| 1 | Representative Brandes offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Between lines 2525 and 2526, insert: |
| 5 | Section 74. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section |
| 6 | 20.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 7 | 20.23 Department of Transportation.-There is created a |
| 8 | Department of Transportation which shall be a decentralized |
| 9 | agency. |
| 10 | (3) There is created the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail |
| 11 | Commission. |
| 12 | (b) The commission shall have the primary and exclusive |
| 13 | functions of: |
| 14 | 1. Monitoring the efficiency, productivity, and management |
| 15 | of all publicly funded passenger rail systems in the state, |
| 16 | including, but not limited to, any authority created under |
| 17 | chapter 343, chapter 349, or chapter 163 if the authority |
| 18 | receives public funds for providing the provision of passenger |
| 19 | rail service. The commission shall advise each monitored |
| 20 | authority of its findings and recommendations. The commission |
| 21 | shall also conduct periodic reviews of each monitored |
| 22 | authority's passenger rail and associated transit operations and |
| 23 | budget, acquisition of property, management of revenue and bond |
| 24 | proceeds, and compliance with applicable laws and generally |
| 25 | accepted accounting principles. The commission may seek the |
| 26 | assistance of the Auditor General in conducting such reviews and |
| 27 | shall report the findings of such reviews to the Legislature. |
| 28 | This paragraph does not preclude the Florida Transportation |
| 29 | Commission from conducting its performance and work program |
| 30 | monitoring responsibilities. |
| 31 | 2. Advising the department on policies and strategies used |
| 32 | in planning, designing, building, operating, financing, and |
| 33 | maintaining a coordinated statewide system of passenger rail |
| 34 | services. |
| 35 | 3. Evaluating passenger rail policies and providing advice |
| 36 | and recommendations to the Legislature on passenger rail |
| 37 | operations in the state. |
| 38 | Section 75. Subsection (13) is added to section 311.09, |
| 39 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 40 | 311.09 Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic |
| 41 | Development Council.- |
| 42 | (13) Until July 1, 2014, Citrus County may apply for a |
| 43 | grant through the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic |
| 44 | Development Council to perform a feasibility study regarding the |
| 45 | establishment of a port in Citrus County. The council shall |
| 46 | evaluate such application in accordance with subsections (5)-(9) |
| 47 | and, if approved, the Department of Transportation shall include |
| 48 | the feasibility study in its budget request pursuant to |
| 49 | subsection (10). |
| 50 | Section 76. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section |
| 51 | 374.976, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 52 | 374.976 Authority to address impacts of waterway |
| 53 | development projects.- |
| 54 | (1) Each inland navigation district is empowered and |
| 55 | authorized to undertake programs intended to alleviate the |
| 56 | problems associated with its waterway or waterways, including, |
| 57 | but not limited to, the following: |
| 58 | (c) The district is authorized to aid and cooperate with |
| 59 | the Federal Government; state; member counties; nonmember |
| 60 | counties that contain any part of the intracoastal waterway |
| 61 | within their boundaries; navigation districts; the seaports of |
| 62 | Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Port Citrus, Fort Pierce, Palm |
| 63 | Beach, Port Everglades, Miami, Port Manatee, St. Petersburg, |
| 64 | Tampa, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Pensacola, Key West, and |
| 65 | Fernandina; and local governments within the district in |
| 66 | planning and carrying out public navigation, local and regional |
| 67 | anchorage management, beach renourishment, public recreation, |
| 68 | inlet management, environmental education, and boating safety |
| 69 | projects, directly related to the waterways. The district is |
| 70 | also authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the |
| 71 | United States Army Corps of Engineers, state, and member |
| 72 | counties, and to covenant in any such cooperative agreement to |
| 73 | pay part of the costs of acquisition, planning, development, |
| 74 | construction, reconstruction, extension, improvement, operation, |
| 75 | and maintenance of such projects. |
| 76 |
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| 77 |
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| 78 |
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| 79 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 80 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 81 | Remove line 186 and insert: |
| 82 | changes made by the act; amending s. 20.23, F.S.; providing that |
| 83 | the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission has the primary |
| 84 | and exclusive authority to monitor certain designated functions |
| 85 | related to passenger rail systems; removing from the Florida |
| 86 | Transportation Commission the responsibility and duty to monitor |
| 87 | the efficiency, productivity, and management of all publicly |
| 88 | funded passenger rail systems in the state; amending s. 311.09, |
| 89 | F.S.; providing that Citrus County may apply for a grant for a |
| 90 | feasibility study through the Florida Seaport Transportation and |
| 91 | Economic Development Council; providing for the evaluation of |
| 92 | the application; requiring the Department of Transportation to |
| 93 | include the study in its budget request under certain |
| 94 | circumstances; amending s. 374.976, F.S.; conforming provisions |
| 95 | to include Port Citrus in provisions relating to the authority |
| 96 | of inland navigation districts; providing effective dates. |