Senate Bill sb2070e1

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  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public transit; amending s.

  3         341.031, F.S.; defining new terms for purposes

  4         of the Florida Public Transit Act; amending s.

  5         341.041, F.S.; including intercity bus service

  6         as part of the transit responsibilities of the

  7         Department of Transportation; amending s.

  8         341.051, F.S.; authorizing the department to

  9         receive federal and state funding for intercity

10         bus service; amending s. 341.053, F.S.;

11         including intercity bus lines within the

12         state's intermodal freight network; providing

13         that intercity bus service is one the projects

14         eligible for funding under the Intermodal

15         Development Program; amending s. 339.135, F.S.;

16         providing for distribution of funds for the

17         intercity bus program; providing for state

18         matching funds; providing an effective date.

19  

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

21  

22         Section 1.  Subsections (11), (12), (13), and (14) are

23  added to section 341.031, Florida Statutes, to read:

24         341.031  Definitions relating to Florida Public Transit

25  Act.--As used in ss. 341.011-341.061, the term:

26         (11)  "Intercity bus service" means regularly scheduled

27  bus service for the general public which operates with limited

28  stops over fixed routes connecting two or more urban areas not

29  in close proximity; has the capacity for transporting baggage

30  carried by passengers; makes meaningful connections with

31  scheduled intercity bus service to more distant points, if


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 1  such service is available; maintains scheduled information in

 2  the National Official Bus Guide; and provides package express

 3  service incidental to passenger transportation.

 4         (12)  "Eligible bus carrier" or "carrier" means a

 5  private company that has operated defined intercity bus

 6  service in the state, with formal authority in accordance with

 7  the rules and regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety

 8  Administration and the Surface Transportation Board of the

 9  Federal Department of Transportation, for a minimum of 2

10  years.

11         (13)  "Eligible intercity bus costs" means the total

12  costs directly incident to the provision of intercity bus

13  service, including any depreciation or amortization of capital

14  assets purchased without public financial assistance.

15         (14)  "Intercity bus capital project" means a capital

16  project undertaken by an intercity bus carrier to provide

17  intercity bus service, and is limited to acquisition, design,

18  construction, reconstruction, or improvement of a privately

19  operated intercity bus service. Projects may include that

20  portion of a governmentally owned or operated transit system

21  designed to support privately operated intercity bus service.

22         Section 2.  Subsections (1), (2), (4), (5), and (6) of

23  section 341.041, Florida Statutes, are amended, present

24  subsections (8) through (15) of that section are redesignated

25  as subsections (9) through (16), respectively, and a new

26  subsection (8) is added to that section, to read:

27         341.041  Transit responsibilities of the

28  department.--The department shall, within the resources

29  provided pursuant to chapter 216:

30         (1)  Develop a statewide plan that which provides for

31  public transit and intercity bus service needs at least 5


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 1  years in advance. The plan shall be developed in a manner that

 2  will assure maximum use of existing facilities, and optimum

 3  integration and coordination of the various modes of

 4  transportation, including both governmentally owned and

 5  privately owned resources, in the most cost-effective manner

 6  possible. The plan shall also incorporate plans adopted by

 7  local and regional planning agencies which are consistent, to

 8  the maximum extent feasible, with adopted strategic policy

 9  plans and approved local government comprehensive plans for

10  the region and units of local government covered by the plan

11  and shall, insofar as practical, conform to federal planning

12  requirements.  The plan shall be consistent with the goals of

13  the Florida Transportation Plan developed pursuant to s.

14  339.155.

15         (2)  Formulate a specific program of projects and

16  project financing to respond to identified transit and

17  intercity bus service needs as part of the work program.

18         (4)  Provide technical and financial assistance to

19  units of local government and intercity bus carriers, based on

20  an analysis of public transit and intercity bus service

21  problems and needs, to assist in establishing and implementing

22  effective transit systems and related support programs. In

23  providing such assistance, the department may assist public

24  agencies that provide public transit and intercity bus

25  carriers that provide intercity bus services by making

26  department-owned transit vehicles and appurtenances available

27  for lease to such agencies for special needs of limited

28  duration.

29         (5)  Coordinate activities between the public entities

30  and private entities on matters relating to public transit and

31  intercity bus services.


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 1         (6)  Assist in the development and implementation of

 2  marketing and passenger information programs for public

 3  transit and intercity bus services.

 4         (8)  Provide intercity bus service, as defined in s.

 5  341.031, to support projects that serve to maintain and

 6  enhance statewide intercity bus service. The department shall

 7  use and dedicate federal funds apportioned to intercity bus

 8  service according to federal requirements to support a

 9  statewide intercity bus network.

