Florida Senate - 2012                      CS for CS for SB 1866
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Budget; and Transportation; and Senator
       Latvala
       
       
       
       576-04300A-12                                         20121866c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Department of Transportation;
    3         amending s. 20.23, F.S.; providing that the district
    4         secretaries and the executive directors of the
    5         Department of Transportation may be registered
    6         professional engineers in accordance with the laws of
    7         another state; deleting obsolete provisions; amending
    8         s. 206.41, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
    9         “agricultural and aquacultural purposes” for the
   10         purpose of obtaining a refund of the state motor fuel
   11         tax; providing a directive to the Division of
   12         Statutory Revision; amending s. 311.07, F.S.;
   13         increasing funding for the Florida Seaport
   14         Transportation and Economic Development Program;
   15         requiring the program’s council to develop guidelines
   16         for program funding; revising the list of projects
   17         eligible for program funding; deleting a cap on
   18         distribution of program funds to eligible ports;
   19         amending s. 311.09, F.S.; revising the rule criteria
   20         for evaluating a potential Florida Seaport
   21         Transportation and Economic Development Council
   22         project; deleting provisions relating to project
   23         review by the Department of Community Affairs;
   24         requiring projects to be consistent with the Statewide
   25         Seaport and Waterways System Plan; revising the
   26         criteria used by the Department of Transportation and
   27         the Department of Economic Opportunity to review
   28         project applications approved by the council;
   29         increasing the amount of funding the Department of
   30         Transportation is required to include in its annual
   31         legislative budget request for the Florida Seaport
   32         Transportation and Economic Development grant program;
   33         creating s. 311.10, F.S.; establishing the Strategic
   34         Port Investment Initiative within the department;
   35         providing annual funding from the State Transportation
   36         Trust Fund; directing the department to work with
   37         deepwater ports to develop and maintain a specified
   38         priority list of strategic investment projects;
   39         providing project selection criteria; requiring the
   40         department to schedule a publicly noticed workshop
   41         with the Department of Economic Opportunity and the
   42         deepwater ports to review proposed projects; directing
   43         the department to include seaport projects proposed
   44         for funding in the tentative work program; excluding
   45         project funding from the requirement that a minimum of
   46         15 percent of state revenues deposited into the State
   47         Transportation Fund be committed to specified public
   48         transportation projects; creating s. 311.101, F.S.;
   49         establishing the Intermodal Logistics Center
   50         Infrastructure Support Program within the department
   51         to fund projects conveying or shipping goods through a
   52         seaport; defining the term “intermodal logistics
   53         center”; providing project criteria; providing for
   54         funding; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
   55         amending s. 311.14, F.S.; directing the department to
   56         develop a Statewide Seaport and Waterways System Plan;
   57         deleting provisions relating to the development and
   58         integration of freight mobility and trade corridor
   59         plans; amending s. 311.22, F.S.; conforming a cross
   60         reference; amending s. 316.003, F.S.; revising the
   61         definition of the term “motor vehicle” for purposes of
   62         the payment of tolls; amending s. 316.091, F.S.;
   63         revising provisions relating to prohibitions against
   64         operating a human-operated vehicle on a limited access
   65         highway; authorizing the department and expressway
   66         authorities to designate the use of shoulders of
   67         limited access facilities and interstate highways for
   68         vehicular traffic under certain conditions; requiring
   69         the department to establish a pilot program to open
   70         certain limited access highways and bridges to
   71         bicycles and other human-powered vehicles; providing
   72         requirements for the program; requiring a report;
   73         amending s. 316.1001, F.S.; revising provisions
   74         relating to mailing citations for failing to pay a
   75         toll; amending s. 316.2122, F.S.; deleting a cross
   76         reference; amending s. 316.515, F.S.; revising
   77         provisions related to the maximum allowed length of
   78         straight truck-trailer combinations; revising
   79         provisions relating to farm equipment; amending s.
   80         318.12, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by
   81         the act; amending s. 320.01, F.S.; revising the
   82         definition of the term “low-speed vehicle”; amending
   83         s. 320.20, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
   84         by the act; amending s. 332.08, F.S.; authorizing a
   85         municipality participating in the Federal Aviation
   86         Administration’s pilot program on the private
   87         ownership of airports to lease or sell airport
   88         property to a private party; providing for department
   89         approval under certain conditions; reordering and
   90         amending s. 334.03, F.S.; revising definitions for
   91         purposes of the Florida Transportation Code; amending
   92         s. 334.044, F.S.; revising the powers and duties of
   93         the department relating to jurisdictional
   94         responsibility, the designation of facilities, and
   95         highway landscaping, and adding a duty to develop
   96         freight mobility and trade plans; amending s. 334.047,
   97         F.S.; deleting a prohibition preventing the department
   98         from establishing a maximum number of miles of urban
   99         principal arterial roads; amending s. 335.02, F.S.;
  100         revising references to conform to the incorporation of
  101         the Florida Intrastate Highway System into the
  102         Strategic Intermodal System; amending s. 335.074,
  103         F.S.; requiring the governmental entity having
  104         maintenance responsibility for a bridge to reduce the
  105         maximum limits for the bridge in accordance with a
  106         bridge inspection report and post such limits as
  107         specified; requiring the governmental entity to
  108         immediately close a bridge if recommended in the
  109         report; amending s. 335.17, F.S., relating to highway
  110         construction noise abatement; clarifying project
  111         eligibility provisions governing noise abatement;
  112         updating a reference to a federal regulation; amending
  113         s. 336.021, F.S.; revising the date for levying
  114         certain fuel taxes; amending s. 336.025, F.S.;
  115         revising the date for levying certain fuel taxes;
  116         specifying certain transportation program
  117         expenditures; amending s. 337.11, F.S.; revising the
  118         department’s advertising requirements for bids on
  119         certain construction contracts; amending s. 337.111,
  120         F.S.; providing additional forms of security for the
  121         cost of removing or modifying monuments or memorials
  122         at highway rest areas; amending s. 337.125, F.S.;
  123         revising provisions relating to the submission of
  124         information documenting that a subcontract is with a
  125         disadvantaged business enterprise; repealing s.
  126         337.137, F.S., relating to subcontract limitations by
  127         socially and economically disadvantaged business
  128         enterprises; amending s. 337.139, F.S.; updating a
  129         reference to federal law as it relates to encouraging
  130         the award of contracts to socially and economically
  131         disadvantaged business enterprises; amending s.
  132         337.14, F.S.; specifying when an application for
  133         qualification to bid on a department contract is
  134         timely; authorizing certain applicants to submit
  135         reviewed annual or reviewed interim financial
  136         statements prepared by a certified public accountant;
  137         amending ss. 337.403 and 337.404, F.S.; clarifying
  138         provisions relating to responsibility for the work and
  139         costs for alleviating interference on a public road or
  140         publicly owned rail corridor caused by a utility
  141         facility; requiring the utility owner to initiate and
  142         complete the work necessary within a certain time
  143         period; requiring the local governmental authority to
  144         bear the costs of work on a utility facility that was
  145         initially installed to serve the governmental entity
  146         or its tenants; providing that the governmental entity
  147         is not responsible for the costs of utility work
  148         related to subsequent additions to the facility;
  149         requiring that the local governmental authority bear
  150         the costs of removing or relocating a utility facility
  151         under certain circumstances; providing for notice to
  152         the utility; revising provisions for payment of costs;
  153         revising provisions for completion of work when the
  154         utility owner does not perform the work; amending s.
  155         337.408, F.S.; revising provisions for certain
  156         facilities installed within the right-of-way limits of
  157         a road; requiring counties and municipalities to
  158         indemnify the department from certain claims relating
  159         to the installation, removal, or relocation of a
  160         noncompliant bench or shelter; authorizing the
  161         department to remove or relocate a noncompliant
  162         installation and charge the cost to the county or
  163         municipality; removing a provision for the replacement
  164         of an unusable transit bus bench that was in service
  165         before a certain date; providing a directive to the
  166         Division of Statutory Revision; repealing s. 338.001,
  167         F.S., relating to the Florida Intrastate Highway
  168         System Plan; amending s. 338.01, F.S.; clarifying
  169         provisions governing the designation and function of
  170         limited access facilities established by the
  171         department; creating s. 338.151, F.S.; authorizing the
  172         department to establish tolls on certain
  173         transportation facilities to pay for the cost of such
  174         project; amending s. 338.155, F.S.; authorizing the
  175         department to allow the use of certain toll facilities
  176         by certain vehicles without paying the tolls under
  177         certain circumstances; amending s. 338.161, F.S.;
  178         authorizing the department to enter in agreements with
  179         other entities for the use of the public or private
  180         toll facilities under certain circumstances;
  181         authorizing the department to modify its rules
  182         regarding toll collection procedures and the
  183         imposition of administrative charges for certain toll
  184         facilities; amending s. 338.166, F.S.; removing a
  185         location restriction on the issuing of bonds secured
  186         by toll revenues; restricting the use of remaining
  187         tolls revenues to the county or counties in which the
  188         revenues were collected or to support express bus
  189         service on the facility where the toll revenues were
  190         collected; amending s. 338.221, F.S.; revising the
  191         definition of the term “economically feasible” for
  192         purposes of proposed turnpike projects; amending s.
  193         338.223, F.S.; revising a provision relating to
  194         department requests for legislative approval of
  195         proposed turnpike projects; conforming a cross
  196         reference; amending s. 338.227, F.S.; replacing a
  197         reference to the Florida Intrastate Highway System
  198         Plan with a reference to the Strategic Intermodal
  199         System Plan; amending ss. 338.2275 and 338.228, F.S.;
  200         conforming cross-references; amending s. 338.231,
  201         F.S.; authorizing the department to assess an
  202         administrative fee as an account maintenance charge
  203         for inactive prepaid toll accounts; amending s.
  204         338.234, F.S.; replacing a reference to the Florida
  205         Intrastate Highway System with a reference to the
  206         Strategic Intermodal System; amending s. 339.0805,
  207         F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
  208         certification of socially and economically
  209         disadvantaged individuals; deleting provisions
  210         requiring a periodic disparity study; deleting
  211         obsolete provisions; revising the timeframe for
  212         notifying the department of any change in ownership of
  213         a qualifying individual or individuals; conforming
  214         provisions to changes made by the act; updating
  215         references to federal law; amending s. 339.155, F.S.;
  216         providing a cross-reference to federally required
  217         transportation planning factors; clarifying and
  218         revising provisions relating to the Florida
  219         Transportation Plan; deleting duplicative performance
  220         reporting requirements; amending s. 339.175, F.S.;
  221         revising provisions relating to the designation of
  222         metropolitan planning organizations for urbanized
  223         areas; revising provisions relating to representatives
  224         of the department who serve as nonvoting advisers to
  225         such organization; requiring metropolitan planning
  226         organizations in urbanized areas containing more than
  227         one organization to coordinate in the development of
  228         regionally significant project priorities; amending s.
  229         339.2819, F.S.; conforming cross-references; revising
  230         the state matching funds requirement for the
  231         Transportation Regional Incentive Program; requiring
  232         projects funded under the program to be included in
  233         the department’s work program; amending s. 339.285,
  234         F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; amending s.
  235         339.62, F.S.; replacing a reference to the Florida
  236         Intrastate Highway System with a reference to highway
  237         corridors; revising the facility component types;
  238         amending s. 339.63, F.S.; adding military access
  239         facilities to the types of facilities included in the
  240         Strategic Intermodal System and the Emerging Strategic
  241         Intermodal System; requiring that the Secretary of
  242         Transportation designate certain planned facilities as
  243         part of the Strategic Intermodal System; providing for
  244         such facilities to receive a waiver of the
  245         transportation concurrency requirements under certain
  246         circumstances; amending s. 339.64, F.S.; deleting
  247         provisions creating the Statewide Intermodal
  248         Transportation Advisory Council; creating s. 339.65,
  249         F.S.; requiring the department to plan and develop
  250         Strategic Intermodal System highway corridors to aid
  251         traffic movement; specifying components of the system;
  252         requiring the department to follow specified policy
  253         guidelines when developing the corridors; requiring
  254         the department to develop a plan for corridor
  255         projects; specifying an appropriation amount for
  256         developing the corridor; requiring strategic highway
  257         projects to be a part of the department’s adopted work
  258         program; amending s. 341.053, F.S.; replacing a
  259         reference to the Florida Intrastate Highway System
  260         with a reference to the Strategic Intermodal System;
  261         amending s. 341.840, F.S., relating to tax exemptions
  262         in connection with the high-speed rail system;
  263         references to the “enterprise”; amending s. 343.52,
  264         F.S.; revising the definition of the term “area
  265         served” for purposes of provisions for the South
  266         Florida Regional Transportation Authority; revising a
  267         provision for expansion of the area; amending s.
  268         343.53, F.S.; revising the number of members of and
  269         criteria for appointment to the board of the South
  270         Florida Regional Transportation Authority; amending s.
  271         343.54, F.S.; revising a provision authorizing the
  272         authority to expand its service area; transferring
  273         control of the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority system to the
  274         Florida Turnpike Enterprise; transferring all assets,
  275         rights, powers, duties, and bond liabilities of the
  276         authority to the turnpike enterprise; transferring all
  277         provisions that protect the rights of certain
  278         bondholders from the authority to the turnpike
  279         enterprise; providing for the turnpike enterprise to
  280         annually transfer funds from the activities of the
  281         transferred authority to the State Transportation
  282         Trust Fund to repay certain long-term debt; requiring
  283         that specific toll revenue be used for the
  284         construction, maintenance, or improvement of certain
  285         toll facilities of the turnpike enterprise; amending
  286         s. 348.0003, F.S.; removing members of the governing
  287         body of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority from
  288         those entities required to comply with certain
  289         constitutional financial disclosure requirements;
  290         amending s. 348.0004, F.S.; removing provisions
  291         qualifying funding received by an authority from a
  292         portion of the county gasoline tax funds; amending s.
  293         348.0005, F.S.; providing criteria under which bonds
  294         may be issued; providing an exception to the
  295         application of certain bond requirements; creating s.
  296         348.0013, F.S., relating to expressway authorities
  297         created on or after a specified date; providing that
  298         the department is the agent for the purpose of
  299         performing all phases of constructing improvements to
  300         and extensions of an expressway system; requiring that
  301         the Division of Bond Finance and the authority provide
  302         certain construction documents to the department;
  303         providing for payment and the use of funds for the
  304         construction; requiring that an authority identify an
  305         expressway project in the authority’s work plan and
  306         submit the work plan along with its budget; requiring
  307         that the work plan include certain information;
  308         requiring that the department operate and maintain the
  309         expressway system; requiring that the costs incurred
  310         by the department be reimbursed from revenues of the
  311         expressway system; providing that an expressway system
  312         is part of the State Highway System; authorizing the
  313         authority to collect tolls, fees, and other charges;
  314         amending s. 348.52, F.S.; authorizing the Tampa
  315         Hillsborough County Expressway Authority to employ
  316         certain personnel; amending s. 348.54, F.S.; providing
  317         for the powers of the authority with respect to
  318         certain lease-purchase agreements; amending s.
  319         348.545, F.S.; conforming cross-references; amending
  320         s. 348.56, F.S.; restricting the authority’s ability
  321         to request the issuance of bonds; providing criteria
  322         for refunding bonds; prohibiting the authority from
  323         requesting the issuance of bonds having certain rights
  324         against the department; providing criteria for bonds
  325         issued on or after a certain date; amending s.
  326         348.565, F.S.; conforming provisions; removing from
  327         the list of approved projects for the Tampa
  328         Hillsborough County Expressway System the connector
  329         highway linking Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway to
  330         Interstate 4; amending s. 348.57, F.S., relating to
  331         refunding bonds; conforming references and provisions;
  332         amending s. 348.60, F.S.; providing that the Tampa
  333         Hillsborough County Expressway Authority is a party to
  334         lease-purchase agreements between the department and
  335         the authority which are dated on specified dates;
  336         prohibiting the authority from entering into other
  337         lease-purchase agreements or amending the lease
  338         purchase agreement unless the department determines an
  339         agreement or amendment is necessary to permit
  340         refunding of certain bonds; providing that the
  341         expressway system remains the property of the
  342         authority if the lease-purchase agreement terminates;
  343         providing that the authority remains obligated to
  344         reimburse the department if the agreement terminates;
  345         requiring that the department operate and maintain the
  346         system as the agent of the authority; creating s.
  347         348.615, F.S.; providing that the department is the
  348         agent of the authority for purposes of collecting
  349         tolls; authorizing the authority to establish tolls,
  350         fees, and other charges; amending s. 348.753, F.S.;
  351         authorizing the Orlando-Orange County Expressway
  352         Authority to contract with the Division of Bond
  353         Finance for certain financial services; amending s.
  354         348.754, F.S.; providing that the transportation
  355         authority is a party to specified lease-purchase
  356         agreements between the department and the authority;
  357         prohibiting the authority from entering into other
  358         lease-purchase agreements or amending a specified
  359         lease-purchase agreement; amending s. 348.7543, F.S.;
  360         conforming a cross-reference and revising provisions
  361         governing the issuance of bonds; amending ss. 348.7545
  362         and 348.7547, F.S.; conforming cross-references;
  363         amending s. 348.755, F.S.; restricting the authority’s
  364         ability to request the issuance of bonds; prohibiting
  365         the authority from requesting the issuance of
  366         refunding bonds under certain circumstances; providing
  367         conditions for issuing certain bonds; amending s.
  368         348.757, F.S.; limiting certain authorized lease
  369         purchase agreements; prohibiting the authority from
  370         entering into or amending certain lease-purchase
  371         agreements; providing for the termination of the
  372         department’s obligations under certain lease-purchase
  373         agreements; creating s. 348.7585, F.S.; providing that
  374         the department is the agent of the authority for
  375         purposes of collecting tolls; authorizing the
  376         authority to establish tolls, fees, and other charges;
  377         conforming provisions; amending s. 348.9952, F.S.;
  378         removing provisions authorizing the Osceola County
  379         Expressway Authority to employ a fiscal agent;
  380         repealing s. 348.9956, F.S., relating to the
  381         appointment of the department as the agent of the
  382         authority for construction; creating s. 348.99565,
  383         F.S.; providing that the department is the agent of
  384         the authority for purposes of performing all phases of
  385         constructing improvements and extensions to the
  386         Orlando-Orange County Expressway System; requiring
  387         that the Division of Bond Finance and the expressway
  388         authority provide construction documents to the
  389         department; providing for payment and use of funds for
  390         the construction; providing guidelines that the
  391         authority must follow if it proposes construction of
  392         an expressway; authorizing the authority to collect
  393         tolls, fees, and other charges; requiring the Florida
  394         Transportation Commission to study the potential costs
  395         savings of the department being the operating agent
  396         for certain expressway authorities; amending s.
  397         349.03, F.S.; requiring that members of the authority
  398         file a statement of financial interest with the
  399         Commission on Ethics as their mandatory financial
  400         disclosure; amending s. 349.04, F.S.; authorizing the
  401         Jacksonville Transportation Authority to conduct
  402         public meetings and workshops by means of media
  403         technology; amending s. 373.413, F.S.; providing
  404         legislative intent regarding flexibility in permitting
  405         stormwater management systems serving state
  406         transportation projects; requiring the cost of
  407         stormwater treatment for a transportation project to
  408         be balanced with benefits to the public; absolving the
  409         department of responsibility for the abatement of
  410         pollutants entering its stormwater facilities from
  411         offsite sources and from updating permits for adjacent
  412         lands impacted by right-of-way acquisition;
  413         authorizing the water management districts and the
  414         Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules;
  415         amending s. 373.4137, F.S.; revising mitigation
  416         requirements for transportation projects to include
  417         other mitigation options; providing for the release of
  418         escrowed mitigation funds under certain circumstances;
  419         clarifying responsibility for mitigation projects;
  420         providing for the exclusion of projects from a
  421         mitigation plan upon the election of one or more
  422         agencies; amending s. 403.7211, F.S.; conforming
  423         provisions to changes made by the act; repealing s.
  424         479.28, F.S., relating to a rest area information or
  425         device program within the department; prohibiting the
  426         use of glass beads used for road markings which
  427         contain a certain amount of inorganic arsenic;
  428         providing penalties; authorizing the department to
  429         seek Federal Highway Administration approval of a
  430         tourist-oriented commerce sign pilot program and
  431         submit the approved program for legislative approval;
  432         providing for a review by the Pinellas Suncoast
  433         Transit Authority and the Hillsborough Area Regional
  434         Transit Authority to consider and identify
  435         opportunities and greater efficiency and service
  436         improvements for increasing connectivity between each
  437         authority; requiring a report to the Legislature;
  438         requiring the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation
  439         Authority to provide assistance; authorizing
  440         governmental units that regulate the operation of
  441         vehicles for public hire or other for-hire
  442         transportation to request and receive criminal history
  443         record information for the purpose of screening
  444         applicants; requiring that the costs associated with
  445         the transmittal and processing of such information be
  446         borne by the governmental unit, the employer, or the
  447         person who is the subject of the background check;
  448         amending ss. 215.616, 288.063, 338.222, 341.8225,
  449         479.01, 479.07, and 479.261, F.S., relating to
  450         contracts for transportation projects, turnpike
  451         projects, high-speed rail projects, outdoor
  452         advertising, and the logo sign program, respectively;
  453         deleting obsolete language; revising references to
  454         conform to the incorporation of the Florida Intrastate
  455         Highway System into the Strategic Intermodal System
  456         and to changes made by the act; creating the Seminole
  457         County Expressway Authority Law; providing
  458         definitions; creating the Seminole County Expressway
  459         Authority; prohibiting an entity or body or another
  460         authority from exercising jurisdiction, control,
  461         authority, or power over an expressway system in
  462         Seminole County without the consent of the Seminole
  463         County Expressway Authority; providing for membership
  464         and terms of the governing body of the authority;
  465         providing for officers, a quorum, and reimbursement
  466         for travel and per diem; authorizing staffing;
  467         providing for certain reimbursement for authority
  468         members; authorizing the authority to contract with
  469         the Division of Bond Finance for financial services;
  470         providing for the powers and duties of the authority;
  471         providing for the assumption of duties and
  472         responsibilities of the prior Seminole County
  473         Expressway Authority for certain contracts and
  474         agreements; prohibiting the authority from pledging
  475         the credit or taxing power of the state; providing
  476         that the authority does not need the consent of a
  477         municipality for projects but must provide the
  478         opportunity for public comment; providing for the
  479         issuance of bonds; authorizing the State Board of
  480         Administration to act as the fiscal agent of the
  481         authority in the issuance of bonds; authorizing the
  482         authority to enter into agreements to secure such
  483         bonds; providing that the Department of Transportation
  484         is the agent of authority for performing all phases of
  485         a project and for operating the expressway system;
  486         providing that the authority has the power to set and
  487         collect all tolls and charges; authorizing the
  488         authority to acquire land and properties, including
  489         eminent domain; providing for the cooperation of other
  490         entities to further the purposes of the act;
  491         prohibiting the state from changing the terms of the
  492         bonds; exempting the authority from certain taxes;
  493         providing for the bond’s eligibility for investments
  494         and security; providing for the extent of the powers
  495         authorized by the act; amending s. 369.317, F.S.;
  496         authorizing only the department to locate the corridor
  497         and interchanges for the Wekiva Parkway; providing an
  498         effective date.
  499  
  500  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  501  
  502         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (5) of
  503  section 20.23, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  504         20.23 Department of Transportation.—There is created a
  505  Department of Transportation which shall be a decentralized
  506  agency.
  507         (5)(a) The operations of the department shall be organized
  508  into seven districts, each headed by a district secretary, and a
  509  turnpike enterprise and a rail enterprise, each enterprise
  510  headed by an executive director. The district secretaries and
  511  the executive directors must shall be registered professional
  512  engineers in accordance with the provisions of chapter 471 or
  513  the laws of another state or, in lieu of professional engineer
  514  registration, a district secretary or executive director may
  515  hold an advanced degree in an appropriate related discipline,
  516  such as a Master of Business Administration. The headquarters of
  517  the districts shall be located in Polk, Columbia, Washington,
  518  Broward, Volusia, Miami-Dade, and Hillsborough Counties. The
  519  headquarters of the turnpike enterprise shall be located in
  520  Orange County. The headquarters of the rail enterprise shall be
  521  located in Leon County. In order to provide for efficient
  522  operations and to expedite the decisionmaking process, the
  523  department shall provide for maximum decentralization to the
  524  districts.
  525         (b) Each district secretary may appoint up to three
  526  district directors or, until July 1, 2005, each district
  527  secretary may appoint up to four district directors. These
  528  positions are exempt from part II of chapter 110.
  529         Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
  530  206.41, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  531         206.41 State taxes imposed on motor fuel.—
  532         (4)
  533         (c)1. Any person who uses any motor fuel for agricultural,
  534  aquacultural, commercial fishing, or commercial aviation
  535  purposes on which fuel the tax imposed by paragraph (1)(e),
  536  paragraph (1)(f), or paragraph (1)(g) has been paid is entitled
  537  to a refund of such tax.
  538         2. As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
  539  “agricultural and aquacultural purposes” means motor fuel used
  540  in any tractor, vehicle, or other farm equipment that which is
  541  used exclusively on a farm or for processing farm products on
  542  the farm, and no part of which fuel is used in any vehicle or
  543  equipment driven or operated upon the public highways of this
  544  state. This restriction does not apply to the movement of a farm
  545  vehicle, or farm equipment, citrus harvesting equipment, or
  546  citrus fruit loaders between farms. The transporting of bees by
  547  water and the operating of equipment used in the apiary of a
  548  beekeeper are shall be also deemed an agricultural purpose.
  549         3. As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
  550  “commercial fishing and aquacultural purposes” means motor fuel
  551  used in the operation of boats, vessels, or equipment used
  552  exclusively for the taking of fish, crayfish, oysters, shrimp,
  553  or sponges from salt or fresh waters under the jurisdiction of
  554  the state for resale to the public, and no part of which fuel is
  555  used in any vehicle or equipment driven or operated upon the
  556  highways of this state; however, the term does not may in no way
  557  be construed to include fuel used for sport or pleasure fishing.
  558         4. As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
  559  “commercial aviation purposes” means motor fuel used in the
  560  operation of aviation ground support vehicles or equipment, no
  561  part of which fuel is used in any vehicle or equipment driven or
  562  operated upon the public highways of this state.
  563         Section 3. The Division of Statutory Revision is requested
  564  to rename chapter 311, Florida Statutes, as “Seaport Facilities
  565  and Programs.”
  566         Section 4. Section 311.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  567  read:
  568         311.07 Florida seaport transportation and economic
  569  development funding.—
  570         (1) There is created the Florida Seaport Transportation and
  571  Economic Development (FSTED) Program within the Department of
  572  Transportation to finance port transportation or port facilities
  573  projects that will improve the movement and intermodal
  574  transportation of cargo or passengers in commerce and trade and
  575  that will support the interests, purposes, and requirements of
  576  all ports listed in s. 311.09(1) located in this state.
  577         (2) A minimum of $15 $8 million per year shall be made
  578  available from the State Transportation Trust Fund to fund the
  579  FSTED Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development
  580  Program. The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
  581  Development Council created in s. 311.09 shall develop
  582  guidelines for the use of project funding. Council staff, the
  583  Department of Transportation, and the Department of Economic
  584  Opportunity shall work cooperatively to review projects and
  585  allocate funds in accordance with the schedule for including
  586  projects in the Department of Transportation’s tentative work
  587  program developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4).
  588         (3)(a) FSTED Program funds shall be used to fund approved
  589  projects on a 50-50 matching basis with a any of the deepwater
  590  port ports, as listed in s. 311.09(1) 403.021(9)(b), which is
  591  governed by a public body or any other deepwater port which is
  592  governed by a public body and which comply complies with the
  593  water quality provisions of s. 403.061, the comprehensive master
  594  plan requirements of s. 163.3178(2)(k), and the local financial
  595  management and reporting provisions of part III of chapter 218.
  596  However, program funds used to fund projects that involve the
  597  rehabilitation of wharves, docks, berths, bulkheads, or similar
  598  structures shall require a 25-percent match of funds. Program
  599  funds also may be used by the Seaport Transportation and
  600  Economic Development Council for data and analysis to develop
  601  trade data information products which will assist the state’s
  602  Florida’s seaports and international trade.
  603         (b) Projects eligible for funding by grants under the
  604  program are limited to the following port facilities or port
  605  transportation projects:
  606         1. Transportation facilities within the jurisdiction of the
  607  port.
  608         2. The dredging or deepening of channels, turning basins,
  609  or harbors.
  610         3. The construction or rehabilitation of wharves, docks,
  611  structures, jetties, piers, storage facilities, cruise
  612  terminals, automated people mover systems, or any facilities
  613  necessary or useful in connection with any of the foregoing.
  614         4. The acquisition of vessel tracking systems, container
  615  cranes, or other mechanized equipment used in the movement of
  616  cargo or passengers in international commerce.
  617         5. The acquisition of land to be used for port purposes.
  618         6. The acquisition, improvement, enlargement, or extension
  619  of existing port facilities.
  620         7. Environmental protection projects that which are
  621  necessary because of requirements imposed by a state agency as a
  622  condition of a permit or other form of state approval; which are
  623  necessary for environmental mitigation required as a condition
  624  of a state, federal, or local environmental permit; which are
  625  necessary for the acquisition of spoil disposal sites and
  626  improvements to existing and future spoil sites; or which result
  627  from the funding of eligible projects listed in this paragraph.
  628         8. Transportation facilities as defined in s. 334.03(31)
  629  which are not otherwise part of the Department of
  630  Transportation’s adopted work program.
  631         9. Seaport Intermodal access projects identified in the 5
  632  year Florida Seaport Mission Plan as provided in s. 311.09(3).
  633         10. Construction or rehabilitation of port facilities as
  634  defined in s. 315.02, excluding any park or recreational
  635  facilities, in ports listed in s. 311.09(1) which have with
  636  operating revenues of $5 million or less, if provided that such
  637  projects create economic development opportunities, capital
  638  improvements, and positive financial returns to such ports.
  639         11. Seaport master plan or strategic plan development or
  640  updates, including the purchase of data to support such plans.
  641         (c) To be eligible for consideration by the council
  642  pursuant to this section, a project must be consistent with the
  643  port comprehensive master plan that which is incorporated as
  644  part of the approved local government comprehensive plan as
  645  required by s. 163.3178(2)(k) or other provisions of the
  646  Community Planning Act, part II of chapter 163.
  647         (4) A port eligible for matching funds under the program
  648  may receive a distribution of not more than $7 million during
  649  any 1 calendar year and a distribution of not more than $30
  650  million during any 5-calendar-year period.
  651         (4)(5) Any port that which receives funding under the
  652  program must shall institute procedures to ensure that jobs
  653  created as a result of the state funding are shall be subject to
  654  equal opportunity hiring practices in the manner provided in s.
  655  110.112.
  656         (5)(6) The Department of Transportation may shall subject
  657  any project that receives funds pursuant to this section and s.
  658  320.20 to a final audit. The department may adopt rules and
  659  perform such other acts as are necessary or convenient to ensure
  660  that the final audits are conducted and that any deficiency or
  661  questioned costs noted by the audit are resolved.
  662         Section 5. Subsection (1) and subsections (4) through (13)
  663  of section 311.09, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  664         311.09 Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
  665  Development Council.—
  666         (1) The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
  667  Development (FSTED) Council is created within the Department of
  668  Transportation. The council consists of the following 17 18
  669  members: the port director, or the port director’s designee, of
  670  each of the ports of Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Port Citrus,
  671  Fort Pierce, Palm Beach, Port Everglades, Miami, Port Manatee,
  672  St. Petersburg, Tampa, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Pensacola, Key
  673  West, and Fernandina; the Secretary of the Department of
  674  Transportation or his or her designee; and the executive
  675  director of the Department of Economic Opportunity or his or her
  676  designee.
  677         (4) The council shall adopt rules for evaluating projects
  678  that which may be funded under ss. 311.07 and 320.20. The rules
  679  must shall provide criteria for evaluating the potential
  680  project, including, but not limited to, consistency with
  681  appropriate plans, economic benefit, readiness for construction,
  682  noncompetition with other Florida ports, and capacity within the
  683  seaport system economic benefit of the project, measured by the
  684  potential for the proposed project to maintain or increase cargo
  685  flow, cruise passenger movement, international commerce, port
  686  revenues, and the number of jobs for the port’s local community.
