Senate Bill sb2578
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2578
By Senator Sebesta
16-1391-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to aviation; providing a short
3 title; creating s. 332.14, F.S.; creating the
4 Secure Airports for Florida's Economy Council,
5 or SAFE Council, in the Department of
6 Transportation; providing for council
7 membership; requiring the council to prepare
8 and periodically update a SAFE Master Plan for
9 developing airport facilities and an intermodal
10 transportation system; providing for
11 rulemaking; providing for funding projects as
12 specified; providing for the council to review
13 and approve or disapprove the projects and to
14 submit a list of approved projects to the
15 specified state officials; providing for the
16 Department of Community Affairs, the Department
17 of Transportation, and the Office of Tourism,
18 Trade, and Economic Development to review the
19 list and make recommendations, as specified;
20 providing for the council to develop bylaws;
21 providing for council meetings; providing for
22 per diem and reimbursement of travel expenses;
23 allowing the council to hire an administrative
24 staff and providing for payment of the staff;
25 providing guidelines for expenditure of moneys
26 derived from the SAFE program; providing
27 exemptions to the guidelines; providing for
28 monitoring project funding; amending s.
29 206.606, F.S.; providing for funding the SAFE
30 Program through the State Transportation Trust
31 Fund; providing for uses of the funds;
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1 providing for revenue bonds; providing
2 guidelines for entities created under s.
3 163.01(7)(d), F.S.; providing limitations on
4 the use of funds appropriated under this
5 program; amending s. 215.98, F.S.; providing a
6 limitation on the definition of the term "state
7 debt"; providing an effective date.
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9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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11 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Secure
12 Airports for Florida's Economy (SAFE) Act."
13 Section 2. Section 332.14, Florida Statutes, is
14 created to read:
15 332.14 Secure Airports for Florida's Economy
16 Council.--
17 (1) The Secure Airports for Florida's Economy Council,
18 or SAFE Council, is created within the Department of
19 Transportation. The council consists of 22 members, including
20 the airport director, or the director's designee, of each of
21 the following airports: Daytona Beach International Airport,
22 Gainesville Regional Airport, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood
23 International Airport, Jacksonville International Airport, Key
24 West International Airport, Melbourne International Airport,
25 Miami International Airport, Naples Municipal Airport,
26 Okaloosa County Regional Airport, Orlando International
27 Airport, Orlando-Sanford International Airport, Palm Beach
28 County International Airport, Panama City-Bay County
29 International Airport, Pensacola Regional Airport,
30 Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, Southwest Florida
31 International Airport, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2578
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1 Airport, Tallahassee Regional Airport, and Tampa International
2 Airport; the Secretary of Transportation or his or her
3 designee; the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
4 Economic Development or his or her designee; and the Secretary
5 of Community Affairs or his or her designee.
6 (2) The council shall prepare a 5-year SAFE Master
7 Plan that defines the goals and objectives of the council
8 concerning the development of airport facilities and an
9 intermodal transportation system consistent with the goals of
10 the Florida Transportation Plan developed under s. 339.155.
11 The SAFE Master Plan must include specific recommendations
12 for:
13 (a) The acquisition and construction of transportation
14 facilities connecting any airport to another mode of
15 transportation; and
16 (b) The acquisition and construction of transportation
17 facilities or airport facilities for the purpose of protecting
18 the safety and security of passengers and cargo, enhancing
19 international trade, promoting cargo flow, increasing
20 enplanements, increasing airport revenues, and providing
21 economic benefits to the state. The council shall update the
22 5-year SAFE Master Plan annually and shall submit the plan by
23 February 1 of each year to the President of the Senate, the
24 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Office of
25 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, the Department of
26 Transportation, and the Department of Community Affairs. The
27 council shall develop programs, based on an examination of
28 existing programs in this state and other states, for the
29 training of minorities and secondary-school students in job
30 skills associated with employment opportunities in the
31 aviation industry, and shall annually report to the President
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2578
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1 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
2 on progress and recommendations for further action.
3 (3) The council shall adopt rules for evaluating
4 projects that qualify for funding under this act. The rules
5 must provide criteria for evaluating the economic benefit of
6 the project, measured by the potential for the proposed
7 project to maintain or increase airport security or
8 enplanements, cargo flow, international commerce, airport
9 revenues, and the number of jobs for the local community near
10 the airport. The council shall make a reasonable effort to
11 apportion 26 percent of the grants awarded pursuant to this
12 act among the general aviation airports and 74 percent among
13 the airports listed in subsection (1).