10         Section 3.  Subsections (1), (4), and (5) of section

11  341.051, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

12         341.051  Administration and financing of public transit

13  and intercity bus service programs and projects.--

14         (1)  FEDERAL AID.--

15         (a)  The department is authorized to receive federal

16  grants or apportionments for public transit and intercity bus

17  service projects in this state.

18         (b)  Local governmental entities are authorized to

19  receive federal grants or apportionments for public transit

20  and commuter assistance projects. In addition, the provisions

21  of s. 337.403 notwithstanding, if the relocation of utility

22  facilities is necessitated by the construction of a

23  fixed-guideway public transit project and the utilities

24  relocation is approved as a part of the project by a

25  participating federal agency (if eligible for federal matching

26  reimbursement), then any county chartered under s. 6(e), Art.

27  VIII of the State Constitution shall pay at least 50 percent

28  of the nonfederal share of the cost attributable to such

29  relocation after deducting therefrom any increase in the value

30  of the new facility and any salvage value derived from the old

31  


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 1  facility. The balance of the nonfederal share shall be paid by

 2  the utility.

 3         (4)  PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.--

 4         (a)  Any project that is necessary to meet the program

 5  objectives enumerated in s. 341.041, that conforms to the

 6  provisions of this section, and that is contained in the local

 7  transportation improvement program and the adopted work

 8  program of the department is eligible for the expenditure of

 9  state funds for transit purposes.

10         1.  The project shall be a project for service or

11  transportation facilities provided by the department under the

12  provisions of this act, a public transit capital project, a

13  commuter assistance project, a public transit service

14  development project, an intercity bus service capital project,

15  an intercity bus service project, or a transit corridor

16  project.

17         2.  The project must be approved by the department as

18  being consistent with the criteria established pursuant to the

19  provisions of this act.

20         (b)  Such expenditures shall be in accordance with the

21  fund participation rates and the criteria established in this

22  section for project development and implementation, and are

23  subject to approval by the department as being consistent with

24  the Florida Transportation Plan and regional transportation

25  goals and objectives.

26         (c)  Unless otherwise authorized by the Legislature,

27  the department is prohibited from entering into any agreement

28  or contract for a public transit project which would result in

29  the ultimate expenditure or commitment of state funds in

30  excess of $5 million.

31         (5)  FUND PARTICIPATION; CAPITAL ASSISTANCE.--


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 1         (a)  The department may fund up to 50 percent of the

 2  nonfederal share of the costs, not to exceed the local share,

 3  of any eligible public transit capital project or commuter

 4  assistance project that is local in scope; except, however,

 5  that departmental participation in the final design,

 6  right-of-way acquisition, and construction phases of an

 7  individual fixed-guideway project which is not approved for

 8  federal funding shall not exceed an amount equal to 12.5

 9  percent of the total cost of each phase.

10         (b)  The department is authorized to fund up to 100

11  percent of the cost of any eligible transit capital project,

12  intercity bus service project,  or commuter assistance project

13  that is statewide in scope or involves more than one county

14  where no other governmental entity or appropriate jurisdiction

15  exists.

16         (c)  The department is authorized to advance up to 80

17  percent of the capital cost of any eligible project that will

18  assist Florida's transit systems and intercity bus services in

19  becoming fiscally self-sufficient. Such advances shall be

20  reimbursed to the department on an appropriate schedule not to

21  exceed 5 years after the date of provision of the advances.

22         (d)  The department is authorized to fund up to 100

23  percent of the capital and net operating costs of statewide

24  transit service development projects or transit corridor

25  projects. All transit service development projects shall be

26  specifically identified by way of a departmental appropriation

27  request, and transit corridor projects shall be identified as

28  part of the planned improvements on each transportation

29  corridor designated by the department. The project objectives,

30  the assigned operational and financial responsibilities, the

31  timeframe required to develop the required service, and the


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 1  criteria by which the success of the project will be judged

 2  shall be documented by the department for each such transit

 3  service development project or transit corridor project.

 4         (e)  The department is authorized to fund up to 50

 5  percent of the capital and net operating costs of transit

 6  service development projects that are local in scope and that

 7  will improve system efficiencies, ridership, or revenues. All

 8  such projects shall be identified in the appropriation request

 9  of the department through a specific program of projects, as

10  provided for in s. 341.041, that is selectively applied in the

11  following functional areas and is subject to the specified

12  times of duration:

13         1.  Improving system operations, including, but not

14  limited to, realigning route structures, increasing system

15  average speed, decreasing deadhead mileage, expanding area

16  coverage, and improving schedule adherence, for a period of up

17  to 3 years;

18         2.  Improving system maintenance procedures, including,

19  but not limited to, effective preventive maintenance programs,

20  improved mechanics training programs, decreasing service

21  repair calls, decreasing parts inventory requirements, and

22  decreasing equipment downtime, for a period of up to 3 years;

23         3.  Improving marketing and consumer information

24  programs, including, but not limited to, automated information

25  services, organized advertising and promotion programs, and

26  signing of designated stops, for a period of up to 2 years;

27  and

28         4.  Improving technology involved in overall

29  operations, including, but not limited to, transit equipment,

30  fare collection techniques, electronic data processing

31  applications, and bus locators, for a period of up to 2 years.