  687         (5) The council shall review and approve or disapprove each
  688  project eligible to be funded pursuant to the FSTED Florida
  689  Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Program. The
  690  council shall annually submit to the Secretary of Transportation
  691  and the executive director of the Department of Economic
  692  Opportunity, or his or her designee, a list of projects that
  693  which have been approved by the council. The list must shall
  694  specify the recommended funding level for each project; and, if
  695  staged implementation of the project is appropriate, the funding
  696  requirements for each stage must shall be specified.
  697         (6) The Department of Community Affairs shall review the
  698  list of projects approved by the council to determine
  699  consistency with approved local government comprehensive plans
  700  of the units of local government in which the port is located
  701  and consistency with the port master plan. The Department of
  702  Community Affairs shall identify and notify the council of those
  703  projects which are not consistent, to the maximum extent
  704  feasible, with such comprehensive plans and port master plans.
  705         (6)(7) The Department of Transportation shall review the
  706  list of project applications projects approved by the council
  707  for consistency with the Florida Transportation Plan, the
  708  Statewide Seaport and Waterways System Plan, and the
  709  department’s adopted work program. In evaluating the consistency
  710  of a project, the department shall assess the transportation
  711  impacts and economic benefits for each project determine whether
  712  the transportation impact of the proposed project is adequately
  713  handled by existing state-owned transportation facilities or by
  714  the construction of additional state-owned transportation
  715  facilities as identified in the Florida Transportation Plan and
  716  the department’s adopted work program. In reviewing for
  717  consistency a transportation facility project as defined in s.
  718  334.03(31) which is not otherwise part of the department’s work
  719  program, the department shall evaluate whether the project is
  720  needed to provide for projected movement of cargo or passengers
  721  from the port to a state transportation facility or local road.
  722  If the project is needed to provide for projected movement of
  723  cargo or passengers, the project shall be approved for
  724  consistency as a consideration to facilitate the economic
  725  development and growth of the state in a timely manner. The
  726  Department of Transportation shall identify those projects that
  727  which are inconsistent with the Florida Transportation Plan, the
  728  Statewide Seaport and Waterways System Plan, or and the adopted
  729  work program and shall notify the council of projects found to
  730  be inconsistent.
  731         (7)(8) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall review
  732  the list of project applications projects approved by the
  733  council to evaluate the economic benefit of the project and to
  734  determine whether the project is consistent with the Florida
  735  Seaport Mission Plan and with state economic development goals
  736  and policies. The Department of Economic Opportunity shall
  737  evaluate the proposed project’s consistency with state,
  738  regional, and local plans, as appropriate, and review the
  739  economic benefits of each project based upon the rules adopted
  740  pursuant to subsection (4). The Department of Economic
  741  Opportunity shall identify those projects that which it has
  742  determined do not offer an economic benefit to the state, are
  743  not consistent with an appropriate plan, or are not consistent
  744  with the Florida Seaport Mission Plan or state economic
  745  development goals and policies and shall notify the council of
  746  its findings.
  747         (8)(9) The council shall review the findings of the
  748  Department of Economic Opportunity and the Department of
  749  Transportation. Projects found to be inconsistent under
  750  subsection pursuant to subsections (6) or subsection, (7), or
  751  and (8) and projects which have been determined not to offer an
  752  economic benefit to the state, may pursuant to subsection (8)
  753  shall not be included in the list of projects to be funded.
  754         (9)(10) The Department of Transportation shall include at
  755  least $15 million per year in its annual legislative budget
  756  request for the FSTED a Florida Seaport Transportation and
  757  Economic Development grant program funded under s. 311.07 for
  758  expenditure of funds of not less than $8 million per year. Such
  759  budget must shall include funding for projects approved by the
  760  council which have been determined by each agency to be
  761  consistent and which have been determined by the Department of
  762  Economic Opportunity to be economically beneficial. The
  763  department shall include the specific approved FSTED seaport
  764  projects to be funded under s. 311.07 this section during the
  765  ensuing fiscal year in the tentative work program developed
  766  pursuant to s. 339.135(4). The total amount of funding to be
  767  allocated to FSTED seaport projects under s. 311.07 during the
  768  successive 4 fiscal years must shall also be included in the
  769  tentative work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4). The
  770  council may submit to the department a list of approved projects
  771  that could be made production-ready within the next 2 years. The
  772  list shall be submitted by the department as part of the needs
  773  and project list prepared pursuant to s. 339.135(2)(b). However,
  774  the department shall, upon written request of the Florida
  775  Seaport Transportation and Economic Development council, submit
  776  work program amendments pursuant to s. 339.135(7) to the
  777  Governor within 10 days after the later of the date the request
  778  is received by the department or the effective date of the
  779  amendment, termination, or closure of the applicable funding
  780  agreement between the department and the affected seaport, as
  781  required to release the funds from the existing commitment.
  782  Notwithstanding s. 339.135(7)(c), any work program amendment to
  783  transfer prior year funds from one approved seaport project to
  784  another seaport project is subject to the procedures in s.
  785  339.135(7)(d). Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  786  contrary, the department may transfer unexpended budget between
  787  the seaport projects as identified in the approved work program
  788  amendments.
  789         (10)(11) The council shall meet at the call of its
  790  chairperson, at the request of a majority of its membership, or
  791  at such times as may be prescribed in its bylaws. However, the
  792  council must meet at least semiannually. A majority of voting
  793  members of the council constitutes a quorum for the purpose of
  794  transacting the business of the council. All members of the
  795  council are voting members. A vote of the majority of the voting
  796  members present is sufficient for any action of the council,
  797  except that a member representing the Department of
  798  Transportation or the Department of Economic Opportunity may
  799  vote to overrule any action of the council approving a project
  800  pursuant to subsection (5). The bylaws of the council may
  801  require a greater vote for a particular action.
  802         (11)(12) Members of the council shall serve without
  803  compensation but are entitled to receive reimbursement for per
  804  diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. The council
  805  may elect to provide an administrative staff to provide services
  806  to the council on matters relating to the FSTED Florida Seaport
  807  Transportation and Economic Development Program and the council.
  808  The cost for such administrative services shall be paid by all
  809  ports that receive funding from the FSTED Florida Seaport
  810  Transportation and Economic Development Program, based upon a
  811  pro rata formula measured by each recipient’s share of the funds
  812  as compared to the total funds disbursed to all recipients
  813  during the year. The share of costs for administrative services
  814  shall be paid in its total amount by the recipient port upon
  815  execution by the port and the Department of Transportation of a
  816  joint participation agreement for each council-approved project,
  817  and such payment is in addition to the matching funds required
  818  to be paid by the recipient port. Except as otherwise exempted
  819  by law, all moneys derived from the FSTED Florida Seaport
  820  Transportation and Economic Development Program shall be
  821  expended in accordance with the provisions of s. 287.057.
  822  Seaports subject to the competitive negotiation requirements of
  823  a local governing body must shall abide by the provisions of s.
  824  287.055.
  825         (12)(13) Until July 1, 2014, Citrus County may apply for a
  826  grant through the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
  827  Development council to perform a feasibility study regarding the
  828  establishment of a port in Citrus County. The council shall
  829  evaluate such application pursuant to subsections (5)-(8) (5)
  830  (9) and, if approved, the Department of Transportation shall
  831  include the feasibility study in its budget request pursuant to
  832  subsection (9) (10). If the study determines that a port in
  833  Citrus County is not feasible, the membership of Port Citrus on
  834  the council shall terminate.
  835         Section 6. Section 311.10, Florida Statutes, is created to
  836  read:
  837         311.10Strategic Port Investment Initiative.—
  838         (1) The Strategic Port Investment Initiative is created
  839  within the Department of Transportation. Beginning in the 2012
  840  2013 fiscal year, a minimum of $35 million per year shall be
  841  made available from the State Transportation Trust Fund to fund
  842  the initiative. The Department of Transportation shall work with
  843  the deepwater ports listed in s. 311.09 to develop and maintain
  844  a priority list of strategic investment projects. Project
  845  selection shall be based on projects that meet the state’s
  846  economic development goal of becoming a hub for trade,
  847  logistics, and export-oriented activities by:
  848         (a) Providing important access and major on-port capacity
  849  improvements;
  850         (b) Providing capital improvements to strategically
  851  position the state to maximize opportunities in international
  852  trade, logistics, or the cruise industry;
  853         (c) Achieving the state goals of an integrated intermodal
  854  transportation system; and
  855         (d) Demonstrating the feasibility and availability of
  856  matching funds through local or private partners.
  857         (2) Before making final project allocations, the Department
  858  of Transportation shall schedule a publicly noticed workshop
  859  with the Department of Economic Opportunity and the deepwater
  860  ports listed in s. 311.09(1) to review the proposed projects.
  861  After considering all comments received, the Department of
  862  Transportation shall finalize a prioritized list of potential
  863  projects.
  864         (3) To the maximum extent feasible, the Department of
  865  Transportation shall include the seaport projects proposed to be
  866  funded under this section in the tentative work program
  867  developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4).
  868         Section 7. Section 311.101, Florida Statutes, is created to
  869  read:
  870         311.101Intermodal Logistics Center Infrastructure Support
  871  Program.—The Intermodal Logistics Center Infrastructure Support
  872  Program is created within the Department of Transportation. The
  873  purpose of the program is to provide funds for roads, rail
  874  facilities, or other means for conveying or shipping goods
  875  through a seaport, thereby enabling the state to respond to
  876  private sector market demands and meet the state’s economic
  877  development goal of becoming a hub for trade, logistics, and
  878  export-oriented activities. The department may provide funds to
  879  assist with local government projects or projects performed by
  880  private entities which meet the public purpose of enhancing
  881  transportation facilities that serve intermodal logistics
  882  centers that facilitate the conveyance or shipment of goods
  883  through a seaport to or from an intermodal logistics center.
  884         (1)For the purposes of this section, “intermodal logistics
  885  center,” including, but not limited to, an “inland port,” means
  886  a facility or group of facilities serving as a point of
  887  intermodal transfer of freight in a specific area physically
  888  separated from a seaport where activities relating to transport,
  889  logistics, goods distribution, consolidation, or value-added
  890  activities are carried out and whose activities and services are
  891  designed to support or be supported by conveyance or shipping
  892  through one or more seaports, listed in s. 311.09.
  893         (2)The department must consider, but is not limited to,
  894  the following criteria when evaluating projects for Intermodal
  895  Logistics Center Infrastructure Support Program assistance:
  896         (a)The ability of the project to serve a strategic state
  897  interest.
  898         (b)The ability of the project to facilitate the cost
  899  effective and efficient movement of goods.
  900         (c)The extent to which the project contributes to economic
  901  activity, including job creation, increased wages, and revenues.
  902         (d)The extent to which the project efficiently interacts
  903  with and supports the transportation network.
  904         (e)A commitment of a funding match.
  905         (f)The amount of investment or commitments made by the
  906  owner or developer of the existing or proposed facility.
  907         (g)The extent to which the owner has commitments,
  908  including memorandums of understanding or memorandums of
  909  agreements, with private sector businesses planning to locate
  910  operations at the intermodal logistics center.
  911         (h) A demonstration of local financial support and
  912  commitment to the project.
  913         (3) The department shall coordinate and consult with the
  914  Department of Economic Opportunity in the selection of projects
  915  to be funded by the program.
  916         (4) The department may administer contracts on behalf of
  917  the entity selected to receive funding for a project.
  918         (5) The department may provide up to 50 percent of project
  919  costs for eligible projects.
  920         (6) Beginning in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, up to $5
  921  million per year shall be made available for the program from
  922  the State Transportation Trust Fund. The department shall
  923  include projects proposed to be funded under this section in the
  924  tentative work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4).
  925         (7) The department may adopt rules to administer this
  926  section.
  927         Section 8. Section 311.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  928  read:
  929         311.14 Seaport planning.—
  930         (1) The Department of Transportation, in coordination with
  931  the ports listed in s. 311.09(1) and other partners, shall
  932  develop a Statewide Seaport and Waterways System Plan. The plan
  933  must be consistent with the goals of the Florida Transportation
  934  Plan developed pursuant to s. 339.155 and must consider the
  935  needs identified in individual port master plans, as well as
  936  those from the seaport strategic plans required under this
  937  section. The plan must identify 5-, 10-, and 20-year needs for
  938  the seaport system and include seaport, waterway, road, and rail
  939  projects that are needed to ensure the success of the
  940  transportation system as a whole in supporting state economic
  941  development goals.
  942         (1) The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
  943  Development Council, in cooperation with the Office of the State
  944  Public Transportation Administrator within the Department of
  945  Transportation, shall develop freight-mobility and trade
  946  corridor plans to assist in making freight-mobility investments
  947  that contribute to the economic growth of the state. Such plans
  948  should enhance the integration and connectivity of the
  949  transportation system across and between transportation modes
  950  throughout Florida for people and freight.
  951         (2) The Office of the State Public Transportation
  952  Administrator shall act to integrate freight-mobility and trade
  953  corridor plans into the Florida Transportation Plan developed
  954  pursuant to s. 339.155 and into the plans and programs of
  955  metropolitan planning organizations as provided in s. 339.175.
  956  The office may also provide assistance in expediting the
  957  transportation permitting process relating to the construction
  958  of seaport freight-mobility projects located outside the
  959  physical borders of seaports. The Department of Transportation
  960  may contract, as provided in s. 334.044, with any port listed in
  961  s. 311.09(1) or any such other statutorily authorized seaport
  962  entity to act as an agent in the construction of seaport
  963  freight-mobility projects.
  964         (2)(3) Each port shall develop a strategic plan that has
  965  with a 10-year horizon. Each plan must include the following:
  966         (a) An economic development component that identifies
  967  targeted business opportunities for increasing business and
  968  attracting new business for which a particular facility has a
  969  strategic advantage over its competitors, identifies financial
  970  resources and other inducements to encourage growth of existing
  971  business and acquisition of new business, and provides a
  972  projected schedule for attainment of the plan’s goals.
  973         (b) An infrastructure development and improvement component
  974  that identifies all projected infrastructure improvements within
  975  the plan area which require improvement, expansion, or
  976  development in order for a port to attain a strategic
  977  competitive advantage over for competition with national and
  978  international competitors.
  979         (c) A component that identifies all intermodal
  980  transportation facilities, including sea, air, rail, or road
  981  facilities, which are available or have potential, with
  982  improvements, to be available for necessary national and
  983  international commercial linkages and provides a plan for the
  984  integration of port, airport, and railroad activities with
  985  existing and planned transportation infrastructure.
  986         (d) A component that identifies physical, environmental,
  987  and regulatory barriers to the achievement of the plan’s goals
  988  and provides recommendations for overcoming those barriers.
  989         (e) An intergovernmental coordination component that
  990  specifies modes and methods to coordinate plan goals and
  991  missions with the missions of the Department of Transportation,
  992  other state agencies, and affected local, general-purpose
  993  governments.
  994  
  995  To the extent feasible, the port strategic plan must be
  996  consistent with the local government comprehensive plans of the
  997  units of local government in which the port is located.
  998         (3) Upon approval of a plan by the port’s board, the plan
  999  shall be submitted to the Florida Seaport Transportation and
 1000  Economic Development Council.
 1001         (4) The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
 1002  Development Council shall review the strategic plans submitted
 1003  by each port and prioritize strategic needs for inclusion in the
 1004  Florida Seaport Mission Plan prepared pursuant to s. 311.09(3).
 1005         Section 9. Subsection (2) of section 311.22, Florida
 1006  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1007         311.22 Additional authorization for funding certain
 1008  dredging projects.—
 1009         (2) The council shall adopt rules for evaluating the
 1010  projects that may be funded pursuant to this section. The rules
 1011  must provide criteria for evaluating the economic benefit of the
 1012  project. The rules must include the creation of an
 1013  administrative review process by the council which is similar to
 1014  the process described in s. 311.09(5)-(11) 311.09(5)-(12), and
 1015  provide for a review by the Department of Transportation and the
 1016  Department of Economic Opportunity of all projects submitted for
 1017  funding under this section.
 1018         Section 10. Subsection (21) of section 316.003, Florida
 1019  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1020         316.003 Definitions.—The following words and phrases, when
 1021  used in this chapter, shall have the meanings respectively
 1022  ascribed to them in this section, except where the context
 1023  otherwise requires:
 1024         (21) MOTOR VEHICLE.—Any self-propelled vehicle not operated
 1025  upon rails or guideway, but not including any bicycle, motorized
 1026  scooter, electric personal assistive mobility device, or moped.
 1027  However, as used in s. 316.1001, the term “motor vehicle” has
 1028  the same meaning as provided in s. 320.01.
 1029         Section 11. Subsections (1) through (4) of section 316.091,
 1030  Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsection (5) of that
 1031  section is renumbered as subsection (7), and new subsections (5)
 1032  and (6) are added to that section, to read:
 1033         316.091 Limited access facilities; interstate highways; use
 1034  restricted.—
 1035         (1) A No person may not shall drive a vehicle onto or from
 1036  any limited access roadway except at such entrances and exits as
 1037  are established by public authority.
 1038         (2) Except as provided herein, a no person may not shall
 1039  operate upon a limited access facility a any bicycle, motor
 1040  driven cycle, animal-drawn vehicle, or any other vehicle that,
 1041  which by its design or condition, is incompatible with the safe
 1042  and expedient movement of traffic.
 1043         (3) A No person may not shall ride an any animal on upon
 1044  any portion of a limited access facility.
 1045         (4) A No person may not shall operate a bicycle or other
 1046  human-powered vehicle on the roadway or along the shoulder of a
 1047  limited access highway, including bridges, unless official signs
 1048  and a designated marked bicycle lane are present at the entrance
 1049  of the section of highway indicating that such use is permitted
 1050  pursuant to a pilot program of the Department of Transportation
 1051  an interstate highway.
 1052         (5) The Department of Transportation and expressway
 1053  authorities may designate the use of shoulders of limited access
 1054  facilities and interstate highways under their jurisdiction for
 1055  vehicular traffic determined to improve safety, reliability, and
 1056  transportation system efficiency. Appropriate traffic signs or
 1057  dynamic lane control signals shall be erected along the affected
 1058  portions of the facility or highway in order to give notice to
 1059  the public of the action to be taken and to clearly indicate
 1060  when the shoulder is open to designated vehicular traffic. Such
 1061  designation is not allowed if it would violate any federal law
 1062  or covenant established in a resolution or trust indenture
 1063  relating to the issuance of turnpike bonds, expressway authority
 1064  bonds, or other bonds.
 1065         (6) The Department of Transportation shall establish a 2
 1066  year pilot program in three urban areas in which it shall erect
 1067  signs and designate marked bicycle lanes indicating highway
 1068  approaches and bridge segments of limited access highways as
 1069  open to use by operators of bicycles and other human-powered
 1070  vehicles, under the following conditions:
 1071         (a) The limited access highway approaches and bridge
 1072  segments chosen must cross a river, lake, bay, inlet, or surface
 1073  water where no street or highway crossing the water body is
 1074  available for use within 2 miles of the entrance to the limited
 1075  access facility as measured along the shortest public right-of
 1076  way.
 1077         (b) The department, with the concurrence of the Federal
 1078  Highway Administration if interstate facilities are involved,
 1079  shall establish the three highway approaches and bridge segments
 1080  for the pilot project by October 1, 2012. In selecting the
 1081  highway approaches and bridge segments, the department shall
 1082  consider, without limitation, the minimum acceptable population
 1083  size in the urban area within 5 miles of the highway approach
 1084  and bridge segment, the lack of bicycle access by other means,
 1085  cost, safety, and operational impacts.
 1086         (c) The department shall begin the pilot program by
 1087  erecting signs and designating marked bicycle lanes indicating
 1088  highway approaches and bridge segments of limited access
 1089  highways, as qualified by the conditions described in this
 1090  subsection, as open to use by operators of bicycles and other
 1091  human-powered vehicles by March 1, 2013.
 1092         (d) The department shall conduct the pilot program for a
 1093  minimum of 2 years following the implementation date.
 1094         (e) The department shall submit a report of its findings
 1095  and recommendations from the pilot program to the Governor, the
 1096  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
 1097  Representatives by September 1, 2015. The report, at a minimum,
 1098  must include data on bicycle crashes occurring in the designated
 1099  segments of the pilot program, usage by operators of bicycles
 1100  and other human-powered vehicles, enforcement issues,
 1101  operational impacts, and the cost of the pilot program.
 1102         Section 12. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
 1103  316.1001, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 1104         316.1001 Payment of toll on toll facilities required;
 1105  penalties.—
 1106         (2)
 1107         (b) A citation issued under this subsection must may be
 1108  issued by mailing the citation by certified first-class mail,
 1109  return receipt requested, to the address of the registered owner
 1110  of the motor vehicle involved in the violation. Delivery Receipt
 1111  of the citation constitutes notification. In the case of joint
 1112  ownership of a motor vehicle, the traffic citation must be
 1113  mailed to the first name appearing on the registration, unless
 1114  the first name appearing on the registration is a business
 1115  organization, in which case the second name appearing on the
 1116  registration may be used. A citation issued under this paragraph
 1117  must be mailed to the registered owner of the motor vehicle
 1118  involved in the violation within 14 days after the date of
 1119  issuance of the citation. In addition to the citation,
 1120  notification must be sent to the registered owner of the motor
 1121  vehicle involved in the violation specifying remedies available
 1122  under ss. 318.14(12) and 318.18(7).
 1123         Section 13. Section 316.2122, Florida Statutes, is amended
 1124  to read:
 1125         316.2122 Operation of a low-speed vehicle or mini truck on
 1126  certain roadways.—The operation of A low-speed vehicle as
 1127  defined in s. 320.01(42) or a mini truck as defined in s.
 1128  320.01(45) may operate on any road as defined in s. 334.03(15)
 1129  or (33) is authorized with the following restrictions:
 1130         (1) A low-speed vehicle or mini truck may be operated only
 1131  on streets where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or
 1132  less. This does not prohibit a low-speed vehicle or mini truck
 1133  from crossing a road or street at an intersection where the road
 1134  or street has a posted speed limit of more than 35 miles per
 1135  hour.
 1136         (2) A low-speed vehicle must be equipped with headlamps,
 1137  stop lamps, turn signal lamps, taillamps, reflex reflectors,
 1138  parking brakes, rearview mirrors, windshields, seat belts, and
 1139  vehicle identification numbers.
 1140         (3) A low-speed vehicle or mini truck must be registered
 1141  and insured in accordance with s. 320.02 and titled pursuant to
 1142  chapter 319.
 1143         (4) Any person operating a low-speed vehicle or mini truck
 1144  must have in his or her possession a valid driver’s license in
 1145  his or her possession.
 1146         (5) A county or municipality may prohibit the operation of
 1147  low-speed vehicles or mini trucks on any road under its
 1148  jurisdiction if the governing body of the county or municipality
 1149  determines that such prohibition is necessary in the interest of
 1150  safety.
 1151         (6) The Department of Transportation may prohibit the
 1152  operation of low-speed vehicles or mini trucks on any road under
 1153  its jurisdiction if it determines that such prohibition is
 1154  necessary in the interest of safety.
 1155         Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and paragraphs
 1156  (a) and (c) of subsection (5) of section 316.515, Florida
 1157  Statutes, are amended to read:
 1158         316.515 Maximum width, height, length.—
 1159         (3) LENGTH LIMITATION.—Except as otherwise provided in this
 1160  section, length limitations apply solely to a semitrailer or
 1161  trailer, and not to a truck tractor or to the overall length of
 1162  a combination of vehicles. No combination of commercial motor
 1163  vehicles coupled together and operating on the public roads may
 1164  consist of more than one truck tractor and two trailing units.
 1165  Unless otherwise specifically provided for in this section, a
 1166  combination of vehicles not qualifying as commercial motor
 1167  vehicles may consist of no more than two units coupled together;
 1168  such nonqualifying combination of vehicles may not exceed a
 1169  total length of 65 feet, inclusive of the load carried thereon,
 1170  but exclusive of safety and energy conservation devices approved
 1171  by the department for use on vehicles using public roads.
 1172  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a truck
 1173  tractor-semitrailer combination engaged in the transportation of
 1174  automobiles or boats may transport motor vehicles or boats on
 1175  part of the power unit; and, except as may otherwise be mandated
 1176  under federal law, an automobile or boat transporter semitrailer
 1177  may not exceed 50 feet in length, exclusive of the load;
 1178  however, the load may extend up to an additional 6 feet beyond
 1179  the rear of the trailer. The 50-feet length limitation does not
 1180  apply to non-stinger-steered automobile or boat transporters
 1181  that are 65 feet or less in overall length, exclusive of the
 1182  load carried thereon, or to stinger-steered automobile or boat
 1183  transporters that are 75 feet or less in overall length,
 1184  exclusive of the load carried thereon. For purposes of this
 1185  subsection, a “stinger-steered automobile or boat transporter”
 1186  is an automobile or boat transporter configured as a semitrailer
 1187  combination wherein the fifth wheel is located on a drop frame
 1188  located behind and below the rearmost axle of the power unit.
 1189  Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), any straight truck or
 1190  truck tractor-semitrailer combination engaged in the
 1191  transportation of horticultural trees may allow the load to
 1192  extend up to an additional 10 feet beyond the rear of the
 1193  vehicle, provided said trees are resting against a retaining bar
 1194  mounted above the truck bed so that the root balls of the trees
 1195  rest on the floor and to the front of the truck bed and the tops
 1196  of the trees extend up over and to the rear of the truck bed,
 1197  and provided the overhanging portion of the load is covered with
 1198  protective fabric.
 1199         (a) Straight trucks.A No straight truck may not exceed a
 1200  length of 40 feet in extreme overall dimension, exclusive of
 1201  safety and energy conservation devices approved by the
 1202  department for use on vehicles using public roads. A straight
 1203  truck may tow no more than one trailer, and the overall length
 1204  of the truck-trailer combination may not exceed 68 feet such
 1205  trailer may not exceed a length of 28 feet. However, such
 1206  trailer limitation does not apply if the overall length of the
 1207  truck-trailer combination is 65 feet or less, including the load
 1208  thereon. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a
 1209  truck-trailer combination engaged in the transportation of
 1210  boats, or boat trailers whose design dictates a front-to-rear
 1211  stacking method may shall not exceed the length limitations of
 1212  this paragraph exclusive of the load; however, the load may
 1213  extend up to an additional 6 feet beyond the rear of the
 1214  trailer.
 1215         (5) IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY AND FARM EQUIPMENT;
 1216  AGRICULTURAL TRAILERS; FORESTRY EQUIPMENT; SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—
 1217         (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, straight
 1218  trucks, agricultural tractors, citrus fruit loaders, citrus
 1219  harvesting equipment, and cotton module movers, not exceeding 50
 1220  feet in length, or any combination of up to and including three
 1221  implements of husbandry, including the towing power unit, and
 1222  any single agricultural trailer that has with a load thereon or
 1223  any agricultural implements attached to a towing power unit, or
 1224  a self-propelled agricultural implement or an agricultural
 1225  tractor, may transport is authorized for the purpose of
 1226  transporting peanuts, grains, soybeans, citrus, cotton, hay,
 1227  straw, or other perishable farm products from their point of
 1228  production to the first point of change of custody or of long
 1229  term storage, and return for the purpose of returning to such
 1230  point of production, or move for the purpose of moving such
 1231  tractors, movers, and implements from one point of agricultural
 1232  production to another, by a person engaged in the production of
 1233  any such product or custom hauler, if such vehicle or
 1234  combination of vehicles otherwise complies with this section.
 1235  The Department of Transportation may issue overlength permits
 1236  for cotton module movers greater than 50 feet but not more than
 1237  55 feet in overall length. Such vehicles must shall be operated
 1238  in accordance with all safety requirements prescribed by law and
 1239  rules of the Department of Transportation.
 1240         (c) The width and height limitations of this section do not
 1241  apply to farming or agricultural equipment, whether self
 1242  propelled, pulled, or hauled, if when temporarily operated
 1243  during daylight hours upon a public road that is not a limited
 1244  access facility as defined in s. 334.03(13), and the width and
 1245  height limitations may be exceeded by such equipment without a
 1246  permit. To be eligible for this exemption, the equipment must
 1247  shall be operated within a radius of 50 miles of the real
 1248  property owned, rented, or leased by the equipment owner.
 1249  However, equipment being delivered by a dealer to a purchaser is
 1250  not subject to the 50-mile limitation. Farming or agricultural
 1251  equipment greater than 174 inches in width must have one warning
 1252  lamp mounted on each side of the equipment to denote the width
 1253  and must have a slow-moving vehicle sign. Warning lamps required
 1254  by this paragraph must be visible from the front and rear of the
 1255  vehicle and must be visible from a distance of at least 1,000
 1256  feet.
 1257         Section 15. Section 318.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
 1258  read:
 1259         318.12 Purpose.—It is the legislative intent In the
 1260  adoption of this chapter, it is the Legislature’s intent to
 1261  decriminalize certain violations of chapter 316, the Florida
 1262  Uniform Traffic Control Law; chapter 320, Motor Vehicle
 1263  Licenses; chapter 322, Drivers’ Licenses; chapter 338, Limited
 1264  Access Florida Intrastate Highway System and Toll Facilities;
 1265  and chapter 1006, Support of Learning, thereby facilitating the
 1266  implementation of a more uniform and expeditious system for the
 1267  disposition of traffic infractions.
 1268         Section 16. Subsection (42) of section 320.01, Florida
 1269  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1270         320.01 Definitions, general.—As used in the Florida
 1271  Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term:
 1272         (42) “Low-speed vehicle” means any four-wheeled electric
 1273  vehicle whose top speed is greater than 20 miles per hour but
 1274  not greater than 25 miles per hour, including, but not limited
 1275  to, neighborhood electric vehicles. Low-speed vehicles must
 1276  comply with the safety standards in 49 C.F.R. s. 571.500 and s.
 1277  316.2122.
 1278         Section 17. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 320.20,
 1279  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 1280         320.20 Disposition of license tax moneys.—The revenue
 1281  derived from the registration of motor vehicles, including any
 1282  delinquent fees and excluding those revenues collected and
 1283  distributed under the provisions of s. 320.081, must be
 1284  distributed monthly, as collected, as follows:
 1285         (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law except
 1286  subsections (1) and (2), on July 1, 1996, and annually
 1287  thereafter, $15 million shall be deposited annually into in the
 1288  State Transportation Trust Fund solely for the purposes of
 1289  funding the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
 1290  Development Program as provided for in chapter 311. Such
 1291  revenues shall be distributed on a 50-50 matching basis to any
 1292  port listed in s. 311.09(1) to be used for funding projects as
 1293  described in s. 311.07(3)(b). Such revenues may be assigned,
 1294  pledged, or set aside as a trust for the payment of principal or
 1295  interest on bonds, tax anticipation certificates, or any other
 1296  form of indebtedness issued by an individual port or appropriate
 1297  local government having jurisdiction thereof, or collectively by
 1298  interlocal agreement among any of the ports, or used to purchase
 1299  credit support to permit such borrowings. However, such debt is
 1300  shall not constitute a general obligation of the state of
 1301  Florida. The state covenants does hereby covenant with holders
 1302  of such revenue bonds or other instruments of indebtedness
 1303  issued hereunder that it will not repeal or impair or amend in
 1304  any manner that which will materially and adversely affect the
 1305  rights of such holders so long as bonds authorized by this
 1306  section are outstanding. Any revenues that which are not pledged
 1307  to the repayment of bonds as authorized by this section may be
 1308  used utilized for purposes authorized under the Florida Seaport
 1309  Transportation and Economic Development Program. This revenue
 1310  source is in addition to any amounts provided for and
 1311  appropriated in accordance with s. 311.07. The Florida Seaport
 1312  Transportation and Economic Development Council shall approve
 1313  the distribution of funds to ports for projects that which have
 1314  been approved pursuant to s. 311.09(5)-(8) 311.09(5)-(9). The
 1315  council and the Department of Transportation may are authorized
 1316  to perform such acts as are required to facilitate and implement
 1317  the provisions of this subsection. To better enable the ports to
 1318  cooperate to their mutual advantage, the governing body of each
 1319  port may exercise powers provided to municipalities or counties
 1320  in s. 163.01(7)(d) subject to the provisions of chapter 311 and
 1321  special acts, if any, pertaining to a port. The use of funds
 1322  provided pursuant to this subsection are limited to eligible
 1323  projects listed in this subsection. Income derived from a
 1324  project completed with the use of program funds, beyond
 1325  operating costs and debt service, is shall be restricted solely
 1326  to further port capital improvements consistent with maritime
 1327  purposes and for no other purpose. Use of such income for
 1328  nonmaritime purposes is prohibited. The provisions of s.