14 (4) The council shall review and approve or disapprove
15 each project eligible to be funded under the SAFE Program. The
16 council shall annually submit to the Secretary of
17 Transportation, the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade,
18 and Economic Development, and the Secretary of Community
19 Affairs a list of projects that have been approved by the
20 council. The list must specify the recommended funding levels
21 for each project, and, if staged implementation of the project
22 is appropriate, the funding requirements for each stage must
23 be specified.
24 (5) The Department of Community Affairs shall review
25 the list of projects approved by the council to determine
26 consistency with approved local government comprehensive plans
27 of the units of local government in which the airport is
28 located and consistency with the airport master plan. The
29 Department of Community Affairs shall identify and notify the
30 council of those projects that are not consistent, to the
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1 maximum extent feasible, with such comprehensive plans and
2 airport master plans.
3 (6) The Department of Transportation shall review the
4 list of projects approved by the council for consistency with
5 the Florida Transportation Plan and the adopted work program
6 of the department. In evaluating the consistency of a project,
7 the department shall determine whether the transportation
8 impact of the proposed project is adequately handled by
9 existing state-owned transportation facilities or by the
10 construction of additional state-owned transportation
11 facilities as identified in the Florida Transportation Plan
12 and the adopted work program of the department. In reviewing
13 for consistency a transportation facility project as defined
14 in s. 334.03(31) which is not otherwise part of the work
15 program of the department, the department shall evaluate
16 whether the project is needed to provide for projected
17 movement of cargo or passengers from the airport to a state
18 transportation facility or local road. If the project is
19 needed to provide for projected movement of cargo or
20 passengers, the project must be approved for consistency as a
21 consideration to facilitate the economic development and
22 growth of the state in a timely manner. The Department of
23 Transportation shall identify then those projects that are
24 inconsistent with the Florida Transportation Plan and the
25 adopted work program and shall notify the council of projects
26 that are found to be inconsistent.
27 (7) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
28 Development, in consultation with Enterprise Florida, Inc.,
29 shall review the list of projects approved by the council to
30 evaluate the economic benefit of the project and to determine
31 whether the project is consistent with the SAFE Master Plan.
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1 The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall
2 review the economic benefits of each project based upon the
3 rules adopted under subsection (3). The Office of Tourism,
4 Trade, and Economic Development shall identify those projects
5 that it has determined do not offer an economic benefit to the
6 state or are not consistent with the SAFE Mater Plan and shall
7 notify the council of its findings.
8 (8) The council shall review the findings of the
9 Department of Community Affairs, the Office of Tourism, Trade,
10 and Economic Development, and the Department of
11 Transportation. Projects found to be inconsistent pursuant to
12 subsections (5), (6), and (7) and projects that have been
13 determined not to offer an economic benefit to the state
14 pursuant to subsection (7) may not be included in the list of
15 projects to be funded.
16 (9) The council shall adopt bylaws governing the
17 manner in which the business of the council will be conducted.
18 The bylaws shall specify the procedure by which the
19 chairperson of the council is elected. The council shall meet
20 at the call of its chairperson, at the request of a majority
21 of its membership, or at such times as are prescribed in its
22 bylaws. However, the council must meet at least semiannually.
23 A majority of voting members of the council constitutes a
24 quorum for the purpose of transacting the business of the
25 council. All members of the council are voting members. A vote
26 of the majority of the voting members present is sufficient
27 for any action of the council, except that a member
28 representing the Department of Transportation, the Department
29 of Community Affairs, or the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
30 Economic Development may vote to overrule any action of the
31 council approving a project pursuant to subsection (4). The
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1 bylaws of the council may require a greater vote for a
2 particular action.
3 (10) Members of the council shall serve without
4 compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem
5 and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. The council may
6 elect to hire an administrative staff to provide services to
7 the council on matters relating to the SAFE Program and the
8 council. All of the airports that receive funding from the
9 SAFE Program shall pay, pro rata, for the administrative
10 services, using a formula measured by each recipient's share
11 of the funds as compared to the total funds disbursed to all
12 recipients during the year. The share of costs for
13 administrative services must be paid in full by the recipient
14 airport upon execution by the airport and the Department of
15 Transportation of a joint participation agreement for each
16 council-approved project, and such payment is in addition to
17 the matching funds that the recipient airport is required to
18 pay. Except as otherwise exempted by law, all moneys derived
19 from the SAFE Program must be expended in accordance with s.
20 287.057. Airports subject to competitive negotiation
21 requirements of a local governing body are exempt from this
22 requirement.
23 (11) Project funding expended pursuant to this act
24 shall be monitored for compliance with all applicable laws by
25 a person chosen by the council and approved by the Division of
26 Bond Finance. The monitor shall make periodic reports to the
27 council and the Division as necessary, but at least
28 semiannually.
