The Florida Senate

341.821  Florida High-Speed Rail Authority.--

(1)  There is created and established a body politic and corporate, an agency of the state, to be known as the "Florida High-Speed Rail Authority," hereinafter referred to as the "authority."

(2)(a)  The governing board of the authority shall consist of nine voting members appointed as follows:

1.  Three members shall be appointed by the Governor, one of whom must have a background in the area of environmental concerns, one of whom must have a legislative background, and one of whom must have a general business background.

2.  Three members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom must have a background in civil engineering, one of whom must have a background in transportation construction, and one of whom must have a general business background.

3.  Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom must have a legal background, one of whom must have a background in financial matters, and one of whom must have a general business background.

(b)  The appointed members shall not be subject to confirmation by the Senate. The initial term of each member appointed by the Governor shall be for 4 years. The initial term of each member appointed by the President of the Senate shall be for 3 years. The initial term of each member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be for 2 years. Succeeding terms for all members shall be for terms of 4 years.

(c)  A vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled by the respective appointing authority in the same manner as the original appointment and only for the balance of the unexpired term. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made within 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy.

(d)  The Secretary of Transportation shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the board.

(e)  The board shall elect one of its members as chair of the authority. The chair shall hold office at the will of the board. Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum, and the vote of five members shall be necessary for any action taken by the authority. The authority may meet upon the constitution of a quorum. No vacancy in the authority shall impair the right of a quorum of the board to exercise all rights and perform all duties of the authority.

(f)  The members of the board shall not be entitled to compensation but shall be entitled to receive their travel and other necessary expenses as provided in s. 112.061

(3)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it shall not be or constitute a conflict of interest for a person having a background specified in this section to serve as a member of the authority. However, in each official decision to which this act is applicable, such member's firm or related entity may not have a financial or economic interest nor shall the authority contract with or conduct any business with a member or such member's firm or directly related business entity.

(4)  The authority shall be assigned to the Department of Transportation for administrative purposes. The authority shall be a separate budget entity. The Department of Transportation shall provide administrative support and service to the authority to the extent requested by the chair of the authority. The authority shall not be subject to control, supervision, or direction by the Department of Transportation in any manner, including, but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, transactions involving real or personal property, and budgetary matters.

History.--s. 1, ch. 2001-153; s. 31, ch. 2002-20.