The Florida Senate

CS/CS/CS/SB 1662 — Transportation

by Appropriations Committee; Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development; Transportation Committee; and Senator Collins

This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.

Prepared by: Transportation Committee (TR)

The bill addresses various transportation-related provisions. Specifically, the bill:

• Provides position titles for the three assistant secretaries of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), codified as Senior Management Service positions;
• Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to appoint an Executive Director of Transportation Technology, as a Senior Management Service position;
• Revises the qualifications for Florida Transportation Commission (FTC) members to require that at least three commissioners have expertise in higher education, transportation, or workforce development and remove the requirement that all members must have business managerial experience in the private sector;
• Requires the FTC to monitor the efficiency, productivity, and management of any transit entity receiving funding under the public transit block grant program;
• Creates the Florida Transportation Research Institute, with representatives from specified state colleges and universities, as a consortium of higher education professionals. The institute must advance the state’s transportation infrastructure and systems through research, education, and engagement, including the award of grants to member and nonmember institutions and use of funds from the State Transportation Trust Fund for operations and programs;
• Adds operational technology to FDOT’s areas of program responsibility;
• Authorizes certain space-related and commercial shipbuilding and manufacturing projects on seaport property to receive Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development funding;
• Provides that the purpose of the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council is to support the growth of seaports through the review, development, and financing of port facilities, including construction of facilities connecting ports with space and aerospace industries;
• Requires each seaport to submit a semiannual report to FDOT regarding its operations and support of Florida’s economic competitiveness and supply chain;
• Prohibits state funding to seaports in a county with a spaceport territory unless the seaport agrees not to convert cargo facilities to other purposes unless the conversion is approved by the governing body of the seaport and such project is approved by the Legislature;
• Creates an Intermodal Logistic Center working group within FDOT and provides for its membership and responsibilities relating to the expansion and development of intermodal logistic centers. A final report of the working group is due January 1, 2027, and the working group expires June 30, 2027;
• Authorizes FDOT to issue blanket permits allowing the movement of certain large cranes, including movement at night;
• Repeals provisions regarding high-occupancy vehicle lanes, including a related toll exemption;
• Authorizes the withholding of state transportation funds to local jurisdictions if the local jurisdiction has traffic signals that are not in compliance with FDOT’s uniform system for traffic control devices;
• Authorizes a disabled veteran who is eligible for a disabled veteran license plate to be issued a special or specialty license plate embossed with the initials “DV” in the top left-hand corner;
• Updates statutory definitions related to airport licensing and authorizes the establishment of private airports of public interest;
• Requires private airports of public interest to receive a 5-year certificate from FDOT by July 1, 2030, to operate and provides requirements, including a site inspection, for obtaining such a certificate;
• Prohibits airports from charging new landing fees for aircraft operations related to flight training operations conducted by certain academic institutions;
• Authorizes FDOT, in coordination with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Environmental Protection, to fund projects, including projects associated with critical infrastructure facilities, that support space-related facilities;
• Requires airports to provide FDOT with the opportunity to use certain airport property, at no cost to the state, as a staging area during declared states of emergency related to natural disasters for up to 60 days;
• Authorizes FDOT to fund additional aviation-related workforce development projects;
• Requires each commercial service airport to establish and maintain a comprehensive airport infrastructure program and submit annual certifications to FDOT that the airport has established and maintained such a program;
• Adds additional project types to those eligible for priority airport funding from FDOT, including certain terminal and parking expansions; safety and efficiency improvements; and technology, workforce development, and intermodal connectivity projects. FDOT’s airport funding is also expanded to include workforce development projects by postsecondary institutions, transition projects for military personnel, and strategic investment projects paying 100 percent of costs to maximize opportunities in tourism;
• Incorporates nonhub airports into commercial service airport transparency and accountability requirements and amends such requirements for all commercial service airports;
• Requires commercial service airports to notify FDOT within 48 hours after receiving certain communications or directives from the federal government and following cybersecurity breaches, certain disruptions in aviation operations, or certain incidents on airport property;
• Codifies advanced air mobility into Florida law, including requirements for FDOT to address issues related to advances in aviation technology and to coordinate with the Department of Commerce to develop a system plan for the state;
• Revises FDOT’s authorization for public information and education campaigns;
• Revises FDOT’s annual spending requirement relating to landscaping and requires FDOT’s landscaping standards to include native landscaping materials;
• Authorizes FDOT to directly enter into insurance contracts to purchase insurance it is contractually and legally required to provide;
• Authorizes FDOT to purchase or acquire heavy equipment or motor vehicles for certain purposes, whether or not it exchanges or ceases operating any currently owned heavy equipment or motor vehicles;
• Authorizes FDOT to adopt rules to comply with federal requirements regarding disadvantaged business enterprises;
• Authorizes parking authorities created by special act to, pursuant to an interlocal agreement, operate in jurisdictions contiguous to their chartered jurisdictions;
• Creates the Florida Transportation Academy, within FDOT, to coordinate with certain public and private entities regarding workforce development in the transportation industry;
• Authorizes FDOT to require the modification of an existing connection to a state road due to safety or operational concerns;
• Increases the size of a “small business” as it relates to the FDOT’s business development program and authorizes FDOT to provide notices of opportunities to qualified businesses;
• Repeals FDOT’s disadvantaged business enterprise program and changes references to disadvantaged businesses to reflect FDOT’s support of small businesses;
• Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to require a successful bidder to submit a surety bond in an amount less than the awarded contract price;
• Prohibits a municipality from prohibiting, or requiring a permit for, the installation of certain sewer transmission lines on the right-of-way performed under permits issued by FDOT or the Department of Environmental Protection;
• Expands the prohibition on camping to include any right-of-way of the State Highway System, except on the Florida National Scenic Trail with the appropriate permit;
• Requires FDOT to submit a report identifying transit providers, transportation authorities, airports, and seaports that have adopted or promoted energy policy goals inconsistent with the energy policy of the state;
• Repeals an obsolete requirement that FDOT submit a report by July 1, 2021, regarding electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
• Revises and makes permanent FDOT’s Strategic Intermodal System supply chain demands (aggregate) program, authorizing rather than requiring the FDOT to expend funds;
• Revises and makes permanent the allocation of unused New Starts Transit funds to FDOT’s Strategic Intermodal System;
• Updates outdated references to federal regulations related to the public transit block grant program;
• Revises the membership of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s governing body to provide for members from Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau counties;
• Requires FDOT to coordinate with all state agencies to establish a workgroup to review state statutes, policies, practices, and standards related to a statewide mapping program; authorizes the issuance of a request for proposals for technologies; and requires FDOT to submit a report to the Legislature by November 15, 2025, making recommendations for changes to create efficiencies and cost-savings.

If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2025.

Vote: Senate 37-0; House 103-7