HB 487

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Commission for the Transportation
3	Disadvantaged; amending s. 427.012, F.S.; revising the
4	membership of the commission; establishing term limits;
5	directing each member of the commission to serve without
6	regional bias; providing qualifications for appointment to
7	membership on the commission; providing for nonvoting
8	advisory members; requiring candidates for appointment to
9	the commission to meet certain standards for background
10	screening; requiring the Department of Transportation to
11	inform the commission if a candidate fails to meet the
12	screening standards; providing that costs of screening be
13	borne by the department or the candidate for appointment;
14	authorizing the commission to appoint technical working
15	groups; providing for membership of the working groups;
16	amending s. 427.013, F.S.; requiring the commission to
17	develop a transportation fund allocation methodology for
18	certain purposes; specifying methodology criteria;
19	preserving Agency for Health Care Administration authority
20	to distribute Medicaid funds; providing an effective date.
21
22	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24	Section 1.  Section 427.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
25	to read:
26	427.012  The Commission for the Transportation
27	Disadvantaged.--There is created the Commission for the
28	Transportation Disadvantaged in the Department of
29	Transportation.
30	(1)  The commission shall consist of seven members, all of
31	whom shall be appointed by the Governor, in accordance with the
32	requirements of s. 20.052.
33	(a)  Five of the members must have significant experience
34	in the operation of a business and it is the intent of the
35	Legislature that, when making an appointment, the Governor
36	select persons who reflect the broad diversity of the business
37	community in this state, as well as the racial, ethnic,
38	geographical, and gender diversity of the population of this
39	state.
40	(b)  Two of the members must have a disability and use the
41	transportation disadvantaged system.
42	(c)  Each member shall represent the needs of the
43	transportation disadvantaged throughout the state. A member may
44	not subordinate the needs of the transportation disadvantaged in
45	general in order to favor the needs of others residing in a
46	specific location in the state.
47	(d)  Each member shall be appointed to a term of 4 years. A
48	member may be reappointed for one additional 4-year term.
49	(e)  Each member must be a resident of the state and a
50	registered voter.
51	(f)  At any given time, at least one member must be at
52	least 65 years of age.
53	(g)  The Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of
54	Children and Family Services, the director of Workforce
55	Innovation, the executive director of the Department of
56	Veterans' Affairs, the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, the
57	Secretary of Health Care Administration, the director of the
58	Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and a county manager or
59	administrator who is appointed by the Governor, or a senior-
60	management-level representative of each, shall serve as ex
61	officio, nonvoting advisors to the commission.
62	(h)  A member may not, within the 5 years immediately
63	before his or her appointment, or during his or her term on the
64	commission, have or have had a financial relationship with, or
65	represent or have represented as a lobbyist as defined in s.
66	11.045, the following:
67	1.  A transportation operator;
68	2.  A community transportation coordinator;
69	3.  A metropolitan planning organization;
70	4.  A designated official planning agency;
71	5.  A purchaser agency;
72	6.  A local coordinating board;
73	7.  A broker of transportation; or
74	8.  A provider of transportation services. the following
75	members:
76	(a)  The secretary of the Department of Transportation or
77	the secretary's designee.
78	(b)  The secretary of the Department of Children and Family
79	Services or the secretary's designee.
80	(c)  The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner's
81	designee.
82	(d)  The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation or
83	the director's designee.
84	(e)  The executive director of the Department of Veterans'
85	Affairs or the executive director's designee.
86	(f)  The secretary of the Department of Elderly Affairs or
87	the secretary's designee.
88	(g)  The director of the Agency for Health Care
89	Administration or the director's designee.
90	(h)  A representative of the Florida Association for
91	Community Action, who shall serve at the pleasure of that
92	association.
93	(i)  A representative of the Florida Transit Association,
94	who shall serve at the pleasure of that association.
95	(j)  A person over the age of 60 who is a member of a
96	recognized statewide organization representing elderly
97	Floridians. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
98	represent elderly Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a
99	term of 4 years.
100	(k)  A handicapped person who is a member of a recognized
101	statewide organization representing handicapped Floridians. Such
102	person shall be appointed by the Governor to represent
103	handicapped Floridians and shall be appointed to serve a term of
104	4 years.
105	(l)  Two citizen advocate representatives who shall be
106	appointed by the Governor for a term of 4 years, one
107	representing rural citizens and one representing urban citizens.
108	(m)  A representative of the community transportation
109	coordinators. Such person shall be appointed by the Governor to
110	represent all community transportation coordinators and shall be
111	appointed to serve a term of 4 years.
112	(n)  One member of the Early Childhood Council. Such person
113	shall be appointed by the Governor to represent maternal and
114	child health care providers and shall be appointed to serve a
115	term of 4 years.