 1329  311.07(4) do not apply to any funds received pursuant to this
 1330  subsection. The revenues available under this subsection may
 1331  shall not be pledged to the payment of any bonds other than the
 1332  Florida Ports Financing Commission Series 1996 and Series 1999
 1333  Bonds currently outstanding; provided, however, such revenues
 1334  may be pledged to secure payment of refunding bonds to refinance
 1335  the Florida Ports Financing Commission Series 1996 and Series
 1336  1999 Bonds. No Refunding bonds secured by revenues available
 1337  under this subsection may not be issued with a final maturity
 1338  later than the final maturity of the Florida Ports Financing
 1339  Commission Series 1996 and Series 1999 Bonds or which provide
 1340  for higher debt service in any year than is currently payable on
 1341  such bonds. Any revenue bonds or other indebtedness issued after
 1342  July 1, 2000, other than refunding bonds shall be issued by the
 1343  Division of Bond Finance at the request of the Department of
 1344  Transportation pursuant to the State Bond Act.
 1345         (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law except
 1346  subsections (1), (2), and (3), on July 1, 1999, and annually
 1347  thereafter, $10 million shall be deposited annually into in the
 1348  State Transportation Trust Fund solely for the purposes of
 1349  funding the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
 1350  Development Program as provided in chapter 311 and for funding
 1351  seaport intermodal access projects of statewide significance as
 1352  provided in s. 341.053. Such revenues shall be distributed to
 1353  any port listed in s. 311.09(1), to be used for funding projects
 1354  as follows:
 1355         (a) For any seaport intermodal access projects that are
 1356  identified in the 1997-1998 Tentative Work Program of the
 1357  Department of Transportation, up to the amounts needed to offset
 1358  the funding requirements of this section.
 1359         (b) For seaport intermodal access projects as described in
 1360  s. 341.053(5) which that are identified in the 5-year Florida
 1361  Seaport Mission Plan as provided in s. 311.09(3). Funding for
 1362  such projects shall be on a matching basis as mutually
 1363  determined by the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic
 1364  Development Council and the Department of Transportation if,
 1365  provided a minimum of 25 percent of total project funds shall
 1366  come from any port funds, local funds, private funds, or
 1367  specifically earmarked federal funds.
 1368         (c) On a 50-50 matching basis for projects as described in
 1369  s. 311.07(3)(b).
 1370         (d) For seaport intermodal access projects that involve the
 1371  dredging or deepening of channels, turning basins, or harbors;
 1372  or the rehabilitation of wharves, docks, or similar structures.
 1373  Funding for such projects requires shall require a 25 percent
 1374  match of the funds received pursuant to this subsection.
 1375  Matching funds must shall come from any port funds, federal
 1376  funds, local funds, or private funds.
 1377  
 1378  Such revenues may be assigned, pledged, or set aside as a trust
 1379  for the payment of principal or interest on bonds, tax
 1380  anticipation certificates, or any other form of indebtedness
 1381  issued by an individual port or appropriate local government
 1382  having jurisdiction thereof, or collectively by interlocal
 1383  agreement among any of the ports, or used to purchase credit
 1384  support to permit such borrowings. However, such debt is shall
 1385  not constitute a general obligation of the state. This state
 1386  covenants does hereby covenant with holders of such revenue
 1387  bonds or other instruments of indebtedness issued hereunder that
 1388  it will not repeal or impair or amend this subsection in any
 1389  manner that which will materially and adversely affect the
 1390  rights of holders so long as bonds authorized by this subsection
 1391  are outstanding. Any revenues that are not pledged to the
 1392  repayment of bonds as authorized by this section may be used
 1393  utilized for purposes authorized under the Florida Seaport
 1394  Transportation and Economic Development Program. This revenue
 1395  source is in addition to any amounts provided for and
 1396  appropriated in accordance with s. 311.07 and subsection (3).
 1397  The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development
 1398  Council shall approve distribution of funds to ports for
 1399  projects that have been approved pursuant to s. 311.09(5)-(8)
 1400  311.09(5)-(9), or for seaport intermodal access projects
 1401  identified in the 5-year Florida Seaport Mission Plan as
 1402  provided in s. 311.09(3) and mutually agreed upon by the FSTED
 1403  Council and the Department of Transportation. All contracts for
 1404  actual construction of projects authorized by this subsection
 1405  must include a provision encouraging employment of participants
 1406  in the welfare transition program. The goal for such employment
 1407  of participants in the welfare transition program is 25 percent
 1408  of all new employees employed specifically for the project,
 1409  unless the Department of Transportation and the Florida Seaport
 1410  Transportation and Economic Development Council demonstrate that
 1411  such a requirement would severely hamper the successful
 1412  completion of the project. In such an instance, Workforce
 1413  Florida, Inc., shall establish an appropriate percentage of
 1414  employees who are that must be participants in the welfare
 1415  transition program. The council and the Department of
 1416  Transportation may are authorized to perform such acts as are
 1417  required to facilitate and implement the provisions of this
 1418  subsection. To better enable the ports to cooperate to their
 1419  mutual advantage, the governing body of each port may exercise
 1420  powers provided to municipalities or counties in s. 163.01(7)(d)
 1421  subject to the provisions of chapter 311 and special acts, if
 1422  any, pertaining to a port. The use of funds provided pursuant to
 1423  this subsection is limited to eligible projects listed in this
 1424  subsection. The provisions of s. 311.07(4) do not apply to any
 1425  funds received pursuant to this subsection. The revenues
 1426  available under this subsection may shall not be pledged to the
 1427  payment of any bonds other than the Florida Ports Financing
 1428  Commission Series 1996 and Series 1999 Bonds currently
 1429  outstanding; provided, however, such revenues may be pledged to
 1430  secure payment of refunding bonds to refinance the Florida Ports
 1431  Financing Commission Series 1996 and Series 1999 Bonds. No
 1432  Refunding bonds secured by revenues available under this
 1433  subsection may not be issued with a final maturity later than
 1434  the final maturity of the Florida Ports Financing Commission
 1435  Series 1996 and Series 1999 Bonds or which provide for higher
 1436  debt service in any year than is currently payable on such
 1437  bonds. Any revenue bonds or other indebtedness issued after July
 1438  1, 2000, other than refunding bonds shall be issued by the
 1439  Division of Bond Finance at the request of the Department of
 1440  Transportation pursuant to the State Bond Act.
 1441         Section 18. Subsection (6) is added to section 332.08,
 1442  Florida Statutes, to read:
 1443         332.08 Additional powers.—In addition to the general powers
 1444  in ss. 332.01-332.12 conferred and without limitation thereof, a
 1445  municipality which has established or may hereafter establish
 1446  airports, restricted landing areas, or other air navigation
 1447  facilities, or which has acquired or set apart or may hereafter
 1448  acquire or set apart real property for such purposes, is hereby
 1449  authorized:
 1450         (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, and if
 1451  participating in the Federal Aviation Administration’s pilot
 1452  program on the private ownership of airports pursuant to 49
 1453  U.S.C. s. 47134, to lease or sell an airport or other air
 1454  navigation facility or real property, together with improvements
 1455  and equipment, acquired or set apart for airport purposes to a
 1456  private party under the terms and conditions negotiated by the
 1457  municipality. If state funds were provided to the municipality
 1458  pursuant to s. 332.007, the municipality must obtain the
 1459  Department of Transportation’s approval of the agreement. The
 1460  department may approve the agreement if it determines that the
 1461  state’s investment has been adequately considered and protected
 1462  in accordance with the applicable conditions specified in 49
 1463  U.S.C. s. 47134.
 1464         Section 19. Subsections (10), (12), (25), and (38) of
 1465  section 334.03, Florida Statutes, are reordered and amended to
 1466  read:
 1467         334.03 Definitions.—When used in the Florida Transportation
 1468  Code, the term:
 1469         (10) “Florida Intrastate Highway System” means a system of
 1470  limited access and controlled access facilities on the State
 1471  Highway System which have the capacity to provide high-speed and
 1472  high-volume traffic movements in an efficient and safe manner.
 1473         (10)(11) “Functional classification” means the assignment
 1474  of roads into systems according to the character of service they
 1475  provide in relation to the total road network using procedures
 1476  developed by the Federal Highway Administration. Basic
 1477  functional categories include arterial roads, collector roads,
 1478  and local roads which may be subdivided into principal, major,
 1479  or minor levels. Those levels may be additionally divided into
 1480  rural and urban categories.
 1481         (11)(12) “Governmental entity” means a unit of government,
 1482  or an any officially designated public agency or authority of a
 1483  unit of government, which that has the responsibility for
 1484  planning, construction, operation, or maintenance or
 1485  jurisdiction over transportation facilities.; The term includes
 1486  the Federal Government, the state government, a county, an
 1487  incorporated municipality, a metropolitan planning organization,
 1488  an expressway or transportation authority, a road and bridge
 1489  district, a special road and bridge district, and a regional
 1490  governmental unit.
 1491         (25) “State Highway System” means the following, which
 1492  shall be facilities to which access is regulated:
 1493         (a) the interstate system and all other roads within the
 1494  state which were under the jurisdiction of the state on June 10,
 1495  1995, and roads constructed by an agency of the state for the
 1496  State Highway System, plus roads transferred to the state’s
 1497  jurisdiction after that date by mutual consent with another
 1498  governmental entity. Roads transferred from the state’s
 1499  jurisdiction are not included. Access to State Highway System
 1500  facilities shall be regulated;
 1501         (b) All rural arterial routes and their extensions into and
 1502  through urban areas;
 1503         (c) All urban principal arterial routes; and
 1504         (d) The urban minor arterial mileage on the existing State
 1505  Highway System as of July 1, 1987, plus additional mileage to
 1506  comply with the 2-percent requirement as described below.
 1507  
 1508  However, not less than 2 percent of the public road mileage of
 1509  each urbanized area on record as of June 30, 1986, shall be
 1510  included as minor arterials in the State Highway System.
 1511  Urbanized areas not meeting the foregoing minimum requirement
 1512  shall have transferred to the State Highway System additional
 1513  minor arterials of the highest significance in which case the
 1514  total minor arterials in the State Highway System from any
 1515  urbanized area shall not exceed 2.5 percent of that area’s total
 1516  public urban road mileage.
 1517         (12)(38) “Interactive voice response” means a software
 1518  application that accepts a combination of voice telephone input
 1519  and touch-tone keypad selection and provides appropriate
 1520  responses in the form of voice, fax, callback, e-mail, and other
 1521  media.
 1522         Section 20. Subsections (11), (13), and (26) of section
 1523  334.044, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (33) is
 1524  added to that section, to read:
 1525         334.044 Department; powers and duties.—The department shall
 1526  have the following general powers and duties:
 1527         (11) To establish a numbering system for public roads and,
 1528  to functionally classify such roads, and to assign
 1529  jurisdictional responsibility.
 1530         (13) To designate existing and to plan proposed
 1531  transportation facilities as part of the State Highway System,
 1532  and to construct, maintain, and operate such facilities.
 1533         (26) To provide for the enhancement of environmental
 1534  benefits, including air and water quality; to prevent roadside
 1535  erosion; to conserve the natural roadside growth and scenery;
 1536  and to provide for the implementation and maintenance of
 1537  roadside conservation, enhancement, and stabilization programs.
 1538  No less than 1.5 percent of the amount contracted for
 1539  construction projects that add capacity or provide significant
 1540  enhancements to the existing system shall be allocated by the
 1541  department for the purchase of plant materials. Department
 1542  districts may not expend funds for landscaping in connection
 1543  with any project that is limited to resurfacing existing lanes
 1544  unless such expenditure has been approved by the department’s
 1545  secretary or designee., with, To the greatest extent practical,
 1546  a minimum of 50 percent of the these funds allocated under this
 1547  subsection shall be allocated for large plant materials and the
 1548  remaining funds for other plant materials. All such plant
 1549  materials shall be purchased from Florida commercial nursery
 1550  stock in this state on a uniform competitive bid basis. The
 1551  department shall will develop grades and standards for
 1552  landscaping materials purchased through this process. To
 1553  accomplish these activities, the department may contract with
 1554  nonprofit organizations having the primary purpose of developing
 1555  youth employment opportunities.
 1556         (33) To develop, in coordination with its partners and
 1557  stakeholders, a Freight Mobility and Trade Plan to assist in
 1558  making freight mobility investments that contribute to the
 1559  economic growth of the state. Such plan should enhance the
 1560  integration and connectivity of the transportation system across
 1561  and between transportation modes throughout the state. The
 1562  department shall deliver the Freight Mobility and Trade Plan to
 1563  the Governor and Legislature by July 1, 2013. Freight issues and
 1564  needs shall also be given emphasis in all appropriate
 1565  transportation plans, including the Florida Transportation Plan
 1566  and the Strategic Intermodal System Plan.
 1567         Section 21. Section 334.047, Florida Statutes, is amended
 1568  to read:
 1569         334.047 Prohibition.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
 1570  law to the contrary, the Department of Transportation may not
 1571  establish a cap on the number of miles in the State Highway
 1572  System or a maximum number of miles of urban principal arterial
 1573  roads, as defined in s. 334.03, within a district or county.
 1574         Section 22. Subsection (3) of section 335.02, Florida
 1575  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1576         335.02 Authority to designate transportation facilities and
 1577  rights-of-way and establish lanes; procedure for redesignation
 1578  and relocation; application of local regulations.—
 1579         (3) The department may establish standards for lanes on the
 1580  State Highway System, including the Strategic Intermodal System
 1581  highway corridors Florida Intrastate Highway System established
 1582  pursuant to s. 339.65 338.001. In determining the number of
 1583  lanes for any regional corridor or section of highway on the
 1584  State Highway System to be funded by the department with state
 1585  or federal funds, the department shall evaluate all alternatives
 1586  and seek to achieve the highest degree of efficient mobility for
 1587  corridor users. In conducting the analysis, the department must
 1588  give consideration to the following factors consistent with
 1589  sound engineering principles:
 1590         (a) Overall economic importance of the corridor as a trade
 1591  or tourism corridor.
 1592         (b) Safety of corridor users, including the importance of
 1593  the corridor for evacuation purposes.
 1594         (c) Cost-effectiveness of alternative methods of increasing
 1595  the mobility of corridor users.
 1596         (d) Current and projected traffic volumes on the corridor.
 1597         (e) Multimodal alternatives.
 1598         (f) Use of intelligent transportation technology in
 1599  increasing the efficiency of the corridor.
 1600         (g) Compliance with state and federal policies related to
 1601  clean air, environmental impacts, growth management, livable
 1602  communities, and energy conservation.
 1603         (h) Addition of special use lanes, such as exclusive truck
 1604  lanes, high-occupancy-vehicle toll lanes, and exclusive
 1605  interregional traffic lanes.
 1606         (i) Availability and cost of rights-of-way, including
 1607  associated costs, and the most effective use of existing rights
 1608  of-way.
 1609         (j) Regional economic and transportation objectives, if
 1610  where articulated.
 1611         (k) The future land use plan element of local government
 1612  comprehensive plans, as appropriate, including designated urban
 1613  infill and redevelopment areas.
 1614         (l) The traffic circulation element, if applicable, of
 1615  local government comprehensive plans, including designated
 1616  transportation corridors and public transportation corridors.
 1617         (m) The approved metropolitan planning organization’s long
 1618  range transportation plan, as appropriate.
 1619  
 1620  This subsection does not preclude more than a number of lanes in
 1621  excess of 10 lanes, but in such case an additional factor that
 1622  must be considered before the department must consider may
 1623  determine that the number of lanes should be more than 10 is the
 1624  future capacity to accommodate in the future alternative forms
 1625  of transportation within existing or potential rights-of-way.
 1626         Section 23. Subsection (5) is added to section 335.074,
 1627  Florida Statutes, to read:
 1628         335.074 Safety inspection of bridges.—
 1629         (5) Upon receipt of an inspection report that recommends
 1630  limiting the weight, size, or speed limit on a bridge, the
 1631  governmental entity having maintenance responsibility for the
 1632  bridge must reduce the maximum limits in accordance with the
 1633  inspection report and post the limits in accordance with s.
 1634  316.555. Within 30 days after receipt of an inspection report
 1635  recommending lower limits, the governmental entity must notify
 1636  the department that the limitations have been implemented and
 1637  posted accordingly. If the required actions are not taken within
 1638  the 30 days, the department shall post the limits on the bridge
 1639  in accordance with the recommendations in the report. All costs
 1640  incurred by the department in connection with providing notice
 1641  of the bridge’s limitations or restrictions shall be assessed
 1642  against and collected from the governmental entity having
 1643  maintenance responsibility for the bridge. If an inspection
 1644  report recommends closure of a bridge, the bridge must be
 1645  immediately closed. If the governmental entity does not
 1646  immediately close the bridge, the department shall close the
 1647  bridge. All costs incurred by the department in connection with
 1648  the bridge closure shall be assessed against and collected from
 1649  the governmental entity having maintenance responsibility for
 1650  the bridge. Nothing herein shall be construed as altering
 1651  existing jurisdictional responsibilities for the operation and
 1652  maintenance of bridges.
 1653         Section 24. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 335.17,
 1654  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 1655         335.17 State highway construction; means of noise
 1656  abatement.—
 1657         (1) The department shall make use of noise-control methods
 1658  as part of highway construction projects that involve new
 1659  location or capacity expansion in the construction of all new
 1660  state highways, with particular emphasis on those highways
 1661  located in or near urban-residential developments that which
 1662  abut the such highway rights-of-way.
 1663         (2) All highway projects by the department, regardless of
 1664  funding source, shall be developed in conformity with federal
 1665  standards for noise abatement as contained in 23 C.F.R. 772 as
 1666  such regulations existed on July 13, 2011 March 1, 1989. The
 1667  department shall, At a minimum, the department must comply with
 1668  federal requirements in the following areas:
 1669         (a) Analysis of traffic noise impacts and abatement
 1670  measures;
 1671         (b) Noise abatement;
 1672         (c) Information for local officials;
 1673         (d) Traffic noise prediction; and
 1674         (e) Construction noise.
 1675         Section 25. Subsection (5) of section 336.021, Florida
 1676  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1677         336.021 County transportation system; levy of ninth-cent
 1678  fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel.—
 1679         (5) All impositions of the tax shall be levied before
 1680  October July 1 of each year to be effective January 1 of the
 1681  following year. However, levies of the tax which were in effect
 1682  on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any year may
 1683  be reimposed at the current authorized rate to be effective
 1684  September 1 of the year of expiration. All impositions must
 1685  shall be required to end on December 31 of a year. A decision to
 1686  rescind the tax may shall not take effect on any date other than
 1687  December 31 and requires shall require a minimum of 60 days’
 1688  notice to the department of such decision.
 1689         Section 26. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1),
 1690  paragraph (a) of subsection (5), and paragraphs (d) and (e) of
 1691  subsection (7) of section 336.025, Florida Statutes, are amended
 1692  to read:
 1693         336.025 County transportation system; levy of local option
 1694  fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel.—
 1695         (1)(a) In addition to other taxes allowed by law, and there
 1696  may be levied as provided in ss. 206.41(1)(e) and 206.87(1)(c),
 1697  a 1-cent, 2-cent, 3-cent, 4-cent, 5-cent, or 6-cent local option
 1698  fuel tax may be levied upon every gallon of motor fuel and
 1699  diesel fuel sold in a county and taxed under the provisions of
 1700  part I or part II of chapter 206.
 1701         1. All impositions and rate changes of the tax must shall
 1702  be levied before October July 1 to be effective January 1 of the
 1703  following year for up to a period not to exceed 30 years, and
 1704  the applicable method of distribution shall be established
 1705  pursuant to subsection (3) or subsection (4). However, levies of
 1706  the tax which were in effect on July 1, 2002, and which expire
 1707  on August 31 of any year may be reimposed at the current
 1708  authorized rate effective September 1 of the year of expiration.
 1709  Upon expiration, the tax may be relevied if provided that a
 1710  redetermination of the method of distribution is made as
 1711  provided in this section.
 1712         2. County and municipal governments shall use utilize
 1713  moneys received pursuant to this paragraph only for
 1714  transportation expenditures.
 1715         3. Any tax levied pursuant to this paragraph may be
 1716  extended upon on a majority vote of the governing body of the
 1717  county. A redetermination of the method of distribution shall be
 1718  established pursuant to subsection (3) or subsection (4), if,
 1719  after July 1, 1986, the tax is extended or the tax rate changed,
 1720  for the period of extension or for the additional tax.
 1721         (b) In addition to other taxes allowed by law, and there
 1722  may be levied as provided in s. 206.41(1)(e), a 1-cent, 2-cent,
 1723  3-cent, 4-cent, or 5-cent local option fuel tax may be levied
 1724  upon every gallon of motor fuel sold in a county and taxed under
 1725  the provisions of part I of chapter 206. The tax shall be levied
 1726  by an ordinance adopted by a majority plus one vote of the
 1727  membership of the governing body of the county or by referendum.
 1728         1. All impositions and rate changes of the tax must shall
 1729  be levied before October July 1, to be effective January 1 of
 1730  the following year. However, levies of the tax which were in
 1731  effect on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any
 1732  year may be reimposed at the current authorized rate effective
 1733  September 1 of the year of expiration.
 1734         2. Before the county may, prior to levy of the tax, the
 1735  county may establish by interlocal agreement with one or more
 1736  municipalities which represent located therein, representing a
 1737  majority of the population of the incorporated area within the
 1738  county, a distribution formula for dividing the entire proceeds
 1739  of the tax among county government and all eligible
 1740  municipalities within the county. If an no interlocal agreement
 1741  is not adopted before the effective date of the tax, tax
 1742  revenues shall be distributed pursuant to the provisions of
 1743  subsection (4). If there is no interlocal agreement exists, a
 1744  new interlocal agreement may be established before prior to June
 1745  1 of any year pursuant to this subparagraph. However, an any
 1746  interlocal agreement agreed to under this subparagraph after the
 1747  initial levy of the tax or change in the tax rate authorized in
 1748  this section may not shall under no circumstances materially or
 1749  adversely affect the rights of holders of outstanding bonds that
 1750  which are backed by taxes authorized by this paragraph, and the
 1751  amounts distributed to the county government and each
 1752  municipality may shall not be reduced below the amount necessary
 1753  for the payment of principal and interest and reserves for
 1754  principal and interest as required under the covenants of any
 1755  bond resolution outstanding on the date of establishment of the
 1756  new interlocal agreement.
 1757         3. County and municipal governments shall use moneys
 1758  received pursuant to this paragraph for transportation
 1759  expenditures needed to meet the requirements of the capital
 1760  improvements element of an adopted comprehensive plan or for
 1761  expenditures needed to meet immediate local transportation
 1762  problems and for other transportation-related expenditures that
 1763  are critical for building comprehensive roadway networks by
 1764  local governments. For purposes of this paragraph, expenditures
 1765  for the construction of new roads, the reconstruction or
 1766  resurfacing of existing paved roads, or the paving of existing
 1767  graded roads shall be deemed to increase capacity and such
 1768  projects shall be included in the capital improvements element
 1769  of an adopted comprehensive plan. Expenditures for purposes of
 1770  this paragraph do shall not include routine maintenance of
 1771  roads.
 1772         (5)(a) By October July 1 of each year, the county shall
 1773  notify the Department of Revenue of the rate of the taxes levied
 1774  pursuant to paragraphs (1)(a) and (b), and of its decision to
 1775  rescind or change the rate of a tax, if applicable, and shall
 1776  provide the department with a certified copy of the interlocal
 1777  agreement established under subparagraph (1)(b)2. or
 1778  subparagraph (3)(a)1. with distribution proportions established
 1779  by such agreement or pursuant to subsection (4), if applicable.
 1780  A decision to rescind a tax may shall not take effect on any
 1781  date other than December 31 and requires shall require a minimum
 1782  of 60 days’ notice to the Department of Revenue of such
 1783  decision.
 1784         (7) For the purposes of this section, “transportation
 1785  expenditures” means expenditures by the local government from
 1786  local or state shared revenue sources, excluding expenditures of
 1787  bond proceeds, for the following programs:
 1788         (d) Street lighting installation, operation, maintenance,
 1789  and repair.
 1790         (e) Traffic signs, traffic engineering, signalization, and
 1791  pavement markings, installation, operation, maintenance, and
 1792  repair.
 1793         Section 27. Subsection (4) of section 337.111, Florida
 1794  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1795         337.111 Contracting for monuments and memorials to military
 1796  veterans at rest areas.—The Department of Transportation is
 1797  authorized to enter into contract with any not-for-profit group
 1798  or organization that has been operating for not less than 2
 1799  years for the installation of monuments and memorials honoring
 1800  Florida’s military veterans at highway rest areas around the
 1801  state pursuant to the provisions of this section.
 1802         (4) The group or organization making the proposal must
 1803  shall provide an annual renewable bond, an irrevocable letter of
 1804  credit, or other form of security as approved by the
 1805  department’s comptroller, for the purpose of a 10-year bond
 1806  securing the cost of removing removal of the monument and any
 1807  modifications made to the site as part of the placement of the
 1808  monument if should the department determines that of
 1809  Transportation determine it is necessary to remove or relocate
 1810  the monument. Such removal or relocation must shall be approved
 1811  by the committee described in subsection (1). Prior to
 1812  expiration, the bond shall be renewed for another 10-year period
 1813  if the memorial is to remain in place.
 1814         Section 28. Subsection (1) of section 337.125, Florida
 1815  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1816         337.125 Socially and economically disadvantaged business
 1817  enterprises; notice requirements.—
 1818         (1) After contract goals are established, in order to
 1819  document that a subcontract is with a certified socially and
 1820  economically disadvantaged business enterprise, the prime
 1821  contractor must either submit a disadvantaged business
 1822  enterprise utilization form that which has been signed by the
 1823  socially and economically disadvantaged business enterprise and
 1824  the prime contractor, or submit the written or oral quotation of
 1825  the socially and economically disadvantaged business
 1826  enterprise., and Information contained in the quotation must be
 1827  confirmed as determined by the department by rule.
 1828         Section 29. Section 337.137, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
 1829         Section 30. Section 337.139, Florida Statutes, is amended
 1830  to read:
 1831         337.139 Encouraging the award of Efforts to encourage
 1832  awarding contracts to disadvantaged business enterprises.—In
 1833  implementing chapter 90-136, Laws of Florida, the Department of
 1834  Transportation shall implement institute procedures to encourage
 1835  the awarding of contracts for professional services and
 1836  construction to disadvantaged business enterprises. For the
 1837  purposes of this section, the term “disadvantaged business
 1838  enterprise” means a small business concern certified by the
 1839  Department of Transportation to be owned and controlled by
 1840  socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as defined
 1841  by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation
 1842  Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Surface
 1843  Transportation and Uniform Relocation Act of 1987. The
 1844  Department of Transportation shall develop and implement
 1845  activities to encourage the participation of disadvantaged
 1846  business enterprises in the contracting process. Such efforts
 1847  may include:
 1848         (1) Presolicitation or prebid meetings for the purpose of
 1849  informing disadvantaged business enterprises of contracting
 1850  opportunities.
 1851         (2) Written notice to disadvantaged business enterprises of
 1852  contract opportunities for commodities or contractual and
 1853  construction services that which the disadvantaged business
 1854  provides.
 1855         (3) Provision of adequate information to disadvantaged
 1856  business enterprises about the plans, specifications, and
 1857  requirements of contracts or the availability of jobs.
 1858         (4) Breaking large contracts into several single-purpose
 1859  contracts of a size which may be obtained by certified
 1860  disadvantaged business enterprises.
 1861         Section 31. Subsection (1) of section 337.14, Florida
 1862  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1863         337.14 Application for qualification; certificate of
 1864  qualification; restrictions; request for hearing.—
 1865         (1) Any person desiring to bid for the performance of any
 1866  construction contract in excess of $250,000 which the department
 1867  proposes to let must first be certified by the department as
 1868  qualified pursuant to this section and rules of the department.
 1869  The rules must include of the department shall address the
 1870  qualification of persons to bid on such construction contracts
 1871  in excess of $250,000 and shall include requirements with
 1872  respect to the equipment, past record, experience, financial
 1873  resources, and organizational personnel of the applicant
 1874  necessary to perform the specific class of work for which the
 1875  person seeks certification. The department may is authorized to
 1876  limit the dollar amount of any contract upon which a person is
 1877  qualified to bid or the aggregate total dollar volume of
 1878  contracts such person is allowed to have under contract at any
 1879  one time. Each applicant seeking qualification to bid must on
 1880  construction contracts in excess of $250,000 shall furnish the
 1881  department a statement under oath, on such forms as the
 1882  department may prescribe, setting forth detailed information as
 1883  required on the application. Each application for certification
 1884  must shall be accompanied by the latest annual financial
 1885  statement of the applicant completed within the last 12 months.
 1886  If the application or the annual financial statement shows the
 1887  financial condition of the applicant more than 4 months before
 1888  prior to the date on which the application is received by the
 1889  department, then an interim financial statement must be
 1890  submitted and be accompanied by an updated application. The
 1891  interim financial statement must cover the period from the end
 1892  date of the annual statement and must show the financial
 1893  condition of the applicant no more than 4 months before prior to
 1894  the date the interim financial statement is received by the
 1895  department. However, upon the request of the applicant, an
 1896  application and accompanying annual or interim financial
 1897  statement received by the department within 15 days after either
 1898  4-month period is considered timely. Each required annual or
 1899  interim financial statement must be audited and accompanied by
 1900  the opinion of a certified public accountant or a public
 1901  accountant approved by the department. The information required
 1902  by this subsection is confidential and exempt from the
 1903  provisions of s. 119.07(1). The department shall act upon the
 1904  application for qualification within 30 days after the
 1905  department determines that the application is complete.
 1906         (a) The department may waive the requirements of this
 1907  subsection for projects having a contract price of $500,000 or
 1908  less if the department determines that the project is of a
 1909  noncritical nature and the waiver will not endanger public
 1910  health, safety, or property.
 1911         (b) An applicant desiring to bid exclusively for the
 1912  performance of construction contracts that have proposed budget
 1913  estimates of less than $1 million may submit reviewed annual or
 1914  reviewed interim financial statements prepared by a certified
 1915  public accountant.
 1916         Section 32. Section 337.403, Florida Statutes, is amended
 1917  to read:
 1918         337.403 Interference caused by relocation of utility;
 1919  expenses.—
 1920         (1) When a Any utility heretofore or hereafter placed upon,
 1921  under, over, or along any public road or publicly owned rail
 1922  corridor that is found by the authority to be unreasonably
 1923  interfering in any way with the convenient, safe, or continuous
 1924  use, or the maintenance, improvement, extension, or expansion,
 1925  of such public road or publicly owned rail corridor, the utility
 1926  owner shall, upon 30 days’ written notice to the utility or its
 1927  agent by the authority, initiate the work necessary to alleviate
 1928  the interference be removed or relocated by such utility at its
 1929  own expense except as provided in paragraphs (a)-(f). The work
 1930  must be completed within such reasonable time as stated in the
 1931  notice or such time as agreed to by the authority and the
 1932  utility owner.
 1933         (a) If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred to
 1934  in s. 111 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No.
 1935  627 of the 84th Congress, is necessitated by the construction of
 1936  a project on the federal-aid interstate system, including
 1937  extensions thereof within urban areas, and the cost of the
 1938  project is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the
 1939  Federal Government to the extent of 90 percent or more under the
 1940  Federal Aid Highway Act, or any amendment thereof, then in that
 1941  event the utility owning or operating such facilities shall
 1942  perform any necessary work relocate the facilities upon notice
 1943  from order of the department, and the state shall pay the entire
 1944  expense properly attributable to such work relocation after
 1945  deducting therefrom any increase in the value of any the new
 1946  facility and any salvage value derived from any the old
 1947  facility.
 1948         (b) When a joint agreement between the department and the
 1949  utility is executed for utility improvement, relocation, or
 1950  removal work to be accomplished as part of a contract for
 1951  construction of a transportation facility, the department may
 1952  participate in those utility work improvement, relocation, or
 1953  removal costs that exceed the department’s official estimate of
 1954  the cost of the work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such
 1955  participation shall be limited to the difference between the
 1956  official estimate of all the work in the joint agreement plus 10
 1957  percent and the amount awarded for this work in the construction
 1958  contract for such work. The department may not participate in
 1959  any utility work improvement, relocation, or removal costs that
 1960  occur as a result of changes or additions during the course of
 1961  the contract.
 1962         (c) When an agreement between the department and utility is
 1963  executed for utility improvement, relocation, or removal work to
 1964  be accomplished in advance of a contract for construction of a
 1965  transportation facility, the department may participate in the
 1966  cost of clearing and grubbing necessary to perform such work.
 1967         (d) If the utility facility being removed or relocated was
 1968  initially installed to exclusively serve the authority or
 1969  department, its tenants, or both, the authority department shall
 1970  bear the costs of the removing or relocating that utility work
 1971  facility. However, the authority department is not responsible
 1972  for bearing the cost of utility work related to removing or
 1973  relocating any subsequent additions to that facility for the
 1974  purpose of serving others.
 1975         (e) If, under an agreement between a utility and the
 1976  authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys,
 1977  subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to
 1978  the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition
 1979  or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the
 1980  agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the
 1981  cost of necessary utility work removing or relocating the
 1982  utility, the authority shall bear the cost of removal or
 1983  relocation. This paragraph does not impair or restrict, and may
 1984  not be used to interpret, the terms of any such agreement
 1985  entered into before July 1, 2009.
 1986         (f) If the utility is an electric facility being relocated
 1987  underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and
 1988  pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric
 1989  facility to be placed underground has been transferred from a
 1990  private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the
 1991  department shall incur all costs of the necessary utility work
 1992  relocation.
 1993         (g) If the authority acquires the property on which a
 1994  utility was located before the removal or relocation of the
 1995  utility facility, and such utility is not found to be located
 1996  illegally, the authority shall bear the costs of removing or
 1997  relocating that utility facility.
 1998         (2) If such utility work removal or relocation is
 1999  incidental to work to be done on such road or publicly owned
 2000  rail corridor, the notice shall be given at the same time the
 2001  contract for the work is advertised for bids, or no less than 30
 2002  days prior to the commencement of such work by the authority,
 2003  whichever is greater.
 2004         (3) Whenever the notice from an order of the authority
 2005  requires such utility work removal or change in the location of
 2006  any utility from the right-of-way of a public road or publicly
 2007  owned rail corridor, and the owner thereof fails to perform the
 2008  work remove or change the same at his or her own expense to
 2009  conform to the order within the time stated in the notice or
 2010  such other time as agreed to by the authority and the utility
 2011  owner, the authority shall proceed to cause the utility work to
 2012  be performed to be removed. The expense thereby incurred shall
 2013  be paid out of any money available therefor, and such expense
 2014  shall, except as provided in subsection (1), be charged against
 2015  the owner and levied and collected and paid into the fund from
 2016  which the expense of such relocation was paid.
 2017         Section 33. Subsection (1) of section 337.404, Florida
 2018  Statutes, is amended to read:
 2019         337.404 Removal or relocation of utility facilities; notice
 2020  and order; court review.—
 2021         (1) Whenever it becomes shall become necessary for the
 2022  authority to perform utility work remove or relocate any utility
 2023  as provided in s. 337.403 the preceding section, the owner of
 2024  the utility, or the owner’s chief agent, shall be given notice
 2025  that the authority will perform of such work removal or
 2026  relocation and, after the work is complete, given an order
 2027  requiring the payment of the cost thereof, and a shall be given
 2028  reasonable time, which may shall not be less than 20 or nor more
 2029  than 30 days, in which to appear before the authority to contest
 2030  the reasonableness of the order. Should the owner or the owner’s
 2031  representative not appear, the determination of the cost to the
 2032  owner shall be final. Authorities considered agencies for the
 2033  purposes of chapter 120 shall adjudicate removal or relocation
 2034  of utilities pursuant to chapter 120.
 2035         Section 34. Section 337.408, Florida Statutes, is amended
 2036  to read:
 2037         337.408 Regulation of bus stops, benches, transit shelters,
 2038  street light poles, waste disposal receptacles, and modular news
 2039  racks within rights-of-way.—
 2040         (1) Benches or transit shelters, including advertising
 2041  displayed on benches or transit shelters, may be installed
 2042  within the right-of-way limits of any municipal, county, or
 2043  state road, except a limited access highway, if provided that
 2044  such benches or transit shelters are for the comfort or
 2045  convenience of the general public or are at designated stops on
 2046  official bus routes, and provided that written authorization has
 2047  been given to a qualified private supplier of such service by
 2048  the municipal government within whose incorporated limits such
 2049  benches or transit shelters are installed or by the county
 2050  government within whose unincorporated limits such benches or
 2051  transit shelters are installed.
 2052         (a) A municipality or county may authorize the
 2053  installation, without public bid, of benches and transit
 2054  shelters together with advertising displayed thereon within the
 2055  right-of-way limits of such roads. Any contract for the
 2056  installation of benches or transit shelters or advertising on
 2057  benches or transit shelters which was entered into before April
 2058  8, 1992, without public bidding is ratified and affirmed. Such
 2059         (b) Benches or transit shelters may not interfere with
 2060  right-of-way preservation and maintenance. Any bench or transit
 2061  shelter located on a sidewalk within the right-of-way limits of
 2062  any road on the State Highway System or the county road system
 2063  must shall be located so as to leave at least 36 inches of
 2064  clearance for pedestrians and persons in wheelchairs. Such
 2065  clearance shall be measured in a direction perpendicular to the
 2066  centerline of the road.
 2067         (c) All installations must be in compliance with all
 2068  applicable laws and rules including, without limitation, the
 2069  Americans with Disabilities Act. Municipalities and counties
 2070  shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the department from
 2071  any suits, actions, proceedings, claims, losses, costs, charges,
 2072  expenses, damages, liabilities, attorney fees, and court costs
 2073  relating to the installation, removal, or relocation of such
 2074  installations.
 2075         (2) Waste disposal receptacles of less than 110 gallons in
 2076  capacity, including advertising displayed on such waste disposal
 2077  receptacles, may be installed within the right-of-way limits of
 2078  any municipal, county, or state road, except a limited access
 2079  highway if, provided that written authorization has been given
 2080  to a qualified private supplier of such service by the
 2081  appropriate municipal or county government. A municipality or
 2082  county may authorize the installation, without public bid, of
 2083  waste disposal receptacles together with advertising displayed
 2084  thereon within the right-of-way limits of such roads. Such waste
 2085  disposal receptacles may not interfere with right-of-way
 2086  preservation and maintenance.
 2087         (3) Modular news racks, including advertising thereon, may
 2088  be located within the right-of-way limits of any municipal,
 2089  county, or state road, except a limited access highway if,
 2090  provided the municipal government within whose incorporated
 2091  limits such racks are installed or the county government within
 2092  whose unincorporated limits such racks are installed has passed
 2093  an ordinance regulating the placement of modular news racks
 2094  within the right-of-way and has authorized a qualified private
 2095  supplier of modular news racks to provide such service. The
 2096  modular news rack or advertising may thereon shall not exceed a
 2097  height of 56 inches or a total advertising space of 56 square
 2098  feet. Within No later than 45 days before the prior to
 2099  installation of modular news racks, the private supplier shall
 2100  provide a map of proposed locations and typical installation
 2101  plans to the department for approval. If the department does not
 2102  respond within 45 days after receipt of the submitted plans,
 2103  installation may proceed.
 2104         (4) The department may has the authority to direct the
 2105  immediate relocation or removal of any bus stop, bench, transit
 2106  shelter, waste disposal receptacle, public pay telephone, or
 2107  modular news rack that endangers life or property or that is
 2108  otherwise not in compliance with applicable law and rule, except
 2109  that transit bus benches that were placed in service before
 2110  April 1, 1992, are not required to comply with bench size and
 2111  advertising display size requirements established by the
 2112  department before March 1, 1992. If a municipality or county
 2113  fails to comply with the department’s direction, the department
 2114  shall remove the noncompliant installation and charge the cost
 2115  of the removal to the municipality or county, and may deduct or
 2116  offset such cost from any other funding available to the
 2117  municipality or county from the department. Any transit bus
 2118  bench that was in service before April 1, 1992, may be replaced
 2119  with a bus bench of the same size or smaller, if the bench is
 2120  damaged or destroyed or otherwise becomes unusable. The
 2121  department may adopt rules relating to the regulation of bench
 2122  size and advertising display size requirements. If a
 2123  municipality or county within which a bench is to be located has
 2124  adopted an ordinance or other applicable regulation that
 2125  establishes bench size or advertising display sign requirements
 2126  different from requirements specified in department rule, the
 2127  local government requirement applies within the respective
 2128  municipality or county. Placement of any bench or advertising
 2129  display on the National Highway System under a local ordinance
 2130  or regulation adopted under this subsection is subject to
 2131  approval by of the Federal Highway Administration.
 2132         (5) A bus stop, bench, transit shelter, waste disposal
 2133  receptacle, public pay telephone, or modular news rack, or
 2134  advertising thereon, may not be erected or placed on the right
 2135  of-way of any road in a manner that conflicts with the
 2136  requirements of federal law, regulations, or safety standards,
 2137  thereby causing the state or any political subdivision to lose
 2138  the loss of federal funds. Competition among persons seeking to
 2139  provide bus stop, bench, transit shelter, waste disposal
 2140  receptacle, public pay telephone, or modular news rack services
 2141  or advertising on such benches, shelters, receptacles, public
 2142  pay telephone, or news racks may be regulated, restricted, or
 2143  denied by the appropriate local government entity consistent
 2144  with this section.
 2145         (6) Street light poles, including attached public service
 2146  messages and advertisements, may be located within the right-of
 2147  way limits of municipal and county roads in the same manner as
 2148  benches, transit shelters, waste disposal receptacles, and
 2149  modular news racks as provided in this section and in accordance
 2150  with municipal and county ordinances. Public service messages
 2151  and advertisements may be installed on street light poles on
 2152  roads on the State Highway System in accordance with height,
 2153  size, setback, spacing distance, duration of display, safety,
 2154  traffic control, and permitting requirements established by
 2155  administrative rule of the Department of Transportation. Public
 2156  service messages and advertisements are shall be subject to
 2157  bilateral agreements, where applicable, to be negotiated with
 2158  the owner of the street light poles, which shall consider, among
 2159  other things, power source rates, design, safety, operational
 2160  and maintenance concerns, and other matters of public
 2161  importance. For the purposes of this section, the term “street
 2162  light poles” does not include electric transmission or
 2163  distribution poles. The department may shall have authority to
 2164  adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer
 2165  implement the provisions of this section. No Advertising on
 2166  light poles is not shall be permitted on the Interstate Highway
 2167  System. No Permanent structures carrying advertisements attached
 2168  to light poles are not shall be permitted on the National
 2169  Highway System.
 2170         (7) A public pay telephone, including advertising displayed
 2171  thereon, may be installed within the right-of-way limits of any
 2172  municipal, county, or state road, except on a limited access
 2173  highway, if the pay telephone is installed by a provider duly
 2174  authorized and regulated by the Public Service Commission under
 2175  s. 364.3375, if the pay telephone is operated in accordance with
 2176  all applicable state and federal telecommunications regulations,
 2177  and if written authorization has been given to a public pay
 2178  telephone provider by the appropriate municipal or county
 2179  government. Each advertisement must be limited to a size no
 2180  greater than 8 square feet, and a public pay telephone booth may
 2181  not display more than three advertisements at any given time. An
 2182  advertisement is not allowed on public pay telephones located in
 2183  rest areas, welcome centers, or other such facilities located on
 2184  an interstate highway.
 2185         (8) If Wherever the provisions of this section are
 2186  inconsistent with other provisions of this chapter or with the
 2187  provisions of chapter 125, chapter 335, chapter 336, or chapter
 2188  479, the provisions of this section shall prevail.
 2189         Section 35. The Division of Statutory Revision is requested
 2190  to rename chapter 338, Florida Statutes, as “Limited Access and
 2191  Toll Facilities.”
 2192         Section 36. Section 338.001, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
 2193         Section 37. Present subsections (2) through (6) of section
 2194  338.01, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3)
 2195  through (7), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to
 2196  that section, to read:
 2197         338.01 Authority to establish and regulate limited access
 2198  facilities.—
 2199         (2) The department may establish limited access facilities
 2200  as provided in s. 335.02. The primary function of these limited
 2201  access facilities is to allow high-speed and high-volume traffic
 2202  movements within the state. Access to abutting land is
 2203  subordinate to this function and must be prohibited or highly
 2204  regulated.
 2205         Section 38. Section 338.151, Florida Statutes, is created
 2206  to read:
 2207         338.151Authority of the department to establish tolls on
 2208  the State Highway System.—The department may establish tolls on
 2209  new limited access facilities on the State Highway System, lanes
 2210  added to existing limited access facilities on the State Highway
 2211  System, new major bridges on the State Highway System over
 2212  waterways, and replacements for existing major bridges on the
 2213  State Highway System over waterways in order to pay for, fully
 2214  or partially, the cost of such projects. Except for high
 2215  occupancy vehicle lanes, express lanes, the turnpike system, and
 2216  as otherwise authorized by law, the department may not establish
 2217  tolls on lanes of limited access facilities that exist on July
 2218  1, 2012, unless tolls were in effect before that date. The
 2219  authority provided in this section is in addition to the
 2220  authority provided under the Florida Turnpike Enterprise Law and
 2221  s. 338.166.
 2222         Section 39. Subsection (1) of section 338.155, Florida
 2223  Statutes, is amended to read:
 2224         338.155 Payment of toll on toll facilities required;
 2225  exemptions.—
 2226         (1) A person may not No persons are permitted to use a any
 2227  toll facility without payment of tolls, except employees of the
 2228  agency operating the toll project who are when using the toll
 2229  facility on official state business, state military personnel
 2230  while on official military business, handicapped persons as
 2231  provided in this section, persons exempt from toll payment by
 2232  the authorizing resolution for bonds issued to finance the
 2233  facility, and persons exempt on a temporary basis if where use
 2234  of such toll facility is required as a detour route. A Any law
 2235  enforcement officer operating a marked official vehicle is
 2236  exempt from toll payment when on official law enforcement
 2237  business. Any person operating a fire vehicle when on official
 2238  business or a rescue vehicle when on official business is exempt
 2239  from toll payment. Any person participating in the funeral
 2240  procession of a law enforcement officer or firefighter killed in
 2241  the line of duty is exempt from toll payment. The secretary, or
 2242  the secretary’s designee, may suspend the payment of tolls on a
 2243  toll facility if when necessary to assist in emergency
 2244  evacuation. The failure to pay a prescribed toll is constitutes
 2245  a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving
 2246  violation pursuant to s. 318.18. The department may is
 2247  authorized to adopt rules relating to the payment, collection,
 2248  and enforcement of tolls, as authorized in chapters 316, 318,
 2249  320, 322, and 338, including, but not limited to, rules for the
 2250  implementation of video or other image billing and variable
 2251  pricing. The department may, by rule, allow public transit
 2252  vehicles or vehicles participating in a funeral procession for
 2253  an active-duty military service member to use a toll facility
 2254  managed by the department without payment if the toll revenues
 2255  of the facility are not pledged to the repayment of bonds.
 2256         Section 40. Section 338.161, Florida Statutes, is amended
 2257  to read:
 2258         338.161 Authority of department or toll agencies to
 2259  advertise and promote electronic toll collection; Expanded uses
 2260  of electronic toll collection system; studies authorized.—
 2261         (1) The department may is authorized to incur expenses for
 2262  paid advertising, marketing, and promotion of toll facilities
 2263  and electronic toll collection products and services. Promotions
 2264  may include discounts and free products.
 2265         (2) The department may is authorized to receive funds from
 2266  advertising placed on electronic toll collection products and
 2267  promotional materials to defray the costs of products and
 2268  services.
 2269         (3)(a) The department or any toll agency created by statute
 2270  may incur expenses to advertise or promote its electronic toll
 2271  collection system to consumers on or off the turnpike or toll
 2272  system.
 2273         (4)(b) If the department or any toll agency created by
 2274  statute finds that it can increase nontoll revenues or add
 2275  convenience or other value for its customers, the department or
 2276  toll agency may enter into agreements with a any private or
 2277  public entity allowing the use of its electronic toll collection
 2278  system to pay parking fees for vehicles equipped with a
 2279  transponder or similar device. The department or toll agency may
 2280  initiate feasibility studies of other additional future uses of
 2281  its electronic toll collection system and make recommendations
 2282  to the Legislature to authorize such uses.
 2283         (5) If the department finds that it can increase nontoll
 2284  revenues or add convenience or other value for its customers,
 2285  the department may enter into agreements with private or public
 2286  entities to use the electronic toll collection and video billing
 2287  systems of such entities to collect tolls, fares, administrative
 2288  fees, and other charges resulting from connection with the
 2289  transportation facilities of the entities which will become
 2290  interoperable with the department’s electronic toll collection
 2291  system. The department may modify its rules regarding toll
 2292  collection procedures and the imposition of administrative
 2293  charges for toll facilities that are not part of the turnpike
 2294  system or otherwise owned by the department. This subsection
 2295  does not limit the authority of the department under any other
 2296  provision of law or under any agreement entered into before July
 2297  1, 2012.
 2298         Section 41. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 338.166,
 2299  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 2300         338.166 High-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.—
 2301         (1) Under s. 11, Art. VII of the State Constitution, the
 2302  department may request the Division of Bond Finance to issue
 2303  bonds secured by toll revenues collected on high-occupancy toll
 2304  lanes or express lanes established on facilities owned by the
 2305  department located on Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade and Broward
 2306  Counties.
 2307         (3) Any remaining toll revenue from the high-occupancy toll
 2308  lanes or express lanes shall be used by the department for the
 2309  construction, maintenance, or improvement of any road on the
 2310  State Highway System within the county or counties where the
 2311  toll revenues were collected or to support express bus service
 2312  on the facility where the toll revenues were collected.
 2313         Section 42. Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section
 2314  338.221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 2315         338.221 Definitions of terms used in ss. 338.22-338.241.—As
 2316  used in ss. 338.22-338.241, the following words and terms have
 2317  the following meanings, unless the context indicates another or
 2318  different meaning or intent:
 2319         (8) “Economically feasible” means:
 2320         (a) For a proposed turnpike project, that, as determined by
 2321  the department before the issuance of revenue bonds for the
 2322  project, the estimated net revenues of the proposed turnpike
 2323  project, excluding feeder roads and turnpike improvements, will
 2324  be sufficient to pay at least 50 percent of the annual debt
 2325  service on the bonds associated with the project by the end of
 2326  the 12th year of operation and to pay at least 100 percent of
 2327  the debt service on the bonds by the end of the 30th 22nd year
 2328  of operation. In implementing this paragraph, up to 50 percent
 2329  of the adopted work program costs of the project may be funded
 2330  from turnpike revenues.
 2331  
 2332  This subsection does not prohibit the pledging of revenues from
 2333  the entire turnpike system to bonds issued to finance or
 2334  refinance a turnpike project or group of turnpike projects.
 2335         Section 43. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of
 2336  section 338.223, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 2337         338.223 Proposed turnpike projects.—
 2338         (1)(a) Any proposed project to be constructed or acquired
 2339  as part of the turnpike system and any turnpike improvement must
 2340  shall be included in the tentative work program. A No proposed
 2341  project or group of proposed projects may not shall be added to
 2342  the turnpike system unless such project is or projects are
 2343  determined to be economically feasible and a statement of
 2344  environmental feasibility has been completed for the such
 2345  project or projects and such projects are determined to be
 2346  consistent, to the maximum extent feasible, with approved local
 2347  government comprehensive plans of the local governments in which
 2348  the project is such projects are located. The department may
 2349  authorize engineering studies, traffic studies, environmental
 2350  studies, and other expert studies of the location, costs,
 2351  economic feasibility, and practicality of proposed turnpike
 2352  projects throughout the state and may proceed with the design
 2353  phase of such projects. The department may shall not request
 2354  legislative approval of a proposed turnpike project until the
 2355  design phase of that project is at least 30 60 percent complete.
 2356  If a proposed project or group of proposed projects is found to
 2357  be economically feasible and, consistent, to the maximum extent
 2358  feasible, with approved local government comprehensive plans of
 2359  the local governments in which such projects are located to the
 2360  maximum extent feasible, and a favorable statement of
 2361  environmental feasibility has been completed, the department,
 2362  with the approval of the Legislature, shall, after the receipt
 2363  of all necessary permits, construct, maintain, and operate such
 2364  turnpike projects.
 2365         (b) Any proposed turnpike project or improvement shall be
 2366  developed in accordance with the Florida Transportation Plan and
 2367  the work program pursuant to s. 339.135. Turnpike projects that
 2368  add capacity, alter access, affect feeder roads, or affect the
 2369  operation of the local transportation system shall be included
 2370  in the transportation improvement plan of the affected
 2371  metropolitan planning organization. If such turnpike project
 2372  does not fall within the jurisdiction of a metropolitan planning
 2373  organization, the department shall notify the affected county
 2374  and provide for public hearings in accordance with s.
 2375  339.155(5)(c) 339.155(6)(c).
 2376         Section 44. Subsection (4) of section 338.227, Florida
 2377  Statutes, is amended to read:
 2378         338.227 Turnpike revenue bonds.—
 2379         (4) The Department of Transportation and the Department of
 2380  Management Services shall create and implement an outreach
 2381  program designed to enhance the participation of minority
 2382  persons and minority business enterprises in all contracts
 2383  entered into by the their respective departments for services
 2384  related to the financing of department projects for the
 2385  Strategic Intermodal System Plan developed pursuant to s. 339.64
 2386  Florida Intrastate Highway System Plan. These services shall
 2387  include, but are not be limited to, bond counsel and bond
 2388  underwriters.
 2389         Section 45. Subsection (2) of section 338.2275, Florida
 2390  Statutes, is amended to read:
 2391         338.2275 Approved turnpike projects.—
 2392         (2) The department may is authorized to use turnpike
 2393  revenues, the State Transportation Trust Fund moneys allocated
 2394  for turnpike projects pursuant to s. 339.65 338.001, federal
 2395  funds, and bond proceeds, and shall use the most cost-efficient
 2396  combination of such funds, to develop in developing a financial
 2397  plan for funding turnpike projects. The department must submit a
 2398  report of the estimated cost for each ongoing turnpike project
 2399  and for each planned project to the Legislature 14 days before
 2400  the convening of the regular legislative session. Verification
 2401  of economic feasibility and statements of environmental
 2402  feasibility for individual turnpike projects must be based on
 2403  the entire project as approved. Statements of environmental
 2404  feasibility are not required for those projects listed in s. 12,
 2405  chapter 90-136, Laws of Florida, for which the Project
 2406  Development and Environmental Reports were completed by July 1,
 2407  1990. All required environmental permits must be obtained before
 2408  the department may advertise for bids for contracts for the
 2409  construction of any turnpike project.
 2410         Section 46. Section 338.228, Florida Statutes, is amended
 2411  to read:
 2412         338.228 Bonds not debts or pledges of credit of state.
 2413  Turnpike revenue bonds issued under the provisions of ss.
 2414  338.22-338.241 are not debts of the state or pledges of the
 2415  faith and credit of the state. Such bonds are payable
 2416  exclusively from revenues pledged for their payment. All such
 2417  bonds must shall contain a statement on their face that the
 2418  state is not obligated to pay the same or the interest thereon,
 2419  except from the revenues pledged for their payment, and that the
 2420  faith and credit of the state is not pledged to the payment of
 2421  the principal or interest of such bonds. The issuance of
 2422  turnpike revenue bonds under the provisions of ss. 338.22
 2423  338.241 does not directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate
 2424  the state to levy or to pledge any form of taxation whatsoever,
 2425  or to make any appropriation for their payment. Except as
 2426  provided in ss. 338.001, 338.223, and 338.2275, and 339.65, no
 2427  state funds may not shall be used on any turnpike project or to
 2428  pay the principal or interest of any bonds issued to finance or
 2429  refinance any portion of the turnpike system, and all such bonds
 2430  must shall contain a statement on their face to this effect.
 2431         Section 47. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (3) of
 2432  section 338.231, Florida Statutes, to read:
 2433         338.231 Turnpike tolls, fixing; pledge of tolls and other
 2434  revenues.—The department shall at all times fix, adjust, charge,
 2435  and collect such tolls and amounts for the use of the turnpike
 2436  system as are required in order to provide a fund sufficient
 2437  with other revenues of the turnpike system to pay the cost of
 2438  maintaining, improving, repairing, and operating such turnpike
 2439  system; to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds issued
 2440  to finance or refinance any portion of the turnpike system as
 2441  the same become due and payable; and to create reserves for all
 2442  such purposes.
 2443         (3)
 2444         (c) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall
 2445  also assess an administrative fee of 25 cents per month as an
 2446  account maintenance charge to be applied against any prepaid
 2447  toll account of any kind which remains inactive for at least 24
 2448  months but not longer than 48 months. As long as a zero or
 2449  negative balance has not been reached, the administrative fee
 2450  shall be charged for each month of inactivity beginning with the
 2451  25th month of inactivity and continuing through the 48th month.
 2452  If the fee results in an account reaching a zero or negative
 2453  balance, the department shall close the account. If a positive
 2454  balance still remains after the 48th month, the balance shall be
 2455  presumed unclaimed and its disposition handled by the Department
 2456  of Financial Services in accordance with chapter 717 relating to
 2457  the disposition of unclaimed property, and the prepaid toll
 2458  account shall be closed by the department.
 2459         Section 48. Subsection (2) of section 338.234, Florida
 2460  Statutes, is amended to read:
 2461         338.234 Granting concessions or selling along the turnpike
 2462  system; immunity from taxation.—
 2463         (2) The effectuation of the authorized purposes of the
 2464  Strategic Intermodal System created pursuant to ss. 339.61
 2465  339.65 Florida Intrastate Highway System and Florida Turnpike
 2466  Enterprise, created under this chapter, is for the benefit of
 2467  the people of the state, for the increase of their commerce and
 2468  prosperity, and for the improvement of their health and living
 2469  conditions; and, because the system and enterprise perform
 2470  essential government functions in effectuating such purposes,
 2471  neither the turnpike enterprise nor any nongovernment lessee or
 2472  licensee renting, leasing, or licensing real property from the
 2473  turnpike enterprise, pursuant to an agreement authorized by this
 2474  section, are required to pay any commercial rental tax imposed
 2475  under s. 212.031 on any capital improvements constructed,
 2476  improved, acquired, installed, or used for such purposes.
 2477         Section 49. Section 339.0805, Florida Statutes, is amended
 2478  to read:
 2479         339.0805 Funds to be expended with certified disadvantaged
 2480  business enterprises; specified percentage to be expended;
 2481  construction management development program; bond guarantee
 2482  program.—It is the policy of the state to meaningfully assist
 2483  socially and economically disadvantaged business enterprises
 2484  through a program that provides will provide for the development
 2485  of skills through construction and business management training,
 2486  as well as by providing contracting opportunities and financial
 2487  assistance in the form of bond guarantees, to primarily remedy
 2488  the effects of past economic disparity.
 2489         (1)(a) Except to the extent that the head of the department
 2490  determines otherwise, The department shall expend not less than
 2491  10 percent of federal-aid highway funds as defined in 49 C.F.R.
 2492  part 26 s. 23.63(a) and state matching funds with small business
 2493  concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically
 2494  disadvantaged individuals as those terms are defined by the
 2495  Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
 2496  Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) Surface Transportation and
 2497  Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987.
 2498         (b) Upon a determination by the department of past and
 2499  continuing discrimination in nonfederally funded projects on the
 2500  basis of race, color, creed, national origin, or sex, the
 2501  department may implement a program tailored to address specific
 2502  findings of disparity. The program may include the establishment
 2503  of annual goals for expending a percentage of state-administered
 2504  highway funds with small business concerns. The department may
 2505  use utilize set-asides for small business concerns to assist in
 2506  achieving goals established pursuant to this subsection. For the
 2507  purpose of this subsection, “small business concern” means a
 2508  business owned and controlled by socially and economically
 2509  disadvantaged individuals as defined by the Safe, Accountable,
 2510  Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
 2511  Users (SAFETEA-LU) Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation
 2512  Assistance Act of 1987. The head of the department may elect to
 2513  set goals only when significant disparity is documented. The
 2514  findings of a disparity study must shall be considered in
 2515  determining the program goals for each group qualified to
 2516  participate. Such a study shall be conducted or updated by the
 2517  department or its designee at a minimum of every 5 years. The
 2518  department shall adopt rules to implement this subsection on or
 2519  before October 1, 1993.
 2520         (c) The department shall certify a socially and
 2521  economically disadvantaged business enterprise, which
 2522  certification shall be valid for 12 months, or as prescribed by
 2523  49 C.F.R. part 23. The department’s initial application for
 2524  certification must for a socially and economically disadvantaged
 2525  business enterprise shall require sufficient information to
 2526  determine eligibility as a small business concern owned and
 2527  controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged
 2528  individual. For continuing eligibility recertification of a
 2529  disadvantaged business enterprise, the department may accept an
 2530  affidavit, which meets department criteria as to form and
 2531  content, certifying that the business remains qualified for
 2532  certification in accordance with program requirements. A firm
 2533  that which does not fulfill all the department’s criteria for
 2534  certification may shall not be considered a disadvantaged
 2535  business enterprise. An applicant who is denied certification
 2536  may not reapply within 12 6 months after issuance of the denial
 2537  letter or the final order, whichever is later. The application
 2538  and financial information required by this section are
 2539  confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1).
 2540         (2) The department shall remove revoke the certification of
 2541  a disadvantaged business enterprise upon receipt of notification
 2542  that of any change in ownership which results in the
 2543  disadvantaged individual or individuals who were used to qualify
 2544  the business as a disadvantaged business enterprise, no longer
 2545  own owning at least 51 percent of the business enterprise. Such
 2546  notification must shall be made to the department by certified
 2547  mail within 30 10 days after the change in ownership, and such
 2548  business shall be removed from the certified disadvantaged
 2549  business list until a new application is submitted and approved
 2550  by the department. Failure to notify the department of the
 2551  change in the ownership that which qualifies the business as a
 2552  disadvantaged business enterprise will also result in removal
 2553  revocation of certification and subject the business to the
 2554  provisions of s. 337.135. In addition, the department may, for
 2555  good cause, deny or remove suspend the certification of a
 2556  disadvantaged business enterprise. As used in this subsection,
 2557  the term “good cause” includes, but is not limited to, a the
 2558  disadvantaged business enterprise that:
 2559         (a) No longer meets meeting the certification standards set
 2560  forth in department rules;
 2561         (b) Makes Making a false, deceptive, or fraudulent
 2562  statement in its application for certification or in any other
 2563  information submitted to the department;
 2564         (c) Fails Failing to maintain the records required by
 2565  department rules;
 2566         (d) Fails Failing to perform a commercially useful function
 2567  on projects for which the enterprise was used to satisfy
 2568  contract goals;
 2569         (e) Fails Failing to fulfill its contractual obligations
 2570  with contractors;
 2571         (f) Fails Failing to respond with a statement of interest
 2572  to requests for bid quotations from contractors for three
 2573  consecutive lettings;
 2574         (g) Subcontracting to others more than 49 percent of the
 2575  amount of any single subcontract that was used by the prime
 2576  contractor to meet a contract goal;
 2577         (g)(h)Fails Failing to provide notarized certification of
 2578  payments received on specific projects to the prime contractor
 2579  if when required to do so by contract specifications;
 2580         (h)(i)Fails Failing to schedule an onsite review upon
 2581  request of the department; or
 2582         (i)(j)Becomes Becoming insolvent or the subject of a
 2583  bankruptcy proceeding.
 2584         (3) The head of the department may is authorized to expend
 2585  up to 6 percent of the funds specified in subsection (1), which
 2586  are designated to be expended on small business firms owned and
 2587  controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged
 2588  individuals, to conduct, by contract or otherwise, a
 2589  construction management development program. Participation in
 2590  the program is will be limited to those firms that which are
 2591  certified under the provisions of subsection (1) by the
 2592  department or the federal Small Business Administration, or to
 2593  any firm that meets the definition of a small business in 49
 2594  C.F.R. s. 26.65 which has annual gross receipts not exceeding $2
 2595  million averaged over a 3-year period. The program will consist
 2596  of classroom instruction and on-the-job instruction. To the
 2597  extent feasible, the registration fee shall be set to cover the
 2598  cost of instruction and overhead. A No salary may not will be
 2599  paid to a any participant.
 2600         (a) Classroom instruction must include will consist of, but
 2601  is not limited to, project planning methods for identifying
 2602  personnel, equipment, and financial resource needs; bookkeeping;
 2603  state bidding and bonding requirements; state and federal tax
 2604  requirements; and strategies for obtaining loans, bonding, and
 2605  joint venture agreements.
 2606         (b) On-the-job instruction must include will consist of,
 2607  but is not limited to, setting up the job site; cash-flow
 2608  methods; project scheduling; quantity takeoffs; estimating;
 2609  reading plans and specifications; department procedures on
 2610  billing and payments; quality assessment and control methods;
 2611  and bid preparation methods.
 2612         (c) Contractors who have demonstrated satisfactory project
 2613  performance, as defined by the department, may can be exempted
 2614  from the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) and be validated
 2615  as meeting the minimum curriculum standards of proficiency, in
 2616  the same manner as participants who successfully complete the
 2617  construction management development program only if they intend
 2618  to apply for funds under provided for in subsection (4).
 2619         (d) The department shall develop, under contract with the
 2620  State University System, the community college system, a school
 2621  district on in behalf of its career center, or a private
 2622  consulting firm, a curriculum for instruction in the courses
 2623  that will lead to a certification of proficiency in the
 2624  construction management development program.
 2625         (4) The head of the department may is authorized to expend
 2626  up to 4 percent of the funds specified in subsection (1) on a
 2627  bond guarantee program for participants who are certified under
 2628  subsection (1) and who meet the minimum curriculum standards of
 2629  proficiency. The state shall will guarantee up to 90 percent of
 2630  a bond amount of $250,000, or less, and 80 percent of a bond
 2631  amount greater than $250,000, which bond is provided by an
 2632  approved surety. However, in addition to the requirements of
 2633  paragraph (3)(c), the department shall retain 5 percent of the
 2634  total contract amount designated for the disadvantaged business
 2635  enterprise until final acceptance of the project, in order to
 2636  receive a bond guarantee. The department may shall not commit
 2637  funds for this program which are in excess of those funds
 2638  appropriated specifically for this purpose.
 2639         (5) Annually, The head of the department must annually is
 2640  required to report on the progress of the this program to the
 2641  President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
 2642  Representatives, and the Governor. The report must shall
 2643  include, as a minimum, the number of users of the bond guarantee
 2644  plan, along with the number of defaults and dollar loss to the
 2645  state; the number of students participating in the construction
 2646  management development program by urban location; the number
 2647  certified and not certified; the cost of the program categorized
 2648  by cost of administration, cost of instruction (on-the-job and
 2649  classroom instruction), and cost of supplies; and a comparison
 2650  figure of those firms certified by the department under
 2651  subsection (1) over the year, and the same figure for socially
 2652  and economically disadvantaged contractors prequalified to
 2653  perform prime contracting work for the department.
 2654         Section 50. Section 339.155, Florida Statutes, is amended
 2655  to read:
 2656         339.155 Transportation planning.—
 2657         (1) THE FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION PLAN.—The department shall
 2658  develop and annually update a statewide transportation plan, to
 2659  be known as the Florida Transportation Plan. The plan shall be
 2660  designed so as to be easily read and understood by the general
 2661  public. The plan must shall consider the needs of the entire
 2662  state transportation system and examine the use of all modes of
 2663  transportation in order to effectively and efficiently meet such
 2664  needs. The purpose of the Florida Transportation plan is to
 2665  establish and define the state’s long-range transportation goals
 2666  and objectives to be accomplished over a period of at least 20
 2667  years within the context of the State Comprehensive Plan, and
 2668  any other statutory mandates and authorizations and based upon
 2669  the prevailing principles of:
 2670         (a) Preserving the existing transportation infrastructure.
 2671         (b) Enhancing the state’s Florida’s economic
 2672  competitiveness.
 2673         (c) Improving travel choices to ensure mobility.
 2674         (d) Expanding the state’s role as a hub for trade and
 2675  investment.
 2676         (2) SCOPE OF PLANNING PROCESS.—The department shall carry
 2677  out a transportation planning process in conformance with s.
 2678  334.046(1) and 23 U.S.C. s. 135 which provides for consideration
 2679  of projects and strategies that will:
 2680         (a) Support the economic vitality of the United States,
 2681  Florida, and the metropolitan areas, especially by enabling
 2682  global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency;
 2683         (b) Increase the safety and security of the transportation
 2684  system for motorized and nonmotorized users;
 2685         (c) Increase the accessibility and mobility options
 2686  available to people and for freight;
 2687         (d) Protect and enhance the environment, promote energy
 2688  conservation, and improve quality of life;
 2689         (e) Enhance the integration and connectivity of the
 2690  transportation system, across and between modes throughout
 2691  Florida, for people and freight;
 2692         (f) Promote efficient system management and operation; and
 2693         (g) Emphasize the preservation of the existing
 2694  transportation system.
 2695         (3) FORMAT, SCHEDULE, AND REVIEW.—The Florida
 2696  Transportation Plan must shall be a unified, concise planning
 2697  document that clearly defines the state’s long-range
 2698  transportation goals and objectives and documents the
 2699  department’s short-range objectives developed to further such
 2700  goals and objectives. The plan must: shall
 2701         (a) Include a glossary that clearly and succinctly defines
 2702  any and all phrases, words, or terms of art included in the
 2703  plan, with which the general public may be unfamiliar. and shall
 2704  consist of, at a minimum, the following components:
 2705         (b)(a)Document A long-range component documenting the
 2706  goals and long-term objectives necessary to implement the
 2707  results of the department’s findings from its examination of the
 2708  criteria specified listed in subsection (2) and s. 334.046(1)
 2709  and 23 U.S.C. s. 135. The long-range component must
 2710         (c) Be developed in cooperation with the metropolitan
 2711  planning organizations and reconciled, to the maximum extent
 2712  feasible, with the long-range plans developed by metropolitan
 2713  planning organizations pursuant to s. 339.175. The plan must
 2714  also
 2715         (d) Be developed in consultation with affected local
 2716  officials in nonmetropolitan areas and with any affected Indian
 2717  tribal governments. The plan must
 2718         (e) Provide an examination of transportation issues likely
 2719  to arise during at least a 20-year period. The long-range
 2720  component shall
 2721         (f) Be updated at least once every 5 years, or more often
 2722  as necessary, to reflect substantive changes to federal or state
 2723  law.
 2724         (b) A short-range component documenting the short-term
 2725  objectives and strategies necessary to implement the goals and
 2726  long-term objectives contained in the long-range component. The
 2727  short-range component must define the relationship between the
 2728  long-range goals and the short-range objectives, specify those
 2729  objectives against which the department’s achievement of such
 2730  goals will be measured, and identify transportation strategies
 2731  necessary to efficiently achieve the goals and objectives in the
 2732  plan. It must provide a policy framework within which the
 2733  department’s legislative budget request, the strategic
 2734  information resource management plan, and the work program are
 2735  developed. The short-range component shall serve as the
 2736  department’s annual agency strategic plan pursuant to s.
 2737  186.021. The short-range component shall be developed consistent
 2738  with available and forecasted state and federal funds. The
 2739  short-range component shall also be submitted to the Florida
 2740  Transportation Commission.
 2741         (4) ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT.—The department shall develop
 2742  an annual performance report evaluating the operation of the
 2743  department for the preceding fiscal year. The report shall also
 2744  include a summary of the financial operations of the department
 2745  and shall annually evaluate how well the adopted work program
 2746  meets the short-term objectives contained in the short-range
 2747  component of the Florida Transportation Plan. This performance
 2748  report shall be submitted to the Florida Transportation
 2749  Commission and the legislative appropriations and transportation
 2750  committees.
 2751         (4)(5) ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANS.—
 2752         (a) Upon request by local governmental entities, the
 2753  department may in its discretion develop and design
 2754  transportation corridors, arterial and collector streets,
 2755  vehicular parking areas, and other support facilities that which
 2756  are consistent with the department’s plans of the department for
 2757  major transportation facilities. The department may render to
 2758  local governmental entities or their planning agencies such
 2759  technical assistance and services as are necessary so that local
 2760  plans and facilities are coordinated with the plans and
 2761  facilities of the department.
 2762         (b) Each regional planning council, as provided for in s.
 2763  186.504, or any successor agency thereto, shall develop, as an
 2764  element of its strategic regional policy plan, transportation
 2765  goals and policies. The transportation goals and policies must
 2766  be prioritized to comply with the prevailing principles provided
 2767  in subsection (1) (2) and s. 334.046(1). The transportation
 2768  goals and policies must shall be consistent, to the maximum
 2769  extent feasible, with the goals and policies of the metropolitan
 2770  planning organization and the Florida Transportation Plan. The
 2771  transportation goals and policies of the regional planning
 2772  council are will be advisory only and must shall be submitted to
 2773  the department and any affected metropolitan planning
 2774  organization for their consideration and comments. Metropolitan
 2775  planning organization plans and other local transportation plans
 2776  must shall be developed to be consistent, to the maximum extent
 2777  feasible, with the regional transportation goals and policies.
 2778  The regional planning council shall review urbanized area
 2779  transportation plans and any other planning products stipulated
 2780  in s. 339.175 and provide the department and respective
 2781  metropolitan planning organizations with written recommendations
 2782  that which the department and the metropolitan planning
 2783  organizations shall take under advisement. Further, The regional
 2784  planning councils shall also directly assist local governments
 2785  that which are not part of a metropolitan area transportation
 2786  planning process in the development of the transportation
 2787  element of their comprehensive plans as required by s. 163.3177.
 2788         (c) Regional transportation plans may be developed in
 2789  regional transportation areas in accordance with an interlocal
 2790  agreement entered into pursuant to s. 163.01 by two or more
 2791  contiguous metropolitan planning organizations; one or more
 2792  metropolitan planning organizations and one or more contiguous
 2793  counties, none of which is a member of a metropolitan planning
 2794  organization; a multicounty regional transportation authority
 2795  created by or pursuant to law; two or more contiguous counties
 2796  that are not members of a metropolitan planning organization; or
 2797  metropolitan planning organizations comprised of three or more
 2798  counties.
 2799         (d) The interlocal agreement must, at a minimum, identify
 2800  the entity that will coordinate the development of the regional
 2801  transportation plan; delineate the boundaries of the regional
 2802  transportation area; provide the duration of the agreement and
 2803  specify how the agreement may be terminated, modified, or
 2804  rescinded; describe the process by which the regional
 2805  transportation plan will be developed; and provide how members
 2806  of the entity will resolve disagreements regarding
 2807  interpretation of the interlocal agreement or disputes relating
 2808  to the development or content of the regional transportation
 2809  plan. Such interlocal agreement becomes shall become effective
 2810  upon its recordation in the official public records of each
 2811  county in the regional transportation area.
 2812         (e) The regional transportation plan developed pursuant to
 2813  this section must, at a minimum, identify regionally significant
 2814  transportation facilities located within a regional
 2815  transportation area and contain a prioritized list of regionally
 2816  significant projects. The projects shall be adopted into the
 2817  capital improvements schedule of the local government
 2818  comprehensive plan pursuant to s. 163.3177(3).
 2819         (5)(6) PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN
 2820  TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.—
 2821         (a) During the development of the long-range component of
 2822  the Florida Transportation Plan, and before prior to substantive
 2823  revisions, the department shall provide citizens, affected
 2824  public agencies, representatives of transportation agency
 2825  employees, other affected employee representatives, private
 2826  providers of transportation, and other known interested parties
 2827  with an opportunity to comment on the proposed plan or
 2828  revisions. These opportunities shall include, at a minimum,
 2829  include publishing a notice in the Florida Administrative Weekly
 2830  and within a newspaper of general circulation within the area of
 2831  each department district office.
 2832         (b) During development of major transportation
 2833  improvements, such as those increasing the capacity of a
 2834  facility through the addition of new lanes or providing new
 2835  access to a limited or controlled access facility or
 2836  construction of a facility in a new location, the department
 2837  shall hold one or more hearings before selecting prior to the
 2838  selection of the facility to be provided, selecting; prior to
 2839  the selection of the site or corridor of the proposed facility,
 2840  and selecting and committing; and prior to the selection of and
 2841  commitment to a specific design proposal for the proposed
 2842  facility. Such public hearings must shall be conducted so as to
 2843  provide an opportunity for effective participation by interested
 2844  persons in the process of transportation planning and site and
 2845  route selection and in the specific location and design of
 2846  transportation facilities. The various factors involved in the
 2847  decision or decisions and any alternative proposals must shall
 2848  be clearly presented so that the persons attending the hearing
 2849  may present their views relating to the decision or decisions to
 2850  which will be made.
 2851         (c) Opportunity for design hearings:
 2852         1. The department, before prior to holding a design
 2853  hearing, must shall duly notify all affected property owners of
 2854  record, as recorded in the property appraiser’s office, by mail
 2855  at least 20 days before prior to the date set for the hearing.
 2856  The affected property owners are shall be:
 2857         a. Those whose property lies in whole or in part within 300
 2858  feet on either side of the centerline of the proposed facility.
 2859         b. Those whom the department determines will be
 2860  substantially affected environmentally, economically, socially,
 2861  or safetywise.
 2862         2. For each subsequent hearing, the department shall
 2863  publish notice before prior to the hearing date in a newspaper
 2864  of general circulation for the area affected. The These notices
 2865  must be published twice, with the first notice appearing at
 2866  least 15 days, but no later than 30 days, before the hearing.
 2867         3. A copy of the notice of opportunity for the hearing must
 2868  be furnished to the United States Department of Transportation
 2869  and to the appropriate departments of the state government at
 2870  the time of publication.
 2871         4. The opportunity for another hearing must be provided
 2872  shall be afforded in any case where when proposed locations or
 2873  designs are so changed from those presented in the notices
 2874  specified in this paragraph above or at a hearing as to have a
 2875  substantially different social, economic, or environmental
 2876  effect.
 2877         5. The opportunity for a hearing must be provided shall be
 2878  afforded in any each case in which the department is in doubt as
 2879  to whether a hearing is required.
 2880         Section 51. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), paragraph (a)
 2881  of subsection (4), and paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of
 2882  section 339.175, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 2883         339.175 Metropolitan planning organization.—
 2884         (2) DESIGNATION.—
 2885         (a)1. An M.P.O. shall be designated for each urbanized area
 2886  of the state; however, this does not require that an individual
 2887  M.P.O. does not have to be designated for each such area. Such
 2888  designation shall be accomplished by agreement between the
 2889  Governor and units of general-purpose local government
 2890  representing at least 75 percent of the population of the
 2891  urbanized area; however, the unit of general-purpose local
 2892  government that represents the central municipality city or
 2893  cities within the M.P.O. jurisdiction, as defined by the United
 2894  States Bureau of the Census, must be a party to such agreement.
 2895         2. To the extent possible, only one M.P.O. shall be
 2896  designated for each urbanized area or group of contiguous
 2897  urbanized areas. More than one M.P.O. may be designated within
 2898  an existing urbanized metropolitan planning area only if the
 2899  Governor and the existing M.P.O. determine that the size and
 2900  complexity of the existing urbanized metropolitan planning area
 2901  makes the designation of more than one M.P.O. for the area
 2902  appropriate.
 2903  
 2904  Each M.P.O. required under this section must be fully operative
 2905  no later than 6 months following its designation.
 2906         (4) APPORTIONMENT.—
 2907         (a) The Governor shall, with the agreement of the affected
 2908  units of general-purpose local government as required by federal
 2909  rules and regulations, shall apportion the membership on the
 2910  applicable M.P.O. among the various governmental entities within
 2911  the area. At the request of a majority of the affected units of
 2912  general-purpose local government comprising an M.P.O., the
 2913  Governor and a majority of units of general-purpose local
 2914  government serving on an M.P.O. shall cooperatively agree upon
 2915  and prescribe who may serve as an alternate member and a method
 2916  for appointing alternate members who may vote at any M.P.O.
 2917  meeting that an alternate member attends in place of a regular
 2918  member. The method must shall be set forth as a part of the
 2919  interlocal agreement describing the M.P.O.’s membership or in
 2920  the M.P.O.’s operating procedures and bylaws. The governmental
 2921  entity so designated shall appoint the appropriate number of
 2922  members to the M.P.O. from eligible officials. Representatives
 2923  of the department shall serve as nonvoting advisors members of
 2924  the M.P.O. governing board. Additional nonvoting advisers may be
 2925  appointed by the M.P.O. as deemed necessary; however, to the
 2926  maximum extent feasible, each M.P.O. shall seek to appoint
 2927  nonvoting representatives of various multimodal forms of
 2928  transportation not otherwise represented by voting members of
 2929  the M.P.O. An M.P.O. shall appoint nonvoting advisers
 2930  representing major military installations located within the
 2931  jurisdictional boundaries of the M.P.O. upon the request of the
 2932  aforesaid major military installations and subject to the
 2933  agreement of the M.P.O. All nonvoting advisers may attend and
 2934  participate fully in governing board meetings but may shall not
 2935  have a vote and may shall not be members of the governing board.
 2936  The Governor shall review the composition of the M.P.O.
 2937  membership in conjunction with the decennial census as prepared
 2938  by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
 2939  Census, and reapportion it as necessary to comply with
 2940  subsection (3).
 2941         (8) TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.—Each M.P.O. shall,
 2942  in cooperation with the state and affected public transportation
 2943  operators, develop a transportation improvement program for the
 2944  area within the jurisdiction of the M.P.O. In the development of
 2945  the transportation improvement program, each M.P.O. must provide
 2946  the public, affected public agencies, representatives of
 2947  transportation agency employees, freight shippers, providers of
 2948  freight transportation services, private providers of
 2949  transportation, representatives of users of public transit, and
 2950  other interested parties with a reasonable opportunity to
 2951  comment on the proposed transportation improvement program.
 2952         (b) Each M.P.O. annually shall prepare a list of project
 2953  priorities and shall submit the list to the appropriate district
 2954  of the department by October 1 of each year; however, the
 2955  department and a metropolitan planning organization may, in
 2956  writing, agree to vary this submittal date. If more than one
 2957  M.P.O. exists within an urbanized area, the M.P.O.s must
 2958  coordinate in the development of regionally significant project
 2959  priorities. The list of project priorities must be formally
 2960  reviewed by the technical and citizens’ advisory committees, and
 2961  approved by the M.P.O., before it is transmitted to the
 2962  district. The approved list of project priorities must be used
 2963  by the district in developing the district work program and must
 2964  be used by the M.P.O. in developing its transportation
 2965  improvement program. The annual list of project priorities must
 2966  be based upon project selection criteria that, at a minimum,
 2967  consider the following:
 2968         1. The approved M.P.O. long-range transportation plan;
 2969         2. The Strategic Intermodal System Plan developed under s.
 2970  339.64.
 2971         3. The priorities developed pursuant to s. 339.2819(4).
 2972         4. The results of the transportation management systems;
 2973  and
 2974         5. The M.P.O.’s public-involvement procedures.
 2975         Section 52. Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) of section
 2976  339.2819, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 2977         339.2819 Transportation Regional Incentive Program.—
 2978         (1) The There is created within the Department of
 2979  Transportation a Transportation Regional Incentive Program is
 2980  created within the Department of Transportation for the purpose
 2981  of providing funds to improve regionally significant
 2982  transportation facilities in regional transportation areas
 2983  created pursuant to s. 339.155(4) 339.155(5).
 2984         (2) The percentage of matching funds provided from the
 2985  Transportation Regional Incentive Program shall provide matching
 2986  funds of up to be 50 percent of project costs.
 2987         (3) The department shall allocate funding available for the
 2988  Transportation Regional Incentive Program to the districts based
 2989  on a factor derived from equal parts of population and motor
 2990  fuel collections for eligible counties in regional
 2991  transportation areas created pursuant to s. 339.155(4)
 2992  339.155(5).
 2993         (4)(a) Projects to be funded with Transportation Regional
 2994  Incentive Program funds shall, at a minimum, must:
 2995         1. Support those transportation facilities that Serve
 2996  national, statewide, or regional functions and function as part
 2997  of an integrated regional transportation system.
 2998         2. Be identified in the capital improvements element of a
 2999  comprehensive plan that has been determined to be in compliance
 3000  with part II of chapter 163, after July 1, 2005. Further, The
 3001  project must also shall be in compliance with local government
 3002  comprehensive plan policies relative to corridor management.
 3003         3. Be consistent with the Strategic Intermodal System Plan
 3004  developed under s. 339.64.
 3005         4. Have a commitment for local, regional, or private
 3006  financial matching funds as a percentage of the overall project
 3007  cost.
 3008         (b) Projects funded under this section must be included in
 3009  the department’s work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135.
 3010  In identifying projects to be funded with allocating
 3011  Transportation Regional Incentive Program funds, the department
 3012  must ensure that such projects meet the requirements of this
 3013  section and give priority shall be given to projects that:
 3014         1. Provide connectivity to the Strategic Intermodal System
 3015  developed under s. 339.64.
 3016         2. Support economic development and the movement of goods
 3017  in rural areas of critical economic concern designated under s.
 3018  288.0656(7).
 3019         3. Are subject to a local ordinance that establishes
 3020  corridor management techniques, including access management
 3021  strategies, right-of-way acquisition and protection measures,
 3022  appropriate land use strategies, zoning, and setback
 3023  requirements for adjacent land uses.
 3024         4. Improve connectivity between military installations and
 3025  the Strategic Highway Network or the Strategic Rail Corridor
 3026  Network.
 3027  
 3028  The department shall also consider the extent to which local
 3029  matching funds are available to be committed to the project.
 3030         Section 53. Subsection (6) of section 339.285, Florida
 3031  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3032         339.285 Enhanced Bridge Program for Sustainable
 3033  Transportation.—
 3034         (6) Preference shall be given to bridge projects located on
 3035  corridors that connect to the Strategic Intermodal System,
 3036  created under s. 339.64, and that have been identified as
 3037  regionally significant in accordance with s. 339.155(4)(c)-(e)
 3038  339.155(5)(c), (d), and (e).
 3039         Section 54. Subsections (1) and (6) of section 339.62,
 3040  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 3041         339.62 System components.—The Strategic Intermodal System
 3042  shall consist of appropriate components of:
 3043         (1) Highway corridors The Florida Intrastate Highway System
 3044  established under s. 339.65 338.001.
 3045         (6) Other existing or planned corridors that serve a
 3046  statewide or interregional purpose.
 3047         Section 55. Subsections (2) and (4) of section 339.63,
 3048  Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsections (5) and (6) are
 3049  added to that section, to read:
 3050         339.63 System facilities designated; additions and
 3051  deletions.—
 3052         (2) The Strategic Intermodal System and the Emerging
 3053  Strategic Intermodal System include the following five four
 3054  different types of facilities which that each form one component
 3055  of an interconnected transportation system which types include:
 3056         (a) Existing or planned hubs that are ports and terminals
 3057  including airports, seaports, spaceports, passenger terminals,
 3058  and rail terminals that serving to move goods or people between
 3059  Florida regions of the state or between this state Florida and
 3060  other markets in the United States and the rest of the world.
 3061         (b) Existing or planned corridors that are highways, rail
 3062  lines, waterways, and other exclusive-use facilities connecting
 3063  major markets within the state Florida or between this state
 3064  Florida and other states or nations.
 3065         (c) Existing or planned intermodal connectors that are
 3066  highways, rail lines, waterways or local public transit systems
 3067  that serve serving as connectors between the components listed
 3068  in paragraphs (a) and (b).
 3069         (d) Existing or planned military access facilities that are
 3070  highways or rail lines linking Strategic Intermodal System
 3071  corridors to the state’s strategic military installations.
 3072         (e)(d) Existing or planned facilities that significantly
 3073  improve the state’s competitive position to compete for the
 3074  movement of additional goods into and through this state.
 3075         (4) Except as provided in subsections (5) and (6), after
 3076  the initial designation of the Strategic Intermodal System under
 3077  subsection (1), the department shall, in coordination with the
 3078  metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, regional
 3079  planning councils, transportation providers, and affected public
 3080  agencies, add facilities to or delete facilities from the
 3081  Strategic Intermodal System described in paragraph (2)(a) based
 3082  upon criteria adopted by the department.
 3083         (5)However, An airport that is designated as a reliever
 3084  airport to a Strategic Intermodal System airport which has at
 3085  least 75,000 itinerant operations per year, has a runway length
 3086  of at least 5,500 linear feet, is capable of handling aircraft
 3087  weighing at least 60,000 pounds with a dual wheel configuration
 3088  which is served by at least one precision instrument approach,
 3089  and serves a cluster of aviation-dependent industries, shall be
 3090  designated as part of the Strategic Intermodal System by the
 3091  Secretary of Transportation upon the request of a reliever
 3092  airport meeting this criteria.
 3093         (6)(a) Upon the request of a facility that is described in
 3094  subsection (2), that meets the definition of an intermodal
 3095  logistics center as defined in s. 311.101(1), and that has been
 3096  designated in the local comprehensive plan as an intermodal
 3097  logistics center or an equivalent planning term, the Secretary
 3098  of Transportation shall designate such planned facility as part
 3099  of the Strategic Intermodal System.
 3100         (b) If a facility is designated as part of the Strategic
 3101  Intermodal System pursuant to paragraph (a) and is within the
 3102  jurisdiction of a local government that maintains a
 3103  transportation concurrency system, such facility shall receive a
 3104  waiver of transportation concurrency requirements applicable to
 3105  Strategic Intermodal System facilities in order to accommodate
 3106  any development at the facility which occurs pursuant to a
 3107  building permit issued on or before December 31, 2017, but only
 3108  if such facility is located:
 3109         1. Within an area designated as a rural area of critical
 3110  economic concern pursuant to s. 288.0656(7);
 3111         2. Within a rural enterprise zone as defined in s.
 3112  290.004(5); or
 3113         3. Within 15 miles of the boundary of a rural area of
 3114  critical economic concern or a rural enterprise zone.
 3115         Section 56. Section 339.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to
 3116  read:
 3117         339.64 Strategic Intermodal System Plan.—
 3118         (1) The department shall develop, in cooperation with
 3119  metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning councils,
 3120  local governments, the Statewide Intermodal Transportation
 3121  Advisory Council and other transportation providers, a Strategic
 3122  Intermodal System Plan. The plan must shall be consistent with
 3123  the Florida Transportation Plan developed pursuant to s. 339.155
 3124  and shall be updated at least once every 5 years, subsequent to
 3125  updates of the Florida Transportation Plan.
 3126         (2) In association with the continued development of the
 3127  Strategic Intermodal System Plan, the Florida Transportation
 3128  Commission, as part of its work program review process, shall
 3129  conduct an annual assessment of the progress that the department
 3130  and its transportation partners have made in realizing the goals
 3131  of economic development, improved mobility, and increased
 3132  intermodal connectivity of the Strategic Intermodal System. The
 3133  Florida Transportation Commission shall coordinate with the
 3134  department, the Statewide Intermodal Transportation Advisory
 3135  Council, and other appropriate entities when developing this
 3136  assessment. The Florida Transportation Commission shall deliver
 3137  a report to the Governor and Legislature within no later than 14
 3138  days after the regular session begins, with recommendations as
 3139  necessary to fully implement the Strategic Intermodal System.
 3140         (3)(a) During the development of updates to the Strategic
 3141  Intermodal System Plan, the department shall provide
 3142  metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning councils,
 3143  local governments, transportation providers, affected public
 3144  agencies, and citizens with an opportunity to participate in and
 3145  comment on the development of the update.
 3146         (b) The department also shall coordinate with federal,
 3147  regional, and local partners the planning for the Strategic
 3148  Highway Network and the Strategic Rail Corridor Network
 3149  transportation facilities that either are included in the
 3150  Strategic Intermodal System, or that provide a direct connection
 3151  between military installations and the Strategic Intermodal
 3152  System, with federal, regional, and local partners. In addition,
 3153  The department shall also coordinate with regional and local
 3154  partners to determine whether the road and other transportation
 3155  infrastructure that connect military installations to the
 3156  Strategic Intermodal System, the Strategic Highway Network, or
 3157  the Strategic Rail Corridor is regionally significant and should
 3158  be included in the Strategic Intermodal System Plan.
 3159         (4) The Strategic Intermodal System Plan must shall include
 3160  the following:
 3161         (a) A needs assessment.
 3162         (b) A project prioritization process.
 3163         (c) A map of facilities designated as Strategic Intermodal
 3164  System facilities; facilities that are emerging in importance
 3165  and that are likely to become part of the system in the future;
 3166  and planned facilities that will meet the established criteria.
 3167         (d) A finance plan based on reasonable projections of
 3168  anticipated revenues, including both 10-year and at least 20
 3169  year cost-feasible components.
 3170         (e) An assessment of the impacts of proposed improvements
 3171  to Strategic Intermodal System corridors on military
 3172  installations that are either located directly on the Strategic
 3173  Intermodal System or located on the Strategic Highway Network or
 3174  Strategic Rail Corridor Network.
 3175         (5) STATEWIDE INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL.—
 3176         (a) The Statewide Intermodal Transportation Advisory
 3177  Council is created to advise and make recommendations to the
 3178  Legislature and the department on policies, planning, and
 3179  funding of intermodal transportation projects. The council’s
 3180  responsibilities shall include:
 3181         1. Advising the department on the policies, planning, and
 3182  implementation of strategies related to intermodal
 3183  transportation.
 3184         2. Providing advice and recommendations to the Legislature
 3185  on funding for projects to move goods and people in the most
 3186  efficient and effective manner for the State of Florida.
 3187         (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Members of the Statewide Intermodal
 3188  Transportation Advisory Council shall consist of the following:
 3189         1. Six intermodal industry representatives selected by the
 3190  Governor as follows:
 3191         a. One representative from an airport involved in the
 3192  movement of freight and people from their airport facility to
 3193  another transportation mode.
 3194         b. One individual representing a fixed-route, local
 3195  government transit system.
 3196         c. One representative from an intercity bus company
 3197  providing regularly scheduled bus travel as determined by
 3198  federal regulations.
 3199         d. One representative from a spaceport.
 3200         e. One representative from intermodal trucking companies.
 3201         f. One representative having command responsibilities of a
 3202  major military installation.
 3203         2. Three intermodal industry representatives selected by
 3204  the President of the Senate as follows:
 3205         a. One representative from major-line railroads.
 3206         b. One representative from seaports listed in s. 311.09(1)
 3207  from the Atlantic Coast.
 3208         c. One representative from an airport involved in the
 3209  movement of freight and people from their airport facility to
 3210  another transportation mode.
 3211         3. Three intermodal industry representatives selected by
 3212  the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows:
 3213         a. One representative from short-line railroads.
 3214         b. One representative from seaports listed in s. 311.09(1)
 3215  from the Gulf Coast.
 3216         c. One representative from intermodal trucking companies.
 3217  In no event may this representative be employed by the same
 3218  company that employs the intermodal trucking company
 3219  representative selected by the Governor.
 3220         (c) Initial appointments to the council must be made no
 3221  later than 30 days after the effective date of this section.
 3222         1. The initial appointments made by the President of the
 3223  Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
 3224  serve terms concurrent with those of the respective appointing
 3225  officer. Beginning January 15, 2005, and for all subsequent
 3226  appointments, council members appointed by the President of the
 3227  Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
 3228  serve 2-year terms, concurrent with the term of the respective
 3229  appointing officer.
 3230         2. The initial appointees, and all subsequent appointees,
 3231  made by the Governor shall serve 2-year terms.
 3232         3. Vacancies on the council shall be filled in the same
 3233  manner as the initial appointments.
 3234         (d) Each member of the council shall be allowed one vote.
 3235  The council shall select a chair from among its membership.
 3236  Meetings shall be held at the call of the chair, but not less
 3237  frequently than quarterly. The members of the council shall be
 3238  reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s.
 3239  112.061.
 3240         (e) The department shall provide administrative staff
 3241  support and shall ensure that council meetings are
 3242  electronically recorded. Such recordings and all documents
 3243  received, prepared for, or used by the council in conducting its
 3244  business shall be preserved pursuant to chapters 119 and 257.
 3245         Section 57. Section 339.65, Florida Statutes, is created to
 3246  read:
 3247         339.65Strategic Intermodal System highway corridors.—
 3248         (1) The department shall plan and develop Strategic
 3249  Intermodal System highway corridors, including limited and
 3250  controlled access facilities, allowing for high-speed and high
 3251  volume traffic movements within the state. The primary function
 3252  of the corridors is to provide for traffic movement. Access to
 3253  abutting land is subordinate to this function and must be
 3254  prohibited or highly regulated.
 3255         (2) Strategic Intermodal System highway corridors must
 3256  include facilities from the following components of the State
 3257  Highway System which meet the criteria adopted by the department
 3258  pursuant to s. 339.63:
 3259         (a) Interstate highways.
 3260         (b) The Florida Turnpike System.
 3261         (c) Interregional and intercity limited access facilities.
 3262         (d) Existing interregional and intercity arterial highways
 3263  previously upgraded or upgraded in the future to limited access
 3264  or controlled access facility standards.
 3265         (e) New limited access facilities necessary to complete a
 3266  balanced statewide system.
 3267         (3) The department shall adhere to the following policy
 3268  guidelines in the development of Strategic Intermodal System
 3269  highway corridors:
 3270         (a) Making capacity improvements to existing facilities, if
 3271  feasible, in order to minimize costs and environmental impacts.
 3272         (b) Identifying appropriate arterial highways in major
 3273  transportation corridors for inclusion in a program to bring
 3274  these facilities up to limited access or controlled access
 3275  facility standards.
 3276         (c) Coordinating proposed projects with appropriate limited
 3277  access projects undertaken by expressway authorities and local
 3278  governmental entities.
 3279         (d) Maximizing the use of limited access facility standards
 3280  when constructing new arterial highways.
 3281         (e) Identifying appropriate new limited access highways for
 3282  inclusion in the Florida Turnpike System.
 3283         (f) To the maximum extent feasible, ensuring that proposed
 3284  projects are consistent with approved local government
 3285  comprehensive plans of the local jurisdictions in which such
 3286  facilities are to be located and with the transportation
 3287  improvement program of any metropolitan planning organization
 3288  where such facilities are to be located.
 3289         (4) The department shall develop and maintain a plan of
 3290  Strategic Intermodal System highway corridor projects that are
 3291  anticipated to be let to contract for construction within a time
 3292  period of at least 20 years. The plan must also identify when
 3293  segments of the corridor will meet the standards and criteria
 3294  developed pursuant to subsection (5).
 3295         (5) The department shall establish the standards and
 3296  criteria for the functional characteristics and design of
 3297  facilities proposed as part of Strategic Intermodal System
 3298  highway corridors.
 3299         (6) For the purposes of developing the proposed Strategic
 3300  Intermodal System highway corridors, beginning in the 2012-2013
 3301  fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the minimum
 3302  amount allocated shall be based on the 2003-2004 fiscal year
 3303  allocation of $450 million adjusted annually by the change in
 3304  the Consumer Price Index for the prior fiscal year compared to
 3305  the Consumer Price Index for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
 3306         (7) Any project to be constructed as part of a Strategic
 3307  Intermodal System highway corridor must be included in the
 3308  department’s adopted work program. Corridor projects that are
 3309  added to or deleted from the previous adopted work program, or
 3310  modifications to corridor projects contained in the previous
 3311  adopted work program, must be specifically identified and
 3312  submitted as a separate part of the tentative work program.
 3313         Section 58. Subsection (2) of section 341.053, Florida
 3314  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3315         341.053 Intermodal Development Program; administration;
 3316  eligible projects; limitations.—
 3317         (2) In recognition of the department’s role in the economic
 3318  development of this state, the department shall develop a
 3319  proposed intermodal development plan to connect Florida’s
 3320  airports, deepwater seaports, rail systems serving both
 3321  passenger and freight, and major intermodal connectors to the
 3322  Strategic Intermodal System highway corridors Florida Intrastate
 3323  Highway System facilities as the primary system for the movement
 3324  of people and freight in this state in order to make the
 3325  intermodal development plan a fully integrated and
 3326  interconnected system. The intermodal development plan must:
 3327         (a) Define and assess the state’s freight intermodal
 3328  network, including airports, seaports, rail lines and terminals,
 3329  intercity bus lines and terminals, and connecting highways.
 3330         (b) Prioritize statewide infrastructure investments,
 3331  including the acceleration of current projects, which are found
 3332  by the Freight Stakeholders Task Force to be priority projects
 3333  for the efficient movement of people and freight.
 3334         (c) Be developed in a manner that will assure maximum use
 3335  of existing facilities and optimum integration and coordination
 3336  of the various modes of transportation, including both
 3337  government-owned and privately owned resources, in the most
 3338  cost-effective manner possible.
 3339         Section 59. Section 341.840, Florida Statutes, is amended
 3340  to read:
 3341         341.840 Tax exemption.—
 3342         (1) The exercise of the powers granted under ss. 341.8201
 3343  341.842 by this act will be in all respects for the benefit of
 3344  the people of this state, for the increase of their commerce,
 3345  welfare, and prosperity, and for the improvement of their health
 3346  and living conditions. The design, construction, operation,
 3347  maintenance, and financing of a high-speed rail system by the
 3348  enterprise authority, its agent, or the owner or lessee thereof,
 3349  as herein authorized, constitutes the performance of an
 3350  essential public function.
 3351         (2)(a) For the purposes of this section, the term
 3352  “enterprise authority” does not include agents of the enterprise
 3353  authority other than contractors who qualify as such pursuant to
 3354  subsection (7).
 3355         (b) For the purposes of this section, any item or property
 3356  that is within the definition of the term “associated
 3357  development” in s. 341.8203(1) may shall not be considered to be
 3358  part of the high-speed rail system as defined in s.
 3359  341.8203(3)(6).
 3360         (3)(a) Purchases or leases of tangible personal property or
 3361  real property by the enterprise authority, excluding agents of
 3362  the enterprise authority, are exempt from taxes imposed by
 3363  chapter 212 as provided in s. 212.08(6). Purchases or leases of
 3364  tangible personal property that is incorporated into the high
 3365  speed rail system as a component part thereof, as determined by
 3366  the enterprise authority, by agents of the enterprise authority
 3367  or the owner of the high-speed rail system are exempt from sales
 3368  or use taxes imposed by chapter 212. Leases, rentals, or
 3369  licenses to use real property granted to agents of the
 3370  enterprise authority or the owner of the high-speed rail system
 3371  are exempt from taxes imposed by s. 212.031 if the real property
 3372  becomes part of such system. The exemptions granted in this
 3373  subsection do not apply to sales, leases, or licenses by the
 3374  enterprise authority, agents of the authority, or the owner of
 3375  the high-speed rail system.
 3376         (b) The exemption granted in paragraph (a) to purchases or
 3377  leases of tangible personal property by agents of the enterprise
 3378  authority or by the owner of the high-speed rail system applies
 3379  only to property that becomes a component part of such system.
 3380  It does not apply to items, including, but not limited to,
 3381  cranes, bulldozers, forklifts, other machinery and equipment,
 3382  tools and supplies, or other items of tangible personal property
 3383  used in the construction, operation, or maintenance of the high
 3384  speed rail system when such items are not incorporated into the
 3385  high-speed rail system as a component part thereof.
 3386         (4) Any bonds or other security, and all notes, mortgages,
 3387  security agreements, letters of credit, or other instruments
 3388  that arise out of or are given to secure the repayment of bonds
 3389  or other security, issued by the enterprise authority, or on
 3390  behalf of the enterprise authority, their transfer, and the
 3391  income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof,
 3392  shall at all times be free from taxation of every kind by the
 3393  state, the counties, and the municipalities and other political
 3394  subdivisions in the state. This subsection, however, does not
 3395  exempt from taxation or assessment the leasehold interest of a
 3396  lessee in any project or any other property or interest owned by
 3397  the lessee. The exemption granted by this subsection is not
 3398  applicable to any tax imposed by chapter 220 on interest income
 3399  or profits on the sale of debt obligations owned by
 3400  corporations.
 3401         (5) When property of the enterprise authority is leased to
 3402  another person or entity, the property shall be exempt from ad
 3403  valorem taxation only if the use by the lessee qualifies the
 3404  property for exemption under s. 196.199.
 3405         (6) A leasehold interest held by the enterprise authority
 3406  is not subject to intangible tax. However, if a leasehold
 3407  interest held by the enterprise authority is subleased to a
 3408  nongovernmental lessee, such subleasehold interest shall be
 3409  deemed to be an interest described in s. 199.023(1)(d), Florida
 3410  Statutes 2005, and is subject to the intangible tax.
 3411         (7)(a) In order to be considered an agent of the enterprise
 3412  authority for purposes of the exemption from sales and use tax
 3413  granted by subsection (3) for tangible personal property
 3414  incorporated into the high-speed rail system, a contractor of
 3415  the enterprise authority that purchases or fabricates such
 3416  tangible personal property must be certified by the enterprise
 3417  authority as provided in this subsection.
 3418         (b)1. A contractor must apply for a renewal of the
 3419  exemption not later than December 1 of each calendar year.
 3420         2. A contractor must apply to the enterprise authority on
 3421  the application form adopted by the enterprise authority, which
 3422  shall develop the form in consultation with the Department of
 3423  Revenue.
 3424         3. The enterprise authority shall review each submitted
 3425  application and determine whether it is complete. The enterprise
 3426  authority shall notify the applicant of any deficiencies in the
 3427  application within 30 days. Upon receipt of a completed
 3428  application, the enterprise authority shall evaluate the
 3429  application for exemption under this subsection and issue a
 3430  certification that the contractor is qualified to act as an
 3431  agent of the enterprise authority for purposes of this section
 3432  or a denial of such certification within 30 days. The enterprise
 3433  authority shall provide the Department of Revenue with a copy of
 3434  each certification issued upon approval of an application. Upon
 3435  receipt of a certification from the enterprise authority, the
 3436  Department of Revenue shall issue an exemption permit to the
 3437  contractor.
 3438         (c)1. The contractor may extend a copy of its exemption
 3439  permit to its vendors in lieu of paying sales tax on purchases
 3440  of tangible personal property qualifying for exemption under
 3441  this section. Possession of a copy of the exemption permit
 3442  relieves the seller of the responsibility of collecting tax on
 3443  the sale, and the Department of Revenue shall look solely to the
 3444  contractor for recovery of tax upon a determination that the
 3445  contractor was not entitled to the exemption.
 3446         2. The contractor may extend a copy of its exemption permit
 3447  to real property subcontractors supplying and installing
 3448  tangible personal property that is exempt under subsection (3).
 3449  Any such subcontractor may is authorized to extend a copy of the
 3450  permit to the subcontractor’s vendors in order to purchase
 3451  qualifying tangible personal property tax-exempt. If the
 3452  subcontractor uses the exemption permit to purchase tangible
 3453  personal property that is determined not to qualify for
 3454  exemption under subsection (3), the Department of Revenue may
 3455  assess and collect any tax, penalties, and interest that are due
 3456  from either the contractor holding the exemption permit or the
 3457  subcontractor that extended the exemption permit to the seller.
 3458         (d) Any contractor authorized to act as an agent of the
 3459  enterprise authority under this section shall maintain the
 3460  necessary books and records to document the exempt status of
 3461  purchases and fabrication costs made or incurred under the
 3462  permit. In addition, an authorized contractor extending its
 3463  exemption permit to its subcontractors shall maintain a copy of
 3464  the subcontractor’s books, records, and invoices indicating all
 3465  purchases made by the subcontractor under the authorized
 3466  contractor’s permit. If, in an audit conducted by the Department
 3467  of Revenue, it is determined that tangible personal property
 3468  purchased or fabricated claiming exemption under this section
 3469  does not meet the criteria for exemption, the amount of taxes
 3470  not paid at the time of purchase or fabrication shall be
 3471  immediately due and payable to the Department of Revenue,
 3472  together with the appropriate interest and penalty, computed
 3473  from the date of purchase, in the manner prescribed by chapter
 3474  212.
 3475         (e) If a contractor fails to apply for a high-speed rail
 3476  system exemption permit, or if a contractor initially determined
 3477  by the enterprise authority to not qualify for exemption is
 3478  subsequently determined to be eligible, the contractor shall
 3479  receive the benefit of the exemption in this subsection through
 3480  a refund of previously paid taxes for transactions that
 3481  otherwise would have been exempt. A refund may not be made for
 3482  such taxes without the issuance of a certification by the
 3483  enterprise authority that the contractor was authorized to make
 3484  purchases tax-exempt and a determination by the Department of
 3485  Revenue that the purchases qualified for the exemption.
 3486         (f) The enterprise authority may adopt rules governing the
 3487  application process for exemption of a contractor as an
 3488  authorized agent of the enterprise authority.
 3489         (g) The Department of Revenue may adopt rules governing the
 3490  issuance and form of high-speed rail system exemption permits,
 3491  the audit of contractors and subcontractors using such permits,
 3492  the recapture of taxes on nonqualified purchases, and the manner
 3493  and form of refund applications.
 3494         Section 60. Subsection (3) of section 343.52, Florida
 3495  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3496         343.52 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
 3497         (3) “Area served” means Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
 3498  Counties. However, this area may be expanded by mutual consent
 3499  of the authority and the board of county commissioners of
 3500  Martin, St. Lucie, or Monroe Counties representing the proposed
 3501  expansion area. The department shall approve expansion into any
 3502  additional counties.
 3503         Section 61. Section 343.53, Florida Statutes, is amended to
 3504  read:
 3505         343.53 South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.—
 3506         (1) There is created and established a body politic and
 3507  corporate, an agency of the state, to be known as the “South
 3508  Florida Regional Transportation Authority,” hereinafter referred
 3509  to as the “authority.”
 3510         (2) The governing board of the authority shall consist of
 3511  11 nine voting members and one ex officio nonvoting member, as
 3512  follows:
 3513         (a) The county commissions of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm
 3514  Beach Counties shall each elect a commissioner as that
 3515  commission’s representative on the board. The commissioner must
 3516  be a member of the county commission when elected and for the
 3517  full extent of his or her term.
 3518         (b) The county commissions of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm
 3519  Beach Counties shall each appoint a citizen member to the board
 3520  who is not a member of the county commission but who is a
 3521  resident of the county from which he or she is appointed and a
 3522  qualified elector of that county. Insofar as practicable, the
 3523  citizen member shall represent the business and civic interests
 3524  of the community.
 3525         (c) The secretary of the Department of Transportation shall
 3526  appoint one of the district secretaries, or his or her designee,
 3527  for the districts within which the area served by the South
 3528  Florida Regional Transportation Authority is located, who shall
 3529  serve ex officio as a nonvoting member.
 3530         (d) If the authority’s service area is expanded pursuant to
 3531  s. 343.54(5), the county containing the new service area shall
 3532  have three members appointed to the board as follows:
 3533         1.The county commission of the county shall elect a
 3534  commissioner as that commission’s representative on the board.
 3535  The commissioner must be a member of the county commission when
 3536  elected and for the full extent of his or her term.
 3537         2.The county commission of the county shall appoint a
 3538  citizen member to the board who is not a member of the county
 3539  commission but who is a resident and a qualified elector of that
 3540  county. Insofar as is practicable, the citizen member shall
 3541  represent the business and civic interests of the community.
 3542         3. The Governor shall appoint a citizen member to the board
 3543  who is not a member of the county commission but who is a
 3544  resident and a qualified elector of that county.
 3545         (d)(e) The Governor shall appoint five two members to the
 3546  board who are residents and qualified electors in the area
 3547  served by the authority but who are not residents of the same
 3548  county and also not residents of the county in which the
 3549  district secretary who was appointed pursuant to paragraph (c)
 3550  is a resident.
 3551         (3)(a) Members of the governing board of the authority
 3552  shall be appointed to serve 4-year staggered terms, except that
 3553  the terms of the appointees of the Governor shall be concurrent.
 3554         (b)The terms of the board members currently serving on the
 3555  authority that is being succeeded by this act shall expire July
 3556  30, 2003, at which time the terms of the members appointed
 3557  pursuant to subsection (2) shall commence. The Governor shall
 3558  make his or her appointments to the board within 30 days after
 3559  July 30, 2003.
 3560         (4) A vacancy during a term shall be filled by the
 3561  respective appointing authority in the same manner as the
 3562  original appointment and only for the balance of the unexpired
 3563  term.
 3564         (5) The members of the authority shall serve without
 3565  compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for travel
 3566  expenses actually incurred in their duties as provided by law.
 3567         Section 62. Subsection (5) of section 343.54, Florida
 3568  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3569         343.54 Powers and duties.—
 3570         (5) The authority, by a resolution of its governing board,
 3571  may expand its service area into Martin, St. Lucie, or Monroe
 3572  Counties and enter into a partnership with any county that is
 3573  contiguous to the service area of the authority. The board shall
 3574  determine the conditions and terms of the partnership, except as
 3575  provided herein. However, the authority may not expand its
 3576  service area without the consent of the board of county
 3577  commissioners representing the proposed expansion area, and a
 3578  county may not be added to the service area except in the year
 3579  that federal reauthorization legislation for transportation
 3580  funds is enacted. The department shall approve the expansion
 3581  into any additional counties.
 3582         Section 63. Transfer to the Florida Turnpike Enterprise.
 3583  The governance and control of the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority
 3584  system, created pursuant to chapter 2000-411, Laws of Florida,
 3585  is transferred to the Florida Turnpike Enterprise.
 3586         (1)The assets, facilities, tangible and intangible
 3587  property, any rights in such property, and any other legal
 3588  rights of the authority, including the bridge system operated by
 3589  the authority, are transferred to the turnpike enterprise. All
 3590  powers of the authority shall succeed to the turnpike
 3591  enterprise, and the operations and maintenance of the bridge
 3592  system shall be under the control of the turnpike enterprise,
 3593  pursuant to this section. Revenues collected on the bridge
 3594  system may be considered turnpike revenues and the Mid-Bay
 3595  Bridge may be considered part of the turnpike system if bonds of
 3596  the authority are not outstanding. The turnpike enterprise also
 3597  assumes all liability for bonds of the bridge authority pursuant
 3598  to subsection (2). The turnpike enterprise may review other
 3599  contracts, financial obligations, and contractual obligations
 3600  and liabilities of the authority and may assume legal liability
 3601  for such obligations that are determined to be necessary for the
 3602  continued operation of the bridge system.
 3603         (2)The transfer pursuant to this section is subject to the
 3604  terms and covenants provided for the protection of the holders
 3605  of the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority bonds in the lease-purchase
 3606  agreement and the resolutions adopted in connection with the
 3607  issuance of the bonds. Further, the transfer does not impair the
 3608  terms of the contract between the authority and the bondholders,
 3609  does not act to the detriment of the bondholders, and does not
 3610  diminish the security for the bonds. After the transfer, the
 3611  turnpike enterprise shall operate and maintain the bridge system
 3612  and any other facilities of the authority in accordance with the
 3613  terms, conditions, and covenants contained in the bond
 3614  resolutions and lease-purchase agreement securing the bonds of
 3615  the authority. The turnpike enterprise shall collect toll
 3616  revenues and apply them to the payment of debt service as
 3617  provided in the bond resolution securing the bonds and shall
 3618  expressly assume all obligations relating to the bonds to ensure
 3619  that the transfer will have no adverse impact on the security
 3620  for the bonds of the authority. The transfer does not make the
 3621  obligation to pay the principal and interest on the bonds a
 3622  general liability of the turnpike or pledge the turnpike system
 3623  revenues to payment of the bonds. Revenues that are generated by
 3624  the bridge system and other facilities of the authority and that
 3625  were pledged by the authority to the payment of the bonds remain
 3626  subject to the pledge for the benefit of the bondholders. The
 3627  transfer does not modify or eliminate any prior obligation of
 3628  the Department of Transportation to pay certain costs of the
 3629  bridge system from sources other than revenues of the bridge
 3630  system. With regard to the authority’s current long-term debt of
 3631  $16.1 million due to the department as of June 30, 2011, and to
 3632  the extent permitted by the bond resolutions and lease-purchase
 3633  agreement securing the bonds, the turnpike enterprise shall make
 3634  payment annually to the State Transportation Trust Fund for the
 3635  purpose of repaying the authority’s long-term debt due to the
 3636  department from any bridge system revenues obtained under this
 3637  section which remain after the payment of the costs of
 3638  operations, maintenance, renewal, and replacement of the bridge
 3639  system, the payment of current debt service, and other payments
 3640  required in relation to the bonds. The turnpike enterprise shall
 3641  make such annual payments, not to exceed $1 million per year, to
 3642  the State Transportation Trust Fund until all remaining
 3643  authority long-term debt due to the department has been repaid.
 3644         (3) Any remaining toll revenue from the facilities of the
 3645  Mid-Bay Bridge Authority collected by the Florida Turnpike
 3646  Enterprise after meeting the requirements of subsections (1) and
 3647  (2) shall be used for the construction, maintenance, or
 3648  improvement of any toll facility of the Florida Turnpike
 3649  Enterprise within the county or counties in which the revenue
 3650  was collected.
 3651         Section 64. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
 3652  348.0003, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3653         348.0003 Expressway authority; formation; membership.—
 3654         (4)
 3655         (c) Members of each expressway authority, transportation
 3656  authority, bridge authority, or toll authority, created pursuant
 3657  to this chapter or, chapter 343, or chapter 349 or any other
 3658  general legislative enactment, must shall comply with the
 3659  applicable financial disclosure requirements of s. 8, Art. II of
 3660  the State Constitution. This paragraph does not subject any
 3661  statutorily created authority, other than an expressway
 3662  authority created under this part, to any other requirement of
 3663  this part except the requirement of this paragraph.
 3664         Section 65. Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section
 3665  348.0004, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3666         348.0004 Purposes and powers.—
 3667         (2) Each authority may exercise all powers necessary,
 3668  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of
 3669  its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following
 3670  rights and powers:
 3671         (j) To pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber all or
 3672  any part of the revenues, tolls, rates, fees, rentals, or other
 3673  charges or receipts of the authority, including all or any
 3674  portion of county gasoline tax funds received by the authority
 3675  pursuant to the terms of any lease-purchase agreement between
 3676  the authority and the department, as security for all or any of
 3677  the obligations of the authority.
 3678         Section 66. Subsection (1) of section 348.0005, Florida
 3679  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is added to that
 3680  section, to read:
 3681         348.0005 Bonds.—
 3682         (1) Bonds may be issued on behalf of an authority as
 3683  provided by the State Bond Act. Bonds may not be issued under
 3684  this section unless the resolution authorizing the bonds and
 3685  pledging the revenues of a facility requires that the revenues
 3686  of the facility be deposited into appropriate accounts in such
 3687  sums as are sufficient to pay the costs of operation and
 3688  maintenance of any facility for the current fiscal year as set
 3689  forth in the annual budget of the authority before any revenues
 3690  of the facility are applied to the payment of interest or
 3691  principal owing or that may become owing on such bonds.
 3692         (3) The provisions of subsection (2) do not apply to any
 3693  authority formed on or after July 1, 2012.
 3694         Section 67. Section 348.0013, Florida Statutes, is created
 3695  to read:
 3696         348.0013Department to construct, operate, and maintain
 3697  facilities.—
 3698         (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this
 3699  section applies to an authority formed on or after July 1, 2012.
 3700         (2) The department is the agent of each authority for the
 3701  purpose of performing all phases of a project, including, but
 3702  not limited to, constructing improvements and extensions to an
 3703  expressway system and for the completion of the construction.
 3704  The division and the authority shall provide to the department
 3705  complete copies of the documents, agreements, resolutions,
 3706  contracts, and instruments relating to the construction and
 3707  shall request that the department perform the construction work,
 3708  including the planning, surveying, design, and actual
 3709  construction of the completion, extensions, and improvements to
 3710  the expressway system. After the issuance of bonds to finance
 3711  the construction of an expressway system or improvements to an
 3712  expressway system, the division shall transfer to the credit of
 3713  an account of the department in the State Treasury the necessary
 3714  funds for construction. The department shall proceed with
 3715  construction and use the funds for the purpose authorized and as
 3716  otherwise provided by law for the construction of roads and
 3717  bridges. The authority may alternatively, with the consent and
 3718  approval of the department, elect to appoint a local agency
 3719  certified by the department to administer federal aid projects
 3720  in accordance with federal law as its agent for the purpose of
 3721  performing all phases of a project.
 3722         (3) An authority that desires to construct an expressway
 3723  shall identify the expressway project in a work plan and submit
 3724  the work plan along with its budget. The work plan must include
 3725  a finance plan that demonstrates the financial feasibility of
 3726  the expressway project, including the authority’s ability to
 3727  reimburse the department for all costs of operation and
 3728  maintenance of the project from the revenues of the authority’s
 3729  expressway system. The department shall operate and maintain the
 3730  expressway system, and the costs incurred by the department for
 3731  operation and maintenance must be reimbursed from revenues of
 3732  the expressway system. Each expressway system constructed under
 3733  the provisions of this section is a part of the State Highway
 3734  System as defined in s. 334.03.
 3735         (4) An authority subject to this section may fix, alter,
 3736  charge, establish, and collect tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and
 3737  other charges for the authority’s facilities, as otherwise
 3738  provided in this part.
 3739         Section 68. Subsection (4) of section 348.52, Florida
 3740  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3741         348.52 Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority.—
 3742         (4) The authority may employ an executive a secretary, an
 3743  and executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, and
 3744  such legal, financial, and other professional consultants,
 3745  technical experts, engineers, and employees, permanent or
 3746  temporary, as it may require and may determine the
 3747  qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons, firms,
 3748  or corporations. The authority may contract with the Division of
 3749  Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration for any
 3750  financial services authorized herein.
 3751         Section 69. Subsection (5) of section 348.54, Florida
 3752  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3753         348.54 Powers of the authority.—Except as otherwise limited
 3754  herein, the authority shall have the power:
 3755         (5) To enter into and make lease-purchase agreements as
 3756  provided in s. 348.60 for terms not exceeding 40 years, or until
 3757  all bonds secured by a pledge thereunder, and all refundings
 3758  thereof, are fully paid as to both principal and interest,
 3759  whichever is longer. The authority is a party to a lease
 3760  purchase agreement between the department and the authority
 3761  dated November 18, 1997, as supplemented by a supplemental
 3762  lease-purchase agreement dated February 7, 2002, and a second
 3763  supplemental lease-purchase agreement dated June 23, 2005. The
 3764  authority may not enter into other lease-purchase agreements
 3765  with the department and may not amend the existing agreement in
 3766  a manner that expands or increases the department’s obligations,
 3767  unless the department determines that the agreement or amendment
 3768  is necessary to permit the refunding of bonds issued before July
 3769  1, 2012. The department’s obligations under the lease-purchase
 3770  agreement, as supplemented, terminate upon the earlier of:
 3771         (a) The defeasance, redemption, or payment in full of the
 3772  authority’s bonds issued and outstanding as of July 1, 2012;
 3773         (b) The date to which the purchasers of the authority bonds
 3774  have consented; or
 3775         (c) The date on which termination of the department’s
 3776  obligations will occur under the terms of the memorandum of
 3777  agreement dated October 26, 2010, between the department and the
 3778  authority.
 3779         Section 70. Section 348.545, Florida Statutes, is amended
 3780  to read:
 3781         348.545 Facility improvement; bond financing authority.
 3782  Pursuant to s. 11(f), Art. VII of the State Constitution, the
 3783  Legislature hereby approves for bond financing by the Tampa
 3784  Hillsborough County Expressway Authority improvements to toll
 3785  collection facilities, interchanges to the legislatively
 3786  approved expressway system, and any other facility appurtenant,
 3787  necessary, or incidental to the approved system. Subject to
 3788  terms and conditions of applicable revenue bond resolutions and
 3789  covenants, such costs may be financed in whole or in part by
 3790  revenue bonds issued pursuant to s. 348.56 348.56(1)(a) or (b),
 3791  whether currently issued or issued in the future, or by a
 3792  combination of such bonds.
 3793         Section 71. Subsections (9), (10), (11), and (12) are added
 3794  to section 348.56, Florida Statutes, to read:
 3795         348.56 Bonds of the authority.—
 3796         (9) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
 3797  contrary, on and after July 1, 2012, the authority may not,
 3798  without the department’s consent, request the issuance of any
 3799  bonds secured by a pledge of any revenues of the authority which
 3800  is senior to, or on a parity with, the authority’s obligation to
 3801  fully reimburse the department for the costs of operation,
 3802  maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation of the expressway system
 3803  paid by the department, except that the authority may request
 3804  the issuance of bonds secured by a senior pledge for the purpose
 3805  of refunding any authority bonds issued and outstanding as of
 3806  July 1, 2012. Refunding bonds authorized by this subsection may
 3807  not be issued if such bonds have a final maturity later than the
 3808  final maturity of the bonds refunded or if the refunding bonds
 3809  provide for higher debt service in any year than the debt
 3810  service that is currently paid on such bonds.
 3811         (10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and
 3812  after July 1, 2012, the authority may not request the issuance
 3813  of any bonds, except bonds issued to refund bonds issued before
 3814  July 1, 2012, which provide any rights against the department
 3815  which may be enforced by the holders of such bonds or debt.
 3816  Refunding bonds authorized by this subsection may not be issued
 3817  if the bonds have a final maturity later than the final maturity
 3818  of the bonds refunded or if the refunding bonds provide for
 3819  higher debt service in any year than the debt service that is
 3820  currently paid on such bonds. The obligations of the department
 3821  under any lease-purchase agreement with the authority, including
 3822  any obligation to pay any cost of operation, maintenance,
 3823  repair, or rehabilitation of the expressway system, terminate
 3824  upon the earlier of:
 3825         (a) The defeasance or payment of all authority bonds issued
 3826  before July 1, 2012, and authority bonds issued to refund such
 3827  bonds;
 3828         (b) The earlier date to which the purchasers of the
 3829  authority bonds have consented; or
 3830         (c) The date on which termination of the department’s
 3831  obligations will occur under the terms of the memorandum of
 3832  agreement dated October 26, 2010, between the department and the
 3833  authority.
 3834         (11) Beginning July 1, 2012, except for bonds issued to
 3835  refund bonds issued before that date, bonds may not be issued
 3836  under this section unless the resolution authorizing the bonds
 3837  and pledging the revenues of the expressway system requires that
 3838  the revenues of the expressway system be deposited into
 3839  appropriate accounts in such sums as are sufficient to pay the
 3840  costs of operation and maintenance of the expressway system for
 3841  the current fiscal year as set forth in the annual budget of the
 3842  authority before any revenues of the expressway system are
 3843  applied to the payment of interest or principal owing or that
 3844  may become owing on such bonds.
 3845         (12) The provisions of paragraph (1)(b) do not apply in any
 3846  fiscal year in which the department’s obligations under the
 3847  lease-purchase agreement between the department and authority
 3848  have not been terminated as provided in s. 348.60 or in which
 3849  the authority has not fully reimbursed the department for the
 3850  amounts expended, advanced, or paid to the authority in prior
 3851  fiscal years for the costs of operation, maintenance, repair,
 3852  and rehabilitation of the expressway system. During any such
 3853  fiscal year, bonds may be issued only on behalf of the authority
 3854  pursuant to the State Bond Act.
 3855         Section 72. Section 348.565, Florida Statutes, is amended
 3856  to read:
 3857         348.565 Revenue bonds for specified projects.—The existing
 3858  facilities that constitute the Tampa-Hillsborough County
 3859  Expressway System may are hereby approved to be refinanced by
 3860  revenue bonds issued by the Division of Bond Finance of the
 3861  State Board of Administration pursuant to s. 11(d) 11(f), Art.
 3862  VII of the State Constitution and s. 348.56 the State Bond Act
 3863  or by revenue bonds issued by the authority pursuant to s.
