Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1118
       
       
        
       By Senator Gainer
       
       
       
       
       
       2-00410B-17                                           20171118__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to transportation; amending s.
    3         316.545, F.S.; providing for the calculation of fines
    4         for unlawful weight and load for a vehicle fueled by
    5         natural gas; requiring the vehicle operator to present
    6         a certain written certification upon request by a
    7         weight inspector or law enforcement officer;
    8         prescribing a maximum actual gross vehicle weight for
    9         vehicles fueled by natural gas; providing a penalty;
   10         providing applicability; amending s. 335.074, F.S.;
   11         requiring bridges on public transportation facilities
   12         to be inspected for certain purposes at regular
   13         intervals as required by the Federal Highway
   14         Administration; amending s. 337.11, F.S.; increasing
   15         the allowable amount for contracts for construction
   16         and maintenance that the Department of Transportation
   17         may enter into, in certain circumstances, without
   18         advertising and receiving competitive bids; amending
   19         s. 338.227, F.S.; providing that certain bonds are not
   20         required to be validated but may be validated at the
   21         option of the Division of Bond Finance; providing
   22         filing, notice, and service requirements for
   23         complaints and circuit court orders concerning such
   24         validation; amending s. 339.135, F.S.; providing an
   25         additional exception related to the amendment of
   26         adopted work programs when an emergency exists;
   27         amending s. 339.2405, F.S.; replacing the Florida
   28         Highway Beautification Council within the department
   29         with the Florida Highway Beautification Grant Program;
   30         providing the purpose of the program; providing duties
   31         of the department, including the establishment of
   32         rules related to grant requests; conforming provisions
   33         to changes made by the act; amending s. 343.52, F.S.;
   34         defining the term “department”; amending s. 343.54,
   35         F.S.; prohibiting the South Florida Regional
   36         Transportation Authority from entering into,
   37         extending, or renewing certain contracts or other
   38         agreements without the department’s prior review and
   39         written approval if such contracts or agreements may
   40         be funded with funds provided by the department;
   41         amending s. 343.58, F.S.; prohibiting specified funds
   42         provided to the authority by the department from being
   43         committed by the authority without the prior review
   44         and written approval by the department of the
   45         authority’s expenditures; deleting requirements
   46         relating to notification by the authority to the
   47         department of a proposed procurement or of a renewal
   48         of any existing contract that will rely on state funds
   49         for payment; requiring the authority to promptly
   50         provide the department any documentation or
   51         information, in addition to the proposed annual
   52         budget, which is required by the department for its
   53         evaluation of the proposed uses of state funds;
   54         prohibiting certain funding from being provided to the
   55         authority by the department until the authority
   56         terminates a Notice of Intent of Contract Award for a
   57         specified request for proposal; requiring the
   58         authority, before entering into a new contract for the
   59         services that were the subject of such request for
   60         proposal, to obtain the department’s written approval
   61         of all terms and conditions of the new procurement and
   62         contract for such services; amending s. 215.82, F.S.;
   63         conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
   64         amending s. 343.53, F.S.; conforming a cross
   65         reference; providing an effective date.
   66          
   67  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   68  
   69         Section 1. Present paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (3)
   70  of section 316.545, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
   71  paragraphs (d) and (e), respectively, and a new paragraph (c) is
   72  added to that subsection, to read:
   73         316.545 Weight and load unlawful; special fuel and motor
   74  fuel tax enforcement; inspection; penalty; review.—
   75         (3)
   76         (c)1. For a vehicle fueled by natural gas, the fine is
   77  calculated by reducing the actual gross vehicle weight by the
   78  certified weight difference between the natural gas tank and
   79  fueling system and a comparable diesel tank and fueling system.
   80  Upon the request of a weight inspector or a law enforcement
   81  officer, the vehicle operator shall present a written
   82  certification that identifies the weight of the natural gas tank
   83  and fueling system and the difference in weight of a comparable
   84  diesel tank and fueling system. The written certification must
   85  originate from the vehicle manufacturer or the installer of the
   86  natural gas tank and fueling system.
