HB 1473, Engrossed 1 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Florida Public Transit Act;
3	amending s. 341.031, F.S.; defining "intercity bus
4	service," "eligible bus carrier" or "carrier," "eligible
5	intercity bus costs," and "intercity bus capital project";
6	amending s. 341.041, F.S.; revising responsibilities of
7	the Department of Transportation; requiring the department
8	to develop a statewide plan which provides for public
9	transit and intercity bus service, formulate a specific
10	program of projects and project financing, develop and
11	administer certain state measures concerning system
12	performance, provide technical and financial assistance to
13	intercity bus carriers, coordinate activities between
14	certain entities on matters relating to intercity bus
15	service, assist in the development and implementation of
16	marketing and passenger information programs for said
17	services, provide said service to support described
18	projects, and utilize certain federal funds to support a
19	statewide intercity bus network; amending s. 341.051,
20	F.S.; authorizing the department to receive federal grants
21	or apportionments for intercity bus service projects;
22	revising certain project eligibility requirements for the
23	expenditure of state funds to include described intercity
24	bus service projects; authorizing the department to fund
25	such projects; authorizing the department to fund up to
26	100 percent of the federal aid apportionment for intercity
27	bus service; amending s. 341.053, F.S.; authorizing
28	expenditure of Intermodal Development Program funds for
29	intercity bus service; amending s. 339.135, F.S.;
30	providing for distribution of funds for the intercity bus
31	program; providing for state matching funds; providing an
32	effective date.
33
34	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36	Section 1. Subsections (11) through (14) are added to
37	section 341.031, Florida Statutes, to read:
38	341.031 Definitions relating to Florida Public Transit
39	Act.--As used in ss. 341.011-341.061, the term:
40	(11) "Intercity bus service" means regularly scheduled bus
41	service for the general public that:
42	(a) Operates with limited stops over fixed routes
43	connecting two or more urban areas not in close proximity.
44	(b) Has the capacity for transporting baggage carried by
45	passengers.
46	(c) Makes meaningful connections with scheduled intercity
47	bus service to more distant points, if such service is
48	available.
49	(d) Maintains scheduled information in the National
50	Official Bus Guide.
51	(e) Provides package express service incidental to
52	passenger transportation.
53	(12) "Eligible bus carrier" or "carrier" means a private
54	company that has operated defined intercity bus service in the
55	state, with formal authority in accordance with the rules and
56	regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
57	and the Surface Transportation Board of the United States
58	Department of Transportation, for a minimum of 2 years.
59	(13) "Eligible intercity bus costs" means the total costs
60	directly incident to the provision of intercity bus service,
61	including any depreciation or amortization of capital assets
62	purchased without public financial assistance.
63	(14) "Intercity bus capital project" means a capital
64	project undertaken by an intercity bus carrier to provide
65	intercity bus service and is limited to acquisition, design,
66	construction, reconstruction, or improvement of a privately
67	operated intercity bus service. Such projects may include that
68	portion of a government-owned or government-operated transit
69	system designed to support privately operated intercity bus
70	service.
71	Section 2. Section 341.041, Florida Statutes, is amended
72	to read:
73	341.041 Transit responsibilities of the department.--The
74	department shall, within the resources provided pursuant to
75	chapter 216:
76	(1) Develop a statewide plan which provides for public
77	transit and intercity bus serviceneeds at least 5 years in
78	advance. The plan shall be developed in a manner that will
79	assure maximum use of existing facilities, and optimum
80	integration and coordination of the various modes of
81	transportation, including both governmentally owned and
82	privately owned resources, in the most cost-effective manner
83	possible. The plan shall also incorporate plans adopted by local
84	and regional planning agencies which are consistent, to the
85	maximum extent feasible, with adopted strategic policy plans and
86	approved local government comprehensive plans for the region and
87	units of local government covered by the plan and shall, insofar
88	as practical, conform to federal planning requirements. The plan
89	shall be consistent with the goals of the Florida Transportation
90	Plan developed pursuant to s. 339.155.
91	(2) Formulate a specific program of projects and project
92	financing to respond to identified transit and intercity bus
93	serviceneeds as part of the work program.
