staffing, provided by the Jacksonville Transportation
91	Authority to the commission shall be determined by the board of
92	the authority.
93	(4)  The commission shall have such committees with such
94	membership, duties, and other matters as the chair shall
95	determine. Members of such committees need not be members of the
96	commission and may include persons from airport authorities,
97	port authorities, rail or other transportation industries, and
98	others. All committees shall report to the commission at each
99	commission meeting and shall present their final reports for
100	consideration by the commission in accordance with the direction
101	of the chair.
102	(5)(a)  The commission shall meet at the times and
103	locations as the chair shall determine. There shall be regular
104	monthly meetings, to the extent reasonably convenient, that are
105	held in one or more central locations; however, at least one
106	meeting must be held in each of the counties throughout the
107	region. Each meeting must include provision for public comments.
108	(b)  The commission shall make available to the public its
109	meeting minutes, reports, and recommendations upon request and,
110	to the extent feasible, shall publish its reports and
111	recommendations electronically. The Jacksonville Transportation
112	Authority shall make its Internet website available to the
113	commission for such purposes.
114	(6)  By December 31, 2012, the commission shall prepare and
115	submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
116	Speaker of the House of Representatives a report detailing its
117	findings and making specific legislative recommendations,
118	including a regional transportation elements plan, the defining
119	characteristics of transportation elements of regional
120	significance, and an implementation plan for undertaking a
121	regional transportation elements plan, and which may include the
122	establishment of the regional transportation authority, draft
123	legislation consistent with this act, and any other
124	recommendations it deems appropriate.
125	(7)  A county's membership in the commission, and the
126	participation of a county's appointees in the work of the
127	commission, is not intended to constitute the consent of the
128	county to inclusion within the jurisdiction of a regional
129	transportation authority.
130	(8)  This act shall expire and the commission shall
131	terminate upon delivery of the final report required in
132	subsection (6).
133	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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