Florida Senate - 2017                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/HB 1049, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 1/AD/2R         .         Floor: SENA1/C         
             05/03/2017 11:01 AM       .      05/05/2017 06:15 PM       
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       Senator Garcia moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Present subsections (5) and (6) of section
    6  338.166, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
    7  and (7), respectively, subsection (4) of that section is
    8  amended, and a new subsection (5) is added to that section, to
    9  read:
   10         338.166 High-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.—
   11         (4) The department may implement variable rate tolls on
   12  high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes. The department may
   13  require the use of an electronic transponder interoperable with
   14  the department’s electronic toll collection system for the use
   15  of high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.
   16         (5) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel
   17  speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per
   18  hour, the customer must be charged the minimum express lane
   19  toll. A customer’s express lane average travel speed is his or
   20  her average travel speed from the customer’s entry point to the
   21  customer’s exit point.
   22         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
   23  338.2216, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is
   24  added to that subsection, to read:
   25         338.2216 Florida Turnpike Enterprise; powers and
   26  authority.—
   27         (1)
   28         (d) The Florida Turnpike Enterprise shall pursue and
   29  implement new technologies and processes in its operations and
   30  collection of tolls and the collection of other amounts
   31  associated with road and infrastructure usage. Such technologies
   32  and processes must include, without limitation, video billing
   33  and variable pricing. The Florida Turnpike Enterprise may
   34  require the use of an electronic transponder interoperable with
   35  the department’s electronic toll collection system for the use
   36  of express lanes on the turnpike system. Variable pricing may
   37  not be implemented in express lanes when the level of service in
   38  the express lane, determined in accordance with the criteria
   39  established by the Transportation Research Board Highway
   40  Capacity Manual (5th Edition, HCM 2010), as amended from time to
   41  time, is equal to level of service A. Variable pricing in
   42  express lanes when the level of service in the express lane is
   43  level of service B may only be implemented by charging the
   44  general toll lane toll amount plus an amount set by department
   45  rule. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, pricing
   46  in express lanes when the level of service is other than level
   47  of service A or level of service B may vary in the manner
   48  established by the Florida Turnpike Enterprise to manage
   49  congestion in the express lanes.
   50         (e) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel
   51  speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per
   52  hour, the customer must be charged the general toll lane toll
   53  amount plus an amount set by department rule. A customer’s
   54  express lane average travel speed is his or her average travel
   55  speed from the customer’s entry point to the customer’s exit
   56  point.
   57         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   58  338.231, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   59         338.231 Turnpike tolls, fixing; pledge of tolls and other
   60  revenues.—The department shall at all times fix, adjust, charge,
   61  and collect such tolls and amounts for the use of the turnpike
   62  system as are required in order to provide a fund sufficient
   63  with other revenues of the turnpike system to pay the cost of
   64  maintaining, improving, repairing, and operating such turnpike
   65  system; to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds issued
   66  to finance or refinance any portion of the turnpike system as
   67  the same become due and payable; and to create reserves for all
   68  such purposes.
   69         (3)(a) For the period July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2027
   70  2017, the department shall, to the maximum extent feasible,
   71  program sufficient funds in the tentative work program such that
   72  the percentage of turnpike toll and bond financed commitments in
   73  Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County as
   74  compared to total turnpike toll and bond financed commitments
   75  shall be at least 90 percent of the share of net toll
   76  collections attributable to users of the turnpike system in
   77  Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County as
   78  compared to total net toll collections attributable to users of
   79  the turnpike system. This subsection does not apply when the
   80  application of such requirements would violate any covenant
   81  established in a resolution or trust indenture relating to the
   82  issuance of turnpike bonds. The department may at any time for
   83  economic considerations establish lower temporary toll rates for
   84  a new or existing toll facility for a period not to exceed 1
   85  year, after which the toll rates adopted pursuant to s. 120.54
   86  shall become effective.
   87         Section 4. Present subsections (6) through (9) of section
   88  348.0004, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (7)
   89  through (10), respectively, paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of
   90  that section is amended, and a new subsection (6) and
   91  subsections (11), (12), and (13) are added to that section, to
   92  read:
   93         348.0004 Purposes and powers.—
   94         (2) Each authority may exercise all powers necessary,
   95  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of
   96  its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following
   97  rights and powers:
   98         (e) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls,
   99  rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and
  100  facilities system, which tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other
  101  charges must always be sufficient to comply with any covenants
  102  made with the holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the
  103  Florida Expressway Authority Act. However, such right and power
  104  may be assigned or delegated by the authority to the department.
  105         1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  106  contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained
  107  in documents securing any indebtedness outstanding on July 1,
  108  2017, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1):
  109         a. The authority may not increase a toll unless the
  110  increase is justified to the satisfaction of the authority by a
  111  traffic and revenue study conducted by an independent third
  112  party, except for an increase to the extent necessary to adjust
  113  for inflation pursuant to the procedure for toll rate
  114  adjustments provided in s. 338.165.
  115         b. A toll increase must be approved by a two-thirds vote of
  116  the expressway authority board.
