The Florida Senate

334.044  Department; powers and duties.--The department shall have the following general powers and duties:

(1)  To assume the responsibility for coordinating the planning of a safe, viable, and balanced state transportation system serving all regions of the state, and to assure the compatibility of all components, including multimodal facilities.

(2)  To adopt rules, procedures, and standards for the conduct of its business operations and the implementation of any provision of law for which the department is responsible.

(3)  To adopt an official seal.

(4)  To maintain its headquarters in Tallahassee and its district offices and necessary field offices at such places within the state as it may designate, and to purchase, build, or lease suitable buildings for such uses.

(5)  To purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire property, materials, equipment, and supplies, and to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any property which is no longer needed by the department.

(6)  To acquire, by the exercise of the power of eminent domain as provided by law, all property or property rights, whether public or private, which it may determine are necessary to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers.

(7)  To enter into contracts and agreements.

(8)  To sue and be sued as provided by law.

(9)  To employ and train staff, and to contract with qualified consultants. For the purposes of chapters 471 and 472, the department shall be considered a firm.

(10)

(a)  To develop and adopt uniform minimum standards and criteria for the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of public roads pursuant to the provisions of s. 336.045.

(b)  The department shall periodically review its construction, design, and maintenance standards to ensure that such standards are cost-effective and consistent with applicable federal regulations and state law.

(11)  To establish a numbering system for public roads, to functionally classify such roads, and to assign jurisdictional responsibility.

(12)  To coordinate the planning of the development of public transportation facilities within the state and the provision of related transportation services as authorized by law.

(13)  To designate existing and to plan proposed transportation facilities as part of the State Highway System, and to construct, maintain, and operate such facilities.

(14)  To establish, control, and prohibit points of ingress to, and egress from, the State Highway System, the turnpike, and other transportation facilities under the department's jurisdiction as necessary to ensure the safe, efficient, and effective maintenance and operation of such facilities.

(15)  To plan, acquire, lease, construct, maintain, and operate toll facilities; to authorize the issuance and refunding of bonds; and to fix and collect tolls or other charges for travel on any such facilities.

(16)  To designate limited access facilities on the State Highway System and turnpike projects; to plan, construct, maintain, and operate service roads in connection with such facilities; and to regulate, reconstruct, or realign any existing public road as a service road.

(17)  To establish and maintain bicycle and pedestrian ways.

(18)  To encourage and promote the development of multimodal transportation alternatives.

(19)  To conduct research studies, and to collect data necessary for the improvement of the state transportation system.

(20)  To conduct research and demonstration projects relative to innovative transportation technologies.

(21)  To cooperate with and assist local governments in the development of a statewide transportation system and in the development of the individual components of the system.

(22)  To cooperate with the transportation department or duly authorized commission or authority of any state in the development and construction of transportation facilities physically connecting facilities of this state with those facilities of any adjoining state.

(23)  To identify, obtain, and administer all federal funds available to the department for all transportation purposes.

(24)  To do all things necessary to obtain the full benefits of the national Highway Safety Act of 1966, and in so doing, to cooperate with federal and state agencies, public and private agencies, interested organizations, and individuals to effectuate the purposes of that act, and any and all amendments thereto. The Governor shall have the ultimate state responsibility for dealing with the Federal Government in respect to programs and activities initiated pursuant to the national Highway Safety Act of 1966, and any amendments thereto.

(25)  To provide for the conservation of natural roadside growth and scenery and for the implementation and maintenance of roadside beautification programs. To accomplish these activities, the department may contract with nonprofit organizations having the primary purpose of developing youth employment opportunities.

(26)  To conduct studies and provide coordination to assess the needs associated with landside ingress and egress to port facilities, and to coordinate with local governmental entities to ensure that port facility access routes are properly integrated with other transportation facilities.

(27)  To require persons to affirm the truth of statements made in any application for a license, permit, or certification issued by the department or in any contract documents submitted to the department.

(28)  To advance funds for projects in the department's adopted work program to governmental entities prior to commencement of the project or project phase when the advance has been authorized by the department's comptroller and is made pursuant to a written agreement between the department and a governmental entity.

(29)  To take any other action necessary to carry out the powers and duties expressly granted in this code.

History.--s. 11, ch. 84-309; s. 9, ch. 85-180; s. 26, ch. 86-243; s. 2, ch. 88-224; s. 155, ch. 92-152; s. 56, ch. 93-164; s. 15, ch. 96-423.