29 Section 3. Section 206.606, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
31 206.606 Distribution of certain proceeds.--
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2578
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1 (1) Moneys collected pursuant to ss. 206.41(1)(g) and
2 206.87(1)(e) shall be deposited in the Fuel Tax Collection
3 Trust Fund. Such moneys, after deducting the service charges
4 imposed by s. 215.20, the refunds granted pursuant to s.
5 206.41, and the administrative costs incurred by the
6 department in collecting, administering, enforcing, and
7 distributing the tax, which administrative costs may not
8 exceed 2 percent of collections, shall be distributed monthly
9 to the State Transportation Trust Fund, except that:
10 (a) $6.30 million shall be transferred to the
11 Department of Environmental Protection in each fiscal year and
12 deposited in the Invasive Plant Control Trust Fund to be used
13 for aquatic plant management, including nonchemical control of
14 aquatic weeds, research into nonchemical controls, and
15 enforcement activities. Beginning in fiscal year 1993-1994,
16 the department shall allocate at least $1 million of such
17 funds to the eradication of melaleuca.
18 (b) $2.5 million shall be transferred to the State
19 Game Trust Fund in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
20 Commission in each fiscal year and used for recreational
21 boating activities, and freshwater fisheries management and
22 research. The transfers must be made in equal monthly amounts
23 beginning on July 1 of each fiscal year. The commission shall
24 annually determine where unmet needs exist for boating-related
25 activities, and may fund such activities in counties where,
26 due to the number of vessel registrations, sufficient
27 financial resources are unavailable.
28 1. A minimum of $1.25 million shall be used to fund
29 local projects to provide recreational channel marking, public
30 launching facilities, aquatic plant control, and other local
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1 boating related activities. In funding the projects, the
2 commission shall give priority consideration as follows:
3 a. Unmet needs in counties with populations of 100,000
4 or less.
5 b. Unmet needs in coastal counties with a high level
6 of boating related activities from individuals residing in
7 other counties.
8 2. The remaining $1.25 million may be used for
9 recreational boating activities and freshwater fisheries
10 management and research.
11 3. The commission is authorized to adopt rules
12 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement a Florida
13 Boating Improvement Program similar to the program
14 administered by the Department of Environmental Protection and
15 established in rules 62D-5.031 - 62D-5.036, Florida
16 Administrative Code, to determine projects eligible for
17 funding under this subsection.
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19 On February 1 of each year, the commission shall file an
20 annual report with the President of the Senate and the Speaker
21 of the House of Representatives outlining the status of its
22 Florida Boating Improvement Program, including the projects
23 funded, and a list of counties whose needs are unmet due to
24 insufficient financial resources from vessel registration
25 fees.
26 (c) 0.65 percent of moneys collected pursuant to s.
27 206.41(1)(g) shall be transferred to the Agricultural
28 Emergency Eradication Trust Fund.
29 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law except
30 subsections (1) and (2), on July 1, 2003, and annually
31 thereafter, $20 million shall be deposited in the State
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1 Transportation Trust solely for the purposes of funding the
2 SAFE Program. These funds must be distributed on a 50-50
3 matching basis to any airport listed in s. 332.14, to be used
4 for funding projects as described in that section; however,
5 funding for projects that assure safety and security for
6 passengers, cargo, and airport property requires a 25 percent
7 match of funds received by an airport from the program for
8 such a project. These funds may be assigned, pledged, or set
9 aside as a trust for the payment of principal or interest on
10 bonds, tax anticipation certificates, or any other form of
11 indebtedness issued by an individual airport or appropriate
12 local government having jurisdiction thereof, or collectively
13 by interlocal agreement among any of the airports, or may be
14 used to purchase credit support to permit such borrowings. If
15 these funds are pledged or assigned to the payment of bonds or
16 other forms of indebtedness issued by an entity under s.
