Amendment
Bill No. 1475
Amendment No. 517141
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1Representative(s) Robaina offered the following:
2
3     Amendment (with title amendment)
4     Remove everything after the enacting clause and insert:
5     Section 1.  Section 427.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
6to read:
7     427.012  The Commission for the Transportation
8Disadvantaged.--There is created the Commission for the
9Transportation Disadvantaged in the Department of
10Transportation.
11     (1)  The commission shall consist of the following eleven
12voting members:
13     (a)  The secretary of the Department of Transportation or
14the secretary's designee.
15     (b)  The secretary of the Department of Children and Family
16Services or the secretary's designee.
17     (c)  The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner's
18designee.
19     (d)  The secretary of the Department of Labor and
20Employment Security or the secretary's designee.
21     (e)  The executive director of the Department of Veterans'
22Affairs or the executive director's designee.
23     (f)  The secretary of the Department of Elderly Affairs or
24the secretary's designee.
25     (c)(g)  The director of the Agency for Health Care
26Administration or the director's designee.
27     (d)  The director of the Agency for Persons with
28Disabilities or the director's designee.
29     (e)  Five individuals appointed by the Governor. These
30appointees shall have significant experience in the operation of
31a business and shall reflect the broad diversity of the business
32community in this state, as well as the racial, ethnic,
33geographical, and gender diversity of this state's population.
34     (f)  Two individuals appointed by the Governor who must be
35persons with a disability who use the transportation
36disadvantaged system.
37     (g)  The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation,
38the executive director of the Department of Veterans' Affairs,
39the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, and an elected official of a
40local government who is appointed by the Governor, or a designee
41of each, respectively, shall serve as ex officio, nonvoting
42advisors to the commission.
43
44Each member of the commission shall represent the needs of the
45transportation disadvantaged throughout the state. A member may
46not subordinate the needs of the transportation disadvantaged in
47general in order to favor the needs of others residing in a
48specific location in the state.
49     (h)  A representative of the Florida Association for
50Community Action, who shall serve at the pleasure of that
51association.
52     (i)  A representative of the Florida Transit Association,
53who shall serve at the pleasure of that association.
54     (j)  A person over the age of 60 who is a member of a
55recognized statewide organization representing elderly
56Floridians. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
57represent elderly Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a
58term of 4 years.
59     (k)  A handicapped person who is a member of a recognized
60statewide organization representing handicapped Floridians. Such
61person shall be appointed by the Governor to represent
62handicapped Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a term of
634 years.
64     (l)  Two citizen advocate representatives who shall be
65appointed by the Governor for a term of 4 years, one
66representing rural citizens and one representing urban citizens.
67     (m)  A representative of the community transportation
68coordinators. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
69represent all community transportation coordinators and shall be
70appointed to serve a term of 4 years.
71     (n)  One member of the Early Childhood Council. Such person
72shall be appointed by the Governor to represent maternal and
73child health care providers and shall be appointed to serve a
74term of 4 years.
75     (o)  Two representatives of current private for-profit or
76private not-for-profit transportation operators each of which
77have a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
78broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair/stretcher type
79transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles and
80including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
81shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
82term of 4 years.
83     (p)  Four representatives of current private for-profit or
84private not-for-profit transportation operators, each of which
85having a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
86broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair or stretcher-
87type transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles, and
88including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
89shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
90term of 4 years.
91     (q)  Six citizens representing the nontransportation
92business community of the state, three members appointed by the
93President of the Senate and three members appointed by the
94Speaker of the House of Representatives.
95     (2)  Each person appointed to the board of the commission
96shall serve a term of 4 years. A member may be reappointed for
97one additional 4-year term. A member must be a citizen of the
98state and a registered voter.
99     (3)  A member, other than a local elected official, may not
100be an employee or agent of a community  transportation
101coordinator, a contractor or subcontractor of a  community
102transportation coordinator, or a direct or indirect
103subcontractor to a contractor employed by a community
104transportation coordinator. A member, other than a local elected
105official, may not have any interest, direct or indirect, in any
106contract, franchise, privilege, or other benefit granted or
107awarded by the commission, the Agency for Health Care
108Administration, or the Department of Children and Family
109Services during the term of his or her appointment and for 2
110years after the termination of the appointment.
111     (4)(2)  The chairperson shall be appointed by the Governor
112and vice chairperson of the commission shall be elected annually
113from the membership of the commission.
114     (5)(3)  Members of the commission shall serve without
115compensation but shall be allowed per diem and travel expenses,
116as provided in s. 112.061.
117     (6)(4)  The commission shall meet at least quarterly, or
118more frequently at the call of the chairperson. Seven Nine
119members of the commission constitute a quorum, and a majority
120vote of the members present is necessary for any action taken by
121the commission.
122     (7)(5)  The Governor may remove any member of the
123commission for cause.
124     (8)  Each candidate for appointment to the commission must,
125before accepting the appointment, undergo background screening
126under s. 435.04, by filing with the Department of Transportation
127a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law
128enforcement agency. The fingerprints must be submitted to the
129Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and that
130department shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau
131of Investigation for federal processing. The Department of
132Transportation shall screen the background results and inform
133the commission if any candidate failed to meet level 2 screening
134standards. A candidate found to have failed to meet level 2
135screening standards may not be appointed to the commission. The
136cost of the background screening may be borne by the Department
137of Transportation or the candidate for appointment to the
138commission.