   87         2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
   88  the actual gross vehicle weight for vehicles fueled by natural
   89  gas may not exceed 82,000 pounds. If the actual gross vehicle
   90  weight exceeds 82,000 pounds, the penalty shall be assessed as
   91  provided in paragraph (a).
   92         3. This paragraph does not apply to vehicles described in
   93  s. 316.535(6).
   94         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 335.074, Florida
   95  Statutes, is amended to read:
   96         335.074 Safety inspection of bridges.—
   97         (2) At regular intervals as required by the Federal Highway
   98  Administration not to exceed 2 years, each bridge on a public
   99  transportation facility shall be inspected for structural
  100  soundness and safety for the passage of traffic on such bridge.
  101  The thoroughness with which bridges are to be inspected shall
  102  depend on such factors as age, traffic characteristics, state of
  103  maintenance, and known deficiencies. The governmental entity
  104  having maintenance responsibility for any such bridge shall be
  105  responsible for having inspections performed and reports
  106  prepared in accordance with the provisions contained herein.
  107         Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section
  108  337.11, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  109         337.11 Contracting authority of department; bids; emergency
  110  repairs, supplemental agreements, and change orders; combined
  111  design and construction contracts; progress payments; records;
  112  requirements of vehicle registration.—
  113         (6)
  114         (c) When the department determines that it is in the best
  115  interest of the public for reasons of public concern, economy,
  116  improved operations, or safety, and only for contracts for
  117  construction and maintenance which do not exceed $250,000 when
  118  circumstances dictate rapid completion of the work, the
  119  department may, up to the amount of $120,000, enter into
  120  contracts for construction and maintenance without advertising
  121  and receiving competitive bids. The department may enter into
  122  such contracts only upon a determination that the work is
  123  necessary for one of the following reasons:
  124         1. To ensure timely completion of projects or avoidance of
  125  undue delay for other projects;
  126         2. To accomplish minor repairs or construction and
  127  maintenance activities for which time is of the essence and for
  128  which significant cost savings would occur; or
  129         3. To accomplish nonemergency work necessary to ensure
  130  avoidance of adverse conditions that affect the safe and
  131  efficient flow of traffic.
  132  
  133  The department shall make a good faith effort to obtain two or
  134  more quotes, if available, from qualified contractors before
  135  entering into any contract. The department shall give
  136  consideration to disadvantaged business enterprise
  137  participation. However, when the work exists within the limits
  138  of an existing contract, the department shall make a good faith
  139  effort to negotiate and enter into a contract with the prime
  140  contractor on the existing contract.
  141         Section 4. Subsection (5) is added to section 338.227,
  142  Florida Statutes, to read:
  143         338.227 Turnpike revenue bonds.—
  144         (5) Notwithstanding s. 215.82, bonds issued pursuant to
  145  this section are not required to be validated pursuant to
  146  chapter 75 but may be validated at the option of the Division of
  147  Bond Finance. Any complaint about such validation must be filed
  148  in the circuit court of the county in which the seat of state
  149  government is situated, and the clerk shall publish the notice
  150  as required by s. 75.06 only in the county in which the
  151  complaint is filed. The complaint and order of the circuit court
  152  must be served on the state attorney of the circuit in which the
  153  action is pending.
  154         Section 5. Paragraph (e) of subsection (7) of section
  155  339.135, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  156         339.135 Work program; legislative budget request;
  157  definitions; preparation, adoption, execution, and amendment.—
  158         (7) AMENDMENT OF THE ADOPTED WORK PROGRAM.—
  159         (e) Notwithstanding paragraphs (d), and (g), and (h) and
  160  ss. 216.177(2) and 216.351, the secretary may request the
  161  Executive Office of the Governor to amend the adopted work
  162  program when an emergency exists, as defined in s. 252.34, and
  163  the emergency relates to the repair or rehabilitation of any
  164  state transportation facility. The Executive Office of the
  165  Governor may approve the amendment to the adopted work program
  166  and amend that portion of the department’s approved budget if a
  167  delay incident to the notification requirements in paragraph (d)
  168  would be detrimental to the interests of the state. However, the
  169  department shall immediately notify the parties specified in
  170  paragraph (d) and provide such parties written justification for
  171  the emergency action within 7 days after approval by the
  172  Executive Office of the Governor of the amendment to the adopted
  173  work program and the department’s budget. The adopted work
  174  program may not be amended under this subsection without
  175  certification by the comptroller of the department that there
  176  are sufficient funds available pursuant to the 36-month cash
  177  forecast and applicable statutes.
  178         Section 6. Section 339.2405, Florida Statutes, is amended
  179  to read:
  180         339.2405 Florida Highway Beautification Grant Program
  181  Council.—
  182         (1) There is created within the Department of
  183  Transportation the Florida Highway Beautification Grant Program
  184  for the purpose of awarding grants to local governmental
  185  entities for beautification of roads on the State Highway System
  186  as provided in subsections (3) and (4). The department shall
  187  Council. It shall consist of seven members appointed by the
  188  Governor. All appointed members must be residents of this state.
  189  One member must be a licensed landscape architect, one member
  190  must be a representative of the Florida Federation of Garden
  191  Clubs, Inc., one member must be a representative of the Florida
  192  Nurserymen and Growers Association, one member must be a
  193  representative of the department as designated by the head of
  194  the department, one member must be a representative of the
  195  Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and two members
  196  must be private citizens. The members of the council shall serve
  197  at the pleasure of the Governor.
  198         (2) Each chair shall be selected by the council members and
  199  shall serve a 2-year term.
  200         (3) The council shall meet no less than semiannually at the
  201  call of the chair or, in the chair’s absence or incapacity, at
  202  the call of the head of the department. Four members shall
  203  constitute a quorum for the purpose of exercising all of the
  204  powers of the council. A vote of the majority of the members
  205  present shall be sufficient for all actions of the council.
  206         (4) The council members shall serve without pay but shall
  207  be entitled to per diem and travel expenses pursuant to s.
  208  112.061.
  209         (5) A member of the council may not participate in any
  210  discussion or decision to recommend grants to any qualified
  211  local government with which the member is associated as a member
  212  of the governing body or as an employee or with which the member
  213  has entered into a contractual arrangement.
  214         (6) The council may prescribe, amend, and repeal bylaws
  215  governing the manner in which the business of the council is
  216  conducted.
  217         (7)(a) The duties of the council shall be to:
  218         (a)1. Provide information to local governments and local
  219  highway beautification councils regarding the state highway
  220  beautification grants program.
  221         (b)2. Accept grant requests from local governments.
  222         (c)3. Review grant requests for compliance with department
  223  council rules.
  224         (d)4. Establish rules for evaluating and prioritizing the
  225  grant requests. The rules must include, but are not limited to,
  226  an examination of each grant’s aesthetic value, cost
  227  effectiveness, level of local support, feasibility of
  228  installation and maintenance, and compliance with state and
  229  federal regulations. Rules adopted by the department council
  230  which it uses to evaluate grant applications must take into
  231  consideration the contributions made by the highway
  232  beautification project in preventing litter.
  233         (e)5. Maintain a prioritized list of approved grant
  234  requests. The list must include recommended funding levels for
  235  each request and, if staged implementation is appropriate,
  236  funding requirements for each stage shall be provided.
  237         6. Assess the feasibility of planting and maintaining
  238  indigenous wildflowers and plants, instead of sod groundcovers,
  239  along the rights-of-way of state roads and highways. In making
  240  such assessment, the council shall utilize data from other
  241  states which include indigenous wildflower and plant species in
  242  their highway vegetative management systems.
  243         (b) The council may, at the request of the head of the
  244  department, review and make recommendations on any other highway
  245  beautification matters relating to the State Highway System.