116	(o)  Two representatives of current private for-profit or
117	private not-for-profit transportation operators each of which
118	have a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
119	broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair/stretcher type
120	transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles and
121	including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
122	shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
123	term of 4 years.
124	(p)  Four representatives of current private for-profit or
125	private not-for-profit transportation operators, each of which
126	having a minimum of 5 years of continuous experience operating a
127	broad-based system of ambulatory and wheelchair or stretcher-
128	type transportation, utilizing not less than 50 vehicles, and
129	including dispatch and scheduling responsibilities. Such persons
130	shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to serve a
131	term of 4 years.
132	(q)  Six citizens representing the nontransportation
133	business community of the state, three members appointed by the
134	President of the Senate and three members appointed by the
135	Speaker of the House of Representatives.
136	(2)  The chairperson shall be appointed by the Governor and
137	the vice chairperson of the commission shall be elected annually
138	from the membership of the commission.
139	(3)  Members of the commission shall serve without
140	compensation but shall be allowed per diem and travel expenses,
141	as provided in s. 112.061.
142	(4)  The commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more
143	frequently at the call of the chairperson. Five Nine members of
144	the commission constitute a quorum, and a majority vote of the
145	members present is necessary for any action taken by the
146	commission.
147	(5)  The Governor may remove any member of the commission
148	for cause.
149	(6)  Each candidate for appointment to the commission must,
150	before accepting the appointment, undergo background screening
151	under s. 435.04 by filing with the Department of Transportation
152	a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law
153	enforcement agency. The fingerprints must be submitted to the
154	Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and that
155	department shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau
156	of Investigation for federal processing. The Department of
157	Transportation shall screen the background results and inform
158	the commission of any candidate who does not meet level 2
159	screening standards. A candidate who has not met level 2
160	screening standards may not be appointed to the commission. The
161	cost of the background screening may be borne by the Department
162	of Transportation or the candidate.
163	(7)(6)  The commission shall appoint an executive director
164	who shall serve under the direction, supervision, and control of
165	the commission. The executive director, with the consent of the
166	commission, shall employ such personnel as may be necessary to
167	perform adequately the functions of the commission within
168	budgetary limitations. All Employees of the commission are
169	exempt from the Career Service System.
170	(8)  The commission shall appoint a technical working group
171	that includes representatives of private paratransit providers.
172	The technical working group shall advise the commission on
173	issues of importance to the state, including information,
174	advice, and direction regarding the coordination of services for
175	the transportation disadvantaged. The commission may appoint
176	other technical working groups whose members may include
177	representatives of community transportation coordinators;
178	metropolitan planning organizations; regional planning councils;
179	experts in insurance, marketing, economic development, or
180	financial planning; and persons who use transportation for the
181	transportation disadvantaged, or their relatives, parents,
182	guardians, or service professionals who tend to their needs.
183	(9)(7)  The commission is assigned to the office of the
184	secretary of the Department of Transportation for administrative
185	and fiscal accountability purposes, but it shall otherwise
186	function independently of the control, supervision, and
187	direction of the department.
188	(10)(8)  The commission shall develop a budget pursuant to
189	chapter 216. The budget is not subject to change by the
190	department staff after it has been approved by the commission,
191	but it shall be transmitted to the Governor, as head of the
192	department, along with the budget of the department.
193	Section 2.  Subsection (28) is added to section 427.013,
194	Florida Statutes, to read:
195	427.013  The Commission for the Transportation
196	Disadvantaged; purpose and responsibilities.--The purpose of the
197	commission is to accomplish the coordination of transportation
198	services provided to the transportation disadvantaged. The goal
199	of this coordination shall be to assure the cost-effective
200	provision of transportation by qualified community
201	transportation coordinators or transportation operators for the
202	transportation disadvantaged without any bias or presumption in
203	favor of multioperator systems or not-for-profit transportation
204	operators over single operator systems or for-profit
205	transportation operators. In carrying out this purpose, the
206	commission shall:
207	(28)  In consultation with the Agency for Health Care
208	Administration and the Department of Transportation, develop an
209	allocation methodology that equitably distributes all
210	transportation funds under the control of the commission to
211	compensate counties, community transportation coordinators, and
212	other entities providing transportation disadvantaged services.
213	The methodology shall separately account for Medicaid
214	beneficiaries. The methodology shall consider such factors as
215	the actual costs of each transportation disadvantaged trip based
216	on prior-year information, efficiencies that a provider might
217	adopt to reduce costs, results of the rate and cost comparisons
218	conducted under subsections (24) and (25), as well as cost
219	efficiencies of trips when compared to the local cost of
220	transporting the general public. This subsection does not
221	supersede the authority of the Agency for Health Care
222	Administration to distribute Medicaid funds.
223	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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