HB 487

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the Commission for the Transportation
3Disadvantaged; amending s. 427.012, F.S.; revising the
4membership of the commission; establishing term limits;
5directing each member of the commission to serve without
6regional bias; providing qualifications for appointment to
7membership on the commission; providing for nonvoting
8advisory members; requiring candidates for appointment to
9the commission to meet certain standards for background
10screening; requiring the Department of Transportation to
11inform the commission if a candidate fails to meet the
12screening standards; providing that costs of screening be
13borne by the department or the candidate for appointment;
14authorizing the commission to appoint technical advisory
15committees; amending s. 427.013, F.S.; requiring the
16commission to develop an allocation methodology to
17equitably distribute transportation funds under the
18control of the commission to counties, community
19transportation coordinators, or other entities providing
20services to the transportation disadvantaged; providing an
21effective date.
22
23Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25     Section 1.  Section 427.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
26to read:
27     427.012  The Commission for the Transportation
28Disadvantaged.--There is created the Commission for the
29Transportation Disadvantaged in the Department of
30Transportation.
31     (1)  The commission shall consist of seven members, all of
32whom shall be appointed by the Governor.
33     (a)  Five of the members must have significant experience
34in the operation of a business and it is the intent of the
35Legislature that, when making an appointment, the Governor
36select persons who reflect the broad diversity of the business
37community in this state, as well as the racial, ethnic,
38geographical, and gender diversity of the population of this
39state.
40     (b)  Two of the members must have a disability and use the
41transportation disadvantaged system.
42     (c)  Each member shall represent the needs of the
43transportation disadvantaged throughout the state. A member may
44not subordinate the needs of the transportation disadvantaged in
45general in order to favor the needs of others residing in a
46specific location in the state.
47     (d)  Each member shall be appointed to a term of 4 years. A
48member may be reappointed for one additional 4-year term.
49     (e)  A member must be a resident of the state and a
50registered voter.
51     (f)  The Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of
52Children and Family Services, the director of Workforce
53Innovation, the executive director of the Department of
54Veterans' Affairs, the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, the
55Secretary of Health Care Administration, the director of the
56Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and an elected local
57government official who is appointed by the Governor, or a
58designee of each, shall serve as ex officio, nonvoting advisors
59to the commission.
60     (g)  A member may not, within the 5 years immediately
61before his or her appointment, or during his or her term on the
62commission, have or have had a financial relationship with, or
63represent or have represented as a lobbyist as defined in s.
6411.045, the following:
65     1.  A transportation operator;
66     2.  A community transportation coordinator;
67     3.  A metropolitan planning organization;
68     4.  A designated official planning agency;
69     5.  A purchaser agency;
70     6.  A local coordinating board;
71     7.  A broker of transportation; or
72     8.  A provider of transportation services. the following
73members:
74     (a)  The secretary of the Department of Transportation or
75the secretary's designee.
76     (b)  The secretary of the Department of Children and Family
77Services or the secretary's designee.
78     (c)  The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner's
79designee.
80     (d)  The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation or
81the director's designee.
82     (e)  The executive director of the Department of Veterans'
83Affairs or the executive director's designee.
84     (f)  The secretary of the Department of Elderly Affairs or
85the secretary's designee.
86     (g)  The director of the Agency for Health Care
87Administration or the director's designee.
88     (h)  A representative of the Florida Association for
89Community Action, who shall serve at the pleasure of that
90association.
91     (i)  A representative of the Florida Transit Association,
92who shall serve at the pleasure of that association.
93     (j)  A person over the age of 60 who is a member of a
94recognized statewide organization representing elderly
95Floridians. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
96represent elderly Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a
97term of 4 years.
98     (k)  A handicapped person who is a member of a recognized
99statewide organization representing handicapped Floridians. Such
100person shall be appointed by the Governor to represent
101handicapped Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a term of
1024 years.
103     (l)  Two citizen advocate representatives who shall be
104appointed by the Governor for a term of 4 years, one
105representing rural citizens and one representing urban citizens.
106     (m)  A representative of the community transportation
107coordinators. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
108represent all community transportation coordinators and shall be
109appointed to serve a term of 4 years.
110     (n)  One member of the Early Childhood Council. Such person
111shall be appointed by the Governor to represent maternal and
112child health care providers and shall be appointed to serve a
113term of 4 years.
