Florida Senate - 2015 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1186
Ì114694AÎ114694
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/05/2015 .
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The Committee on Transportation (Brandes) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 1293 - 1375
4 and insert:
5 Section 30. (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The
6 Legislature recognizes that the existing fuel tax structure used
7 to derive revenues for the funding of transportation projects in
8 this state will soon be inadequate to meet the state’s needs. To
9 address this emerging need, the Legislature directs the Center
10 for Urban Transportation Research to establish an extensive
11 study on the impact of implementing a system that charges
12 drivers based on the vehicle miles traveled as an alternative,
13 sustainable source of transportation funding and to establish
14 the framework for implementation of a pilot demonstration
15 project. The Legislature recognizes that, over time, the current
16 fuel tax structure has become less viable as the primary funding
17 source for transportation projects. While the fuel tax has
18 functioned as a true user fee for decades, significant increases
19 in mandated vehicle fuel efficiency and the introduction of
20 electric and hybrid vehicles have significantly eroded the
21 revenues derived from this tax. The Legislature also recognizes
22 that there are legitimate privacy concerns related to a tax
23 mechanism that would charge users of the highway system on the
24 basis of miles traveled. Other concerns include the cost of
25 implementing such a system and institutional issues associated
26 with revenue sharing. Therefore, it is the intent of the
27 Legislature that this study and demonstration design will, at a
28 minimum, address these issues. To accomplish this task, the
29 Center for Urban Transportation Research in consultation with
30 the Florida Transportation Commission shall establish a project
31 advisory board to assist the center in analyzing this
32 alternative funding concept and in developing specific elements
33 of the pilot project that will demonstrate the feasibility of
34 transitioning Florida to a transportation funding system based
35 on vehicle miles traveled.
36 (2) VEHICLE-MILES-TRAVELED STUDY.—The Center for Urban
37 Transportation Research shall conduct a study on the viability
38 of implementing a system in this state which charges drivers
39 based on their vehicle miles traveled as an alternative to the
40 present fuel tax structure to fund transportation projects. The
41 study will inventory previous research and findings from pilot
42 projects being conducted in other states. The study will address
43 at a minimum previous work conducted in these broad areas:
44 assessment of technologies; behavioral and privacy concerns;
45 equity impacts; and policy implications of a vehicle miles
46 traveled road charging system. The effort will also quantify the
47 current costs to collect traditional highway user fees. This
48 study will synthesize findings of completed research and
49 demonstrations in the area of vehicle-miles-traveled charges and
50 analyze their applicability to Florida. The Center for Urban
51 Transportation Research shall present the findings of this study
52 phase to the Legislature no later than January 30, 2016.
53 (3) VEHICLE-MILES-TRAVELED PILOT PROJECT DESIGN.—
54 (a) In the course of the study, the Center for Urban
55 Transportation Research in consultation with the Florida
56 Transportation Commission shall establish the framework for a
57 pilot project that will evaluate the feasibility of implementing
58 a system that charges drivers based on their vehicle miles
59 traveled.
60 (b) In the design of the pilot project framework, the
61 Center for Urban Transportation Research shall address at a
62 minimum these elements: the geographic location for the pilot;
63 special fleets or classes of vehicles; evaluation criteria for
64 the demonstration; consumer choice in the method of reporting
65 miles traveled; privacy options for participants in the pilot
66 project; the recording of miles traveled with and without
67 locational information; records retention and destruction; and
68 cyber security.
69 (c) Contingent upon legislative appropriation, the Center
70 for Urban Transportation Research may expend up to $400,000 for
71 the study and pilot project design.
72 (d) The pilot project design shall be completed no later
73 than December 31, 2016, and submitted in a report to the
74 Legislature so that implementation of a pilot project can occur
75 in 2017.
76 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
77 And the title is amended as follows:
78 Delete lines 121 - 139
79 and insert:
80 House committees by a certain date; providing
81 legislative findings and intent relating to
82 transportation funding; directing the Center for Urban
83 Transportation Research to conduct a study on
84 implementing a system in this state which charges
85 drivers based on their vehicle miles traveled as an
86 alternative to the present fuel tax structure to fund
87 transportation projects; specifying requirements of
88 the study; requiring that the findings of the study be
89 presented to the Legislature by a certain date;
90 directing the center in consultation with the Florida
91 Transportation Commission to establish the framework
92 for a pilot project that will evaluate the feasibility
93 of implementing a system that charges drivers based on
94 their vehicle miles traveled; specifying requirements
95 for the design of the pilot project framework;
96 authorizing the center to expend up to a certain
97 amount for the study and pilot project design
98 contingent upon legislative appropriation; requiring
99 that the pilot project design be completed by a
100 certain date and submitted in a report to the
101 Legislature; providing an effective date.
102