Bill Text: FL S1226 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Department of Transportation
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-06 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/CS/HB 1301 [S1226 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1226-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Department of Transportation
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-06 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/CS/HB 1301 [S1226 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1226-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 1226
By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator DiCeglie
596-02958B-24 20241226c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Department of Transportation;
3 amending s. 20.23, F.S.; deleting the requirement that
4 the secretary of the department appoint the
5 department’s inspector general; amending s. 311.101,
6 F.S.; requiring that a specified amount of recurring
7 funds from the State Transportation Trust Fund be made
8 available for the Intermodal Logistics Center
9 Infrastructure Support Program; requiring the
10 department to include specified projects in its
11 tentative work program; amending s. 334.044, F.S.;
12 revising requirements for the allocation of funds by
13 the department for the purchase of plant materials;
14 amending s. 338.231, F.S.; extending the length of
15 time before which an inactive prepaid toll account
16 becomes unclaimed property; amending s. 339.0803,
17 F.S.; prioritizing availability of certain revenues
18 deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund for
19 payments under service contracts with the Florida
20 Department of Transportation Financing Corporation to
21 fund arterial highway projects; providing that two or
22 more of such projects may be treated as a single
23 project for certain purposes; amending s. 339.0809,
24 F.S.; specifying priority of availability of funds
25 appropriated for payments under a service contract
26 with the corporation; amending s. 339.2818, F.S.;
27 authorizing, subject to appropriation, a local
28 government within specified areas to compete for
29 funding using specified criteria on specified roads;
30 providing an exclusion; amending s. 341.071, F.S.;
31 defining the terms “administrative costs” and “public
32 transit provider”; requiring each public transit
33 provider to annually certify that its budgeted and
34 actual administrative costs are not greater than a
35 specified amount; requiring the disclosure of
36 specified information; requiring the department to
37 calculate the annual state average of administrative
38 costs by a specified date; amending s. 341.822, F.S.;
39 revising the powers of the Florida Rail Enterprise;
40 providing an effective date.
41
42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
43
44 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
45 20.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
46 20.23 Department of Transportation.—There is created a
47 Department of Transportation which shall be a decentralized
48 agency.
49 (3)
50 (d) The secretary shall appoint an inspector general
51 pursuant to s. 20.055 who shall be directly responsible to the
52 secretary and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.
53 Section 2. Present subsection (7) of section 311.101,
54 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (8), and a new
55 subsection (7) is added to that section, to read:
56 311.101 Intermodal Logistics Center Infrastructure Support
57 Program.—
58 (7) Beginning with the 2024-2025 fiscal year through the
59 2029-2030 fiscal year, $15 million in recurring funds shall be
60 made available from the State Transportation Trust Fund for the
61 program. The Department of Transportation shall include projects
62 proposed to be funded under this section in the tentative work
63 program developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4).
64 Section 3. Subsection (26) of section 334.044, Florida
65 Statutes, is amended to read:
66 334.044 Powers and duties of the department.—The department
67 shall have the following general powers and duties:
68 (26) To provide for the enhancement of environmental
69 benefits, including air and water quality; to prevent roadside
70 erosion; to conserve the natural roadside growth and scenery;
71 and to provide for the implementation and maintenance of
72 roadside conservation, enhancement, and stabilization programs.
73 (a) Of the total amount appropriated for a contracted
74 construction project, the percentage allocated for the purchase
75 of plant materials is as follows:
76 1. For projects with a contracted amount of $50 million or
77 less, 1.5 percent.
78 2. For projects with a contracted amount of $50,000,001 to
79 $100 million, 1 percent.
80 3. For projects with a contracted amount of $100,000,001 to
81 $250 million, 0.75 percent.
82 4. For projects with a contracted amount of $250,000,001 to
83 $500 million, 0.50 percent.
84 5. For projects with a contracted amount of $500,000,001 or
85 more, 0.25 percent. At least 1.5 percent of the amount
86 contracted for construction projects shall be allocated by the
87 department on a statewide basis for the purchase of plant
88 materials.
89 (b) Department districts may not expend funds for
90 landscaping in connection with any project that is limited to
91 resurfacing existing lanes unless the expenditure has been
92 approved by the department’s secretary or the secretary’s
93 designee. To the greatest extent practical, at least 50 percent
94 of the funds allocated under this subsection shall be allocated
95 for large plant materials and the remaining funds for other
96 plant materials. Except as prohibited by applicable federal law
97 or regulation, all plant materials shall be purchased from
98 Florida commercial nursery stock in this state on a uniform
99 competitive bid basis. The department shall develop grades and
100 standards for landscaping materials purchased through this
101 process. To accomplish these activities, the department may
102 contract with nonprofit organizations having the primary purpose
103 of developing youth employment opportunities.
104 Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
105 338.231, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
106 338.231 Turnpike tolls, fixing; pledge of tolls and other
107 revenues.—The department shall at all times fix, adjust, charge,
108 and collect such tolls and amounts for the use of the turnpike
109 system as are required in order to provide a fund sufficient
110 with other revenues of the turnpike system to pay the cost of
111 maintaining, improving, repairing, and operating such turnpike
112 system; to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds issued
113 to finance or refinance any portion of the turnpike system as
114 the same become due and payable; and to create reserves for all
115 such purposes.