94	(3) Develop, publish, and administer state measures
95	concerning system management, performance, productivity, cost
96	distribution, and safety of governmentally owned public transit
97	systems and privately owned or operated systems financed wholly
98	or in part by state funding. Such measures shall be developed
99	jointly with representatives of affected publicly owned transit
100	systems and in coordination with affected privately owned
101	systems, with full consideration given to nationwide industry
102	norms.
103	(4) Provide technical and financial assistance to units of
104	local government and intercity bus carriers, based on an
105	analysis of public transit and intercity bus serviceproblems
106	and needs, to assist in establishing and implementing effective
107	transit systems and related support programs. In providing such
108	assistance, the department may assist public agencies that
109	provide public transit and intercity bus carriers that provide
110	intercity bus servicesby making department-owned transit
111	vehicles and appurtenances available for lease to such agencies
112	for special needs of limited duration.
113	(5) Coordinate activities between the public entities and
114	private entities on matters relating to public transit and
115	intercity bus service.
116	(6) Assist in the development and implementation of
117	marketing and passenger information programs for public transit
118	and intercity busservices.
119	(7) Provide transit service through contracts with
120	existing publicly or privately owned transit systems, where such
121	service represents the transit element of a corridor project
122	designed to relieve urban traffic congestion.
123	(8) Provide intercity bus service to support projects that
124	serve to maintain and enhance statewide intercity bus service.
125	The department shall utilize and dedicate federal funds
126	apportioned to intercity bus service according to federal
127	requirements to support a statewide intercity bus network.
128	(9)(8)Provide new transit service and equipment where a
129	public need has been determined to exist pursuant to the
130	transportation planning process and where all of the following
131	conditions occur:
132	(a) No other governmental entity of appropriate
133	jurisdiction exists.
134	(b) The service cannot be reasonably provided by a
135	governmentally owned or privately owned public transit provider.
136	(c) The cost of providing the service does not exceed the
137	sum of revenues resulting from user fares, special transit
138	services such as charter operations, local fund participation,
139	and specific legislative appropriation for this purpose.
140
141	The department may buy, sell, own, lease, and otherwise encumber
142	facilities, transit vehicles, and appurtenances thereto, as
143	necessary to provide such service; or the department may provide
144	service by contracts with governmentally owned or privately
145	owned service providers.
146	(10)(9)Provide public transportation service where
147	emergency service is required, provided that no other private or
148	public transportation operation is available to provide needed
149	service and that such service is clearly in the best interests
150	of the people or communities being served. Such service shall be
151	provided by contractual services, actual operation of state-
152	owned transit equipment and facilities, or any other means
153	deemed appropriate by the department and shall be limited to a
154	period not to exceed 2 years.
155	(11)(10)Administer federal and state commuter assistance
156	programs and related federal-aid funds apportioned to the
157	department, which promote the use of ridesharing arrangements
158	and transportation demand management strategies, and the
159	creation of transportation management associations. Public
160	agencies, and private organizations established pursuant to
161	chapter 617 and approved by the local government and the
162	department as being consistent with local, regional, and state
163	transportation plans, are eligible to receive funds under this
164	program. The department shall establish adequate insurance
165	requirements based on passenger capacity for each vehicle used
166	in ridesharing.
167	(12)(11)Assist local governmental entities and other
168	transit operators in the planning and development of transit
169	programs and procedures and in the identification of
170	alternatives for achieving the most effective use of available
171	transportation resources and increasing revenue sources as
172	needed so that Florida's transit systems can move toward
173	becoming fiscally self-sufficient. The department may also
174	advance, on a matching basis, state funds for capital
175	improvements to transit properties in accordance with the
176	following:
177	(a) Candidate programs may include, but are not limited
178	to, the development of terminal facilities for lease by
179	interfacing modes, the acquisition and development of adjacent
180	land for lease or sale to public and private entities, and the
181	acquisition and development of air rights.
182	(b) The criteria to be utilized in determining whether or
183	not to advance such funds shall be adopted by rule and shall
184	include the demonstrated need of the transit system,
185	administrative capability, and a system financial plan as
186	approved by the department.
187	(13)(12)Assist local governmental entities in achieving a
188	condition wherein transit systems are operated at a service
189	level that is responsive to identified transit needs and in such
190	a manner as to promote maximum transit usage and achieve the
191	highest possible operating recovery ratio commensurate with the
192	local government's transit role and requirements.
193	(14)(13)Assist local governmental entities and other
194	transit operators in the planning, development, and coordination
195	of transit services for WAGES program participants as defined in
196	s. 414.0252.
197	(15)(14)Create and maintain a common self-retention
198	insurance fund to support fixed-guideway projects throughout the
199	state when there is a contractual obligation to have the fund in
200	existence in order to provide fixed-guideway services. The
201	maximum limit of the fund is as required by any contractual
202	obligation.
203	Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraph (a)
204	of subsection (4), and subsection (5) of section 341.051,
205	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
206	341.051 Administration and financing of public transit
207	programs and projects.--
208	(1) FEDERAL AID.--
209	(a) The department is authorized to receive federal grants
210	or apportionments for public transit and intercity bus service
211	projects in this state.
212	(4) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.--
213	(a) Any project that is necessary to meet the program
214	objectives enumerated in s. 341.041, that conforms to the
215	provisions of this section, and that is contained in the local
216	transportation improvement program and the adopted work program
217	of the department is eligible for the expenditure of state funds
218	for transit purposes.
219	1. The project shall be a project for service or
220	transportation facilities provided by the department under the
221	provisions of this act, a public transit capital project, a
222	commuter assistance project, a public transit service
223	development project, an intercity bus service capital project,
224	an intercity bus service project,or a transit corridor project.
225	2. The project must be approved by the department as being
226	consistent with the criteria established pursuant to the
227	provisions of this act.
228	(5) FUND PARTICIPATION; CAPITAL ASSISTANCE.--
229	(a) The department may fund up to 50 percent of the
230	nonfederal share of the costs, not to exceed the local share, of
231	any eligible public transit capital project or commuter
232	assistance project that is local in scope; except, however, that
233	departmental participation in the final design, right-of-way
234	acquisition, and construction phases of an individual fixed-
235	guideway project which is not approved for federal funding shall
236	not exceed an amount equal to 12.5 percent of the total cost of
237	each phase.
238	(b) The department is authorized to fund up to 100 percent
239	of the cost of any eligible transit capital project, intercity
240	bus service project,or commuter assistance project that is
241	statewide in scope or involves more than one county where no
242	other governmental entity or appropriate jurisdiction exists.
243	(c) The department is authorized to advance up to 80
244	percent of the capital cost of any eligible project that will
245	assist Florida's transit systems and intercity bus servicesin
246	becoming fiscally self-sufficient. Such advances shall be
247	reimbursed to the department on an appropriate schedule not to
248	exceed 5 years after the date of provision of the advances.
249	(d) The department is authorized to fund up to 100 percent
250	of the capital and net operating costs of statewide transit
251	service development projects or transit corridor projects. All
252	transit service development projects shall be specifically
253	identified by way of a departmental appropriation request, and
254	transit corridor projects shall be identified as part of the
255	planned improvements on each transportation corridor designated
256	by the department. The project objectives, the assigned
257	operational and financial responsibilities, the timeframe
258	required to develop the required service, and the criteria by
259	which the success of the project will be judged shall be
260	documented by the department for each such transit service
261	development project or transit corridor project.
262	(e) The department is authorized to fund up to 50 percent
263	of the capital and net operating costs of transit service
264	development projects that are local in scope and that will
265	improve system efficiencies, ridership, or revenues. All such
266	projects shall be identified in the appropriation request of the
267	department through a specific program of projects, as provided
268	for in s. 341.041, that is selectively applied in the following
269	functional areas and is subject to the specified times of
270	duration:
271	1. Improving system operations, including, but not limited
272	to, realigning route structures, increasing system average
273	speed, decreasing deadhead mileage, expanding area coverage, and
274	improving schedule adherence, for a period of up to 3 years;
275	2. Improving system maintenance procedures, including, but
276	not limited to, effective preventive maintenance programs,
277	improved mechanics training programs, decreasing service repair
278	calls, decreasing parts inventory requirements, and decreasing
279	equipment downtime, for a period of up to 3 years;
280	3. Improving marketing and consumer information programs,
281	including, but not limited to, automated information services,
282	organized advertising and promotion programs, and signing of
283	designated stops, for a period of up to 2 years; and
284	4. Improving technology involved in overall operations,
285	including, but not limited to, transit equipment, fare
286	collection techniques, electronic data processing applications,
287	and bus locators, for a period of up to 2 years.