139     (9)(6)  The commission shall appoint an executive director
140who shall serve under the direction, supervision, and control of
141the commission. The executive director, with the consent of the
142commission, shall employ such personnel as may be necessary to
143perform adequately the functions of the commission within
144budgetary limitations. All employees of the commission are
145exempt from the Career Service System.
146     (10)  The commission shall appoint at least three technical
147advisory committees to advise the commission on issues of
148importance to the state and to regions of the state.
149     (a) One technical advisory committee shall provide
150information, advice, and direction to the commission on the
151coordination of services for the transportation disadvantaged.
152Its membership may include, but need not be limited to,
153representatives of community transportation coordinators and
154private paratransit providers.
155     (b)  One technical advisory committee shall provide
156information, advice, and direction to the commission on the
157transportation planning issues affecting the transportation
158disadvantaged program. Its membership may include, but need not
159be limited to, representatives of metropolitan planning
160organizations and regional planning councils.
161     (c)  One technical advisory committee shall provide
162information, advice, and direction to the commission on
163business-related issues affecting the transportation
164disadvantaged program. Its membership may include, but need not
165be limited to, persons with expertise in insurance, marketing,
166economic development, or financial planning.
167     (d)  The commission may establish the size, composition,
168and focus of any technical advisory committee it creates. A
169member appointed to a technical advisory committee shall serve
170without compensation and without per diem.
171     (11)(7)  The commission is assigned to the office of the
172secretary of the Department of Transportation for administrative
173and fiscal accountability purposes, but it shall otherwise
174function independently of the control, supervision, and
175direction of the department.
176     (12)(8)  The commission shall develop a budget under
177pursuant to chapter 216. The budget is not subject to change by
178the department staff after it has been approved by the
179commission, but it shall be transmitted to the Governor, as head
180of the department, along with the budget of the department.
181     (13)(a)  No later than 30 days after the Governor issues
182his executive budget recommendations, the commission shall
183present to the Legislative Budget Commission a proposed formula
184for allocating the transportation funds that the commission
185anticipates receiving from the General Appropriations Act for
186the next fiscal year. The document must specifically detail the
187amount of funding expected to be allocated to each county for
188transportation disadvantaged services. The Legislative Budget
189Commission shall approve, reject, or request modifications to
190the formula no later than 60 days after receiving the proposed
191funding allocation formula.
192     (b)  Upon the General Appropriations Act becoming law, the
193commission shall present to the Legislative Budget Commission
194the county distribution schedule, which is the approved
195allocation formula applied to the funds allocated to the
196commission.
197     (c)  The commission may not change the transportation
198disadvantaged distribution schedule without the permission of
199the Legislative Budget Commission, except in the case of a
200disaster as defined in chapter 252.
201     Section 2.  Subsection (12) of section 427.013, Florida
202Statutes, is amended to read:
203     427.013  The Commission for the Transportation
204Disadvantaged; purpose and responsibilities.--The purpose of the
205commission is to accomplish the coordination of transportation
206services provided to the transportation disadvantaged. The goal
207of this coordination shall be to assure the cost-effective
208provision of transportation by qualified community
209transportation coordinators or transportation operators for the
210transportation disadvantaged without any bias or presumption in
211favor of multioperator systems or not-for-profit transportation
212operators over single operator systems or for-profit
213transportation operators. In carrying out this purpose, the
214commission shall:
215     (12)(a) Have the authority to apply for and accept funds,
216grants, gifts, and services from the Federal Government, state
217government, local governments, or private funding sources.
218Applications by the commission for local government funds shall
219be coordinated through the appropriate coordinating board. Funds
220acquired or accepted under this subsection shall be administered
221by the commission and shall be used to carry out the
222commission's responsibilities.
223     (b)  Develop an allocation methodology or formula that
224equitably distributes the Medicaid non-emergency transportation
225funds under the control of the commission to compensate
226counties, community transportation coordinators, or other
227entities providing transportation disadvantaged services. The
228formula shall take into account not only the actual costs of
229each transportation disadvantaged trip but also those
230efficiencies that a provider might adopt to reduce costs.
231     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.
232
233
234================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T =================
235     Remove the entire title and insert:
236
A bill to be entitled
237An act relating to the Commission for the Transportation
238Disadvantaged; amending s. 427.012, F.S.; revising the
239membership of the commission; establishing term limits;
240directing each member of the commission to serve without
241regional bias; providing qualifications for appointment to
242membership on the commission; providing for nonvoting
243advisory members; requiring candidates for appointment to
244the commission to meet certain standards for background
245screening; requiring the Department of Transportation to
246inform the commission if a candidate fails to meet the
247screening standards; providing that costs of screening be
248borne by the department or the candidate for appointment;
249authorizing the commission to appoint technical advisory
250committees; requiring the commission to present a proposed
251funding distribution formula to the Legislative Budget
252Commission for allocating transportation disadvantaged
253funds the commission anticipates receiving from the
254General Appropriations Act; authorizing the Legislative
255Budget Commission to approve, reject, or modify the
256proposed allocation formula; requiring the commission to
257detail the expected allocation of funding to each county;
258prohibiting the commission from altering the distribution
259schedule without the approval of the Legislative Budget
260Commission except in the case of a disaster; amending s.
261427.013, F.S.; requiring the commission to develop an
262allocation methodology to equitably distribute certain
263transportation funds under the control of the commission
264to counties, community transportation coordinators, or
265other entities providing transportation disadvantaged
266services; providing an effective date.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.