Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1570
       
       
        
       By Senator Garcia
       
       
       
       
       
       36-00717A-17                                          20171570__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to express lanes; amending s. 338.166,
    3         F.S.; requiring the Department of Transportation to
    4         ensure reasonable and practicably feasible entry and
    5         exit points on its express lanes and to undertake
    6         efforts to expand reasonable and practicably feasible
    7         entry and exit points for certain purposes;
    8         prohibiting a toll from being charged on express lanes
    9         under certain circumstances; amending s. 338.2216,
   10         F.S.; requiring the Florida Turnpike Enterprise to
   11         ensure reasonable and practicably feasible entry and
   12         exit points on its express lanes and to undertake
   13         efforts to expand reasonable and practicably feasible
   14         entry and exit points for certain purposes; requiring
   15         a toll charged to be the same for the use of express
   16         and general toll lanes under certain circumstances;
   17         providing an effective date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Present subsections (5) and (6) of section
   22  338.166, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (6) and
   23  (7), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added to that
   24  section, to read:
   25         338.166 High-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.—
   26         (5) The department shall ensure reasonable and practicably
   27  feasible entry and exit points on its express lanes and shall
   28  undertake efforts to expand reasonable and practicably feasible
   29  entry and exit points to increase accessibility and ease of
   30  entry and exit to and from its express lanes. If the maintained
   31  average speed of vehicles traveling in an express lane is
   32  equivalent to or less than that of vehicles traveling in
   33  adjacent general use lanes, no toll shall be charged.
   34         Section 2. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of
   35  section 338.2216, Florida Statutes, to read:
   36         338.2216 Florida Turnpike Enterprise; powers and
   37  authority.—
   38         (1)
   39         (e) The Florida Turnpike Enterprise shall ensure reasonable
   40  and practicably feasible entry and exit points on its express
   41  lanes and shall undertake efforts to expand reasonable and
   42  practicably feasible entry and exit points to increase
   43  accessibility and ease of entry and exit to and from its express
   44  lanes. If the maintained average speed of vehicles traveling in
   45  an express lane is equivalent to or less than that of vehicles
   46  traveling in adjacent general toll lanes, the toll charged must
   47  be the same for all such lanes.
   48         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.