114     (o)  Two representatives of current private for-profit or
115private not-for-profit transportation operators each of which
116have a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
117broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair/stretcher type
118transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles and
119including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
120shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
121term of 4 years.
122     (p)  Four representatives of current private for-profit or
123private not-for-profit transportation operators, each of which
124having a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
125broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair or stretcher-
126type transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles, and
127including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
128shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
129term of 4 years.
130     (q)  Six citizens representing the nontransportation
131business community of the state, three members appointed by the
132President of the Senate and three members appointed by the
133Speaker of the House of Representatives.
134     (2)  The chairperson shall be appointed by the Governor and
135the vice chairperson of the commission shall be elected annually
136from the membership of the commission.
137     (3)  Members of the commission shall serve without
138compensation but shall be allowed per diem and travel expenses,
139as provided in s. 112.061.
140     (4)  The commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more
141frequently at the call of the chairperson. Five Nine members of
142the commission constitute a quorum, and a majority vote of the
143members present is necessary for any action taken by the
144commission.
145     (5)  The Governor may remove any member of the commission
146for cause.
147     (6)  Each candidate for appointment to the commission must,
148before accepting the appointment, undergo background screening
149under s. 435.04 by filing with the Department of Transportation
150a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law
151enforcement agency. The fingerprints must be submitted to the
152Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and that
153department shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau
154of Investigation for federal processing. The Department of
155Transportation shall screen the background results and inform
156the commission of any candidate who does not meet level 2
157screening standards. A candidate who has not met level 2
158screening standards may not be appointed to the commission. The
159cost of the background screening may be borne by the Department
160of Transportation or the candidate.
161     (7)(6)  The commission shall appoint an executive director
162who shall serve under the direction, supervision, and control of
163the commission. The executive director, with the consent of the
164commission, shall employ such personnel as may be necessary to
165perform adequately the functions of the commission within
166budgetary limitations. All Employees of the commission are
167exempt from the Career Service System.
168     (8)  The commission shall appoint a technical advisory
169committee that includes representatives of private paratransit
170providers. The committee shall advise the commission on issues
171of importance to the state, including information, advice, and
172direction regarding the coordination of services for the
173transportation disadvantaged. The commission may appoint other
174technical advisory committees whose members may include
175representatives of community transportation coordinators;
176metropolitan planning organizations; regional planning councils;
177experts in insurance, marketing, economic development, or
178financial planning; and persons who use transportation for the
179transportation disadvantaged, or their relatives, parents,
180guardians, or service professionals who tend to their needs.
181     (9)(7)  The commission is assigned to the office of the
182secretary of the Department of Transportation for administrative
183and fiscal accountability purposes, but it shall otherwise
184function independently of the control, supervision, and
185direction of the department.
186     (10)(8)  The commission shall develop a budget pursuant to
187chapter 216. The budget is not subject to change by the
188department staff after it has been approved by the commission,
189but it shall be transmitted to the Governor, as head of the
190department, along with the budget of the department.
191     Section 2.  Subsection (12) of section 427.013, Florida
192Statutes, is amended to read:
193     427.013  The Commission for the Transportation
194Disadvantaged; purpose and responsibilities.--The purpose of the
195commission is to accomplish the coordination of transportation
196services provided to the transportation disadvantaged. The goal
197of this coordination shall be to assure the cost-effective
198provision of transportation by qualified community
199transportation coordinators or transportation operators for the
200transportation disadvantaged without any bias or presumption in
201favor of multioperator systems or not-for-profit transportation
202operators over single operator systems or for-profit
203transportation operators. In carrying out this purpose, the
204commission shall:
205     (12)(a)  Have the authority to apply for and accept funds,
206grants, gifts, and services from the Federal Government, state
207government, local governments, or private funding sources.
208Applications by the commission for local government funds shall
209be coordinated through the appropriate coordinating board. Funds
210acquired or accepted under this subsection shall be administered
211by the commission and shall be used to carry out the
212commission's responsibilities.
213     (b)  Develop an allocation methodology or formula that
214equitably distributes all funds, including Medicaid nonemergency
215transportation funds, under the control of the commission to
216compensate counties, community transportation coordinators, or
217other entities providing transportation disadvantaged services.
218The formula shall consider not only the actual costs of each
219trip provided for the transportation disadvantaged but also
220efficiencies that a provider might adopt to reduce costs,
221including cost efficiencies of trips when comparing like
222services to the local cost of private paratransit providers.
223     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.


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