288	(f) The department is authorized to fund up to 100 percent
289	of the federal aid apportionment for intercity bus service.
290
291	For purposes of this section, the term "net operating costs"
292	means all operating costs of a project less any federal funds,
293	fares, or other sources of income to the project.
294	Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and subsection
295	(6) of section 341.053, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
296	341.053 Intermodal Development Program; administration;
297	eligible projects; limitations.--
298	(2) In recognition of the department's role in the
299	economic development of this state, the department shall develop
300	a proposed intermodal development plan to connect Florida's
301	airports, deepwater seaports, rail systems serving both
302	passenger and freight, and major intermodal connectors to the
303	Florida Intrastate Highway System facilities as the primary
304	system for the movement of people and freight in this state in
305	order to make the intermodal development plan a fully integrated
306	and interconnected system. The intermodal development plan must:
307	(a) Define and assess the state's freight intermodal
308	network, including airports, seaports, rail lines and terminals,
309	intercity bus lines and terminals,and connecting highways.
310	(6) The department is authorized to fund projects within
311	the Intermodal Development Program, which are consistent, to the
312	maximum extent feasible, with approved local government
313	comprehensive plans of the units of local government in which
314	the project is located. Projects that are eligible for funding
315	under this program include major capital investments in public
316	rail and fixed-guideway transportation facilities and systems
317	which provide intermodal access; road, rail, intercity bus
318	service,or fixed-guideway access to, from, or between seaports,
319	airports, and other transportation terminals; construction of
320	intermodal or multimodal terminals; development and construction
321	of dedicated bus lanes; and projects which otherwise facilitate
322	the intermodal or multimodal movement of people and goods.
323	Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
324	339.135, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
325	339.135 Work program; legislative budget request;
326	definitions; preparation, adoption, execution, and amendment.--
327	(4) FUNDING AND DEVELOPING A TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM.--
328	(a)1. To assure that no district or county is penalized
329	for local efforts to improve the State Highway System, the
330	department shall, for the purpose of developing a tentative work
331	program, allocate funds for new construction to the districts,
332	except for the turnpike enterprise, based on equal parts of
333	population and motor fuel tax collections. Funds for
334	resurfacing, bridge repair and rehabilitation, bridge fender
335	system construction or repair, public transit projects except
336	public transit block grants as provided in s. 341.052, and other
337	programs with quantitative needs assessments shall be allocated
338	based on the results of these assessments. The department may
339	not transfer any funds allocated to a district under this
340	paragraph to any other district except as provided in subsection
341	(7). Funds for public transit block grants shall be allocated to
342	the districts pursuant to s. 341.052. Funds for the intercity
343	bus program provided for under s. 5311(f) of the federal
344	nonurbanized area formula program shall be administered and
345	allocated directly to eligible bus carriers as defined in s.
346	341.031(12) at the state level rather than the district. In
347	order to provide state funding to support the intercity bus
348	program provided for under provisions of the federal 5311(f)
349	program, the department shall allocate an amount equal to the
350	federal share of the 5311(f) program from amounts calculated
351	pursuant to s. 206.46(3).
352	2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph 1., the
353	department shall allocate at least 50 percent of any new
354	discretionary highway capacity funds to the Florida Intrastate
355	Highway System established pursuant to s. 338.001. Any remaining
356	new discretionary highway capacity funds shall be allocated to
357	the districts for new construction as provided in subparagraph
358	1. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term "new
359	discretionary highway capacity funds" means any funds available
360	to the department above the prior year funding level for
361	capacity improvements, which the department has the discretion
362	to allocate to highway projects.
363	Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
364