17 163.01(7)(d) as authorized in this paragraph, such revenues
18 must be transferred to the trustee for such bonds or
19 indebtedness 60 days before each principal payment date or
20 interest payment date. Interest on the funds held by the
21 trustee may be used to pay administrative costs of the
22 financing program or to pay interest on the bonds or
23 indebtedness. However, such debt does not constitute a general
24 obligation of the State of Florida. The state does hereby
25 covenant with holders of these revenue bonds or other
26 instruments of indebtedness issued hereunder that it will not
27 repeal or impair or amend in any manner which will materially
28 and adversely affect the rights of such holders so long as
29 bonds or other indebtedness authorized by this section are
30 outstanding. Any funds that are not pledged to the repayment
31 of bonds as authorized by this section may be used for
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1 purposes authorized under the SAFE Program. This revenue
2 source is in addition to any amounts provided for and
3 appropriated in accordance with s. 206.46(3). The SAFE Council
4 shall approve distribution of funds to airports for projects
5 that have been approved pursuant to s. 331.30. The council and
6 the Department of Transportation shall perform such acts as
7 are required to facilitate and implement this subsection. To
8 better enable the airports to cooperate to their mutual
9 advantage, the governing bodies of the airports or appropriate
10 local governments having jurisdiction thereof may exercise
11 powers provided to municipalities or counties in s.
12 163.01(7)(d). Any entity created pursuant to s. 163.01(7)(d)
13 must consist of five members. One member must be located in
14 each of the following geographic areas: northwestern Florida,
15 northeastern Florida, central Florida, southeastern Florida,
16 and the west coast of Florida. One of the five members must be
17 an airport or local government with jurisdiction over an
18 airport that in calendar year 2001 did not have more than
19 200,000 commercial enplanements. The uses of funds provided
20 under this subsection are limited to eligible projects listed
21 in this subsection. Income derived from a project completed
22 with the use of program funds, beyond operating costs and debt
23 service, may be used only to further airport capital
24 improvements consistent with aviation purposes. Use of such
25 income for nonaviation purposes is prohibited.
26 (2) Not less than 10 percent of the moneys deposited
27 in the State Transportation Trust Fund pursuant to this
28 section shall be allocated by the Department of Transportation
29 for public transit and rail capital projects, including
30 service development projects, as defined in s. 341.031(7) and
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1 (8), unless otherwise provided in the General Appropriations
2 Act.
3 Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 215.98, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 215.98 State debt fiscal responsibility.--
6 (2) The Division of Bond Finance shall conduct a debt
7 affordability analysis each year. Proposed capital projects
8 that require funding by the issuance of additional state debt
9 shall be evaluated on the basis of the analysis to assist the
10 Governor and the Legislature in setting priorities among
11 capital projects and related appropriations. The term "state
12 debt" does not include debt issued by a municipality, a
13 county, a water management district, or an entity created
14 pursuant to s. 163.01(7)(d).
15 (a) The Division of Bond Finance shall annually
16 prepare a debt affordability report, to be presented to the
17 governing board of the Division of Bond Finance, the President
18 of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
19 and the chair of each appropriations committee by December 15
20 of each year, for purposes of providing a framework for the
21 Legislature to evaluate and establish priorities for bills
22 that propose the authorization of additional state debt during
23 the next budget year.
24 (b) The report shall include, but not be limited to:
25 1. A listing of state debt outstanding, other debt
26 secured by state revenues, and other contingent debt.
27 2. An estimate of revenues available for the next 10
28 fiscal years to pay debt service, including general revenues
29 plus any revenues specifically pledged to pay debt service.
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1 3. An estimate of additional debt issuance for the
2 next 10 fiscal years for the state's existing borrowing
3 programs.
4 4. A schedule of the annual debt service requirements,
5 including principal and interest allocation, on the
6 outstanding state debt and an estimate of the annual debt
7 service requirements on the debt included in subparagraph 3.
8 for each of the next 10 fiscal years.
9 5. An overview of the state's general obligation
10 credit rating.
11 6. Identification and calculation of pertinent debt
12 ratios, including, but not limited to, debt service to
13 revenues available to pay debt service, debt to personal
14 income, and debt per capita for the state's net tax-supported
15 debt.
16 7. The estimated debt capacity available over the next
17 10 fiscal years without the benchmark debt ratio of debt
18 service to revenue exceeding 6 percent.
19 8. A comparison of the debt ratios prepared for
20 subparagraph 6., with the comparable debt ratios for the 10
21 most populous states.
22 (c) The Division of Bond Finance shall prepare an
23 update of the report set forth above upon completion of the
24 revenue estimates prepared in connection with the legislative
25 session.
26 (d) Any entity issuing debt secured by state revenues
27 shall provide the information necessary to prepare the debt
28 affordability report.
29 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
30 law.
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Creates the "Secure Airports for Florida's Economy (SAFE)
Act." Creates the Secure Airports for Florida's Economy
4 Council, or SAFE Council, within the Department of
Transportation. Requires the council to prepare a 5-year
5 SAFE Master Plan for developing airport facilities and an
intermodal transportation system. Provides for funding of
6 projects to maintain or increase airport security and
achieve related goals. Provides for issuing revenue
7 bonds.(See bill for details.)
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