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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to transportation projects; amending s.

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339.12, F.S.; revising provisions authorizing the

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Department of Transportation to enter into an agreement

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with another governmental entity to complete a project or

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project phase that is not in the department's adopted work

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program; specifying that the agreement may be long term;

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removing certain limitations and requirements; providing

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an effective date.

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     Section 1.  Subsection (4) of section 339.12, Florida

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Statutes, is amended to read:

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     339.12  Aid and contributions by governmental entities for

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department projects; federal aid.--

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     (4)(a)  Prior to accepting the contribution of road bond

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proceeds, time warrants, or cash for which reimbursement is

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sought, the department shall enter into agreements with the

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governing body of the governmental entity for the project or

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project phases in accordance with specifications agreed upon

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between the department and the governing body of the governmental

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entity. The department in no instance is to receive from such

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governmental entity an amount in excess of the actual cost of the

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project or project phase. By specific provision in the written

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agreement between the department and the governing body of the

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governmental entity, the department may agree to reimburse the

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governmental entity for the actual amount of the bond proceeds,

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time warrants, or cash used on a highway project or project

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phases that are not revenue producing and are contained in the

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department's adopted work program, or any public transportation

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project contained in the adopted work program. Subject to

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appropriation of funds by the Legislature, the department may

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commit state funds for reimbursement of such projects or project

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phases. Reimbursement to the governmental entity for such a

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project or project phase must be made from funds appropriated by

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the Legislature, and reimbursement for the cost of the project or

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project phase is to begin in the year the project or project

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phase is scheduled in the work program as of the date of the

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agreement. Funds advanced pursuant to this section, which were

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originally designated for transportation purposes and so

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reimbursed to a county or municipality, shall be used by the

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county or municipality for any transportation expenditure

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authorized under s. 336.025(7). Also, cities and counties may

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receive funds from persons, and reimburse those persons, for the

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purposes of this section. Such persons may include, but are not

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limited to, those persons defined in s. 607.01401(19).

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     (b)  Prior to entering an agreement to advance a project or

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project phase pursuant to this subsection and subsection (5), the

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department shall first update the estimated cost of the project

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or project phase and certify that the estimate is accurate and

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consistent with the amount estimated in the adopted work program.

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If the original estimate and the updated estimate vary, the

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department shall amend the adopted work program according to the

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amendatory procedures for the work program set forth in s.

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339.135(7). The amendment shall reflect all corresponding

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increases and decreases to the affected projects within the

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adopted work program.

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     (c)  The department may enter into agreements under this

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subsection for a project or project phase not included in the

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adopted work program. As used in this paragraph, the term

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"project phase" means acquisition of rights-of-way, construction,

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construction inspection, and related support phases. The project

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or project phase must be a high priority of the governmental

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entity. The authority contained in this paragraph is intended to

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permit the department to enter into long-term repayment

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agreements of up to 30 years with no requirement that the project

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or project phase be contained in the adopted work program

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Reimbursement for a project or project phase must be made from

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funds appropriated by the Legislature pursuant to s. 339.135(5).

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All other provisions of this subsection apply to agreements

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entered into under this paragraph. The total amount of project

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agreements for projects or project phases not included in the

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adopted work program may not at any time exceed $100 million.

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However, notwithstanding such $100 million limit and any similar

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limit in s. 334.30, project advances for any inland county with a

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population greater than 500,000 dedicating amounts equal to $500

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million or more of its Local Government Infrastructure Surtax

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pursuant to s. 212.055(2) for improvements to the State Highway

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System which are included in the local metropolitan planning

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organization's or the department's long-range transportation

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plans shall be excluded from the calculation of the statewide

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limit of project advances.

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     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.