| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to regional transportation authorities; |
| 3 | amending s. 120.52, F.S.; revising a definition; amending |
| 4 | s. 212.0606, F.S.; providing for deposit of a certain |
| 5 | percentage of rental car surcharge revenues into accounts |
| 6 | of regional transportation authorities; requiring the |
| 7 | Department of Revenue to provide authorities with certain |
| 8 | annual surcharge revenue information; amending s. 341.303, |
| 9 | F.S.; relieving the department's funding obligation to |
| 10 | certain regional transportation authorities to conform; |
| 11 | revising the department's obligation to fund certain |
| 12 | regional transportation authorities under certain |
| 13 | circumstances; amending s. 343.58, F.S.; relieving certain |
| 14 | counties of certain funding obligations to the South |
| 15 | Florida Regional Transportation Authority under certain |
| 16 | circumstances to conform; providing an effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 120.52, Florida |
| 21 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 22 | 120.52 Definitions.--As used in this act: |
| 23 | (1) "Agency" means: |
| 24 | (a) The Governor in the exercise of all executive powers |
| 25 | other than those derived from the constitution. |
| 26 | (b) Each: |
| 27 | 1. State officer and state department, and each |
| 28 | departmental unit described in s. 20.04. |
| 29 | 2. Authority, including a regional water supply authority. |
| 30 | 3. Board, including the Board of Governors of the State |
| 31 | University System and a state university board of trustees when |
| 32 | acting pursuant to statutory authority derived from the |
| 33 | Legislature. |
| 34 | 4. Commission, including the Commission on Ethics and the |
| 35 | Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when acting pursuant |
| 36 | to statutory authority derived from the Legislature. |
| 37 | 5. Regional planning agency. |
| 38 | 6. Multicounty special district with a majority of its |
| 39 | governing board comprised of nonelected persons. |
| 40 | 7. Educational units. |
| 41 | 8. Entity described in chapters 163, 373, 380, and 582 and |
| 42 | s. 186.504. |
| 43 | (c) Each other unit of government in the state, including |
| 44 | counties and municipalities, to the extent they are expressly |
| 45 | made subject to this act by general or special law or existing |
| 46 | judicial decisions. |
| 47 |
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| 48 | This definition does not include any legal entity or agency |
| 49 | created in whole or in part pursuant to chapter 361, part II, |
| 50 | any metropolitan planning organization created pursuant to s. |
| 51 | 339.175, any separate legal or administrative entity created |
| 52 | pursuant to s. 339.175 of which a metropolitan planning |
| 53 | organization is a member, an expressway authority pursuant to |
| 54 | chapter 348 or any transportation authority under chapter 343 or |
| 55 | chapter 349, any legal or administrative entity created by an |
| 56 | interlocal agreement pursuant to s. 163.01(7), unless any party |
| 57 | to such agreement is otherwise an agency as defined in this |
| 58 | subsection, or any multicounty special district with a majority |
| 59 | of its governing board comprised of elected persons; however, |
| 60 | this definition shall include a regional water supply authority. |
| 61 | Section 2. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (2) of |
| 62 | section 212.0606, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 63 | 212.0606 Rental car surcharge.-- |
| 64 | (2) |
| 65 | (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in fiscal |
| 66 | year 2008-2009 and each year thereafter, 80 percent of the |
| 67 | proceeds of this surcharge collected in each county within the |
| 68 | service territory of the regional transportation authority |
| 69 | established under part I of chapter 343 shall be deposited into |
| 70 | an account of the authority and 80 percent of the proceeds of |
| 71 | this surcharge collected in each county within the service |
| 72 | territory of a regional transportation authority established |
| 73 | under part II, part III, part IV, or part V of chapter 343 may |
| 74 | be deposited into an account of the authority. The department |
| 75 | shall provide each regional transportation authority with rental |
| 76 | car surcharge revenue information for the previous state fiscal |
| 77 | year by September 1 of each year. |
| 78 | Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section |