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 1         (f)  The department may fund up to 100 percent of the

 2  federal-aid apportionment for intercity bus service.

 3  

 4  For purposes of this section, the term "net operating costs"

 5  means all operating costs of a project less any federal funds,

 6  fares, or other sources of income to the project.

 7         Section 4.  Subsections (2) and (6) of section 341.053,

 8  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

 9         341.053  Intermodal Development Program;

10  administration; eligible projects; limitations.--

11         (2)  In recognition of the department's role in the

12  economic development of this state, the department shall

13  develop a proposed intermodal development plan to connect

14  Florida's airports, deepwater seaports, rail systems serving

15  both passenger and freight, and major intermodal connectors to

16  the Florida Intrastate Highway System facilities as the

17  primary system for the movement of people and freight in this

18  state in order to make the intermodal development plan a fully

19  integrated and interconnected system. The intermodal

20  development plan must:

21         (a)  Define and assess the state's freight intermodal

22  network, including airports, seaports, rail lines and

23  terminals, intercity bus lines and terminals, and connecting

24  highways.

25         (b)  Prioritize statewide infrastructure investments,

26  including the acceleration of current projects, which are

27  found by the Freight Stakeholders Task Force to be priority

28  projects for the efficient movement of people and freight.

29         (c)  Be developed in a manner that will assure maximum

30  use of existing facilities and optimum integration and

31  coordination of the various modes of transportation, including


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 1  both government-owned and privately owned resources, in the

 2  most cost-effective manner possible.

 3         (6)  The department is authorized to fund projects

 4  within the Intermodal Development Program, which are

 5  consistent, to the maximum extent feasible, with approved

 6  local government comprehensive plans of the units of local

 7  government in which the project is located.  Projects that are

 8  eligible for funding under this program include major capital

 9  investments in public rail and fixed-guideway transportation

10  facilities and systems which provide intermodal access; road,

11  rail, intercity bus service, or fixed-guideway access to,

12  from, or between seaports, airports, and other transportation

13  terminals; construction of intermodal or multimodal terminals;

14  development and construction of dedicated bus lanes; and

15  projects which otherwise facilitate the intermodal or

16  multimodal movement of people and goods.

17         Section 5.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section

18  339.135, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

19         339.135  Work program; legislative budget request;

20  definitions; preparation, adoption, execution, and

21  amendment.--

22         (4)  FUNDING AND DEVELOPING A TENTATIVE WORK PROGRAM.--

23         (a)1.  To assure that no district or county is

24  penalized for local efforts to improve the State Highway

25  System, the department shall, for the purpose of developing a

26  tentative work program, allocate funds for new construction to

27  the districts, except for the turnpike enterprise, based on

28  equal parts of population and motor fuel tax collections.

29  Funds for resurfacing, bridge repair and rehabilitation,

30  bridge fender system construction or repair, public transit

31  projects except public transit block grants as provided in s.


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 1  341.052, and other programs with quantitative needs

 2  assessments shall be allocated based on the results of these

 3  assessments. The department may not transfer any funds

 4  allocated to a district under this paragraph to any other

 5  district except as provided in subsection (7). Funds for

 6  public transit block grants shall be allocated to the

 7  districts pursuant to s. 341.052. Funds for the intercity bus

 8  program provided for under s. 5311(f) of the federal

 9  nonurbanized area formula program shall be administered and

10  allocated directly to eligible bus carriers as defined in s.

11  341.031(12) at the state level rather than the district.  In

12  order to provide state funding to support the intercity bus

13  program provided for under provisions of the federal 5311(f)

14  program, the department shall allocate an amount equal to the

15  federal share of the 5311(f) program from amounts calculated

16  pursuant to s. 206.46(3).

17         2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph 1.,

18  the department shall allocate at least 50 percent of any new

19  discretionary highway capacity funds to the Florida Intrastate

20  Highway System established pursuant to s. 338.001.  Any

21  remaining new discretionary highway capacity funds shall be

22  allocated to the districts for new construction as provided in

23  subparagraph 1. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the

24  term "new discretionary highway capacity funds" means any

25  funds available to the department above the prior year funding

26  level for  capacity improvements, which the department has the

27  discretion to allocate to highway projects.

28         Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

29  law.

30  

31  


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