  246         (8) The head of the department shall provide from existing
  247  personnel such staff support services to the council as are
  248  necessary to enable the council to fulfill its duties and
  249  responsibilities.
  250         (2)(9) Local highway beautification councils may be created
  251  by local governmental entities or by the Legislature. Prior to
  252  being submitted to the department council, a grant request must
  253  be approved by the local government or governments of the area
  254  in which the project is located.
  255         (3)(10) The head of the department, after receiving
  256  recommendations from the council, shall award grants to local
  257  governmental entities that have submitted grant requests for
  258  beautification of roads on the State Highway System and which
  259  requests are on the council’s approved list. The grants shall be
  260  awarded in the order they appear on the council’s prioritized
  261  list and in accordance with available funding.
  262         (4)(11) State highway beautification grants may be
  263  requested only for projects to beautify through landscaping
  264  roads on the State Highway System. The grant request shall
  265  identify all costs associated with the project, including
  266  sprinkler systems, plant materials, equipment, and labor. A
  267  grant shall provide for the costs of purchase and installation
  268  of a sprinkler system, the cost of plant materials and
  269  fertilizer, and may provide for the costs for labor associated
  270  with the installation of the plantings. Each local government
  271  that receives a grant is shall be responsible for any costs for
  272  water, for the maintenance of the sprinkler system, for the
  273  maintenance of the landscaped areas in accordance with a
  274  maintenance agreement with the department, and, except as
  275  otherwise provided in the grant, for any costs for labor
  276  associated with the installation of the plantings. The
  277  department may provide, by contract, services to maintain such
  278  landscaping at a level not to exceed the cost of routine
  279  maintenance of an equivalent unlandscaped area.
  280         (12) The council shall annually submit to the head of the
  281  Department of Transportation a proposal recommending the level
  282  of grant funding.
  283         Section 7. Section 343.52, Florida Statutes, is reordered
  284  and amended to read:
  285         343.52 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
  286         (2)(1) “Authority” means the South Florida Regional
  287  Transportation Authority.
  288         (3)(2) “Board” means the governing body of the authority.
  289         (4) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.
  290         (1)(3) “Area served” means Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm
  291  Beach Counties. However, this area may be expanded by mutual
  292  consent of the authority and the board of county commissioners
  293  of Monroe County. The authority may not expand into any
  294  additional counties without the department’s prior written
  295  approval.
  296         (8)(4) “Transit system” means a system used for the
  297  transportation of people and goods by means of, without
  298  limitation, a street railway, an elevated railway having a fixed
  299  guideway, a commuter railroad, a subway, motor vehicles, or
  300  motor buses, and includes a complete system of tracks, stations,
  301  and rolling stock necessary to effectuate passenger service to
  302  or from the surrounding regional municipalities.
  303         (7)(5) “Transit facilities” means property, avenues of
  304  access, equipment, or buildings built and installed in Miami
  305  Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties which are required to
  306  support a transit system.
  307         (6)(6) “Member” means the individuals constituting the
  308  board.
  309         (5)(7) “Feeder transit services” means a transit system
  310  that transports passengers to or from stations within or across
  311  counties.
  312         Section 8. Present subsections (4) and (5) of section
  313  343.54, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
  314  and (6), respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to that
  315  section, to read:
  316         343.54 Powers and duties.—
  317         (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the
  318  authority may not enter into, extend, or renew any contract or
  319  other agreement under this part without the department’s prior
  320  review and written approval of the authority’s proposed
  321  expenditures if such contract or agreement may be funded, in
  322  whole or in part, with funds provided by the department.
  323         Section 9. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
  324  343.58, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is added
  325  to that subsection, to read:
  326         343.58 County funding for the South Florida Regional
  327  Transportation Authority.—
  328         (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  329  contrary and effective July 1, 2010, until as provided in
  330  paragraph (d), the department shall transfer annually from the
  331  State Transportation Trust Fund to the South Florida Regional
  332  Transportation Authority the amounts specified in subparagraph
  333  (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2.
