| 1 | The Transportation Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the South Florida Regional |
| 7 | Transportation Authority; amending s. 343.54, F.S.; |
| 8 | revising language relating to powers and duties of the |
| 9 | authority; deleting the term "commuter rail"; amending s. |
| 10 | 343.55, F.S.; providing pledge to bondholders that the |
| 11 | state will not alter certain rights vested in the |
| 12 | authority that affect the rights of bondholders while |
| 13 | bonds are outstanding; amending s. 343.58, F.S.; revising |
| 14 | provisions for funding of the authority; requiring |
| 15 | counties served by the authority to annually transfer |
| 16 | certain funds before a certain date; removing provisions |
| 17 | for sources of that funding; removing authorization for a |
| 18 | vehicle registration tax; providing for a certain funding |
| 19 | source for capital, operating, and maintenance expenses; |
| 20 | revising county funding amounts to fund operations; |
| 21 | providing for cessation of specified county funding |
| 22 | contributions and providing for certain refunding of the |
| 23 | contributions under certain circumstances; revising |
| 24 | timeframe for repeal of specified funding provisions under |
| 25 | certain circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 28 |
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| 29 | Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section |
| 30 | 343.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 31 | 343.54 Powers and duties.-- |
| 32 | (1) |
| 33 | (b) It is the express intention of this part that the |
| 34 | authority be authorized to plan, develop, own, purchase, lease, |
| 35 | or otherwise acquire, demolish, construct, improve, relocate, |
| 36 | equip, repair, maintain, operate, and manage a transit system |
| 37 | and transit facilities; to establish and determine the policies |
| 38 | necessary for the best interest of the operation and promotion |
| 39 | of a transit system; and to adopt rules necessary to govern the |
| 40 | operation of a transit commuter rail system and transit commuter |
| 41 | rail facilities. It is the intent of the Legislature that the |
| 42 | South Florida Regional Transportation Authority shall have |
| 43 | overall authority to coordinate, develop, and operate a regional |
| 44 | transportation system within the area served. |
| 45 | Section 2. Subsection (4) is added to section 343.55, |
| 46 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 47 | 343.55 Issuance of revenue bonds.-- |
| 48 | (4) The state pledges to and agrees with any person, firm, |
| 49 | corporation, or federal or state agency subscribing to or |
| 50 | acquiring the bonds to be issued by the authority for the |
| 51 | purposes of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority |
| 52 | Act that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in |
| 53 | the authority under this section until all bonds at any time |
| 54 | issued and secured by revenues remitted to the authority |
| 55 | pursuant to s. 343.58, together with the interest thereon, are |
| 56 | fully paid and discharged, insofar as the same affects the |
| 57 | rights of the holders of bonds issued under this section. |
| 58 | Section 3. Section 343.58, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 59 | read: |
| 60 | 343.58 County funding for the South Florida Regional |
| 61 | Transportation Authority.-- |
| 62 | (1) Each county served by the South Florida Regional |
| 63 | Transportation Authority must dedicate and transfer not less |
| 64 | than $2.67 million to the authority annually. The recurring |
| 65 | annual $2.67 million must be dedicated by the governing body of |
| 66 | each county prior to October 31 of each fiscal year by August 1, |
| 67 | 2003. Notwithstanding ss. 206.41 and 206.87, such dedicated |
| 68 | funding may come from each county's share of the ninth-cent fuel |
| 69 | tax, the local option fuel tax, or any other source of local gas |
| 70 | taxes or other nonfederal funds available to the counties. In |
| 71 | addition, the Legislature authorizes the levy of an annual |
| 72 | license tax in the amount of $2 for the registration or renewal |
| 73 | of registration of each vehicle taxed under s. 320.08 and |
| 74 | registered in the area served by the South Florida Regional |
| 75 | Transportation Authority. The annual license tax shall take |
| 76 | effect in any county served by the authority upon approval by |
| 77 | the residents in a county served by the authority. The annual |
| 78 | license tax shall be levied and the Department of Highway Safety |
| 79 | and Motor Vehicles shall remit the proceeds each month from the |
| 80 | tax to the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. |
| 81 | (2) At least $45 million of a state-authorized, local- |
| 82 | option recurring funding source available to Broward, Miami- |
| 83 | Dade, and Palm Beach Counties shall be directed to the authority |
| 84 | to fund its capital, operating, and maintenance expenses. The |
| 85 | funding source shall be dedicated to the authority only if |
| 86 | Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties each impose the |
| 87 | local-option funding source. |
| 88 | (3)(2) In addition, each county shall continue to annually |
| 89 | fund the operations of the South Florida Regional Transportation |
| 90 | Authority in an amount not less than $4.2 $1.565 million. |
| 91 | Revenue raised Such funds pursuant to this subsection shall also |
| 92 | be considered a dedicated funding source. |
| 93 | (4) The current funding obligations under subsections (1) |
| 94 | and (3) shall cease upon commencement of the collection of |
| 95 | funding from the funding source under subsection (2). Should the |
| 96 | funding under subsection (2) be discontinued for any reason, the |
| 97 | funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) shall resume |
| 98 | when collection from the funding source under subsection (2) |
| 99 | ceases. Payment by the counties will be on a pro rata basis the |
| 100 | first year following cessation of the funding under subsection |
| 101 | (2). The authority shall refund a pro rata share of the payments |
| 102 | for the current fiscal year made pursuant to the current funding |
| 103 | obligations under subsections (1) and (3) as soon as reasonably |
| 104 | practicable after it begins to receive funds under subsection |
| 105 | (2). |
| 106 | (5) If, by December 31, 2015 2009, the South Florida |
| 107 | Regional Transportation Authority has not received federal |
| 108 | matching funds based upon the dedication of funds under |
| 109 | subsection (1), subsection (1) shall be repealed. |
| 110 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |