Florida Senate - 2012                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/CS/CS/HB 599, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 960564                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                  Floor: WD            .                                
             03/09/2012 06:40 PM       .                                
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       Senator Simmons moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 566 and 567
    4  insert:
    5         Section 6. Short title.—Sections 101 through 112 of this
    6  act may be cited as the “Seminole County Expressway Authority
    7  Law.”
    8         Section 7. Definitions.—As used in the Seminole County
    9  Expressway Authority Law, the term:
   10         (1) “Agency of the state” means the state and any agency,
   11  instrumentality, or corporation created, designated, or
   12  established by, the state.
   13         (2) “Authority” means the Seminole County Expressway
   14  Authority.
   15         (3) “Bond” means a note, bond, refunding bond, or other
   16  evidence of indebtedness or obligation, in temporary or
   17  definitive form, which the authority issues pursuant to the
   18  Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
   19         (4) “County” means Seminole County.
   20         (5) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.
   21         (6) “Expressway” means a street or highway especially
   22  designed for through traffic, and over, from, or to which owners
   23  or occupants of abutting land or other persons have no right or
   24  easement or only a limited right or easement of access, light,
   25  air, or view. Such highways or streets may be facilities from
   26  which trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles are excluded,
   27  or facilities open to use by all customary forms of street and
   28  highway traffic.
   29         (7) “Gasoline tax funds” means the 80 percent surplus
   30  gasoline tax funds accruing each year to the department for use
   31  within Seminole county under the s. 9, Art. XII of the State
   32  Constitution, after deducting any gasoline tax funds pledged by
   33  the department or the county for outstanding obligations.
   34         (8) “Seminole County Expressway System” or “system” means
   35  any expressway and appurtenant facilities thereto in Seminole
   36  County, including, but not limited to, all approaches, roads,
   37  bridges, and avenues of access for the expressway.
   38         Section 8. Seminole County Expressway Authority.—
   39         (1) There is created a body politic and corporate, an
   40  agency of the state, to be known as the “Seminole County
   41  Expressway Authority.”
   42         (2) The authority has exclusive right to exercise all the
   43  powers under the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, and
   44  no other entity, body, or authority within or without the county
   45  may directly or indirectly exercise jurisdiction, control,
   46  authority, or power in any manner relating to an expressway
   47  system within the county without the express consent of the
   48  authority or as otherwise provided in this law. This subsection
   49  does not limit the authority of the department under any other
   50  provision of law.
   51         (3) The governing body of the authority shall consist of
   52  seven members.
   53         (a) Five members must be members of the Board of County
   54  Commissioners of Seminole County, and the term of each member is
   55  concomitant with his or her term as a county commissioner.
   56         (b) Two members shall be appointed by the board of county
   57  commissioners from among the duly elected municipal officers
   58  within the county and shall be appointed to serve 2-year terms
   59  unless reappointed.
   60         1. Each 2-year term runs from the date of appointment and
   61  automatically terminates if the member ceases to be a duly
   62  elected municipal officer. Each appointed member of the
   63  authority shall enter upon his or her duties upon the effective
   64  date of his or her appointment, or as soon thereafter as
   65  practicable.
   66         2. The board of county commissioners shall fill a municipal
   67  membership vacancy within 45 days after the occurrence of the
   68  vacancy, and the board must appoint an individual who is jointly
   69  recommended to the board of county commissioners by two-thirds
   70  of the municipalities in the county within 30 days after the
   71  vacancy.
   72         (4) The authority shall elect one of its members as chair.
   73  The authority shall elect a secretary and a treasurer, who need
   74  not be members of the authority. The chair, secretary, and
   75  treasurer hold the office at the will of the authority.
   76         (5) Four members of the authority constitute a quorum, and
   77  the affirmative vote of three members is necessary for any
   78  action taken by the authority. A vacancy in the authority does
   79  not impair the right of the quorum to exercise the rights and
   80  perform the duties of the authority.
   81         (6) The authority shall reimburse its members for travel
   82  and other necessary expenses incurred in connection with the
   83  business of the authority as provided in s. 112.061, Florida
   84  Statutes, but the members may not draw salaries or other
   85  compensation.
   86         (7) The authority may employ an executive secretary, an
   87  executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, technical
   88  experts, engineers, and other employees, permanent or temporary,
   89  as it may require, and determine the qualifications and fix the
   90  compensation of employees and contractors. The total
   91  compensation package for any authority employee may not exceed
   92  the total compensation package of the Secretary of
   93  Transportation.
   94         (8) The authority may contract with the Division of Bond
   95  Finance of the State Board of Administration for any financial
   96  services authorized herein. The authority may delegate to one or
   97  more of its agents or employees any of its powers as it deems
   98  necessary to carry out the purposes of the Seminole County
   99  Expressway Authority Law, subject to the supervision and control
  100  of the authority.
  101         Section 9. Powers and duties.—The authority may acquire,
  102  hold, construct, improve, maintain, operate, and own the
  103  Seminole County Expressway System.
  104         (1) The authority may construct any extension, addition, or
  105  improvement to the system or appurtenant facilities, including
  106  all necessary approaches, roads, bridges, and avenues of access,
  107  with any change, modification, or revision of the project as
  108  deemed necessary.
  109         (2) The authority may exercise all powers necessary,
  110  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the implementation of
  111  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, including, but not
  112  limited to:
  113         (a) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and
  114  complain and defend in all courts.
  115         (b) To adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal at will.
  116         (c) To acquire, purchase, hold, lease as lessee, and use
  117  any franchise or property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or
  118  intangible, or any interest necessary to implement the purposes
  119  of the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, and to sell,
  120  lease as lessor, transfer, and dispose of, at any time, any
  121  property or interest acquired by the authority.
  122         (d) To enter into and make leases for terms not exceeding
  123  40 years, as lessee or lessor, and to implement the right to
  124  lease as provided in the Seminole County Expressway Authority
  125  Law.
  126         (e) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls,
  127  rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and
  128  facilities of the system, which are sufficient to comply with
  129  any covenant made with the holders of any bonds issues pursuant
  130  to the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
  131         (f) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect rates,
  132  fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and facilities
  133  of the system, which rates, fees, rentals, and other charges are
  134  sufficient to comply with any covenant made with the holders of
  135  any bonds issued pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway
  136  Authority Law; however, the authority may assign or delegate to
  137  the department any of its rights and powers.
  138         (g) To borrow money as provided by the State Bond Act.
  139         (h) To reimburse the county for any sums expended from
  140  gasoline tax funds and any other revenues provided to the
  141  authority by the county and used for the payment of the
  142  obligations. If the authority deems it practicable, the
  143  authority may repay disbursed revenues from county or gasoline
  144  tax funds, together with interest at the highest rate
  145  applicable, to any obligations of the authority for which funds
  146  or revenues were used to pay debt service.
  147         (i) To hire and retain independent certified public
  148  accountants and auditors to audit the books and records of the
  149  authority and the department with respect to the system or any
  150  part thereof, so long as any bonds of the authority are
  151  outstanding.
  152         (j) To make contracts and to execute all instruments
  153  necessary to conduct its business.
  154         (k) To borrow money and accept grants from, and to enter
  155  into contracts, leases, or other transactions with, any federal
  156  agency, the state, any agency of the state, Seminole County, or
  157  any other public body of the state.
  158         (l) To have the power of eminent domain, including the
  159  procedural powers granted under chapters 73 and 74, Florida
  160  Statutes.
  161         (m) To pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber all parts
  162  of the revenues, rates, fees, rentals, or other charges or
  163  receipts of the authority, including all or any portion of
  164  gasoline tax funds or other revenues received by the authority
  165  pursuant to the terms of any agreement between the authority and
  166  Seminole County, as security for the obligations of the
  167  authority.
  168         (n) To do all acts necessary for the conduct of its
  169  business and the general welfare of the authority in order to
  170  implement the powers granted to it by the Seminole County
  171  Expressway Authority Law or other law.
  172         (o) To assume and resume all duties and responsibilities of
  173  the prior Seminole County Expressway Authority for any contract
  174  or agreement that existed on June 30, 2011, and to which the
  175  prior Seminole County Expressway Authority was a party.
  176         (3) The authority may not pledge the credit or taxing power
  177  of the state or any political subdivision or agency of the
  178  state, including Seminole County. The obligations of the
  179  authority are not deemed obligations of the state, or any
  180  political subdivision or agency of the state. The state, or any
  181  political subdivision or agency of the state, except the
  182  authority, is not liable for the payment of the principal or
  183  interest on the obligations. The use or pledge of all or any
  184  portion of gasoline tax funds may not be made without the prior
  185  express written consent of the Seminole County Board of County
  186  Commissioners.
  187         (4) The consent of a municipality is not necessary for any
  188  project of the authority, notwithstanding any other provision of
  189  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law or any other law or
  190  whether the project lies, in whole or in part, within the
  191  boundaries of a municipality. However, an official or a resident
  192  of a municipality in which a project of the authority is
  193  located, in whole or in part, must have reasonable opportunity
  194  to discuss the project and advise the authority of his or her
  195  position at a duly advertised public hearing. Notice of the
  196  public hearing must be advertised in a newspaper published in
  197  the county and circulated in the affected municipalities. The
  198  notice must be published once at least 2 weeks before the public
  199  hearing and provide the time and place of the public hearing and
  200  a short description of the subject to be discussed. The public
  201  hearing may be adjourned and set for a time and place certain
  202  without further advertisement. In routing and locating an
  203  expressway or its interchange in or through a municipality, the
  204  authority must consider the effect of such location on the
  205  municipality as a whole and may not unreasonably split or divide
  206  an area of the municipality or separate one area of the
  207  municipality from another.
  208         Section 10. Bonds.—
  209         (1) Bonds may be issued on behalf of the authority as
  210  provided by the State Bond Act. However, bonds may not be issued
  211  unless the resolution authorizing the bonds and pledging the
  212  revenues of the expressway require that the revenues of the
  213  Seminole County Expressway System be deposited into appropriate
  214  accounts in sums sufficient to pay the costs of operation and
  215  maintenance of the system for the current fiscal year before any
  216  revenues of the system are applied to the payment of interest or
  217  principal owing or that may become owing on such bonds.
  218         (2) The State Board of Administration shall act as fiscal
  219  agent for the authority in the issuance of bonds pursuant to
  220  this section. Upon request of the authority, the state board may
  221  take over the management, control, administration, custody, and
  222  payment of any debt service, fund, or asset available for bonds
  223  issued under this section.
  224         (3) The authority may enter into a deed of trust, an
  225  indenture, a resolution, or another agreement with its fiscal
  226  agent, a financial institution, an insurance company, or a bank
  227  or trust company within or without the state, as security for
  228  the bonds, and may, under the agreement, sign and pledge any of
  229  the revenues, rates, fees, rentals, or other charges or receipts
  230  of the authority, including any portion of gasoline tax funds or
  231  other revenues received by the authority pursuant to the terms
  232  of an agreement between the authority and the county. The deed
  233  of trust, indenture, resolution, or other agreement may contain
  234  provisions that are customary in such instruments, or, if the
  235  authority authorizes, may include, without limitation,
  236  provisions as to:
  237         (a) The completion, improvement, operation, extension,
  238  maintenance, and repair of the system.
  239         (b) The availability and application of funds and the
  240  safeguarding of funds on hand or on deposit.
  241         (c) The rights and remedies of the trustee and the holders
  242  of the bonds and any institution providing liquidity or credit
  243  support for the bonds.
  244         (d) The terms and provisions of the bonds or the
  245  resolutions authorizing the issuance of the bonds.
  246         (e) The terms and conditions pursuant to which the
  247  authority or any trustee for the bonds is entitled to receive
  248  any revenues from the county to pay the principal of or interest
  249  on the bonds.
  250         Section 11. Department to construct, operate, and maintain
  251  facilities.—
  252         (1) The department is the agent of the authority for the
  253  purpose of performing all phases of a project, including, but
  254  not limited to, constructing improvements and extensions to the
  255  Seminole County Expressway System. The Division of Bond Finance
  256  and the authority shall provide the department with complete
  257  copies of all documents, agreements, resolutions, contracts, and
  258  instruments relating thereto, and shall request the department
  259  to do such construction work, including the planning, surveying,
  260  design, and actual construction of the completion, extensions,
  261  and improvements to the expressway system. Upon the issuance of
  262  bonds to finance the construction of an expressway system or
  263  improvements to the expressway system, the division shall
  264  transfer to the credit of an account of the department in the
  265  State Treasury the necessary funds for construction. The
  266  department shall then proceed with construction and use the
  267  funds for such purpose in the same manner as it is now
  268  authorized to use the funds otherwise provided by law for its
  269  use in the construction of roads and bridges. The authority,
  270  with the consent and approval of the department, may
  271  alternatively elect to appoint a local agency certified by the
  272  department to administer federal aid projects in accordance with
  273  federal law as its agent for the purpose of performing all
  274  phases of a project. This subsection does not prohibit the
  275  authority’s acceptance of improvements to an expressway which
  276  may be constructed by a private party and donated to the
  277  authority.
  278         (2) The department is the agent of the authority for the
  279  purpose of operating and maintaining the Seminole County
  280  Expressway System. The department shall operate and maintain the
  281  system and the costs incurred by the department for operation
  282  and maintenance shall be reimbursed from revenues of the
  283  expressway system.
  284         (3) The authority retains the right to fix, alter, charge,
  285  establish, and collect tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other
  286  charges for the authority’s facilities, as otherwise provided in
  287  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
  288         (4) The Seminole County Expressway System shall be a part
  289  of the State Highway System as defined in s. 334.03, Florida
  290  Statutes.
  291         Section 12. Acquisition of lands and property.—
  292         (1) The authority may acquire private or public property
  293  and property rights, including rights of access, air, view, and
  294  light, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by an eminent
  295  domain proceeding, as the authority deems necessary to implement
  296  the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law. The property that
  297  the authority may acquire includes, but is not limited to, any
  298  land:
  299         (a) Reasonably necessary for securing applicable permits,
  300  areas necessary for management of access, borrow pits, drainage
  301  ditches, water retention areas, rest areas, replacement access
  302  for landowners whose access is impaired due to the construction
  303  of a facility, and replacement rights-of-way for relocated rail
  304  and utility facilities.
  305         (b) For existing, proposed, or anticipated transportation
  306  facilities on the Seminole County Expressway System or in a
  307  transportation corridor designated by the authority.
  308         (c) For the purposes of screening, relocation, removal, or
  309  disposal of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities.
  310  
  311  The authority may condemn any material and property necessary
  312  for these purposes.
  313         (2) The authority may exercise the right of eminent domain
  314  in the manner provided by law.
  315         (3) If the authority acquires property for a transportation
  316  facility or in a transportation corridor, the authority is not
  317  subject to any liability imposed by chapter 376 or chapter 403,
  318  Florida Statutes, for preexisting soil or groundwater
  319  contamination due solely to its ownership. This section does not
  320  affect the rights or liabilities of any past or future owners of
  321  the acquired property, nor does it affect the liability of any
  322  governmental entity for the results of its actions that create
  323  or exacerbate a pollution source. The authority and the
  324  Department of Environmental Protection may enter into an
  325  interagency agreement for the performance, funding, and
  326  reimbursement of the investigative and remedial acts necessary
  327  for property acquired by the authority.
  328         Section 13. Cooperation with other units, boards, agencies,
  329  and individuals.—Any county, municipality, drainage district,
  330  road or bridge district, school district, or any other political
  331  subdivision, board, commission, or individual in or of the state
  332  may make and enter into a contract, lease, conveyance, or other
  333  agreement with the authority consistent with the Seminole County
  334  Expressway Authority Law. The authority may make and enter into
  335  a contract, lease, conveyance, or other agreement with any
  336  political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the state,
  337  any federal agency, any corporation, or any individual to
  338  implement the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law.
  339         Section 14. Covenant of the state.—The state pledges to,
  340  and agrees with, any person, firm, corporation, or federal or
  341  state agency subscribing to or acquiring the bonds issued by the
  342  authority pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway Authority
  343  Law that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in
  344  the authority and the department until all bonds at any time
  345  issued, together with the interest on the bonds, are fully paid
  346  and discharged. The state pledges to, and agrees with, the
  347  United States that, when any federal agency constructs or
  348  contributes any funds for the completion, extension, or
  349  improvement of the Seminole County Expressway System or any part
  350  or portion thereof, the state will not alter or limit the rights
  351  and powers of the authority and the department in any manner
  352  that would be inconsistent with the continued maintenance and
  353  operation of the system or the completion, extension, or
  354  improvement of the system, or that is inconsistent with the due
  355  performance of the agreement between the authority and the
  356  federal agency. The authority and the department have and may
  357  exercise all powers granted in the Seminole County Expressway
  358  Authority Law necessary to implement the purposes of such law
  359  and the purposes of the United States in the completion,
  360  extension, or improvement of the system or any part or portion
  361  of the system.
  362         Section 15. Exemption from taxation.—The authority created
  363  pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law is for
  364  the benefit of the people of the state, for the increase of
  365  their commerce and prosperity, and for the improvement of their
  366  health and living conditions. Because the authority is
  367  performing essential governmental functions in carrying out the
  368  purposes of the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law, the
  369  authority is exempt from taxes or assessments upon any property
  370  acquired or used by it for such purposes, or upon any revenues,
  371  rates, fees, rentals, receipts, income, or charges received by
  372  it. The bonds issued by the authority, their transfer, and the
  373  income from the bonds, including any profits made on the sale of
  374  the bonds, are at all times free from taxation of any kind by
  375  the state or any political subdivision, taxing agency, or
  376  instrumentality of the state. However, the exemption granted by
  377  this section is not applicable to any tax imposed under chapter
  378  220, Florida Statutes, on interest, income, or profits on debt
  379  obligations owned by corporations. If a property of the
  380  authority is leased, it is exempt from ad valorem taxes if the
  381  use by the lessee qualifies the property for exemption under s.
  382  196.199, Florida Statutes.
  383         Section 16. Eligibility for investments and security.—Any
  384  bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to the Seminole
  385  County Expressway Authority Law are legal investments for banks,
  386  savings banks, trustees, executors, administrators, and all
  387  other fiduciaries, and for all state, municipal, and other
  388  public funds, and are securities eligible for deposit as
  389  security for all state, municipal, or other public funds,
  390  notwithstanding any other provisions of law.
  391         Section 17. Complete and additional authority.—
  392         (1) The powers conferred by the Seminole County Expressway
  393  Authority Law are in addition to the existing powers of the
  394  authority and the department, and do not repeal any other law,
  395  general, special, or local. The extension and improvement of the
  396  Seminole County Expressway System, and the issuance of bonds
  397  pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law to
  398  finance all or part of the cost of the system, may be
  399  accomplished upon compliance with such law without regard to or
  400  necessity for compliance with the provisions, limitations, or
  401  restrictions contained in any other general, special, or local
  402  law. Approval by qualified electors or qualified electors who
  403  are freeholders in the state, in 0Seminole County, or in any
  404  other political subdivision of the state is not required for the
  405  issuance of bonds pursuant to the Seminole County Expressway
  406  Authority Law.
  407         (2) The provisions of the Seminole County Expressway
  408  Authority Law do not repeal, rescind, or modify any other law
  409  relating to the State Board of Administration, the Department of
  410  Transportation, or the Division of Bond Finance of the State
  411  Board of Administration, but supersede any law that is
  412  inconsistent with this law.
  413         Section 18. Subsection (5) of section 369.317, Florida
  414  Statutes, is amended to read:
  415         369.317 Wekiva Parkway.—
  416  (5) In Seminole County, the Seminole County Expressway
  417  Authority, the Department of Transportation, and the Florida
  418  Turnpike Enterprise shall locate the precise corridor and
  419  interchanges for the Wekiva Parkway consistent with the
  420  legislative intent expressed in this part act and other
  421  provisions of this part act.
  422  
  423  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  424         And the title is amended as follows:
  425         Delete line 37
  426  and insert:
  427         seaport projects to use a mitigation bank; creating
  428         the Seminole County Expressway Authority Law;
  429         providing definitions; creating the Seminole County
  430         Expressway Authority; prohibiting an entity or body or
  431         another authority from exercising jurisdiction,
  432         control, authority, or power over an expressway system
  433         in Seminole County without the consent of the Seminole
  434         County Expressway Authority; providing for membership
  435         and terms of the governing body of the authority;
  436         providing for officers, a quorum, and reimbursement
  437         for travel and per diem; authorizing staffing;
  438         providing for certain reimbursement for authority
  439         members; authorizing the authority to contract with
  440         the Division of Bond Finance for financial services;
  441         providing for the powers and duties of the authority;
  442         providing for the assumption of duties and
  443         responsibilities of the prior Seminole County
  444         Expressway Authority for certain contracts and
  445         agreements; prohibiting the authority from pledging
  446         the credit or taxing power of the state; providing
  447         that the authority does not need the consent of a
  448         municipality for projects but must provide the
  449         opportunity for public comment; providing for the
  450         issuance of bonds; authorizing the State Board of
  451         Administration to act as the fiscal agent of the
  452         authority in the issuance of bonds; authorizing the
  453         authority to enter into agreements to secure such
  454         bonds; providing that the Department of Transportation
  455         is the agent of authority for performing all phases of
  456         a project and for operating the expressway system;
  457         providing that the authority has the power to set and
  458         collect all tolls and charges; authorizing the
  459         authority to acquire land and properties, including
  460         eminent domain; providing for the cooperation of other
  461         entities to further the purposes of the act;
  462         prohibiting the state from changing the terms of the
  463         bonds; exempting the authority from certain taxes;
  464         providing for the bond’s eligibility for investments
  465         and security; providing for the extent of the powers
  466         authorized by the act; amending s. 369.317, F.S.;
  467         authorizing only the department to locate the corridor
  468         and interchanges for the Wekiva Parkway; providing