SB 2514                                          First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       20142514e1
       
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to bicycle and pedestrian ways;
    3         amending s. 335.065, F.S.; authorizing the Department
    4         of Transportation to use appropriated funds for the
    5         establishment of a statewide system of interconnected
    6         multiuse trails; prioritizing projects for funding;
    7         requiring funded projects to be included in the
    8         department’s work program; providing that the
    9         department is not responsible for or obligated to
   10         provide funds for the operation and maintenance of any
   11         such project; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Subsections (4) and (5) are added to section
   16  335.065, Florida Statutes, to read:
   17         335.065 Bicycle and pedestrian ways along state roads and
   18  transportation facilities.—
   19         (4) The department may use appropriated funds to support
   20  the establishment of a statewide system of interconnected
   21  multiuse trails and to pay the cost of planning, land
   22  acquisition, design, and construction of such trails and related
   23  facilities. The department shall give funding priority to
   24  projects that:
   25         (a) Are identified by the Florida Greenways and Trails
   26  Council as a priority within the Florida Greenways and Trails
   27  System under chapter 260.
   28         (b) Support the transportation needs of bicyclists and
   29  pedestrians.
   30         (c) Have national, statewide, or regional importance.
   31         (d) Facilitate an interconnected system of trails by
   32  completing gaps between existing trails.
   33         (5) A project funded under subsection (4) shall:
   34         (a) Be included in the department’s work program developed
   35  in accordance with s. 339.135.
   36         (b) Be operated and maintained by an entity other than the
   37  department upon completion of construction. The department is
   38  not obligated to provide funds for the operation and maintenance
   39  of the project.
   40         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.