| 79 | 341.303, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 80 | 341.303 Funding authorization and appropriations; |
| 81 | eligibility and participation.-- |
| 82 | (4) FUND PARTICIPATION; SERVICE DEVELOPMENT.-- |
| 83 | (a) The department may is authorized to fund up to 50 |
| 84 | percent of the net operating costs of any eligible intercity or |
| 85 | commuter rail service development project that is local in |
| 86 | scope, not to exceed the local match, except the department has |
| 87 | no obligation to provide such funding to any regional |
| 88 | transportation authority established pursuant to chapter 343 if |
| 89 | such authority receives a recurring dedicated funding source |
| 90 | that provides 80 percent of the amount of rental car surcharge |
| 91 | proceeds collected pursuant to s. 212.0606(2)(c) in counties |
| 92 | within the authority's service territory or an equivalent |
| 93 | recurring funding source and after receipt of funds from such |
| 94 | recurring dedicated funding source begins. If such receipt of |
| 95 | funds begins in the middle of a fiscal year, the department's |
| 96 | funding of any of the authority's operating costs pursuant to |
| 97 | this paragraph shall be prorated. If the funding source is |
| 98 | discontinued for any reason, the department shall have the same |
| 99 | authorization to fund net operating costs of the authority as |
| 100 | any other commuter rail service in the state. |
| 101 | Section 4. Section 343.58, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 102 | read: |
| 103 | 343.58 County funding for the South Florida Regional |
| 104 | Transportation Authority.-- |
| 105 | (1) Each county served by the South Florida Regional |
| 106 | Transportation Authority must dedicate and transfer not less |
| 107 | than $2.67 million to the authority annually. The recurring |
| 108 | annual $2.67 million must be dedicated by the governing body of |
| 109 | each county before October 31 of each fiscal year. |
| 110 | (2) If At least $45 million of a state-authorized, local |
| 111 | option recurring funding source is dedicated available to |
| 112 | Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties is directed to the |
| 113 | authority to fund its capital, operating, and maintenance |
| 114 | expenses, which source provides at least 80 percent of the |
| 115 | amount of rental car surcharge revenues collected pursuant to s. |
| 116 | 212.0606 in counties within the authority's service territory or |
| 117 | is an equivalent recurring funding source, counties within the |
| 118 | authority's service territory may be relieved of their funding |
| 119 | obligation under subsection (3). The funding source shall be |
| 120 | dedicated to the authority only if Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm |
| 121 | Beach counties impose the local option funding source. |
| 122 | (3) In addition, each county shall continue to annually |
| 123 | fund the operations of the South Florida Regional Transportation |
| 124 | Authority in an amount not less than $1.565 million. Revenue |
| 125 | raised pursuant to this subsection shall also be considered a |
| 126 | dedicated funding source. |
| 127 | (4) The current funding obligations under subsections (1) |
| 128 | and (3) shall cease upon commencement of the collection of |
| 129 | funding from the funding source under subsection (2). If the |
| 130 | funding under subsection (2) is discontinued for any reason, the |
| 131 | funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) shall resume |
| 132 | when collection from the funding source under subsection (2) |
| 133 | ceases. If counties are relieved of any funding obligations |
| 134 | under subsection (3): |
| 135 | (a) Payment by the counties shall be on a pro rata basis |
| 136 | the first year following collection cessation of the funding |
| 137 | under subsection (2). |
| 138 | (b) The authority shall refund a pro rata share of the |
| 139 | payments for the current fiscal year made pursuant to the |
| 140 | current funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) as |
| 141 | soon as reasonably practicable after it begins to receive funds |
| 142 | under subsection (2). |
| 143 |
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| 144 | If, by December 31, 2015, the South Florida Regional |
| 145 | Transportation Authority has not received federal matching funds |
| 146 | based upon the dedication of funds under subsection (1), |
| 147 | subsection (1) shall be repealed. |
| 148 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |