Senate Bill sb2524
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
By Senator Geller
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to regional transportation
3 authorities; amending s. 343.52, F.S.; revising
4 the definition of "transit system" for purposes
5 of the South Florida Regional Transportation
6 Authority Act; amending s. 343.54, F.S.;
7 revising powers and duties of that authority;
8 amending s. 343.55, F.S.; providing for
9 issuance, reissuance, and redemption of revenue
10 bonds by the authority; amending s. 343.58,
11 F.S.; revising funding sources of the
12 authority; removing certain county
13 contributions to the authority; revising a
14 vehicle registration tax levied by the
15 authority; providing for annual revision of the
16 tax until a specified time; amending s. 120.52,
17 F.S.; providing that specified regional
18 transportation authorities are not agencies
19 under the Administrative Procedure Act;
20 amending s. 163.3180, F.S.; providing that
21 comprehensive plan concurrency requirements do
22 not apply to transit-oriented development
23 master plans; providing criteria for such
24 plans; providing an effective date.
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26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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28 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 343.52, Florida
29 Statutes, is amended to read:
30 343.52 Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 (4) "Transit system" means a system used for the
2 transportation of people and goods by means of, without
3 limitation, a street railway, an inland waterway, an elevated
4 railway having a fixed guideway, a commuter railroad, a
5 subway, motor vehicles, or motor buses, and includes a
6 complete system of tracks, stations, and rolling stock
7 necessary to effectuate passenger service to or from the
8 surrounding regional municipalities.
9 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and
10 subsection (5) of section 343.54, Florida Statutes, are
11 amended to read:
12 343.54 Powers and duties.--
13 (1)
14 (b) It is the express intention of this part that the
15 authority be authorized to plan, develop, own, purchase,
16 lease, or otherwise acquire, demolish, construct, improve,
17 relocate, equip, repair, maintain, operate, and manage a
18 transit system and transit facilities; to establish and
19 determine the policies necessary for the best interest of the
20 operation and promotion of a transit system; and to adopt
21 rules necessary to govern the operation of a transit commuter
22 rail system and transit commuter rail facilities. It is the
23 intent of the Legislature that the South Florida Regional
24 Transportation Authority shall have overall authority to
25 coordinate, develop, and operate a regional transportation
26 system within the area served.
27 (5) The authority, by a resolution of its governing
28 board, may expand its service area and enter into an agreement
29 a partnership with any county that is contiguous to the
30 service area of the authority. The board shall determine the
31 conditions and terms of the agreement partnership, except as
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 provided herein. However, the authority may not expand its
2 service area without the consent of the board of county
3 commissioners representing the proposed expansion area, and a
4 county may not be added to the service area except in the year
5 that federal reauthorization legislation for transportation
6 funds is enacted.
7 Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 343.55, Florida
8 Statutes, is amended to read:
9 343.55 Issuance of Revenue bonds.--
10 (3)(a) The authority may issue, reissue, or redeem
11 bonds that do not pledge the full faith and credit of the
12 state in such principal amount as, in the opinion of the
13 authority, is necessary to provide sufficient moneys for
14 achieving its corporate purposes.
15 (b) The bonds of the authority, whether on original
16 issuance or refunding, must be authorized by resolution of the
17 authority after approval of the issuance of the bonds at a
18 public hearing, may be either term or serial bonds, and shall
19 bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times, bear
20 interest at such rate or rates, be in such denominations, be
21 in such form, either coupon or fully registered, carry such
22 registration, exchangeability, and interchangeability
23 privileges, be payable in such medium of payment and at such
24 place or places and at such times, be subject to such terms of
25 redemption, and be entitled to such priorities on the
26 revenues, rates, fees, rentals, or other charges or receipts
27 of the authority as such resolution or any resolution
28 subsequent thereto may provide. The bonds must be executed by
29 such officers as the authority determines under the
30 requirements of s. 279.06.
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 (c) The bonds shall be sold by the authority at public
2 sale by competitive bid. However, if the authority, after
3 receipt of a written recommendation from a financial adviser,
4 shall determine by official action after public hearing by a
5 two-thirds vote of all voting members of the authority that a
6 negotiated sale of the bonds is in the best interest of the
7 authority, the authority may negotiate for sale of the bonds
8 with the underwriter or underwriters designated by the
9 authority. The authority shall provide specific findings in a
10 resolution as to the reasons requiring the negotiated sale,
11 which resolution shall incorporate and have attached thereto
12 the written recommendation of the financial adviser required
13 by this paragraph.
14 (d) Any such resolution or resolutions authorizing any
15 bonds hereunder that do not pledge the full faith and credit
16 of the state may contain provisions that are part of the
17 contract with the holders of the bonds as the authority
18 determines proper. In addition, the authority may enter into
19 trust indentures or other agreements with its fiscal agent, or
20 with any bank or trust company within or without the state, as
21 security for such bonds and may, under the agreements, assign
22 and pledge the revenues, rates, fees, rentals, tolls, or other
23 charges or receipts of the authority.
24 (e) Any of the bonds issued pursuant to this part are
25 negotiable instruments and have all the qualities and
26 incidents of negotiable instruments under the law merchant and
27 the negotiable instruments law of the state. The Division of
28 Bond Finance is authorized to issue revenue bonds on behalf of
29 the authority to finance or refinance the cost of projects.
30 Section 4. Section 343.58, Florida Statutes, is
31 amended to read:
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 343.58 County Funding for the South Florida Regional
2 Transportation Authority.--
3 (1) Each county served by the South Florida Regional
4 Transportation Authority must dedicate $2.67 million to the
5 authority annually. The recurring annual $2.67 million must be
6 dedicated by the governing body of each county by August 1,
7 2003. Notwithstanding ss. 206.41 and 206.87, such dedicated
8 funding may come from each county's share of the ninth-cent
9 fuel tax, the local option fuel tax, or any other source of
10 local gas taxes or other nonfederal funds available to the
11 counties. In addition, The Legislature authorizes the levy of
12 an annual license tax in the amount of $5 $2 for the
13 registration or renewal of registration of each vehicle taxed
14 under s. 320.08 and registered in the area served by the South
15 Florida Regional Transportation Authority with an escalation
16 equivalent to the Consumer Price Index each year until 2030.
17 The annual license tax shall take effect in any county served
18 by the authority upon approval by the residents in a county
19 served by the authority. The annual license tax shall be
20 levied and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
21 shall remit the proceeds each month from the tax to the South
22 Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
23 (2) In addition, each county shall continue to
24 annually fund the operations of the South Florida Regional
25 Transportation Authority in an amount not less than $1.565
26 million. Such Funds pursuant to this section subsection shall
27 also be considered a dedicated funding source.
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29 If, by December 31, 2009, the South Florida Regional
30 Transportation Authority has not received federal matching
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 funds based upon the dedication of funds under this section
2 subsection (1), this section subsection (1) shall be repealed.
3 Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 120.52, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 120.52 Definitions.--As used in this act:
6 (1) "Agency" means:
7 (a) The Governor in the exercise of all executive
8 powers other than those derived from the constitution.
9 (b) Each:
10 1. State officer and state department, and each
11 departmental unit described in s. 20.04.
12 2. Authority, including a regional water supply
13 authority.
14 3. Board.
15 4. Commission, including the Commission on Ethics and
16 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when acting
17 pursuant to statutory authority derived from the Legislature.
18 5. Regional planning agency.
19 6. Multicounty special district with a majority of its
20 governing board comprised of nonelected persons.
21 7. Educational units.
22 8. Entity described in chapters 163, 373, 380, and 582
23 and s. 186.504.
24 (c) Each other unit of government in the state,
25 including counties and municipalities, to the extent they are
26 expressly made subject to this act by general or special law
27 or existing judicial decisions.
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29 This definition does not include any legal entity or agency
30 created in whole or in part pursuant to chapter 361, part II,
31 any metropolitan planning organization created pursuant to s.
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 339.175, any separate legal or administrative entity created
2 pursuant to s. 339.175 of which a metropolitan planning
3 organization is a member, a regional transportation authority
4 created pursuant to chapter 343, an expressway authority
5 pursuant to chapter 348, any legal or administrative entity
6 created by an interlocal agreement pursuant to s. 163.01(7),
7 unless any party to such agreement is otherwise an agency as
8 defined in this subsection, or any multicounty special
9 district with a majority of its governing board comprised of
10 elected persons; however, this definition shall include a
11 regional water supply authority.
12 Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
13 163.3180, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
14 163.3180 Concurrency.--
15 (4)
16 (b) The concurrency requirement as implemented in
17 local comprehensive plans does not apply to public transit
18 facilities or transit-oriented development master plans. For
19 the purposes of this paragraph, public transit facilities
20 include transit stations and terminals, transit station
21 parking, park-and-ride lots, intermodal public transit
22 connection or transfer facilities, and fixed bus, guideway,
23 and rail stations. For the purposes of this paragraph,
24 transit-oriented development master plans are plans adopted by
25 a local governing body that graphically depict the locations
26 of transit stations, roadways, buildings, public spaces, and
27 civic spaces within a quarter-mile to half-mile radius of the
28 transit station. As used in this paragraph, the terms
29 "terminals" and "transit facilities" do not include airports
30 or seaports or commercial or residential development
31 constructed in conjunction with a public transit facility,
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2524
31-134A-05 See HB 1409
1 except as may be constructed within a transit-oriented
2 development master plan.
3 Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
4 law.
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