  117         c. The amount of toll revenues used for administrative
  118  expenses by the authority may not be greater than 10 percent
  119  above the annual state average of administrative costs
  120  determined as provided in this sub-subparagraph. The Florida
  121  Transportation Commission shall determine the annual state
  122  average of administrative costs based on the annual
  123  administrative expenses of all the expressway authorities of
  124  this state. For purposes of this sub-subparagraph,
  125  administrative expenses include, but are not limited to,
  126  employee salaries and benefits, small business outreach,
  127  insurance, professional service contracts not directly related
  128  to the operation and maintenance of the expressway system, and
  129  other overhead costs. The commission may adopt rules necessary
  130  for the implementation of this sub-subparagraph.
  131         d.On transportation facilities constructed after July 1,
  132  2017, there must be a distance of at least 5 miles between main
  133  through-lane tolling points. The distance requirement of this
  134  sub-subparagraph does not apply to entry and exit ramps.
  135         2. Notwithstanding s. 338.165 or any other provision of law
  136  to the contrary, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), to
  137  the extent surplus revenues exist, they may be used for purposes
  138  enumerated in subsection (8) (7), provided the expenditures are
  139  consistent with the metropolitan planning organization’s adopted
  140  long-range plan.
  141         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  142  contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained
  143  in documents securing any outstanding indebtedness payable from
  144  tolls, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), the board of
  145  county commissioners may, by ordinance adopted on or before
  146  September 30, 1999, alter or abolish existing tolls and
  147  currently approved increases thereto if the board provides a
  148  local source of funding to the county expressway system for
  149  transportation in an amount sufficient to replace revenues
  150  necessary to meet bond obligations secured by such tolls and
  151  increases.
  152         (6) Subject to compliance with any covenants made with the
  153  holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the Florida Expressway
  154  Authority Act, an authority in any county as defined in s.
  155  125.011(1) shall, at the time that any toll is incurred, reduce
  156  the toll charged on any of the authority’s toll facilities by at
  157  least 5 percent, but not more than 10 percent, for each SunPass
  158  registrant having an account in good standing and having the
  159  license plate of the vehicle or vehicles incurring the toll
  160  registered to the SunPass account at the time the toll is
  161  incurred. The authority may not impose additional requirements
  162  for receipt of the reduced toll amount.
  163         (11)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Florida
  164  Expressway Authority Act, an authority in any county as defined
  165  in s. 125.011(1) shall determine its surplus revenues as defined
  166  in s. 348.0002(12). The authority shall then dedicate at least
  167  20 percent, but not more than 50 percent, of the annual surplus
  168  revenues to transportation- and transit-related expenses for
  169  projects in the area served by the authority. The metropolitan
  170  planning organization for any county as defined in s. 125.011(1)
  171  shall annually select a project or projects within the county to
  172  be funded by the authority’s dedicated surplus revenues as
  173  provided in this subsection and provide to the authority a list
  174  reflecting the selected project or projects. The authority shall
  175  select from the list for funding from the authority’s dedicated
  176  surplus revenues transportation- and transit-related expenses
  177  that have a rational nexus to the transportation facilities of
  178  the authority and may include, but are not limited to, expenses
  179  associated with the planning, design, acquisition, construction,
  180  extension, rehabilitation, equipping, preservation, maintenance,
  181  or improvement of public transportation facilities, transit
  182  facilities, intermodal facilities, or multimodal corridors owned
  183  or operated by such municipality or county; and transit-related
  184  expenses that impact the capacity or use of the transportation
  185  facilities of the authority. For the purpose of this subsection,
  186  a rational nexus must demonstrate that the proposed
  187  transportation expenditure makes a substantial impact on the
  188  capacity or use of the transportation facilities of the
  189  authority, or that the proposed transit expenditure complements
  190  the operation of, or expands the access to, the transportation
  191  facilities of the authority.
  192         (12) A county as defined in s. 125.011(1) must have a
  193  financial audit of the revenues and expenditures of the county’s
  194  transportation plan conducted by an independent third party not
  195  less than biennially and must post the audits on the county’s
  196  website to be eligible to receive the dedicated surplus revenues
  197  as provided in subsection (11).
  198         (13) An authority established in any county as defined in
  199  125.011(1) must have a financial audit conducted by an
  200  independent third party not less than biennially, and the audit
  201  report must be made publicly available on the authority’s
  202  website.
  203         Section 5. Section 348.00115, Florida Statutes, is created
  204  to read:
  205         348.00115 Public accountability.—An expressway authority in
  206  a county as defined in s. 125.011(1) shall post the following
  207  information on its website:
  208         (1) Audited financial statements and any interim financial
  209  reports.
  210         (2) Board and committee meeting agendas, meeting packets,
  211  and minutes.
  212         (3) Bond covenants for any outstanding bond issues.
  213         (4) Authority budgets.
  214         (5) Authority contracts. For purposes of this subsection,
  215  the term “contract” means a written agreement or purchase order
  216  issued for the purchase of goods or services or a written
  217  agreement for the receipt of state or federal financial
  218  assistance.
