House Bill hb0489e3

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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to high-speed rail; creating s.

  3         341.821, F.S.; creating the Florida High-Speed

  4         Rail Authority; providing membership, terms,

  5         organization, and reimbursement of expenses;

  6         providing duties of the authority; relating to

  7         specified conflicts of interest with respect to

  8         authority members; assigning the authority to

  9         the Department of Transportation for

10         administrative purposes; providing for future

11         legislative review and repeal; creating s.

12         341.822, F.S.; providing powers and duties of

13         the authority; authorizing the authority to

14         seek federal funds; providing applicable

15         criteria; requiring submittal of a report;

16         authorizing the department to issue requests

17         for information and proposals; authorizing the

18         authority to request assistance from the

19         private sector; providing for agency

20         assistance; providing an appropriation;

21         providing an effective date.

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

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25         Section 1.  Section 341.821, Florida Statutes, is

26  created to read:

27         341.821  Florida High-Speed Rail Authority.--

28         (1)  There is created and established a body politic

29  and corporate, an agency of the state, to be known as the

30  "Florida High-Speed Rail Authority," hereinafter referred to

31  as the "authority."


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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1         (2)(a)  The governing board of the authority shall

  2  consist of nine voting members appointed as follows:

  3         1.  Three members shall be appointed by the Governor,

  4  one of whom must have a background in the area of

  5  environmental concerns, one of whom must have a legislative

  6  background, and one of whom must have a general business

  7  background.

  8         2.  Three members shall be appointed by the President

  9  of the Senate, one of whom must have a background in civil

10  engineering, one of whom must have a background in

11  transportation construction, and one of whom must have a

12  general business background.

13         3.  Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of

14  the House of Representatives, one of whom must have a legal

15  background, one of whom must have a background in financial

16  matters, and one of whom must have a general business

17  background.

18         (b)  The appointed members shall not be subject to

19  confirmation by the Senate. The initial term of each member

20  appointed by the Governor shall be for 4 years. The initial

21  term of each member appointed by the President of the Senate

22  shall be for 3 years. The initial term of each member

23  appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall

24  be for 2 years. Succeeding terms for all members shall be for

25  terms of 4 years. Initial appointments must be made within 30

26  days after the effective date of this act.

27         (c)  A vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled

28  by the respective appointing authority in the same manner as

29  the original appointment and only for the balance of the

30  unexpired term. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made

31  within 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy.


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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1         (d)  The Secretary of Transportation shall be a

  2  nonvoting ex officio member of the board.

  3         (e)  The board shall elect one of its members as chair

  4  of the authority. The chair shall hold office at the will of

  5  the board. Five members of the board shall constitute a

  6  quorum, and the vote of five members shall be necessary for

  7  any action taken by the authority. The authority may meet upon

  8  the constitution of a quorum. No vacancy in the authority

  9  shall impair the right of a quorum of the board to exercise

10  all rights and perform all duties of the authority.

11         (f)  The members of the board shall not be entitled to

12  compensation but shall be entitled to receive their travel and

13  other necessary expenses as provided in s. 112.061.

14         (3)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it

15  shall not be or constitute a conflict of interest for a person

16  having a background specified in this section to serve as a

17  member of the authority. However, in each official decision to

18  which this act is applicable, such member's firm or related

19  entity may not have a financial or economic interest nor shall

20  the authority contract with or conduct any business with a

21  member or such member's firm or directly related business

22  entity.

23         (4)  The authority shall be assigned to the Department

24  of Transportation for administrative purposes. The authority

25  shall be a separate budget entity. The Department of

26  Transportation shall provide administrative support and

27  service to the authority to the extent requested by the chair

28  of the authority. The authority shall not be subject to

29  control, supervision, or direction by the Department of

30  Transportation in any manner, including, but not limited to,

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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1  personnel, purchasing, transactions involving real or personal

  2  property, and budgetary matters.

  3         Section 2.  Section 341.822, Florida Statutes, is

  4  created to read:

  5         341.822  Powers and duties.--

  6         (1)(a)  The authority created and established by this

  7  act shall plan, administer, and manage the preliminary

  8  engineering and preliminary environmental assessment of the

  9  intrastate high-speed rail system in the state, hereinafter

10  referred to as "intrastate high-speed rail."

11         (b)  The authority may exercise all powers granted to

12  corporations under the Florida Business Corporation Act,

13  chapter 607, except the authority may not incur debt.

14         (c)  The authority shall have perpetual succession as a

15  body politic and corporate.

16         (d)  The authority is authorized to seek federal

17  matching funds or any other funds to fulfill the requirements

18  of this act.

19         (e)  The authority may employ an executive director,

20  permanent or temporary, as it may require and shall determine

21  the qualifications and fix the compensation. The authority may

22  delegate to one or more of its agents or employees such of its

23  power as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this

24  act, subject always to the supervision and control of the

25  authority.

