House Bill 0079

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                  HB 79

        By Representative Valdes






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to economic development

  3         infrastructure; creating s. 288.064, F.S.;

  4         creating the Florida Economic Infrastructure

  5         Program; providing an effective date.

  6

  7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8

  9         Section 1.  Section 288.064, Florida Statutes, is

10  created to read:

11         288.064  Florida Economic Infrastructure Program.--

12         (1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.--The

13  Legislature recognizes that Florida's economic backbone is a

14  strong interconnected transportation system which provides for

15  the efficient movement of commerce within and through the

16  state.  In order for Florida to respond to increased

17  competition in trade, the Legislature hereby establishes the

18  Florida Economic Infrastructure Program, which shall establish

19  a statewide multiagency planning and prioritization process

20  with a dedicated funding stream for

21  economic-development-related infrastructure.

22         (2)  MANAGEMENT.--The Florida Economic Infrastructure

23  Program shall be managed by the Florida Trade Council and its

24  resulting Transportation Improvement Plan shall be developed

25  consistent with chapter 339, and implemented by the Department

26  of Transportation consistent with chapter 339.

27         (3)  AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COUNCIL.--The

28  authority and responsibility of the council is to manage a

29  continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive transportation

30  planning process that results in the development of plans and

31  programs which are consistent, to the maximum extent feasible,

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  1  with approved local government comprehensive plans.  The

  2  council shall be the forum for cooperative decisionmaking by

  3  officials of affected governmental entities in the development

  4  of the plans and programs required by subsections (4), (5),

  5  (6), and (7).

  6         (4)  POWERS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES.--The powers,

  7  privileges, and authority of the council relating to

  8  transportation planning are those specified in this section or

  9  incorporated in an interlocal agreement authorized under s.

10  163.01.  The council shall perform all acts required by

11  federal or state laws or rules, now and subsequently

12  applicable, which are necessary to qualify for federal aid.

13  Within urbanized areas of the state, the transportation plans,

14  improvement programs, and project priorities of the council

15  shall be reviewed by the metropolitan planning organization to

16  ensure that they complement and support the metropolitan

17  planning organization's approved long-range transportation

18  plan, improvement program, and list or project priorities, as

19  provided in s. 339.175.  Metropolitan planning organizations

20  shall assist the council in complying with all federal and

21  state laws regarding transportation planning and air quality

22  conformity requirements for each area designated as a

23  metropolitan planning area under 23 U.S.C s. 134. It is the

24  intent of this section that the council shall be involved in

25  the planning and programming of transportation facilities,

26  including, but not limited to, airports, intercity and

27  high-speed rail lines, seaports, and intermodal facilities, to

28  the extent permitted by state or federal law.

29         (a)  The council shall, in cooperation with the

30  department, develop:

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  1         1.  A long-range transportation plan pursuant to the

  2  requirements of subsection (5); and

  3         2.  An annually updated transportation improvement

  4  program pursuant to the requirements of subsection (6).

  5         (b)  In developing the long-range transportation plan

  6  and the transportation improvement program required under

  7  paragraph (a), the council must, at a minimum, consider:

  8         1.  The enhancement of existing transportation

  9  facilities and, where practical, ways to meet transportation

10  needs by using existing facilities more efficiently;

11         2.  The consistency of transportation planning with

12  applicable federal, state, and local energy conservation

13  programs, goals, and objectives;

14         3.  The programming of transportation enhancement

15  activities as required by federal law;

16         4.  The provision of access to seaports, airports,

17  intermodal transportation facilities, major freight

18  distribution routes, national and state parks, recreation

19  areas, monuments and historic sites, and military

20  installations;

21         5.  Any available methods to enhance the efficient

22  movement of freight; and

23         6.  The overall social, economic, energy, and

24  environmental effects of transportation decisions.

25         (c)  The council may employ personnel or may enter into

26  contracts with local or state agencies, private planning

27  firms, or private engineering firms to accomplish

28  transportation planning and programming duties required by

29  state or federal law.

30         (5)  LONG-RANGE PLAN.--The council must develop a

31  long-range transportation plan that addresses at least a

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  1  20-year planning horizon.  The plan must include both

  2  long-range and short-range strategies and must comply with all

  3  other state and federal requirements. The long-range plan

  4  must, at a minimum:

  5         (a)  Identify transportation facilities, including, but

  6  not limited to, major roadways, airports, seaports, commuter

  7  light rail systems, transit systems, and intermodal or

  8  multimodal terminals that will function as an integrated

  9  metropolitan transportation system.  The long-range plan must

10  emphasize those transportation facilities that serve national,

11  statewide, or regional functions, and must consider the goals

12  and objectives identified in the Florida Transportation Plan

13  as provided in s. 339.155.

14         (b)  Include a financial plan that demonstrates how the

15  plan can be implemented, indicating resources from public and

16  private sources which are reasonably expected to be available

17  to carry out the plan, and recommends innovative financing

18  techniques that may be used to fund needed projects and

19  programs.  Such techniques may include the assessment of

20  tolls, the use of value capture financing, or the use of

21  congestion pricing.