  219         (6) Authority expenditure data, which must include the name
  220  of the payee, the date of the expenditure, and the amount of the
  221  expenditure. Such data must be searchable by name of the payee,
  222  name of the paying agency, and fiscal year and must be
  223  downloadable in a format that allows offline analysis.
  224         (7) Information relating to current, recently completed,
  225  and future projects on authority facilities.
  226         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
  227  
  228  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  229  And the title is amended as follows:
  230         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  231  and insert:
  232                        A bill to be entitled                      
  233         An act relating to limited access and toll facilities;
  234         amending s. 338.166, F.S.; authorizing the Department
  235         of Transportation to require the use of an electronic
  236         transponder interoperable with the department’s
  237         electronic toll collection system for the use of high
  238         occupancy toll lanes or express lanes; requiring, as
  239         of a specified date, that a customer be charged the
  240         minimum express lane toll if his or her average travel
  241         speed for a trip in an express lane falls below a
  242         specified rate; providing measurement of a customer’s
  243         express lane average travel speed; amending s.
  244         338.2216, F.S.; authorizing the Florida Turnpike
  245         Enterprise to require the use of an electronic
  246         transponder interoperable with the department’s
  247         electronic toll collection system for the use of
  248         express lanes on the turnpike system; prohibiting
  249         variable pricing from being implemented in express
  250         lanes when the level of service in the express lane,
  251         determined in accordance with specified criteria, is
  252         equal to level of service A; specifying that variable
  253         pricing in express lanes when the level of service in
  254         the express lane is level of service B may only be
  255         implemented by charging the general toll lane toll
  256         amount plus an amount set by department rule;
  257         providing that pricing in express lanes when the level
  258         of service is other than level of service A or level
  259         of service B may vary in the manner established by the
  260         Florida Turnpike Enterprise to manage congestion in
  261         the express lanes; requiring, as of a specified date,
  262         that a customer be charged a general toll lane toll
  263         amount plus an amount set by department rule if his or
  264         her average travel speed for a trip in an express lane
  265         falls below a specified rate; providing for
  266         measurement of a customer’s express lane average
  267         travel speed; amending s. 338.231, F.S.; extending the
  268         timeframe during which the department must program
  269         sufficient funds in the tentative work program such
  270         that the percentage of turnpike toll and bond financed
  271         commitments in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and
  272         Palm Beach County are at least a specified percent of
  273         a certain share of certain net toll collections;
  274         amending s. 348.0004, F.S.; providing applicability;
  275         requiring toll increases by authorities in certain
  276         counties to be justified by an independent study by a
  277         third party; providing an exception for an increase to
  278         adjust for inflation pursuant to a specified procedure
  279         for toll rate adjustments; requiring toll increases to
  280         be approved by a specified margin in a vote of the
  281         expressway authority board; prohibiting the amount of
  282         toll revenues used for administrative expenses by the
  283         authority from being greater than a specified
  284         percentage above the annual state average of
  285         administrative costs; requiring the Florida
  286         Transportation Commission to determine the annual
  287         state average of administrative costs based on the
  288         annual administrative expenses of all the expressway
  289         authorities of this state; authorizing the commission
  290         to adopt certain rules; requiring a specified distance
  291         between main through-lane tolling points on
  292         transportation facilities constructed after a
  293         specified date; providing applicability; conforming a
  294         cross-reference; requiring authorities in certain
  295         counties to reduce toll charges by a specified amount
  296         at the time that any toll is incurred for certain
  297         SunPass registrants, subject to certain requirements;
  298         prohibiting such authorities from imposing additional
  299         requirements for receipt of the reduced toll amount;
  300         requiring an authority in certain counties to
  301         determine its surplus revenues and dedicate a certain
  302         amount of the annual surplus revenues to
  303         transportation- and transit-related expenses for
  304         projects in the area served by the authority;
  305         requiring the metropolitan planning organization for
  306         certain counties to annually select a project or
  307         projects within the counties to be funded by the
  308         authority’s dedicated surplus revenues and provide to
  309         the authority a list reflecting the selected project
  310         or projects; requiring the authority to select from
  311         the list for funding from the authority’s dedicated
  312         surplus revenues transportation- and transit-related
  313         expenses that have a rational nexus to the
  314         transportation facilities of the authority; requiring
  315         a rational nexus to demonstrate that the proposed
  316         transportation expenditure makes a substantial impact
  317         on the capacity or use of the transportation
  318         facilities of the authority or that the proposed
  319         transit expenditure complements the operation of, or
  320         expands the access to, the transportation facilities
  321         of the authority; requiring certain counties to have a
  322         financial audit of the revenues and expenditures of
  323         the county’s transportation plan conducted by an
  324         independent third party not less than biennially and
  325         to post the audits on the counties’ websites to be
  326         eligible to receive the dedicated surplus revenues;
  327         requiring that an authority established in certain
  328         counties have an audit conducted by an independent
  329         third party not less than biennially; requiring the
  330         audit report be made publicly available on the
  331         authority’s website; creating s. 348.00115, F.S.;
  332         requiring authorities in certain counties to post
  333         certain information on a website; defining the term
  334         “contract”; providing an effective date.