SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. HB 1737
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 460728
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
                                   .                    
                                   .                    
 1                                 .                    
                                   .                    
 2                                 .                    
                                   .                    
 3                                 .                    
                                   .                    
 4  ______________________________________________________________
 5  
 6  
 7  
 8  
 9  
10  ______________________________________________________________
11  Senator Laurent moved the following amendment:
12  
13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 
14         On page 8, between lines 8 and 9,
15  
16  insert:  
17         Section 3.  Section 341.821, Florida Statutes, is
18  created to read:
19         341.821  Florida High-Speed Rail Authority.--
20         (1)  There is created and established a body politic
21  and corporate, an agency of the state, to be known as the
22  "Florida High-Speed Rail Authority," hereinafter referred to
23  as the "authority."
24         (2)(a)  The governing board of the authority shall
25  consist of nine voting members appointed as follows:
26         1.  Three members shall be appointed by the Governor,
27  one of whom must have a background in the area of
28  environmental concerns, one of whom must have a legislative
29  background, and one of whom must have a general business
30  background.
31         2.  Three members shall be appointed by the President
                                  1
    8:06 PM   05/02/01                                h1737c-17m0b

SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 of the Senate, one of whom must have a background in civil 2 engineering, one of whom must have a background in 3 transportation construction, and one of whom must have a 4 general business background. 5 3. Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of 6 the House of Representatives, one of whom must have a legal 7 background, one of whom must have a background in financial 8 matters, and one of whom must have a general business 9 background. 10 (b) The appointed members shall not be subject to 11 confirmation by the Senate. The initial term of each member 12 appointed by the Governor shall be for 4 years. The initial 13 term of each member appointed by the President of the Senate 14 shall be for 3 years. The initial term of each member 15 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 16 be for 2 years. Succeeding terms for all members shall be for 17 terms of 4 years. Initial appointments must be made within 30 18 days after the effective date of this act. 19 (c) A vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled 20 by the respective appointing authority in the same manner as 21 the original appointment and only for the balance of the 22 unexpired term. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made 23 within 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy. 24 (d) The Secretary of Transportation shall be a 25 nonvoting ex officio member of the board. 26 (e) The board shall elect one of its members as chair 27 of the authority. The chair shall hold office at the will of 28 the board. Five members of the board shall constitute a 29 quorum, and the vote of five members shall be necessary for 30 any action taken by the authority. The authority may meet upon 31 the constitution of a quorum. No vacancy in the authority 2 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b
SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 shall impair the right of a quorum of the board to exercise 2 all rights and perform all duties of the authority. 3 (f) The members of the board shall not be entitled to 4 compensation but shall be entitled to receive their travel and 5 other necessary expenses as provided in s. 112.061. 6 (3) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it 7 shall not be or constitute a conflict of interest for a person 8 having a background specified in this section to serve as a 9 member of the authority. However, in each official decision to 10 which this act is applicable, such member's firm or related 11 entity may not have a financial or economic interest nor shall 12 the authority contract with or conduct any business with a 13 member or such member's firm or directly related business 14 entity. 15 (4) The authority shall be assigned to the Department 16 of Transportation for administrative purposes. The authority 17 shall be a separate budget entity. The Department of 18 Transportation shall provide administrative support and 19 service to the authority to the extent requested by the chair 20 of the authority. The authority shall not be subject to 21 control, supervision, or direction by the Department of 22 Transportation in any manner, including, but not limited to, 23 personnel, purchasing, transactions involving real or personal 24 property, and budgetary matters. 25 Section 4. Section 341.822, Florida Statutes, is 26 created to read: 27 341.822 Powers and duties.-- 28 (1)(a) The authority created and established by this 29 act shall plan, administer, and manage the preliminary 30 engineering and preliminary environmental assessment of the 31 intrastate high-speed rail system in the state, hereinafter 3 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b
SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 referred to as "intrastate high-speed rail." 2 (b) The authority may exercise all powers granted to 3 corporations under the Florida Business Corporation Act, 4 chapter 607, except the authority may not incur debt. 5 (c) The authority shall have perpetual succession as a 6 body politic and corporate. 7 (d) The authority is authorized to seek federal 8 matching funds or any other funds to fulfill the requirements 9 of this act. 10 (e) The authority may employ an executive director, 11 permanent or temporary, as it may require and shall determine 12 the qualifications and fix the compensation. The authority may 13 delegate to one or more of its agents or employees such of its 14 power as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this 15 act, subject always to the supervision and control of the 16 authority. 17 Section 5. (1) The following criteria shall apply in 18 developing the preliminary engineering, preliminary 19 environmental assessment, and recommendations required by this 20 act: 21 (a) The system shall be capable of traveling speeds in 22 excess of 120 miles per hour consisting of dedicated rails or 23 guideways separated from motor vehicle traffic; 24 (b) The initial segments of the system will be 25 developed and operated between St. Petersburg, Tampa, and 26 Orlando, with future service to Miami; 27 (c) The authority is to develop a model that uses, to 28 the maximum extent feasible, nongovernmental sources of 29 funding for the design, construction, and operation of the 30 system; 31 (2) The authority shall make recommendations 4 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b
SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 concerning: 2 (a) The format and types of information that must be 3 included in a financial or business plan for the high-speed 4 rail system, and the authority may develop that financial or 5 business plan; 6 (b) The preferred routes between the cities designated 7 in paragraph (1)(b); 8 (c) The preferred locations for the stations in the 9 cities designated in paragraph (1)(b); 10 (d) The preferred locomotion technology to be employed 11 from constitutional choices of monorail, fixed guideway, or 12 magnetic levitation; 13 (e) Any changes that may be needed in state statutes 14 or federal laws which would make the proposed system eligible 15 for available federal funding; and 16 (f) Any other issues the authority deems relevant to 17 the development of a high-speed rail system. 18 (3) When preparing the operating plan, the authority 19 shall include: 20 (a) The frequency of service between the cities 21 designated in paragraph (1)(b); 22 (b) The proposed fare structure for passenger and 23 freight service; 24 (c) Proposed trip times, system capacity, passenger 25 accommodations, and amenities; 26 (d) Methods to ensure compliance with applicable 27 environmental standards and regulations; 28 (e) A marketing plan, including strategies that can be 29 employed to enhance the utilization of the system; 30 (f) A detailed planning-level ridership study; 31 (g) Consideration of nonfare revenues that may be 5 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b
SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 derived from: 2 1. The sale of development rights at the stations; 3 2. License, franchise, and lease fees; 4 3. Sale of advertising space on the trains or in the 5 stations; and 6 4. Any other potential sources deemed appropriate. 7 (h) An estimate of the total cost of the entire 8 system, including, but not limited to, the costs to: 9 1. Design and build the stations and monorail, fixed 10 guideway, or magnetic levitation system; 11 2. Acquire any necessary rights-of-way; 12 3. Purchase or lease rolling stock and other equipment 13 necessary to build, operate, and maintain the system. 14 (i) An estimate of the annual operating and 15 maintenance costs for the system and all other associated 16 expenses. 17 (j) An estimate of the value of assets the state or 18 its political subdivisions may provide as in-kind 19 contributions for the system, including rights-of-way, 20 engineering studies performed for previous high-speed rail 21 initiatives, land for rail stations and necessary maintenance 22 facilities, and any expenses that may be incurred by the state 23 or its political subdivisions to accommodate the installation 24 of the system. 25 (k) An estimate of the funding required per year from 26 state funds for the next 30 years for operating the preferred 27 routes between the cities designated in paragraph (1)(b). 28 29 Whenever applicable and appropriate, the authority will base 30 estimates of projected costs, expenses, and revenues on 31 documented expenditures or experience derived from similar 6 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b
SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 projects. 2 Section 6. The authority shall prepare a report of its 3 actions, findings, and recommendations and submit the report 4 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker 5 of the House of Representatives on or before January 1, 2002. 6 If statutory changes are recommended, the report shall contain 7 proposed legislation necessary to implement those 8 recommendations. 9 Section 7. The Department of Transportation may 10 prepare and issue a request for information from 11 private-sector entities regarding their interest in 12 participating in financing, building, and operating the 13 high-speed rail system in this state, and may issue a request 14 for proposals in order for the authority to contract with a 15 consultant to assist the authority in fulfilling the 16 requirements of this act. Furthermore, the authority may 17 enlist assistance or input from the private sector and from 18 existing rail and fixed guideway system vendors or operators, 19 including Amtrak. The Department of Transportation is directed 20 to begin, as soon as possible, collecting and organizing 21 existing research, studies, and reports concerning high-speed 22 rail systems in preparation for the authority's first meeting. 23 Section 8. The Florida Transportation Commission, the 24 Department of Community Affairs, and the Department of 25 Environmental Protection shall, at the authority's request, 26 provide technical, scientific, or other assistance. 27 Section 9. There is appropriated from funds assigned 28 to the Transportation Outreach Program to the authority the 29 sum of $4,500,000 for the purpose of performing its duties 30 under this act. These funds shall be administered by the 31 authority, and the funding for the authority, for its board, 7 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b
SENATE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1737 Amendment No. ___ Barcode 460728 1 and for any consultant under the provisions of this act shall 2 be allocated from this appropriation. 3 4 (Redesignate subsequent sections.) 5 6 7 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =============== 8 And the title is amended as follows: 9 On page 1, line 14, after "reference;" 10 11 insert: 12 creating s. 341.821, F.S.; creating the Florida 13 High-Speed Rail Authority; providing 14 membership, terms, organization, and 15 reimbursement of expenses; providing duties of 16 the authority; relating to specified conflicts 17 of interest with respect to authority members; 18 assigning the authority to the Department of 19 Transportation for administrative purposes; 20 providing for future legislative review and 21 repeal; creating s. 341.822, F.S.; providing 22 powers and duties of the authority; authorizing 23 the authority to seek federal funds; providing 24 applicable criteria; requiring submittal of a 25 report; authorizing the department to issue 26 requests for information and proposals; 27 authorizing the authority to request assistance 28 from the private sector; providing for agency 29 assistance; providing an appropriation; 30 31 8 8:06 PM 05/02/01 h1737c-17m0b