22

23  In the development of its long-range plan, the council must

24  provide affected public agencies, representatives of

25  transportation agency employees, private providers of

26  transportation, other interested parties, and members of the

27  general public with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the

28  long-range plan.  The long-range plan must be approved by the

29  council.

30         (6)  TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.--The council

31  shall, in cooperation with the state and affected public

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  1  transportation operators, develop an economic transportation

  2  improvement program for the state.  In the process of

  3  developing the transportation improvement program, the council

  4  must provide affected public transit agencies, representatives

  5  of transportation agency employees, private providers of

  6  transportation, other interested parties, and members of the

  7  general public with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the

  8  transportation improvement program.

  9         (a)  The council is responsible for developing,

10  annually, a list of project priorities and a transportation

11  improvement program.  The transportation improvement program

12  shall be used to initiate federally aided transportation

13  facilities and improvements as well as other economic

14  infrastructure improvements including transit, rail, aviation,

15  and port facilities to be funded from the State Transportation

16  Trust Fund in accordance with existing and subsequent federal

17  and state laws and rules and regulations related thereto.  The

18  transportation improvement program shall be consistent, to the

19  maximum extent feasible, with approved local government

20  comprehensive plans.

21         (b)  The council annually shall prepare a list of

22  project priorities and shall submit the list to the Department

23  of Transportation by October 1 of each year; however, the

24  department and the council may, in writing, agree to vary this

25  submittal date.  The list of project priorities must be

26  formally reviewed and approved by the council's board of

27  directors before it is transmitted to the department.  The

28  approved list of project priorities must be used by the

29  department in developing the transportation work program and

30  must be used by the council in developing its transportation

31  improvement program.  The annual list of project priorities

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  1  must be based upon project selection criteria that, at a

  2  minimum, consider the following:

  3         1.  The approved council long-range plan; and

  4         2.  The council's public-involvement procedures.

  5         (c)  The transportation improvement program must, at a

  6  minimum:

  7         1.  Include projects and project phases to be funded

  8  with state or federal funds within the time period of the

  9  transportation improvement program and which are recommended

10  for advancement during the next fiscal year and the four

11  subsequent fiscal years.  Such projects and project phases

12  must be consistent, to the maximum extent feasible, with

13  approved local government comprehensive plans.  For

14  informational purposes, the transportation improvement program

15  shall also include a list of projects to be funded from local

16  or private revenues.

17         2.  Provide a financial plan that demonstrates how the

18  transportation improvement program can be implemented;

19  indicates the resources, both public and private, that are

20  reasonably expected to be available to accomplish the program;

21  and recommends any innovative financing techniques that may be

22  used to fund needed projects and programs.  Such techniques

23  may include the assessment of tolls, the use of value capture

24  financing, or the use of congestion pricing.  The

25  transportation improvement program may include a project or

26  project phase only if full funding can reasonably be

27  anticipated to be available for the project or project phase.

28         3.  Group projects and project phases of similar

29  urgency and anticipated staging into appropriate staging

30  periods.

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  1         4.  Indicate how the transportation improvement program

  2  relates to the long-range plan developed under subsection (5),

  3  including providing examples of specific projects or project

  4  phases that further the goals and policies of the long-range

  5  plan.

  6         5.  Indicate how the improvements are consistent, to

  7  the maximum extent feasible, with affected seaport and airport

  8  master plans.

  9         (d)  Projects included in the transportation

10  improvement program and that have advanced to the design stage

11  of preliminary engineering may be removed from or rescheduled

12  in a subsequent transportation improvement program only by the

13  joint action of the council and the department.  Except when

14  recommended in writing by the secretary for good cause, any

15  project removed from or rescheduled in a subsequent

16  transportation improvement program shall not be rescheduled by

17  the council in that subsequent program earlier than the fifth

18  year of such program.

19         (e)  The Department of Community Affairs shall review

20  the annual transportation improvement program of the council

21  for consistency with the approved local government

22  comprehensive plans and shall identify those projects that are

23  inconsistent with such comprehensive plans.  The Department of

24  Community Affairs shall notify the council of any

25  transportation projects contained in its transportation

26  improvement program which are inconsistent with approved local

27  government comprehensive plans.

28         (7)  AGREEMENTS.--

29         (a)  The council shall execute the following written

30  agreements, which shall be reviewed, and updated as necessary,

31  every 5 years.

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  1         1.  An agreement with the department and the

  2  metropolitan planning organization, where applicable, clearly

  3  establishing the cooperative relationship essential to

  4  accomplish the transportation planning requirements of state

  5  and federal law.

  6         2.  An agreement with operators of public

  7  transportation systems, including transit systems, commuter

  8  rail systems, airports, and seaports, describing the means by

  9  which activities will be coordinated.

10         (b)  The council may execute other agreements required

11  by state or federal law or as necessary to properly accomplish

12  its functions.

13         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

14  law.

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17                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Creates the Florida Economic Infrastructure Program.
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      See bill for details.
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