 3864  348.56(1)(b). In addition, the following projects of the Tampa
 3865  Hillsborough County Expressway Authority may are approved to be
 3866  financed or refinanced by the issuance of revenue bonds in
 3867  accordance with this part and s. 11(f), Art. VII of the State
 3868  Constitution:
 3869         (1) Brandon area feeder roads.
 3870         (2) Capital improvements to the expressway system,
 3871  including safety and operational improvements and toll
 3872  collection equipment.
 3873         (3) Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway System widening.
 3874         (4) The connector highway linking the Lee Roy Selmon
 3875  Crosstown Expressway to Interstate 4.
 3876         Section 73. Subsection (1) of section 348.57, Florida
 3877  Statutes, is amended to read:
 3878         348.57 Refunding bonds.—
 3879         (1) Subject to public notice as provided in s. 348.54, the
 3880  authority may request or is authorized to provide by resolution
 3881  for the issuance from time to time of bonds pursuant to s.
 3882  348.56(1)(b) for the purpose of refunding any bonds then
 3883  outstanding regardless of whether the bonds being refunded were
 3884  issued by the authority pursuant to this chapter or on behalf of
 3885  the authority pursuant to the State Bond Act. The authority may
 3886  further request or is further authorized to provide by
 3887  resolution for the issuance of bonds pursuant to s. 348.56 for
 3888  the combined purpose of:
 3889         (a) Paying the cost of constructing, reconstructing,
 3890  improving, extending, repairing, maintaining, and operating the
 3891  expressway system.
 3892         (b) Refunding bonds then outstanding. The authorization,
 3893  sale, and issuance of such obligations, the maturities and other
 3894  details of the refunding bonds thereof, the rights and remedies
 3895  of the holders of the refunding bonds thereof, and the rights,
 3896  powers, privileges, duties, and obligations of the authority
 3897  with respect to the refunding bonds same are shall be governed
 3898  by the foregoing provisions of this part insofar as the same may
 3899  be applicable.
 3900         Section 74. Subsections (7) and (8) are added to section
 3901  348.60, Florida Statutes, to read:
 3902         348.60 Lease-purchase agreements.—
 3903         (7) The authority is a party to a lease-purchase agreement
 3904  between the department and the authority dated November 18,
 3905  1997, as supplemented by a supplemental lease-purchase agreement
 3906  dated February 7, 2002, and a second supplemental lease-purchase
 3907  agreement dated June 23, 2005. The authority may not enter into
 3908  any other lease-purchase agreement, or amend the lease-purchase
 3909  agreement, unless the department determines that such an
 3910  agreement or amendment is necessary to permit the refunding of
 3911  bonds issued before July 1, 2012.
 3912         (8)Upon the earlier of the defeasance or payment of the
 3913  authority bonds issued before July 1, 2012, and any bonds issued
 3914  to refund the bonds, or the earlier date to which the purchasers
 3915  of the authority bonds have consented:
 3916         (a) The obligations of the department under the lease
 3917  purchase agreement with the authority, including any obligation
 3918  to pay any cost of operation, maintenance, repair, or
 3919  rehabilitation of the expressway system, terminates;
 3920         (b) The lease-purchase agreement terminates;
 3921         (c) The expressway system remains the property of the
 3922  authority and may not be transferred to the department;
 3923         (d) The authority remains obligated to reimburse the
 3924  department for the amounts paid by the department from a source
 3925  other than revenues of the expressway system for any cost of
 3926  operation, maintenance, repair, or rehabilitation of the
 3927  expressway system; and
 3928         (e) The department collects tolls for the use of the system
 3929  as the agent of the authority as provided in this part.
 3930         Section 75. Section 348.615, Florida Statutes, is created
 3931  to read:
 3932         348.615Department to collect tolls.—
 3933         (1) The department is the agent of the authority for the
 3934  purpose of collecting tolls for the use of the authority’s
 3935  expressway system. The department must be reimbursed for the
 3936  costs of collecting such charges from the revenues of the
 3937  expressway system. The department may modify its rules regarding
 3938  toll collection procedures and the imposition of administrative
 3939  charges applicable to the authority’s toll facilities. This
 3940  section does not limit the authority of the department under any
 3941  other provision of law or under any agreement entered into
 3942  before July 1, 2012.
 3943         (2)The authority may fix, alter, charge, and establish,
 3944  tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the
 3945  authority’s facilities, as otherwise provided in this part.
 3946         Section 76. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
 3947  348.753, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3948         348.753 Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.—
 3949         (4)(a) The authority may employ an executive secretary, an
 3950  executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, technical
 3951  experts, such engineers, and such employees, permanent or
 3952  temporary, as it may require and may determine the
 3953  qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons, firms,
 3954  or corporations and may employ a fiscal agent or agents,
 3955  provided, however, that the authority shall solicit sealed
 3956  proposals from at least three persons, firms, or corporations
 3957  for the performance of any services as fiscal agents. The
 3958  authority may contract with the Division of Bond Finance of the
 3959  State Board of Administration for any financial services
 3960  authorized in this section. The authority may delegate to one or
 3961  more of its agents or employees such of its power as it deems
 3962  shall deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this part,
 3963  subject always to the supervision and control of the authority.
 3964  Members of the authority may be removed from their office by the
 3965  Governor for misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, or
 3966  nonfeasance in office.
 3967         Section 77. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section
 3968  348.754, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 3969         348.754 Purposes and powers.—
 3970         (2) The authority is hereby granted, and shall have and may
 3971  exercise all powers necessary, appurtenant, convenient or
 3972  incidental to the carrying out of the aforesaid purposes,
 3973  including, but without being limited to, the following rights
 3974  and powers:
 3975         (e) To enter into and make lease-purchase agreements with
 3976  the department for terms not exceeding 40 years, or until any
 3977  bonds secured by a pledge of rentals thereunder, and any
 3978  refundings thereof, are fully paid as to both principal and
 3979  interest, whichever is longer. The authority is a party to a
 3980  lease-purchase agreement between the department and the
 3981  authority dated December 23, 1985, as supplemented by a first
 3982  supplement to the lease-purchase agreement dated November 25,
 3983  1986, and a second supplement to the lease-purchase agreement
 3984  dated October 27, 1988. The authority may not enter into other
 3985  lease-purchase agreements with the department and may not amend
 3986  the existing agreement in a manner that expands or increases the
 3987  department’s obligations, unless the department determines that
 3988  the agreement or amendment is necessary to permit the refunding
 3989  of bonds issued before July 1, 2012.
 3990         Section 78. Section 348.7543, Florida Statutes, is amended
 3991  to read:
 3992         348.7543 Improvements, bond financing authority for.
 3993  Pursuant to s. 11(f), Art. VII of the State Constitution, the
 3994  Legislature hereby approves for bond financing by the Orlando
 3995  Orange County Expressway Authority improvements to toll
 3996  collection facilities, interchanges to the legislatively
 3997  approved expressway system, and any other facility appurtenant,
 3998  necessary, or incidental to the approved system. Subject to
 3999  terms and conditions of applicable revenue bond resolutions and
 4000  covenants, such costs may be financed in whole or in part by
 4001  revenue bonds issued pursuant to s. 348.755 348.755(1)(a) or (b)
 4002  whether currently issued or issued in the future, or by a
 4003  combination of such bonds.
 4004         Section 79. Section 348.7545, Florida Statutes, is amended
 4005  to read:
 4006         348.7545 Western Beltway Part C, construction authorized;
 4007  financing.—Notwithstanding s. 338.2275, the Orlando-Orange
 4008  County Expressway Authority is authorized to exercise its
 4009  condemnation powers, construct, finance, operate, own, and
 4010  maintain that portion of the Western Beltway known as the
 4011  Western Beltway Part C, extending from Florida’s Turnpike near
 4012  Ocoee in Orange County southerly through Orange and Osceola
 4013  Counties to an interchange with I-4 near the Osceola-Polk County
 4014  line, as part of the authority’s 20-year capital projects plan.
 4015  This project may be financed with any funds available to the
 4016  authority for such purpose or revenue bonds issued by the
 4017  Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration on
 4018  behalf of the authority pursuant to s. 11, Art. VII of the State
 4019  Constitution and the State Bond Act, ss. 215.57-215.83. This
 4020  project may be refinanced with bonds issued by the authority
 4021  pursuant to s. 348.755(1)(d).
 4022         Section 80. Section 348.7547, Florida Statutes, is amended
 4023  to read:
 4024         348.7547 Maitland Boulevard Extension and Northwest Beltway
 4025  Part A Realignment construction authorized; financing.
 4026  Notwithstanding s. 338.2275, the Orlando-Orange County
 4027  Expressway Authority is hereby authorized to exercise its
 4028  condemnation powers, construct, finance, operate, own, and
 4029  maintain the portion of State Road 414 known as the Maitland
 4030  Boulevard Extension and the realigned portion of the Northwest
 4031  Beltway Part A as part of the authority’s long-range capital
 4032  improvement plan. The Maitland Boulevard Extension will extend
 4033  from the current terminus of State Road 414 at U.S. 441 west to
 4034  State Road 429 in west Orange County. The realigned portion of
 4035  the Northwest Beltway Part A will run from the point at or near
 4036  where the Maitland Boulevard Extension will connect with State
 4037  Road 429 and will proceed to the west and then north resulting
 4038  in the northern terminus of State Road 429 moving farther west
 4039  before reconnecting with U.S. 441. However, under no
 4040  circumstances shall the realignment of the Northwest Beltway
 4041  Part A conflict or contradict with the alignment of the Wekiva
 4042  Parkway as defined in s. 348.7546. This project may be financed
 4043  with any funds available to the authority for such purpose or
 4044  revenue bonds issued by or on behalf of the authority under s.
 4045  11, Art. VII of the State Constitution and s. 348.755(1)(b).
 4046         Section 81. Subsections (6), (7), (8), and (9) are added to
 4047  section 348.755, Florida Statutes, to read:
 4048         348.755 Bonds of the authority.—
 4049         (6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
 4050  contrary, on and after July 1, 2012, the authority may not
 4051  request the issuance of any bonds, except bonds issued to refund
 4052  bonds issued before July 1, 2012, which provide any rights
 4053  against the department which may be enforced by the holders of
 4054  such bonds or debt. Refunding bonds may not be issued if the
 4055  bonds have a final maturity later than the final maturity of the
 4056  bonds refunded or if the refunding bonds provide for higher debt
 4057  service in any year than the debt service that is currently paid
 4058  on such bonds. Upon the earlier of the defeasance or payment of
 4059  all authority bonds issued before July 1, 2012, or the
 4060  defeasance or payment of the authority bonds issued to refund
 4061  such bonds, or such earlier date to which the purchasers of the
 4062  authority bonds have consented, the obligations of the
 4063  department under any lease-purchase agreement with the
 4064  authority, including any obligation to pay any cost of
 4065  operation, maintenance, repair, or rehabilitation of the
 4066  Orlando-Orange County Expressway System, terminate.
 4067         (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
 4068  contrary, on and after July 1, 2012, the authority may not,
 4069  without the department’s consent, request the issuance of any
 4070  bonds secured by a pledge of any revenues of the authority which
 4071  is senior to, or on a parity with, the authority’s obligation to
 4072  fully reimburse the department for the costs of operation,
 4073  maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation of the Orlando-Orange
 4074  County Expressway System paid by the department, except that the
 4075  authority may request the issuance of bonds secured by a senior
 4076  pledge for the purpose of refunding authority bonds issued and
 4077  outstanding as of July 1, 2012. Refunding bonds authorized by
 4078  this subsection may not be issued if the bonds have a final
 4079  maturity later than the final maturity of the bonds refunded or
 4080  if the refunding bonds provide for higher debt service in any
 4081  year than the debt service that is currently paid on the bonds.
 4082         (8) Beginning July 1, 2012, the authority may not issue
 4083  bonds, except bonds issued to refund bonds issued before such
 4084  date, unless the resolution authorizing the bonds and pledging
 4085  the revenues of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway System
 4086  requires that the revenues of the expressway system be deposited
 4087  into appropriate accounts in such sums as are sufficient to pay
 4088  the costs of operation and maintenance of the Orlando-Orange
 4089  County Expressway System for the current fiscal year as set
 4090  forth in the annual budget of the authority before any revenues
 4091  of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway System are applied to
 4092  the payment of interest or principal owing or that may become
 4093  owing on such bonds.
 4094         (9) The provisions of paragraphs (1)(b) and (d) do not
 4095  apply in any fiscal year in which the department’s obligations
 4096  under the lease-purchase agreement between the department and
 4097  authority have not been terminated as provided in s. 348.757 or
 4098  in which the authority has not fully reimbursed the department
 4099  for all amounts expended, advanced, or paid to the authority in
 4100  prior fiscal years for the costs of operation, maintenance,
 4101  repair, and rehabilitation of the expressway system. During any
 4102  such fiscal year, bonds may only be issued on behalf of the
 4103  authority pursuant to the State Bond Act.
 4104         Section 82. Subsections (8) and (9) are added to section
 4105  348.757, Florida Statutes, to read:
 4106         348.757 Lease-purchase agreement.—
 4107         (8) The only lease-purchase agreement authorized by this
 4108  section is the lease-purchase agreement between the department
 4109  and the authority dated December 23, 1985, as supplemented by a
 4110  first supplement to the lease-purchase agreement dated November
 4111  25, 1986, and a second supplement to the lease-purchase
 4112  agreement dated October 27, 1988. The authority may not enter
 4113  into any other lease-purchase agreements with the department and
 4114  may not amend the existing agreement in a manner that expands
 4115  the scope of the department’s obligations, unless the department
 4116  determines the agreement or amendment is necessary to permit the
 4117  refunding of bonds issued before July 1, 2012.
 4118         (9) The department’s obligations under the lease-purchase
 4119  agreement between the department and the authority dated
 4120  December 23, 1985, as supplemented by a first supplement to the
 4121  lease-purchase agreement dated November 25, 1986, and a second
 4122  supplement to the lease-purchase agreement dated October 27,
 4123  1988, terminate upon the earlier of the defeasance, redemption,
 4124  or payment in full of the authority’s bonds issued and
 4125  outstanding as of July 1, 2012, or bonds to refund such bonds,
 4126  or such earlier date to which the purchasers of the authority
 4127  bonds have consented.
 4128         Section 83. Section 348.7585, Florida Statutes, is created
 4129  to read:
 4130         348.7585Department to collect tolls.—
 4131         (1) The department is the agent of the authority for the
 4132  purpose of collecting tolls for the use of the authority’s
 4133  expressway system. The department shall be reimbursed from the
 4134  revenues of the expressway system for the costs of collecting
 4135  the tolls. The department may modify its rules regarding toll
 4136  collection procedures and the imposition of administrative
 4137  charges to be applicable to the authority’s toll facilities.
 4138  This section does not limit the authority of the department
 4139  under any other provision of law or under any agreement entered
 4140  into prior to July 1, 2012.
 4141         (2)The authority may fix, alter, charge, and establish
 4142  tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the
 4143  authority’s facilities, as otherwise provided in this section.
 4144         Section 84. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
 4145  348.9952, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 4146         348.9952 Osceola County Expressway Authority.—
 4147         (4)(a) The authority may employ an executive secretary, an
 4148  executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, technical
 4149  experts, engineers, and other employees, permanent or temporary,
 4150  as it may require, and may determine the qualifications and fix
 4151  the compensation of such persons, firms, or corporations.
 4152  Additionally, the authority may employ a fiscal agent or agents.
 4153  However, the authority shall solicit sealed proposals from at
 4154  least three persons, firms, or corporations for the performance
 4155  of any services as fiscal agents. The authority may delegate to
 4156  one or more of its agents or employees such of its power as it
 4157  deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this part, subject
 4158  always to the supervision and control of the authority.
 4159         Section 85. Section 348.9956, Florida Statutes, is
 4160  repealed.
 4161         Section 86. Section 348.99565, Florida Statutes, is created
 4162  to read:
 4163         348.99565Department to construct, operate, and maintain
 4164  facilities.—
 4165         (1)The department is the agent of the authority for the
 4166  purpose of performing all phases of a project, including, but
 4167  not limited to, constructing improvements and extensions to the
 4168  expressway system. The division and the authority shall provide
 4169  to the department complete copies of all documents, agreements,
 4170  resolutions, contracts, and instruments relating to the project
 4171  and shall request that the department perform the construction
 4172  work, including the planning, surveying, design, and actual
 4173  construction of the completion, extensions, and improvements to
 4174  the expressway system. After the issuance of bonds to finance
 4175  construction of any improvements or additions to the expressway
 4176  system, the division shall transfer to the credit of an account
 4177  of the department in the State Treasury the necessary funds for
 4178  construction. The department shall proceed with construction and
 4179  use the funds for the purpose authorized and as provided by law
 4180  for the construction of roads and bridges. The authority may
 4181  alternatively, with the consent and approval of the department,
 4182  elect to appoint a local agency certified by the department to
 4183  administer federal aid projects in accordance with federal law
 4184  as its agent for the purpose of performing all phases of a
 4185  project.
 4186         (2) If the authority desires to construct improvements or
 4187  extensions to the expressway system, it shall identify the
 4188  expressway improvement project in a work plan and submit the
 4189  work plan with its budget. The work plan must include a finance
 4190  plan that demonstrates the financial feasibility of the
 4191  expressway project, including the authority’s ability to
 4192  reimburse the department for all costs of operation and
 4193  maintenance of the improvements or extensions from the revenues
 4194  of the expressway system. The department shall operate and
 4195  maintain the expressway system, and the costs incurred by the
 4196  department for operation and maintenance shall be reimbursed
 4197  from revenues of the expressway system. The expressway system
 4198  shall be part of the State Highway System as defined in s.
 4199  334.03.
 4200         (3)The authority may fix, alter, charge, establish, and
 4201  collect tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the
 4202  authority’s facilities, as otherwise provided in this part.
 4203         Section 87. The Florida Transportation Commission shall
 4204  conduct a study of the potential for cost savings that might be
 4205  realized through increased efficiencies through sharing of
 4206  resources for the accomplishment of design, construction, and
 4207  maintenance activities by or on behalf of expressway authorities
 4208  in the state. The commission may retain such experts as are
 4209  reasonably necessary to complete the study, and the department
 4210  shall pay the expenses of such experts. The commission shall
 4211  complete the study and provide a written report of its findings
 4212  and conclusions to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
 4213  the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of
 4214  each of the appropriations committees by December 31, 2012.
 4215         Section 88. Subsection (3) of section 349.03, Florida
 4216  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4217         349.03 Jacksonville Transportation Authority.—
 4218         (3) The terms of appointed members shall be for 4 years and
 4219  deemed to have commenced on June 1 of the year in which they are
 4220  appointed. Each member shall hold office until a successor has
 4221  been appointed and has qualified. A vacancy during a term shall
 4222  be filled by the respective appointing authority only for the
 4223  balance of the unexpired term. Any member appointed to the
 4224  authority for two consecutive full terms may shall not be
 4225  appointed eligible for appointment to the next succeeding term.
 4226  One of the members so appointed shall be designated annually by
 4227  the members as chair of the authority, one member shall be
 4228  designated annually as the vice chair of the authority, one
 4229  member shall be designated annually as the secretary of the
 4230  authority, and one member shall be designated annually as the
 4231  treasurer of the authority. The members of the authority are
 4232  shall not be entitled to compensation, but shall be reimbursed
 4233  for travel expenses or other expenses actually incurred in their
 4234  duties as provided by law. Four voting members of the authority
 4235  shall constitute a quorum, and no resolution adopted by the
 4236  authority is shall become effective without unless with the
 4237  affirmative vote of at least four members. Members of the
 4238  authority shall file a statement of financial interest with the
 4239  Commission on Ethics as provided in s. 112.3145(2)(b) as their
 4240  mandatory financial disclosure.
 4241         (a) The authority shall employ an executive director, and
 4242  the executive director may hire such staff, permanent or
 4243  temporary, as he or she may determine and may organize the staff
 4244  of the authority into such departments and units as he or she
 4245  may determine. The executive director may appoint department
 4246  directors, deputy directors, division chiefs, and staff
 4247  assistants to the executive director, as he or she may
 4248  determine. In so appointing the executive director, the
 4249  authority may fix the compensation of such appointee, who shall
 4250  serve at the pleasure of the authority. All employees of the
 4251  authority shall be exempt from the provisions of part II of
 4252  chapter 110.
 4253         (b) The authority may employ such financial advisers and
 4254  consultants, technical experts, engineers, and agents and
 4255  employees, permanent or temporary, as it may require and may fix
 4256  the compensation and qualifications of such persons, firms, or
 4257  corporations. The authority may delegate to one or more of its
 4258  agents or employees such of its powers as it deems shall deem
 4259  necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, subject
 4260  always to the supervision and control of the governing body of
 4261  the authority.
 4262         (c) All employees of the authority are exempt from part II
 4263  of chapter 110.
 4264         Section 89. Present subsections (5), (6), and (7) of
 4265  section 349.04, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
 4266  subsections (6), (7), and (8), respectively, and a new
 4267  subsection (5) is added to that section, to read:
 4268         349.04 Purposes and powers.—
 4269         (5) The authority may conduct public meetings and workshops
 4270  by means of communications media technology as provided under s.
 4271  120.54(5). However, a resolution, rule, or formal action is not
 4272  binding unless a quorum is physically present at the noticed
 4273  meeting location, and only members physically present may vote
 4274  on any item.
 4275         Section 90. Subsection (6) is added to section 373.413,
 4276  Florida Statutes, to read:
 4277         373.413 Permits for construction or alteration.—
 4278         (6) It is the intent of the Legislature that the governing
 4279  board or the department exercise flexibility when permitting the
 4280  construction or alteration of stormwater management systems
 4281  serving state transportation projects and facilities. Because of
 4282  the unique limitations of linear facilities, the governing board
 4283  or department shall balance the expenditure of public funds for
 4284  stormwater treatment for state transportation projects and
 4285  facilities with the public benefit of providing the most cost
 4286  efficient and effective method of achieving treatment
 4287  objectives. The governing board or department shall therefore
 4288  allow alternatives to on-site treatment, including, but not
 4289  limited to, regional stormwater treatment systems. The
 4290  Department of Transportation is responsible for treating
 4291  stormwater generated from state transportation projects, but is
 4292  not responsible for the abatement of pollutants and flows
 4293  entering its stormwater management systems from offsite sources.
 4294  However, this subsection does not prohibit the Department of
 4295  Transportation from receiving and managing such pollutants and
 4296  flows if cost-effective and prudent. The Department of
 4297  Transportation is also responsible for providing stormwater
 4298  treatment and attenuation for a right-of-way acquired for a
 4299  state transportation project, but is not responsible for
 4300  modifying permits for adjacent lands affected by right-of-way
 4301  acquisition if it is not the permittee. The governing board or
 4302  department may establish specific criteria by rule to implement
 4303  these management and treatment alternatives and activities.
 4304         Section 91. Subsections (1) and (2), paragraph (c) of
 4305  subsection (3), subsections (4) and (5) of section 373.4137,
 4306  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 4307         373.4137 Mitigation requirements for specified
 4308  transportation projects.—
 4309         (1) The Legislature finds that environmental mitigation for
 4310  the impact of transportation projects proposed by the Department
 4311  of Transportation or a transportation authority established
 4312  pursuant to chapter 348 or chapter 349 can be more effectively
 4313  achieved by regional, long-range mitigation planning rather than
 4314  on a project-by-project basis. It is therefore the intent of the
 4315  Legislature that mitigation, including the use of mitigation
 4316  banks and other mitigation options that satisfy state and
 4317  federal requirements, to offset the adverse effects of these
 4318  transportation projects be funded by the Department of
 4319  Transportation and be carried out by the water management
 4320  districts, including the use of mitigation banks established
 4321  pursuant to this part.
 4322         (2) Environmental impact inventories for transportation
 4323  projects proposed by the Department of Transportation or a
 4324  transportation authority established pursuant to chapter 348 or
 4325  chapter 349 shall be developed as follows:
 4326         (a) By July 1 of each year, the Department of
 4327  Transportation, or a transportation authority established
 4328  pursuant to chapter 348 or chapter 349 which chooses to
 4329  participate in the program, shall submit to the water management
 4330  districts a list copy of its projects for the adopted work
 4331  program and an environmental impact inventory of habitats
 4332  addressed in the rules adopted pursuant to this part and s. 404
 4333  of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. s. 1344, which may be impacted
 4334  by its plan of construction for transportation projects in the
 4335  next 3 years of the tentative work program. The Department of
 4336  Transportation or the a transportation authority established
 4337  pursuant to chapter 348 or chapter 349 may also include in its
 4338  environmental impact inventory the habitat impacts of any future
 4339  transportation project. The Department of Transportation and the
 4340  each transportation authority established pursuant to chapter
 4341  348 or chapter 349 may fund any mitigation activities for future
 4342  projects using current year funds.
 4343         (b) The environmental impact inventory must shall include a
 4344  description of these habitat impacts, including their location,
 4345  acreage, and type; state water quality classification of
 4346  impacted wetlands and other surface waters; any other state or
 4347  regional designations for these habitats; and a list survey of
 4348  threatened species, endangered species, and species of special
 4349  concern affected by the proposed project.
 4350         (3)
 4351         (c) Except for current mitigation projects in the
 4352  monitoring and maintenance phase and except as allowed by
 4353  paragraph (d), the water management districts may request a
 4354  transfer of funds from an escrow account no sooner than 30 days
 4355  before prior to the date the funds are needed to pay for
 4356  activities associated with development or implementation of the
 4357  approved mitigation plan described in subsection (4) for the
 4358  current fiscal year, including, but not limited to, design,
 4359  engineering, production, and staff support. Actual conceptual
 4360  plan preparation costs incurred before plan approval may be
 4361  submitted to the Department of Transportation or the appropriate
 4362  transportation authority each year with the plan. The conceptual
 4363  plan preparation costs of each water management district shall
 4364  will be paid from mitigation funds associated with the
 4365  environmental impact inventory for the current year. The amount
 4366  transferred to the escrow accounts each year by the Department
 4367  of Transportation and participating transportation authorities
 4368  established pursuant to chapter 348 or chapter 349 must shall
 4369  correspond to a cost per acre of $75,000 multiplied by the
 4370  projected acres of impact identified in the environmental impact
 4371  inventory described in subsection (2). However, the $75,000 cost
 4372  per acre does not constitute an admission against interest by
 4373  the state or its subdivisions nor is the cost admissible as
 4374  evidence of full compensation for any property acquired by
 4375  eminent domain or through inverse condemnation. Each July 1, the
 4376  cost per acre shall be adjusted by the percentage change in the
 4377  average of the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States
 4378  Department of Labor for the most recent 12-month period ending
 4379  September 30, compared to the base year average, which is the
 4380  average for the 12-month period ending September 30, 1996. Each
 4381  quarter, the projected acreage of impact shall be reconciled
 4382  with the acreage of impact of projects as permitted, including
 4383  permit modifications, pursuant to this part and s. 404 of the
 4384  Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. s. 1344. The subject year’s transfer
 4385  of funds shall be adjusted accordingly to reflect the acreage of
 4386  impacts as permitted. The Department of Transportation and
 4387  participating transportation authorities established pursuant to
 4388  chapter 348 or chapter 349 may are authorized to transfer such
 4389  funds from the escrow accounts to the water management districts
 4390  to carry out the mitigation programs. Environmental mitigation
 4391  funds that are identified for or maintained in an escrow account
 4392  for the benefit of a water management district may be released
 4393  if the associated transportation project is excluded, in whole
 4394  or in part, from the mitigation plan. For a mitigation project
 4395  that is in the maintenance and monitoring phase, the water
 4396  management district may request and receive a one-time payment
 4397  based on the project’s expected future maintenance and
 4398  monitoring costs. Upon disbursement of the final maintenance and
 4399  monitoring payment, the obligation of the Department of
 4400  Transportation or the participating transportation authority is
 4401  satisfied, the escrow account for the project established by the
 4402  Department of Transportation or the participating transportation
 4403  authority may be closed, and the water management district
 4404  assumes continuing responsibility for the mitigation project.
 4405  Any interest earned on these disbursed funds remains shall
 4406  remain with the water management district and must be used as
 4407  authorized under this section.
 4408         (4) Before Prior to March 1 of each year, each water
 4409  management district, in consultation with the Department of
 4410  Environmental Protection, the United States Army Corps of
 4411  Engineers, the Department of Transportation, participating
 4412  transportation authorities established under pursuant to chapter
 4413  348 or chapter 349, and other appropriate federal, state, and
 4414  local governments, and other interested parties, including
 4415  entities operating mitigation banks, shall develop a plan for
 4416  the primary purpose of complying with the mitigation
 4417  requirements adopted pursuant to this part and 33 U.S.C. s.
 4418  1344. In developing such plans, the districts shall use utilize
 4419  sound ecosystem management practices to address significant
 4420  water resource needs and shall focus on activities of the
 4421  Department of Environmental Protection and the water management
 4422  districts, such as surface water improvement and management
 4423  (SWIM) projects and lands identified for potential acquisition
 4424  for preservation, restoration or enhancement, and the control of
 4425  invasive and exotic plants in wetlands and other surface waters,
 4426  to the extent that such activities comply with the mitigation
 4427  requirements adopted under this part and 33 U.S.C. s. 1344. In
 4428  determining the activities to be included in such plans, the
 4429  districts shall also consider the purchase of credits from
 4430  public or private mitigation banks permitted under s. 373.4136
 4431  and associated federal authorization and shall include such
 4432  purchase as a part of the mitigation plan if when such purchase
 4433  offsets would offset the impact of the transportation project,
 4434  provide equal benefits to the water resources than other
 4435  mitigation options being considered, and provide the most cost
 4436  effective mitigation option. The mitigation plan shall be
 4437  submitted to the water management district governing board, or
 4438  its designee, for review and approval. At least 14 days before
 4439  prior to approval, the water management district shall provide a
 4440  copy of the draft mitigation plan to any person who requests has
 4441  requested a copy.
 4442         (a) For each transportation project with a funding request
 4443  for the next fiscal year, the mitigation plan must include a
 4444  brief explanation of why a mitigation bank was or was not chosen
 4445  as a mitigation option, including an estimation of identifiable
 4446  costs of the mitigation bank and nonbank options to the extent
 4447  practicable.
 4448         (b) Specific projects may be excluded from the mitigation
 4449  plan, in whole or in part, and are shall not be subject to this
 4450  section upon the election agreement of the Department of
 4451  Transportation, or a transportation authority if applicable, or
 4452  and the appropriate water management district that the inclusion
 4453  of such projects would hamper the efficiency or timeliness of
 4454  the mitigation planning and permitting process. The water
 4455  management district may choose to exclude a project in whole or
 4456  in part if the district is unable to identify mitigation that
 4457  would offset impacts of the project.
 4458         (5) The water management district must ensure shall be
 4459  responsible for ensuring that mitigation requirements under
 4460  pursuant to 33 U.S.C. s. 1344 are met for the impacts identified
 4461  in the environmental impact inventory described in subsection
 4462  (2), by implementation of the approved plan described in
 4463  subsection (4) to the extent funding is provided by the
 4464  Department of Transportation, or a transportation authority
 4465  established pursuant to chapter 348 or chapter 349, if
 4466  applicable. During the federal permitting process, the water
 4467  management district may deviate from the approved mitigation
 4468  plan in order to comply with federal permitting requirements.
 4469         Section 92. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
 4470  403.7211, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 4471         403.7211 Hazardous waste facilities managing hazardous
 4472  wastes generated offsite; federal facilities managing hazardous
 4473  waste.—
 4474         (2) The department shall not issue any permit under s.
 4475  403.722 for the construction, initial operation, or substantial
 4476  modification of a facility for the disposal, storage, or
 4477  treatment of hazardous waste generated offsite which is proposed
 4478  to be located in any of the following locations:
 4479         (a) Any area where life-threatening concentrations of
 4480  hazardous substances could accumulate at a any residence or
 4481  residential subdivision as the result of a catastrophic event at
 4482  the proposed facility, unless each such residence or residential
 4483  subdivision is served by at least one arterial road or urban
 4484  minor arterial road, as defined in s. 334.03, using procedures
 4485  developed by the Federal Highway Administration, which provides
 4486  safe and direct egress by land to an area where such life
 4487  threatening concentrations of hazardous substances could not
 4488  accumulate in a catastrophic event. Egress by any road leading
 4489  from any residence or residential subdivision to any point
 4490  located within 1,000 yards of the proposed facility is unsafe
 4491  for the purposes of this paragraph. In determining whether
 4492  egress proposed by the applicant is safe and direct, the
 4493  department shall also consider, at a minimum, the following
 4494  factors:
 4495         1. Natural barriers such as water bodies, and whether a any
 4496  road in the proposed evacuation route is impaired by a natural
 4497  barrier such as a water body;
 4498         2. Potential exposure during egress and potential increases
 4499  in the duration of exposure;
 4500         3. Whether any road in a proposed evacuation route passes
 4501  in close proximity to the facility; and
 4502         4. Whether any portion of the evacuation route is
 4503  inherently directed toward the facility.
 4504  
 4505  For the purposes of this subsection, all distances shall be
 4506  measured from the outer limit of the active hazardous waste
 4507  management area. “Substantial modification” includes: any
 4508  physical change in, change in the operations of, or addition to
 4509  a facility which could increase the potential offsite impact, or
 4510  risk of impact, from a release at that facility; and any change
 4511  in permit conditions which is reasonably expected to lead to
 4512  greater potential impacts or risks of impacts, from a release at
 4513  that facility. “Substantial modification” does not include a
 4514  change in operations, structures, or permit conditions which
 4515  does not substantially increase either the potential impact
 4516  from, or the risk of, a release. Physical or operational changes
 4517  to a facility related solely to the management of nonhazardous
 4518  waste at the facility shall not be considered a substantial
 4519  modification. The department shall, by rule, adopt criteria to
 4520  determine whether a facility has been substantially modified.
 4521  “Initial operation” means the initial commencement of operations
 4522  at the facility.
 4523         Section 93. Section 479.28, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
 4524         Section 94. Road marking materials.—
 4525         (1) A county, municipality, local governing authority, or
 4526  other political subdivision of this state may not cause or allow
 4527  markings to be placed on a street, roadway, or highway under its
 4528  jurisdiction which are made with paint that has been mixed, in
 4529  whole or in part, with reflective glass beads that contain 75
 4530  parts per million or more of inorganic arsenic as determined
 4531  using EPA Method 6010B in conjunction with EPA Method 3052 for
 4532  sample preparation.
 4533         (2) A person may not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or
 4534  offer for promotional purposes in this state reflective glass
 4535  beads that are used to reflect light when applied to markings on
 4536  a street, roadway, or highway in this state if the glass beads
 4537  contain 75 parts per million or more of inorganic arsenic as
 4538  determined by using EPA Method 6010B in conjunction with EPA
 4539  Method 3052 for sample preparation.
 4540         (3) A person who violates this section is subject to a
 4541  civil penalty of at least $500 but not more than $1,000 for each
 4542  violation. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day
 4543  of continuing violation is a separate offense.
 4544         Section 95. The Department of Transportation may seek
 4545  Federal Highway Administration approval of a tourist-oriented
 4546  commerce sign pilot program for small businesses, as defined in
 4547  s. 288.703, Florida Statutes, in a rural area of critical
 4548  economic concern as defined by s. 288.0656(2)(d) and (e),
 4549  Florida Statutes. Upon federal approval, the department shall
 4550  submit the pilot program for legislative approval in the next
 4551  regular legislative session.
 4552         Section 96. It is the intent of the Legislature to
 4553  encourage and facilitate a review by the Pinellas Suncoast
 4554  Transit Authority (PSTA) and the Hillsborough Area Regional
 4555  Transit Authority (HART) in order to achieve improvements in
 4556  regional transit connectivity and implementation of operational
 4557  efficiencies and service enhancements that are consistent with
 4558  the regional approach to transit identified in the Tampa Bay
 4559  Area Regional Transportation Authority’s (TBARTA’s) Regional
 4560  Transportation Master Plan. The Legislature finds that such
 4561  improvements and efficiencies can best be achieved through a
 4562  joint review, evaluation, and recommendations by PSTA and HART.
 4563         (1) The governing bodies or a designated subcommittee of
 4564  both the PSTA and HART shall hold a joint meeting within 30 days
 4565  after July 1, 2012, and as often as deemed necessary thereafter,
 4566  in order to consider and identify opportunities for greater
 4567  efficiency and service improvements, including specific methods
 4568  for increasing service connectivity between the jurisdictions of
 4569  each agency. The elements to be reviewed must also include:
 4570         (a) Governance structure, including governing board
 4571  membership, terms, responsibilities, officers, powers, duties,
 4572  and responsibilities;
 4573         (b) Funding options and implementation;
 4574         (c) Facilities ownership and management;
 4575         (d) Current financial obligations and resources; and
 4576         (e) Actions to be taken that are consistent with TBARTA’s
 4577  master plan.
 4578         (2) PSTA and HART shall jointly submit a report to the
 4579  Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the
 4580  Senate on the elements described in this section by February 1,
 4581  2013. The report must include proposed legislation to implement
 4582  each recommendation and specific recommendations concerning the
 4583  reorganization of each agency, the organizational merger of both
 4584  agencies, or the consolidation of functions within and between
 4585  each agency.
 4586         (3) TBARTA shall assist and facilitate PSTA and HART in
 4587  carrying out the purposes of this section. TBARTA shall provide
 4588  technical assistance and information regarding its master plan,
 4589  make recommendations for achieving consistency and improved
 4590  regional connectivity, and provide support to PSTA and HART in
 4591  the preparation of their joint report and recommendations to the
 4592  Legislature. For this purpose, PSTA and HART shall reimburse
 4593  TBARTA for necessary and reasonable expense in a total amount
 4594  not to exceed $100,000.
 4595         Section 97. Any governmental unit that is authorized to
 4596  regulate the operation of public vehicles for hire and other
 4597  for-hire transportation within its geographic boundaries may
 4598  request and receive criminal history record information for the
 4599  purpose of screening applicants for licenses and for-hire
 4600  vehicle driver licenses and pay a fee for any such record. Such
 4601  record information may include a national criminal history
 4602  records check with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The
 4603  fingerprints may be submitted by the governmental unit to the
 4604  Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and the
 4605  department shall forward such fingerprints to the Federal Bureau
 4606  of Investigation for a national criminal history records check.
 4607  All costs associated with transmittal and processing shall be
 4608  borne by the governmental unit, the employer, or the person who
 4609  is the subject of the background check. The department shall
 4610  submit an invoice to the governmental unit for the fingerprints
 4611  submitted each month. The governmental unit shall screen
 4612  background results to determine if an applicant meets its
 4613  licensure requirements.
 4614         Section 98. Subsection (7) of section 215.616, Florida
 4615  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4616         215.616 State bonds for federal aid highway construction.—
 4617         (7)Up to $325 million in bonds may be issued for the
 4618  Mobility 2000 Initiative with emphasis on the Florida Intrastate
 4619  Highway System to advance projects in the most cost-effective
 4620  manner and to support emergency evacuation, improved access to
 4621  urban areas, or the enhancement of trade and economic growth
 4622  corridors of statewide and regional significance which promote
 4623  Florida’s economic growth.
 4624         Section 99. Subsection (3) of section 288.063, Florida
 4625  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4626         288.063 Contracts for transportation projects.—
 4627         (3) With respect to any contract executed pursuant to this
 4628  section, the term “transportation project” means a
 4629  transportation facility as defined in s. 334.03(30) s.
 4630  334.03(31) which is necessary in the judgment of the department
 4631  to facilitate the economic development and growth of the state.
 4632  Such transportation projects shall be approved only as a
 4633  consideration to attract new employment opportunities to the
 4634  state or expand or retain employment in existing companies
 4635  operating within the state, or to allow for the construction or
 4636  expansion of a state or federal correctional facility in a
 4637  county having with a population of 75,000 or less that creates
 4638  new employment opportunities or expands or retains employment in
 4639  the county. The department shall institute procedures to ensure
 4640  that small and minority businesses have equal access to funding
 4641  provided under this section. Funding for approved transportation
 4642  projects may include any expenses, other than administrative
 4643  costs and equipment purchases specified in the contract,
 4644  necessary for new, or improvement to existing, transportation
 4645  facilities. Funds made available pursuant to this section may
 4646  not be expended in connection with the relocation of a business
 4647  from one community to another community in this state unless the
 4648  department determines that without such relocation the business
 4649  will move outside this state or determines that the business has
 4650  a compelling economic rationale for the relocation which creates
 4651  additional jobs. Subject to appropriation for projects under
 4652  this section, any appropriation greater than $10 million shall
 4653  be allocated to each of the districts of the Department of
 4654  Transportation to ensure equitable geographical distribution.
 4655  Such allocated funds that remain uncommitted by the third
 4656  quarter of the fiscal year shall be reallocated among the
 4657  districts based on pending project requests.
 4658         Section 100. Subsection (2) of section 338.222, Florida
 4659  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4660         338.222 Department of Transportation sole governmental
 4661  entity to acquire, construct, or operate turnpike projects;
 4662  exception.—
 4663         (2) The department may contract with any local governmental
 4664  entity as defined in s. 334.03(13) s. 334.03(14) for the design,
 4665  right-of-way acquisition, or construction of any turnpike
 4666  project which the Legislature has approved. Local governmental
 4667  entities may negotiate with the department for the design,
 4668  right-of-way acquisition, and construction of any section of the
 4669  turnpike project within areas of their respective jurisdictions
 4670  or within counties with which they have interlocal agreements.
 4671         Section 101. Subsection (2) of section 341.8225, Florida
 4672  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4673         341.8225 Department of Transportation sole governmental
 4674  entity to acquire, construct, or operate high-speed rail
 4675  projects; exception.—
 4676         (2) Local governmental entities, as defined in s.
 4677  334.03(13) s. 334.03(14), may negotiate with the department for
 4678  the design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction of any
 4679  component of the high-speed rail system within areas of their
 4680  respective jurisdictions or within counties with which they have
 4681  interlocal agreements.
 4682         Section 102. Subsection (27) of section 479.01, Florida
 4683  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4684         479.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
 4685         (27) “Urban area” has the same meaning as defined in s.
 4686  334.03(31) s. 334.03(32).
 4687         Section 103. Subsection (1) of section 479.07, Florida
 4688  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4689         479.07 Sign permits.—
 4690         (1) Except as provided in ss. 479.105(1)(e) and 479.16, a
 4691  person may not erect, operate, use, or maintain, or cause to be
 4692  erected, operated, used, or maintained, any sign on the State
 4693  Highway System outside an urban area, as defined in s.
 4694  334.03(31) s. 334.03(32), or on any portion of the interstate or
 4695  federal-aid primary highway system without first obtaining a
 4696  permit for the sign from the department and paying the annual
 4697  fee as provided in this section. As used in this section, the
 4698  term “on any portion of the State Highway System, interstate, or
 4699  federal-aid primary system” means a sign located within the
 4700  controlled area which is visible from any portion of the main
 4701  traveled way of such system.
 4702         Section 104. Subsection (5) of section 479.261, Florida
 4703  Statutes, is amended to read:
 4704         479.261 Logo sign program.—
 4705         (5) At a minimum, permit fees for businesses that
 4706  participate in the program must be established in an amount
 4707  sufficient to offset the total cost to the department for the
 4708  program, including contract costs. The department shall provide
 4709  the services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner
 4710  through department staff or by contracting for some or all of
 4711  the services. The department shall adopt rules that set
 4712  reasonable rates based upon factors such as population, traffic
 4713  volume, market demand, and costs for annual permit fees.
 4714  However, annual permit fees for sign locations inside an urban
 4715  area, as defined in s. 334.03(31) s. 334.03(32), may not exceed
 4716  $3,500, and annual permit fees for sign locations outside an
 4717  urban area, as defined in s. 334.03(31) s. 334.03(32), may not
 4718  exceed $2,000. After recovering program costs, the proceeds from
 4719  the annual permit fees shall be deposited into the State
 4720  Transportation Trust Fund and used for transportation purposes.
 4721         Section 105. Short title.—Sections 105 through 116 of this
 4722  act may be cited as the “Seminole County Expressway Authority
 4723  Law.”
 4724         Section 106. Definitions.—As used in the Seminole County
 4725  Expressway Authority Law, the term:
 4726         (1) “Agency of the state” means the state and any agency,
 4727  instrumentality, or corporation created, designated, or
 4728  established by, the state.
 4729         (2) “Authority” means the Seminole County Expressway
 4730  Authority.
 4731         (3) “Bond” means a note, bond, refunding bond, or other
 4732  evidence of indebtedness or obligation, in temporary or
 4733  definitive form, which the authority issues pursuant to the
 4734  Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
 4735         (4) “County” means Seminole County.
 4736         (5) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.
 4737         (6) “Expressway” means a street or highway especially
 4738  designed for through traffic, and over, from, or to which owners
 4739  or occupants of abutting land or other persons have no right or
 4740  easement or only a limited right or easement of access, light,
 4741  air, or view. Such highways or streets may be facilities from
 4742  which trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles are excluded,
 4743  or facilities open to use by all customary forms of street and
 4744  highway traffic.
 4745         (7) “Gasoline tax funds” means the 80 percent surplus
 4746  gasoline tax funds accruing each year to the department for use
 4747  within Seminole county under the s. 9, Article XII of the State
 4748  Constitution, after deducting any gasoline tax funds pledged by
 4749  the department or the county for outstanding obligations.
 4750         (8) “Seminole County Expressway System” or “system” means
 4751  any expressway and appurtenant facilities thereto in Seminole
 4752  County, including, but not limited to, all approaches, roads,
 4753  bridges, and avenues of access for the expressway.
 4754         Section 107. Seminole County Expressway Authority.—
 4755         (1) There is created a body politic and corporate, an
 4756  agency of the state, to be known as the “Seminole County
 4757  Expressway Authority.”
 4758         (2) The authority has exclusive right to exercise all the
 4759  powers under the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, and
 4760  no other entity, body, or authority within or without the county
 4761  may directly or indirectly exercise jurisdiction, control,
 4762  authority, or power in any manner relating to an expressway
 4763  system within the county without the express consent of the
 4764  authority or as otherwise provided in this law. This subsection
 4765  does not limit the authority of the department under any other
 4766  provision of law.
 4767         (3) The governing body of the authority shall consist of
 4768  seven members.
 4769         (a) Five members must be members of the Board of County
 4770  Commissioners of Seminole County, and the term of each member is
 4771  concomitant with his or her term as a county commissioner.
 4772         (b) Two members shall be appointed by the board of county
 4773  commissioners from among the duly elected municipal officers
 4774  within the county and shall be appointed to serve 2-year terms
 4775  unless reappointed.
 4776         1. Each 2-year term runs from the date of appointment and
 4777  automatically terminates if the member ceases to be a duly
 4778  elected municipal officer. Each appointed member of the
 4779  authority shall enter upon his or her duties upon the effective
 4780  date of his or her appointment, or as soon thereafter as
 4781  practicable.
 4782         2. The board of county commissioners shall fill a municipal
 4783  membership vacancy within 45 days after the occurrence of the
 4784  vacancy, and the board must appoint an individual who is jointly
 4785  recommended to the board of county commissioners by two-thirds
 4786  of the municipalities in the county within 30 days after the
 4787  vacancy.
 4788         (4) The authority shall elect one of its members as chair.
 4789  The authority shall elect a secretary and a treasurer, who need
 4790  not be members of the authority. The chair, secretary, and
 4791  treasurer hold the office at the will of the authority.
 4792         (5) Four members of the authority constitute a quorum, and
 4793  the affirmative vote of three members is necessary for any
 4794  action taken by the authority. A vacancy in the authority does
 4795  not impair the right of the quorum to exercise the rights and
 4796  perform the duties of the authority.
 4797         (6) The authority shall reimburse its members for travel
 4798  and other necessary expenses incurred in connection with the
 4799  business of the authority as provided in s. 112.061, Florida
 4800  Statutes, but the members may not draw salaries or other
 4801  compensation.
 4802         (7) The authority may employ an executive secretary, an
 4803  executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, technical
 4804  experts, engineers, and other employees, permanent or temporary,
 4805  as it may require, and determine the qualifications and fix the
 4806  compensation of employees and contractors. The total
 4807  compensation package for any authority employee may not exceed
 4808  the total compensation package of the Secretary of
 4809  Transportation.
 4810         (8) The authority may contract with the Division of Bond
 4811  Finance of the State Board of Administration for any financial
 4812  services authorized herein. The authority may delegate to one or
 4813  more of its agents or employees any of its powers as it deems
 4814  necessary to carry out the purposes of the Seminole County
 4815  Expressway Authority Law, subject to the supervision and control
 4816  of the authority.
 4817         Section 108. Powers and duties.—The authority may acquire,
 4818  hold, construct, improve, maintain, operate, and own the
 4819  Seminole County Expressway System.
 4820         (1) The authority may construct any extension, addition, or
 4821  improvement to the system or appurtenant facilities, including
 4822  all necessary approaches, roads, bridges, and avenues of access,
 4823  with any change, modification, or revision of the project as
 4824  deemed necessary.
 4825         (2) The authority may exercise all powers necessary,
 4826  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the implementation of
 4827  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, including, but not
 4828  limited to:
 4829         (a) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and
 4830  complain and defend in all courts.
 4831         (b) To adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal at will.
 4832         (c) To acquire, purchase, hold, lease as lessee, and use
 4833  any franchise or property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or
 4834  intangible, or any interest necessary to implement the purposes
 4835  of the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, and to sell,
 4836  lease as lessor, transfer, and dispose of, at any time, any
 4837  property or interest acquired by the authority.
 4838         (d) To enter into and make leases for terms not exceeding
 4839  40 years, as lessee or lessor, and to implement the right to
 4840  lease as provided in the Seminole County Expressway Authority
 4841  Law.
 4842         (e) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls,
 4843  rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and
 4844  facilities of the system, which are sufficient to comply with
 4845  any covenant made with the holders of any bonds issues pursuant
 4846  to the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
 4847         (f) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect rates,
 4848  fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and facilities
 4849  of the system, which rates, fees, rentals, and other charges are
 4850  sufficient to comply with any covenant made with the holders of
 4851  any bonds issued pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway
 4852  Authority Law; however, the authority may assign or delegate to
 4853  the department any of its rights and powers.
 4854         (g) To borrow money as provided by the State Bond Act.
 4855         (h) To reimburse the county for any sums expended from
 4856  gasoline tax funds and any other revenues provided to the
 4857  authority by the county and used for the payment of the
 4858  obligations. If the authority deems it practicable, the
 4859  authority may repay disbursed revenues from county or gasoline
 4860  tax funds, together with interest at the highest rate
 4861  applicable, to any obligations of the authority for which funds
 4862  or revenues were used to pay debt service.
 4863         (i) To hire and retain independent certified public
 4864  accountants and auditors to audit the books and records of the
 4865  authority and the department with respect to the system or any
 4866  part thereof, so long as any bonds of the authority are
 4867  outstanding.
 4868         (j) To make contracts and to execute all instruments
 4869  necessary to conduct its business.
 4870         (k) To borrow money and accept grants from, and to enter
 4871  into contracts, leases, or other transactions with, any federal
 4872  agency, the state, any agency of the state, Seminole County, or
 4873  any other public body of the state.
 4874         (l) To have the power of eminent domain, including the
 4875  procedural powers granted under chapters 73 and 74, Florida
 4876  Statutes.
 4877         (m) To pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber all parts
 4878  of the revenues, rates, fees, rentals, or other charges or
 4879  receipts of the authority, including all or any portion of
 4880  gasoline tax funds or other revenues received by the authority
 4881  pursuant to the terms of any agreement between the authority and
 4882  Seminole County, as security for the obligations of the
 4883  authority.
 4884         (n) To do all acts necessary for the conduct of its
 4885  business and the general welfare of the authority in order to
 4886  implement the powers granted to it by the Seminole County
 4887  Expressway Authority Law or other law.
 4888         (o) To assume and resume all duties and responsibilities of
 4889  the prior Seminole County Expressway Authority for any contract
 4890  or agreement that existed on June 30, 2011, and to which the
 4891  prior Seminole County Expressway Authority was a party.
 4892         (3) The authority may not pledge the credit or taxing power
 4893  of the state or any political subdivision or agency of the
 4894  state, including Seminole County. The obligations of the
 4895  authority are not deemed obligations of the state, or any
 4896  political subdivision or agency of the state. The state, or any
 4897  political subdivision or agency of the state, except the
 4898  authority, is not liable for the payment of the principal or
 4899  interest on the obligations. The use or pledge of all or any
 4900  portion of gasoline tax funds may not be made without the prior
 4901  express written consent of the Seminole County Board of County
 4902  Commissioners.
 4903         (4) The consent of a municipality is not necessary for any
 4904  project of the authority, notwithstanding any other provision of
 4905  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law or any other law or
 4906  whether the project lies, in whole or in part, within the
 4907  boundaries of a municipality. However, an official or a resident
 4908  of a municipality in which a project of the authority is
 4909  located, in whole or in part, must have reasonable opportunity
 4910  to discuss the project and advise the authority of his or her
 4911  position at a duly advertised public hearing. Notice of the
 4912  public hearing must be advertised in a newspaper published in
 4913  the county and circulated in the affected municipalities. The
 4914  notice must be published once at least 2 weeks before the public
 4915  hearing and provide the time and place of the public hearing and
 4916  a short description of the subject to be discussed. The public
 4917  hearing may be adjourned and set for a time and place certain
 4918  without further advertisement. In routing and locating an
 4919  expressway or its interchange in or through a municipality, the
 4920  authority must consider the effect of such location on the
 4921  municipality as a whole and may not unreasonably split or divide
 4922  an area of the municipality or separate one area of the
 4923  municipality from another.
 4924         Section 109. Bonds.—
 4925         (1) Bonds may be issued on behalf of the authority as
 4926  provided by the State Bond Act. However, bonds may not be issued
 4927  unless the resolution authorizing the bonds and pledging the
 4928  revenues of the expressway require that the revenues of the
 4929  Seminole County Expressway System be deposited into appropriate
 4930  accounts in sums sufficient to pay the costs of operation and
 4931  maintenance of the system for the current fiscal year before any
 4932  revenues of the system are applied to the payment of interest or
 4933  principal owing or that may become owing on such bonds.
 4934         (2) The State Board of Administration shall act as fiscal
 4935  agent for the authority in the issuance of bonds pursuant to
 4936  this section. Upon request of the authority, the state board may
 4937  take over the management, control, administration, custody, and
 4938  payment of any debt service, fund, or asset available for bonds
 4939  issued under this section.
 4940         (3) The authority may enter into a deed of trust, an
 4941  indenture, a resolution, or another agreement with its fiscal
 4942  agent, a financial institution, an insurance company, or a bank
 4943  or trust company within or without the state, as security for
 4944  the bonds, and may, under the agreement, sign and pledge any of
 4945  the revenues, rates, fees, rentals, or other charges or receipts
 4946  of the authority, including any portion of gasoline tax funds or
 4947  other revenues received by the authority pursuant to the terms
 4948  of an agreement between the authority and the county. The deed
 4949  of trust, indenture, resolution, or other agreement may contain
 4950  provisions that are customary in such instruments, or, if the
 4951  authority authorizes, may include, without limitation,
 4952  provisions as to:
 4953         (a) The completion, improvement, operation, extension,
 4954  maintenance, and repair of the system.
 4955         (b) The availability and application of funds and the
 4956  safeguarding of funds on hand or on deposit.
 4957         (c) The rights and remedies of the trustee and the holders
 4958  of the bonds and any institution providing liquidity or credit
 4959  support for the bonds.
 4960         (d) The terms and provisions of the bonds or the
 4961  resolutions authorizing the issuance of the bonds.
 4962         (e) The terms and conditions pursuant to which the
 4963  authority or any trustee for the bonds is entitled to receive
 4964  any revenues from the county to pay the principal of or interest
 4965  on the bonds.
 4966         Section 110. Department to construct, operate, and maintain
 4967  facilities.—
 4968         (1) The department is the agent of the authority for the
 4969  purpose of performing all phases of a project, including, but
 4970  not limited to, constructing improvements and extensions to the
 4971  Seminole County Expressway System. The Division of Bond Finance
 4972  and the authority shall provide the department with complete
 4973  copies of all documents, agreements, resolutions, contracts, and
 4974  instruments relating thereto, and shall request the department
 4975  to do such construction work, including the planning, surveying,
 4976  design, and actual construction of the completion, extensions,
 4977  and improvements to the expressway system. Upon the issuance of
 4978  bonds to finance the construction of an expressway system or
 4979  improvements to the expressway system, the division shall
 4980  transfer to the credit of an account of the department in the
 4981  State Treasury the necessary funds for construction. The
 4982  department shall then proceed with construction and use the
 4983  funds for such purpose in the same manner as it is now
 4984  authorized to use the funds otherwise provided by law for its
 4985  use in the construction of roads and bridges. The authority,
 4986  with the consent and approval of the department, may
 4987  alternatively elect to appoint a local agency certified by the
 4988  department to administer federal aid projects in accordance with
 4989  federal law as its agent for the purpose of performing all
 4990  phases of a project. This subsection does not prohibit the
 4991  authority’s acceptance of improvements to an expressway which
 4992  may be constructed by a private party and donated to the
 4993  authority.
 4994         (2) The department is the agent of the authority for the
 4995  purpose of operating and maintaining the Seminole County
 4996  Expressway System. The department shall operate and maintain the
 4997  system and the costs incurred by the department for operation
 4998  and maintenance shall be reimbursed from revenues of the
 4999  expressway system.
 5000         (3) The authority retains the right to fix, alter, charge,
 5001  establish, and collect tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other
 5002  charges for the authority’s facilities, as otherwise provided in
 5003  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
 5004         (4) The Seminole County Expressway System shall be a part
 5005  of the State Highway System as defined in s. 334.03, Florida
 5006  Statutes.
 5007         Section 111. Acquisition of lands and property.—
 5008         (1) The authority may acquire private or public property
 5009  and property rights, including rights of access, air, view, and
 5010  light, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by an eminent
 5011  domain proceeding, as the authority deems necessary to implement
 5012  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law. The property that
 5013  the authority may acquire includes, but is not limited to, any
 5014  land:
 5015         (a) Reasonably necessary for securing applicable permits,
 5016  areas necessary for management of access, borrow pits, drainage
 5017  ditches, water retention areas, rest areas, replacement access
 5018  for landowners whose access is impaired due to the construction
 5019  of a facility, and replacement rights-of-way for relocated rail
 5020  and utility facilities.
 5021         (b) For existing, proposed, or anticipated transportation
 5022  facilities on the Seminole County Expressway System or in a
 5023  transportation corridor designated by the authority.
 5024         (c) For the purposes of screening, relocation, removal, or
 5025  disposal of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities.
 5026  
 5027  The authority may condemn any material and property necessary
 5028  for these purposes.
 5029         (2) The authority may exercise the right of eminent domain
 5030  in the manner provided by law.
 5031         (3) If the authority acquires property for a transportation
 5032  facility or in a transportation corridor, the authority is not
 5033  subject to any liability imposed by chapter 376 or chapter 403,
 5034  Florida Statutes, for preexisting soil or groundwater
 5035  contamination due solely to its ownership. This section does not
 5036  affect the rights or liabilities of any past or future owners of
 5037  the acquired property, nor does it affect the liability of any
 5038  governmental entity for the results of its actions that create
 5039  or exacerbate a pollution source. The authority and the
 5040  Department of Environmental Protection may enter into an
 5041  interagency agreement for the performance, funding, and
 5042  reimbursement of the investigative and remedial acts necessary
 5043  for property acquired by the authority.
 5044         Section 112. Cooperation with other units, boards,
 5045  agencies, and individuals.—Any county, municipality, drainage
 5046  district, road or bridge district, school district, or any other
 5047  political subdivision, board, commission, or individual in or of
 5048  the state may make and enter into a contract, lease, conveyance,
 5049  or other agreement with the authority consistent with the
 5050  Seminole County Expressway Authority Law. The authority may make
 5051  and enter into a contract, lease, conveyance, or other agreement
 5052  with any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of
 5053  the state, any federal agency, any corporation, or any
 5054  individual to implement the Seminole County Expressway Authority
 5055  Law.
 5056         Section 113. Covenant of the state.—The state pledges to,
 5057  and agrees with, any person, firm, corporation, or federal or
 5058  state agency subscribing to or acquiring the bonds issued by the
 5059  authority pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway Authority
 5060  Law that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in
 5061  the authority and the department until all bonds at any time
 5062  issued, together with the interest on the bonds, are fully paid
 5063  and discharged. The state pledges to, and agrees with, the
 5064  United States that, when any federal agency constructs or
 5065  contributes any funds for the completion, extension, or
 5066  improvement of the Seminole County Expressway System or any part
 5067  or portion thereof, the state will not alter or limit the rights
 5068  and powers of the authority and the department in any manner
 5069  that would be inconsistent with the continued maintenance and
 5070  operation of the system or the completion, extension, or
 5071  improvement of the system, or that is inconsistent with the due
 5072  performance of the agreement between the authority and the
 5073  federal agency. The authority and the department have and may
 5074  exercise all powers granted in the Seminole County Expressway
 5075  Authority Law necessary to implement the purposes of such law
 5076  and the purposes of the United States in the completion,
 5077  extension, or improvement of the system or any part or portion
 5078  of the system.
 5079         Section 114. Exemption from taxation.—The authority created
 5080  pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law is for
 5081  the benefit of the people of the state, for the increase of
 5082  their commerce and prosperity, and for the improvement of their
 5083  health and living conditions. Because the authority is
 5084  performing essential governmental functions in carrying out the
 5085  purposes of the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, the
 5086  authority is exempt from taxes or assessments upon any property
 5087  acquired or used by it for such purposes, or upon any revenues,
 5088  rates, fees, rentals, receipts, income, or charges received by
 5089  it. The bonds issued by the authority, their transfer, and the
 5090  income from the bonds, including any profits made on the sale of
 5091  the bonds, are at all times free from taxation of any kind by
 5092  the state or any political subdivision, taxing agency, or
 5093  instrumentality of the state. However, the exemption granted by
 5094  this section is not applicable to any tax imposed under chapter
 5095  220, Florida Statutes, on interest, income, or profits on debt
 5096  obligations owned by corporations. If a property of the
 5097  authority is leased, it is exempt from ad valorem taxes if the
 5098  use by the lessee qualifies the property for exemption under s.
 5099  196.199, Florida Statutes.
 5100         Section 115. Eligibility for investments and security.—Any
 5101  bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to the Seminole
 5102  County Expressway Authority Law are legal investments for banks,
 5103  savings banks, trustees, executors, administrators, and all
 5104  other fiduciaries, and for all state, municipal, and other
 5105  public funds, and are securities eligible for deposit as
 5106  security for all state, municipal, or other public funds,
 5107  notwithstanding any other provisions of law.
 5108         Section 116. Complete and additional authority.—
 5109         (1) The powers conferred by the Seminole County Expressway
 5110  Authority Law are in addition to the existing powers of the
 5111  authority and the department, and do not repeal any other law,
 5112  general, special, or local. The extension and improvement of the
 5113  Seminole County Expressway System, and the issuance of bonds
 5114  pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law to
 5115  finance all or part of the cost of the system, may be
 5116  accomplished upon compliance with such law without regard to or
 5117  necessity for compliance with the provisions, limitations, or
 5118  restrictions contained in any other general, special, or local
 5119  law. Approval by qualified electors or qualified electors who
 5120  are freeholders in the state, in 0Seminole County, or in any
 5121  other political subdivision of the state is not required for the
 5122  issuance of bonds pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway
 5123  Authority Law.
 5124         (2) The provisions of the Seminole County Expressway
 5125  Authority Law do not repeal, rescind, or modify any other law
 5126  relating to the State Board of Administration, the Department of
 5127  Transportation, or the Division of Bond Finance of the State
 5128  Board of Administration, but supersede any law that is
 5129  inconsistent with this law.
 5130         Section 117. Subsection (5) of section 369.317, Florida
 5131  Statutes, is amended to read:
 5132         369.317 Wekiva Parkway.—
 5133         (5) In Seminole County, the Seminole County Expressway
 5134  Authority, the Department of Transportation, and the Florida
 5135  Turnpike Enterprise shall locate the precise corridor and
 5136  interchanges for the Wekiva Parkway consistent with the
 5137  legislative intent expressed in this part act and other
 5138  provisions of this part act.
 5139         Section 118. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.