Florida Senate - 2011 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 1180 Barcode 663606 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 04/18/2011 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Budget (Sobel) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Between lines 2959 and 2960 4 insert: 5 Section 58. High-speed rail and fixed-guideway 6 transportation systems; contracting procedures; public 7 disclosure.— 8 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.— 9 (a) The Legislature finds that the design, engineering, 10 operation, and maintenance of Florida’s proposed high-speed rail 11 system and other fixed-guideway transportation systems will be 12 funded with public moneys provided by federal and state 13 taxpayers, bond sales, and public-private partnerships following 14 competitive bidding processes. 15 (b) The Florida Rail Enterprise and residents of this state 16 should have the benefit of appropriate and complete disclosure 17 by all entities competing to build and operate the high-speed 18 rail system and other fixed-guideway transportation systems. 19 Such disclosure and related due diligence is essential to this 20 state’s regulation and oversight of the contracting process and 21 expenditure of state funds. 22 (c) It has come to the Legislature’s attention that certain 23 potential entities that have expressed interest in competing for 24 publicly funded rail system contracts have engaged in conduct 25 that the Legislature believes requires public disclosures. For 26 instance, between 1942 and 1944, many thousands of persons, 27 including current residents of this state, were deported to 28 extermination camps, work camps, concentration camps, prisoner 29 of-war camps, or any similar camps by whatever name in Europe on 30 trains. 31 (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in the spirit 32 of complete transparency, the bidding and contract entities 33 competing for contracts reveal what, if any, relationship the 34 entity had with those entities that served the interests of 35 those responsible for the mass deportations in wartime. 36 (2) CONTRACTING PROCEDURES; FULL DISCLOSURE.—This 37 subsection establishes the proper procedures for entities that 38 intend to bid or submit a proposal to contract with the Florida 39 Rail Enterprise or a fixed-guideway transportation system for 40 goods or services related to the high-speed and other rail 41 systems, as contemplated by the Florida Rail Enterprise Act. 42 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, each entity applying for 43 a publicly funded contract with the Florida Rail Enterprise or a 44 fixed-guideway transportation system, including, but not limited 45 to, the engineering, construction, manufacture, or operation of 46 a high-speed rail system or other fixed-guideway transportation 47 system, shall affirmatively certify the following in advance of 48 submitting a formal bid: 49 1. Whether the entity had any direct involvement in the 50 deportation of any individual to an extermination camp, work 51 camp, concentration camp, prisoner-of-war camp, or any similar 52 camp in Europe during the period from January 1, 1942, through 53 December 31, 1944. 54 2. If an entity responds that it had a direct involvement 55 in the deportation of any individual, as described in 56 subparagraph 1., the entity shall certify all of the following: 57 a. Whether the entity has any records, whenever created, in 58 its possession, custody, or control related to those 59 deportations. 60 b. Whether the entity has taken any remedial action 61 concerning those deportations, and whether the entity has 62 provided restitution to all identifiable victims of those 63 deportations. 64 (b) An entity that certifies its direct involvement under 65 this subsection may provide any mitigating circumstances in 66 narrative or documentary form. 67 (c) The Florida Rail Enterprise or other fixed-guideway 68 transportation system shall acknowledge receipt of the 69 information as required by this subsection when awarding 70 contracts. 71 (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 72 (a) “Direct involvement” means ownership or operation of 73 the trains on which a person was deported to an extermination 74 camp, work camp, concentration camp, prisoner-of-war camp, or 75 any similar camp by whatever name in Europe during the period 76 from January 1, 1942, through December 31, 1944. 77 (b) “Entity” includes any corporation, affiliate, or other 78 entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common 79 control with, or that is a member of a partnership or a 80 consortium with, an entity that is subject to this section. An 81 entity is presumed to be in control of another corporation or 82 entity if it owns or directly or indirectly controls more than 83 50 percent of the voting securities or more than 50 percent of 84 any other ownership interest of the other corporation or entity. 85 This definition applies irrespective of whether or not the 86 equity interest in the entity is owned by a foreign state. 87 (c) “Fixed-guideway transportation system” means a public 88 transit system for the transporting of people by a conveyance, 89 or a series of interconnected conveyances, which is specifically 90 designed for travel on a stationary rail or other guideway, 91 whether located on, above, or under the ground. 92 93 94 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 95 And the title is amended as follows: 96 Delete line 224 97 and insert: 98 future expiration of the pilot program; providing 99 legislative findings and intent relating to high-speed rail; 100 requiring each entity intending to bid or submit a proposal to 101 contract with the Florida Rail Enterprise or a fixed-guideway 102 transportation system for goods or services related to high 103 speed or other rail systems to certify whether the entity had 104 any direct involvement in the deportation of any individual to 105 an extermination camp, work camp, concentration camp, prisoner 106 of-war camp, or any similar camp by whatever name located in 107 Europe during the period from January 1, 1942, through December 108 31, 1944, and if so, whether the entity has physical possession 109 of records related to the deportations and has provided 110 restitution to identifiable victims; authorizing the entity to 111 offer proof of mitigating circumstances related to acts 112 committed during the wartime period; requiring that the Florida 113 Rail Enterprise and other fixed-guideway transportation system 114 acknowledge receipt of the information when awarding contracts; 115 providing definitions; providing an 116