26         Section 3.  (1)  The following criteria shall apply in

27  developing the preliminary engineering, preliminary

28  environmental assessment, and recommendations required by this

29  act:

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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1         (a)  The system shall be capable of traveling speeds in

  2  excess of 120 miles per hour consisting of dedicated rails or

  3  guideways separated from motor vehicle traffic;

  4         (b)  The initial segments of the system will be

  5  developed and operated between St. Petersburg, Tampa, and

  6  Orlando, with future service to Miami;

  7         (c)  The authority is to develop a model that uses, to

  8  the maximum extent feasible, nongovernmental sources of

  9  funding for the design, construction, and operation of the

10  system;

11         (2)  The authority shall make recommendations

12  concerning:

13         (a)  The format and types of information that must be

14  included in a financial or business plan for the high-speed

15  rail system, and the authority may develop that financial or

16  business plan;

17         (b)  The preferred routes between the cities designated

18  in paragraph (1)(b);

19         (c)  The preferred locations for the stations in the

20  cities designated in paragraph (1)(b);

21         (d)  The preferred locomotion technology to be employed

22  from constitutional choices of monorail, fixed guideway, or

23  magnetic levitation;

24         (e)  Any changes that may be needed in state statutes

25  or federal laws which would make the proposed system eligible

26  for available federal funding; and

27         (f)  Any other issues the authority deems relevant to

28  the development of a high-speed rail system.

29         (3)  When preparing the operating plan, the authority

30  shall include:

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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1         (a)  The frequency of service between the cities

  2  designated in paragraph (1)(b);

  3         (b)  The proposed fare structure for passenger and

  4  freight service;

  5         (c)  Proposed trip times, system capacity, passenger

  6  accommodations, and amenities;

  7         (d)  Methods to ensure compliance with applicable

  8  environmental standards and regulations;

  9         (e)  A marketing plan, including strategies that can be

10  employed to enhance the utilization of the system;

11         (f)  A detailed planning-level ridership study;

12         (g)  Consideration of nonfare revenues that may be

13  derived from:

14         1.  The sale of development rights at the stations;

15         2.  License, franchise, and lease fees;

16         3.  Sale of advertising space on the trains or in the

17  stations; and

18         4.  Any other potential sources deemed appropriate.

19         (h)  An estimate of the total cost of the entire

20  system, including, but not limited to, the costs to:

21         1.  Design and build the stations and monorail, fixed

22  guideway, or magnetic levitation system;

23         2.  Acquire any necessary rights-of-way;

24         3.  Purchase or lease rolling stock and other equipment

25  necessary to build, operate, and maintain the system.

26         (i)  An estimate of the annual operating and

27  maintenance costs for the system and all other associated

28  expenses.

29         (j)  An estimate of the value of assets the state or

30  its political subdivisions may provide as in-kind

31  contributions for the system, including rights-of-way,


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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1  engineering studies performed for previous high-speed rail

  2  initiatives, land for rail stations and necessary maintenance

  3  facilities, and any expenses that may be incurred by the state

  4  or its political subdivisions to accommodate the installation

  5  of the system.

  6         (k)  An estimate of the funding required per year from

  7  state funds for the next 30 years for operating the preferred

  8  routes between the cities designated in paragraph (1)(b).

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10  Whenever applicable and appropriate, the authority will base

11  estimates of projected costs, expenses, and revenues on

12  documented expenditures or experience derived from similar

13  projects.

14         Section 4.  The authority shall prepare a report of its

15  actions, findings, and recommendations and submit the report

16  to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker

17  of the House of Representatives on or before January 1, 2002.

18  If statutory changes are recommended, the report shall contain

19  proposed legislation necessary to implement those

20  recommendations.

21         Section 5.  The Department of Transportation may

22  prepare and issue a request for information from

23  private-sector entities regarding their interest in

24  participating in financing, building, and operating the

25  high-speed rail system in this state, and may issue a request

26  for proposals in order for the authority to contract with a

27  consultant to assist the authority in fulfilling the

28  requirements of this act. Furthermore, the authority may

29  enlist assistance or input from the private sector and from

30  existing rail and fixed guideway system vendors or operators,

31  including Amtrak. The Department of Transportation is directed


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                                           HB 489, Third Engrossed



  1  to begin, as soon as possible, collecting and organizing

  2  existing research, studies, and reports concerning high-speed

  3  rail systems in preparation for the authority's first meeting.

  4         Section 6.  The Florida Transportation Commission, the

  5  Department of Community Affairs, and the Department of

  6  Environmental Protection shall, at the authority's request,

  7  provide technical, scientific, or other assistance.

  8         Section 7.  There is appropriated from funds assigned

  9  to the Transportation Outreach Program to the authority the

10  sum of $4,500,000 for the purpose of performing its duties

11  under this act.  These funds shall be administered by the

12  authority, and the funding for the authority, for its board,

13  and for any consultant under the provisions of this act shall

14  be allocated from this appropriation.

15         Section 8.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

16  law.

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