116 (3)
117 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
118 contrary, any prepaid toll account of any kind which has
119 remained inactive for 10 3 years is shall be presumed unclaimed
120 and its disposition shall be handled by the Department of
121 Financial Services in accordance with all applicable provisions
122 of chapter 717 relating to the disposition of unclaimed
123 property, and the prepaid toll account shall be closed by the
124 department.
125 Section 5. Section 339.0803, Florida Statutes, is amended
126 to read:
127 339.0803 Allocation of increased revenues derived from
128 amendments to s. 320.08 by ch. 2019-43.—
129 (1) Beginning in the 2021-2022 fiscal year and each fiscal
130 year thereafter, funds that result from increased revenues to
131 the State Transportation Trust Fund derived from the amendments
132 to s. 320.08 made by chapter 2019-43, Laws of Florida, and
133 deposited into the fund pursuant to s. 320.20(5)(a) must be used
134 to fund arterial highway projects identified by the department
135 in accordance with s. 339.65 and may be used for projects as
136 specified in ss. 339.66 and 339.67. For purposes of the funding
137 provided in this section, the department shall prioritize use of
138 existing facilities or portions thereof when upgrading arterial
139 highways to limited or controlled access facilities. However,
140 this section does not preclude use of the funding for projects
141 that enhance the capacity of an arterial highway. The funds
142 allocated as provided in this section shall be in addition to
143 any other statutory funding allocations provided by law.
144 (2) Revenues deposited into the State Transportation Trust
145 Fund pursuant to s. 320.20(5)(a) shall first be available for
146 appropriation for payments under a service contract entered into
147 with the Florida Department of Transportation Financing
148 Corporation pursuant to s. 339.0809(4) to fund arterial highway
149 projects. For the corporation’s bonding purposes, two or more of
150 such projects in the department’s approved work program may be
151 treated as a single project.
152 Section 6. Subsection (13) of section 339.0809, Florida
153 Statutes, is amended to read:
154 339.0809 Florida Department of Transportation Financing
155 Corporation.—
156 (13) The department may enter into a service contract in
157 conjunction with the issuance of debt obligations as provided in
158 this section which provides for periodic payments for debt
159 service or other amounts payable with respect to debt
160 obligations, plus any administrative expenses of the Florida
161 Department of Transportation Financing Corporation. Funds
162 appropriated for payments under a service contract shall be
163 available after funds pledged to payment on bonds but before
164 other statutorily required distributions.
165 Section 7. Subsection (8) is added to section 339.2818,
166 Florida Statutes, to read:
167 339.2818 Small County Outreach Program.—
168 (8) Subject to specific appropriation in addition to funds
169 appropriated for projects under this section, a local government
170 either wholly or partially within the Everglades Agricultural
171 Area as defined in s. 373.4592(15), the Peace River Basin, or
172 the Suwannee River Basin may compete for additional funding
173 using the criteria listed in paragraph (4)(c) at up to 100
174 percent of project costs on state or county roads used primarily
175 as farm to market connections between rural agricultural areas
176 and market distribution centers, excluding capacity improvement
177 projects.
178 Section 8. Subsection (4) is added to section 341.071,
179 Florida Statutes, to read:
180 341.071 Transit productivity and performance measures;
181 reports.—
182 (4)(a) As used in this subsection, the term:
183 1. “Administrative costs” includes, but is not limited to,
184 salaried employees’ compensation and benefits, small business
185 outreach, professional service contracts not directly related to
186 the operation and maintenance of a transit system, and other
187 overhead expenses. This term does not include insurance costs.
188 2. “Public transit provider” means a public agency
189 providing public transit service, including an authority created
190 pursuant to chapter 343 or chapter 349.
191 (b) Each public transit provider shall, during a publicly
192 noticed meeting, annually certify that its budgeted and actual
193 administrative costs are not greater than 20 percent above the
194 annual state average of administrative costs. The provider shall
195 also disclose all employees’ compensation and benefits,
196 ridership performance and metrics, and any gifts as defined in
197 s. 112.312 accepted in exchange for contracts.
198 (c) To support compliance with paragraph (b), the
199 department shall determine the annual state average of
200 administrative costs by calculating the annual administrative
201 costs of all the public transit providers in this state annually
202 by March 31 to inform the provider’s following Fiscal Year
203 budget.
204 Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
205 341.822, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
206 341.822 Powers and duties.—
207 (2)(a) In addition to the powers granted to the department,
208 the enterprise has full authority to exercise all powers granted
209 to it under this chapter. Powers shall include, but are not
210 limited to, the ability to plan, construct, maintain, repair,
211 and operate a high-speed rail system, to acquire corridors, and
212 to coordinate the development and operation of publicly funded
213 passenger rail systems in the state, and to preserve future rail
214 corridors and rights-of-way in coordination with the
215 department’s planning of the State Highway System.
216 Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