  334         (c)1. Funds provided to the authority by the department
  335  under this subsection may not be committed by the authority
  336  without the prior review and written approval by of the
  337  department of the authority’s expenditures, which may not be
  338  unreasonably withheld. At least 90 days before advertising any
  339  procurement or renewing any existing contract that will rely on
  340  state funds for payment, the authority shall notify the
  341  department of the proposed procurement or renewal and the
  342  proposed terms thereof. If the department, within 60 days after
  343  receipt of notice, objects in writing to the proposed
  344  procurement or renewal, specifying its reasons for objection,
  345  the authority may not proceed with the proposed procurement or
  346  renewal. Failure of the department to object in writing within
  347  60 days after notice shall be deemed consent. This requirement
  348  does not impair or cause the authority to cancel contracts that
  349  exist as of June 30, 2012.
  350         2. To enable the department to evaluate the authority’s
  351  proposed uses of state funds, the authority shall annually
  352  provide the department with its proposed budget for the
  353  following authority fiscal year and shall promptly provide the
  354  department with any additional documentation or information
  355  required by the department for its evaluation of the proposed
  356  uses of the state funds.
  357         (e) Funding may not be provided to the authority by the
  358  department under this subsection until the authority withdraws,
  359  cancels, or otherwise terminates the authority’s Notice of
  360  Intent of Contract Award for Request for Proposal 16-010
  361  “Operating Services,” approved by the authority’s board on
  362  January 27, 2017. Before entering into a new contract for the
  363  services that were the subject of the Request for Proposal 16
  364  010, the authority must obtain the department’s written approval
  365  of all terms and conditions of a new procurement and contract
  366  for the services that were the subject of such request for
  367  proposal to ensure that the authority has sufficient revenues to
  368  fund the contract.
  369         Section 10. Subsection (2) of section 215.82, Florida
  370  Statutes, is amended to read:
  371         215.82 Validation; when required.—
  372         (2) Any bonds issued pursuant to this act which are
  373  validated shall be validated in the manner provided by chapter
  374  75. In actions to validate bonds to be issued in the name of the
  375  State Board of Education under s. 9(a) and (d), Art. XII of the
  376  State Constitution and bonds to be issued pursuant to chapter
  377  259, the Land Conservation Program, the complaint shall be filed
  378  in the circuit court of the county where the seat of state
  379  government is situated, the notice required to be published by
  380  s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county where the
  381  complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the circuit
  382  court shall be served only on the state attorney of the circuit
  383  in which the action is pending. In any action to validate bonds
  384  issued pursuant to s. 1010.62 or issued pursuant to s. 9(a)(1),
  385  Art. XII of the State Constitution or issued pursuant to s.
  386  215.605 or s. 338.227, the complaint shall be filed in the
  387  circuit court of the county where the seat of state government
  388  is situated, the notice required to be published by s. 75.06
  389  shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
  390  county where the complaint is filed and in two other newspapers
  391  of general circulation in the state, and the complaint and order
  392  of the circuit court shall be served only on the state attorney
  393  of the circuit in which the action is pending; provided,
  394  however, that if publication of notice pursuant to this section
  395  would require publication in more newspapers than would
  396  publication pursuant to s. 75.06, such publication shall be made
  397  pursuant to s. 75.06.
  398         Section 11. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
  399  343.53, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  400         343.53 South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.—
  401         (2) The governing board of the authority shall consist of
  402  10 voting members, as follows:
  403         (d) If the authority’s service area is expanded pursuant to
  404  s. 343.54(6) s. 343.54(5), the county containing the new service
  405  area shall have two members appointed to the board as follows:
  406         1. The county commission of the county shall elect a
  407  commissioner as that commission’s representative on the board.
  408  The commissioner must be a member of the county commission when
  409  elected and for the full extent of his or her term.
  410         2. The Governor shall appoint a citizen member to the board
  411  who is not a member of the county commission but who is a
  412  resident and a qualified elector of that county.
  413         Section 12. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.