HB 941

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to transportation; providing legislative
3	findings with respect to the need to preserve investments
4	in transportation infrastructure and reduce congestion;
5	creating the Florida Transportation Revenue Study
6	Commission for the purpose of studying the state's
7	transportation needs and developing recommendations;
8	requiring that the commission submit a report to the
9	Legislature by a specified date; establishing powers and
10	duties of the commission; providing for membership and
11	authorizing the reimbursement of members for per diem and
12	travel expenses; providing requirements for meetings of
13	the commission; requiring the Center for Urban
14	Transportation Research at the University of South Florida
15	to provide staff support to the commission; providing
16	funding for the commission through federal funds for
17	metropolitan transportation planning; providing an
18	effective date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1.  Florida Transportation Revenue Study
23	Commission.--
24	(1)  The Legislature finds and declares that the costs of
25	preserving investments in transportation infrastructure and
26	eliminating or reducing congestion in the movement of people and
27	goods is expected to substantially increase, and those costs
28	will have a commensurate effect on the state's economy,
29	environment, and quality of life.
30	(2)  The Florida Transportation Revenue Study Commission is
31	created for the purpose of studying state, regional, and local
32	transportation needs and developing new and innovative funding
33	options and recommendations that address this state's future
34	transportation needs. The commission shall submit a written
35	report to the Legislature containing its findings and
36	recommendations by January 1, 2011. The report presented by the
37	commission shall, at a minimum, include findings and
38	recommendations regarding:
39	(a)  The stability of existing transportation revenue
40	sources, taking into account energy-efficient vehicles, emerging
41	technologies, alternative fuels, and other state and federal
42	initiatives.
43	(b)  The funding needs of state, regional, and local
44	transportation facilities and services and the ability to
45	address those needs.
46	(c)  New and innovative funding options that can be used by
47	the state, metropolitan planning organizations, local
48	governments, and other major transportation providers to fund
49	transportation facilities and services.
50	(3)  The commission shall consist of 13 members. Three
51	members shall be appointed by the Governor, three members shall
52	be appointed by the President of the Senate, and three members
53	shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
54	Representatives. One member shall be the Secretary of
55	Transportation, or the secretary's designee, one member shall be
56	appointed by the Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory
57	Council, one member shall be appointed by the Florida
58	Association of Counties, Inc., from among its members, and one
59	member shall be appointed by the Florida League of Cities, Inc.,
60	from among its members. The membership of the commission must
61	represent transportation organizations, local governments,
62	developers and homebuilders, the business community, the
63	environmental community, and other appropriate stakeholders in
64	the transportation system. One member shall be designated by the
65	Governor as chair of the commission. Members shall be appointed
66	to a term that ends upon adjournment sine die of the 2011
67	regular legislative session. Any vacancy that occurs on the
68	commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original
69	appointment. Members of the commission shall serve without
70	compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
71	travel expenses in accordance with s. 112.061, Florida Statutes,
72	while in performance of their duties.
73	(4)  The first meeting of the commission shall be held by
74	October 1, 2009, and thereafter the commission shall meet at the
75	call of the chair but not less frequently than three times per
76	year. Each member of the commission is entitled to one vote, and
77	actions of the commission are not binding unless taken by a
78	majority vote of the members present. A majority of the
79	membership constitutes a quorum at any meeting of the
80	commission. The commission may adopt its own rules of procedure
81	and has such other powers as are necessary to complete its
82	responsibilities.
83	(5)  The Center for Urban Transportation Research at the
84	University of South Florida shall provide staff and other
85	resources necessary to assist the commission in accomplishing
86	its goals. All agencies under the control of the Governor are
87	directed, and all other federal, state, and local agencies are
88	requested, to render assistance to, and cooperate with, the
89	commission.
90	Section 2.  Funding for the Florida Transportation Revenue
91	Study Commission.--Subject to the consent and approval of the
92	Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council, the sum of
93	$225,000 in federal funds for metropolitan transportation
94	planning shall be provided to the Center for Urban
95	Transportation Research at the University of South Florida for
96	the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 fiscal years for the purpose of
97	paying the expenses of staff services and providing other
98	related assistance to the Florida Transportation Revenue Study
99	Commission.
100	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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