Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1282
       
       
        
       By Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       39-01351A-17                                          20171282__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to expressway authority toll revenue;
    3         amending s. 348.0004, F.S.; conforming a cross
    4         reference; requiring an authority to provide a rebate
    5         for certain tolls paid using an electronic toll
    6         collection system; requiring transfer of a certain
    7         amount of toll revenue from an authority to a county
    8         for certain purposes; requiring a report to the
    9         Legislature; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsections (6) through (9) of section 348.0004,
   14  Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (7) through
   15  (10), respectively, paragraph (e) of subsection (2) is amended,
   16  and new subsections (6) and (11) are added to that section, to
   17  read:
   18         348.0004 Purposes and powers.—
   19         (2) Each authority may exercise all powers necessary,
   20  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of
   21  its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following
   22  rights and powers:
   23         (e) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls,
   24  rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and
   25  facilities system, which tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other
   26  charges must always be sufficient to comply with any covenants
   27  made with the holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the
   28  Florida Expressway Authority Act. However, such right and power
   29  may be assigned or delegated by the authority to the department.
   30  Notwithstanding s. 338.165 or any other provision of law to the
   31  contrary, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), to the
   32  extent surplus revenues exist, they may be used for purposes
   33  enumerated in subsection (8) (7), provided the expenditures are
   34  consistent with the metropolitan planning organization’s adopted
   35  long-range plan. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to
   36  the contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements
   37  contained in documents securing any outstanding indebtedness
   38  payable from tolls, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1),
   39  the board of county commissioners may, by ordinance adopted on
   40  or before September 30, 1999, alter or abolish existing tolls
   41  and currently approved increases thereto if the board provides a
   42  local source of funding to the county expressway system for
   43  transportation in an amount sufficient to replace revenues
   44  necessary to meet bond obligations secured by such tolls and
   45  increases.
   46         (6) An authority in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1)
   47  shall provide to each person who pays a toll on an authority
   48  transportation facility using an electronic toll collection
   49  system a rebate of 3 percent of such toll.
   50         (11) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Florida
   51  Expressway Authority Act, 20 percent of the toll revenue
   52  collected from the transportation facilities of an authority in
   53  any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) in excess of the
   54  operating costs and debt obligations of the authority shall be
   55  transferred to the county in which the authority operates
   56  exclusively for expenses directly associated with the planning,
   57  design, acquisition, construction, extension, rehabilitation,
   58  equipping, preservation, maintenance, or improvement of public
   59  transportation facilities, transit facilities, intermodal
   60  facilities, or multimodal corridors owned or operated by such
   61  county. Within 90 days after a transfer of revenue under this
   62  subsection, the county shall submit a report to the President of
   63  the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which
   64  includes the amount of the transfer, a description of each
   65  project to be funded by the transfer, and the proposed budget
   66  and completion date for each such project.
   67         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.