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