Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (424970) for CS for SB 1562
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì972232|Î972232                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/26/2017           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Brandes and Garcia) recommended
       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) is amended, and a new
    8  subsection (5) is added to that section, to read:
    9         338.166 High-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.—
   10         (4) The department may implement variable rate tolls on
   11  high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes. The department may
   12  require the use of an electronic transponder interoperable with
   13  the department’s electronic toll collection system for the use
   14  of high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.
   15         (5) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel
   16  speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per
   17  hour, the customer must be charged the minimum express lane
   18  toll. A customer’s express lane average travel speed is his or
   19  her average travel speed from the customer’s entry point to the
   20  customer’s exit point.
   21         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
   22  338.2216, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is
   23  added to that subsection, to read:
   24         338.2216 Florida Turnpike Enterprise; powers and
   25  authority.—
   26         (1)
   27         (d) The Florida Turnpike Enterprise shall pursue and
   28  implement new technologies and processes in its operations and
   29  collection of tolls and the collection of other amounts
   30  associated with road and infrastructure usage. Such technologies
   31  and processes must include, without limitation, video billing
   32  and variable pricing. The Florida Turnpike Enterprise may
   33  require the use of an electronic transponder interoperable with
   34  the department’s electronic toll collection system for the use
   35  of express lanes on the turnpike system. Variable pricing may
   36  not be implemented in express lanes when the level of service in
   37  the express lane, determined in accordance with the criteria
   38  established by the Transportation Research Board Highway
   39  Capacity Manual (5th Edition, HCM 2010), as amended from time to
   40  time, is equal to level of service A. Variable pricing in
   41  express lanes when the level of service in the express lane is
   42  level of service B may only be implemented by charging the
   43  general toll lane toll amount plus an amount set by department
   44  rule. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, pricing
   45  in express lanes when the level of service is other than level
   46  of service A or level of service B may vary in the manner
   47  established by the Florida Turnpike Enterprise to manage
   48  congestion in the express lanes.
   49         (e) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel
   50  speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per
   51  hour, the customer must be charged the general toll lane toll
   52  amount plus an amount set by department rule. A customer’s
   53  express lane average travel speed is his or her average travel
   54  speed from the customer’s entry point to the customer’s exit
   55  point.
   56         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   57  338.231, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   58         338.231 Turnpike tolls, fixing; pledge of tolls and other
   59  revenues.—The department shall at all times fix, adjust, charge,
   60  and collect such tolls and amounts for the use of the turnpike
   61  system as are required in order to provide a fund sufficient
   62  with other revenues of the turnpike system to pay the cost of
   63  maintaining, improving, repairing, and operating such turnpike
   64  system; to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds issued
   65  to finance or refinance any portion of the turnpike system as
   66  the same become due and payable; and to create reserves for all
   67  such purposes.
   68         (3)(a) For the period July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2027
   69  2017, the department shall, to the maximum extent feasible,
   70  program sufficient funds in the tentative work program such that
   71  the percentage of turnpike toll and bond financed commitments in
   72  Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County as
   73  compared to total turnpike toll and bond financed commitments
   74  shall be at least 90 percent of the share of net toll
   75  collections attributable to users of the turnpike system in
   76  Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County as
   77  compared to total net toll collections attributable to users of
   78  the turnpike system. This subsection does not apply when the
   79  application of such requirements would violate any covenant
   80  established in a resolution or trust indenture relating to the
   81  issuance of turnpike bonds. The department may at any time for
   82  economic considerations establish lower temporary toll rates for
   83  a new or existing toll facility for a period not to exceed 1
   84  year, after which the toll rates adopted pursuant to s. 120.54
   85  shall become effective.
   86         Section 4. Present subsections (6) through (9) of section
   87  348.0004, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (7)
   88  through (10), respectively, paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of
   89  that section is amended, and a new subsection (6) and
   90  subsections (11), (12), and (13) are added to that section, to
   91  read:
   92         348.0004 Purposes and powers.—
   93         (2) Each authority may exercise all powers necessary,
   94  appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of
   95  its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following
   96  rights and powers:
   97         (e) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls,
   98  rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and
   99  facilities system, which tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other
  100  charges must always be sufficient to comply with any covenants
  101  made with the holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the
  102  Florida Expressway Authority Act. However, such right and power
  103  may be assigned or delegated by the authority to the department.
  104         1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  105  contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained
  106  in documents securing any indebtedness outstanding on July 1,
  107  2017, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1):
  108         a. The authority may not increase a toll unless the
  109  increase is justified to the satisfaction of the authority by a
  110  traffic and revenue study conducted by an independent third
  111  party, except for an increase to the extent necessary to adjust
  112  for inflation pursuant to the procedure for toll rate
  113  adjustments provided in s. 338.165.
  114         b. A toll increase must be approved by a two-thirds vote of
  115  the expressway authority board.
  116         c. The amount of toll revenues used for administrative
  117  expenses by the authority may not be greater than 10 percent
  118  above the annual state average of administrative costs
  119  determined as provided in this sub-subparagraph. The Florida
  120  Transportation Commission shall determine the annual state
  121  average of administrative costs based on the annual
  122  administrative expenses of all the expressway authorities of
  123  this state. For purposes of this sub-subparagraph,
  124  administrative expenses include, but are not limited to,
  125  employee salaries and benefits, small business outreach,
  126  insurance, professional service contracts not directly related
  127  to the operation and maintenance of the expressway system, and
  128  other overhead costs. The commission may adopt rules necessary
  129  for the implementation of this sub-subparagraph.
  130         d.On transportation facilities constructed after July 1,
  131  2017, there must be a distance of at least 5 miles between main
  132  through lane tolling points. The distance requirement of this
  133  sub-subparagraph does not apply to entry and exit ramps.
  134         2. Notwithstanding s. 338.165 or any other provision of law
  135  to the contrary, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), to
  136  the extent surplus revenues exist, they may be used for purposes
  137  enumerated in subsection (8) (7), provided the expenditures are
  138  consistent with the metropolitan planning organization’s adopted
  139  long-range plan.
  140         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  141  contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained
  142  in documents securing any outstanding indebtedness payable from
  143  tolls, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), the board of
  144  county commissioners may, by ordinance adopted on or before
  145  September 30, 1999, alter or abolish existing tolls and
  146  currently approved increases thereto if the board provides a
  147  local source of funding to the county expressway system for
  148  transportation in an amount sufficient to replace revenues
  149  necessary to meet bond obligations secured by such tolls and
  150  increases.
  151         (6) Subject to compliance with any covenants made with the
  152  holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the Florida Expressway
  153  Authority Act, an authority in any county as defined in s.
  154  125.011(1) shall, at the time that any toll is incurred, reduce
  155  the toll charged on any of the authority’s toll facilities by at
  156  least 5 percent, but not more than 10 percent, for each SunPass
  157  registrant having an account in good standing and having the
  158  license plate of the vehicle or vehicles incurring the toll
  159  registered to the SunPass account at the time the toll is
  160  incurred. The authority may not impose additional requirements
  161  for receipt of the reduced toll amount.
  162         (11)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Florida
  163  Expressway Authority Act, an authority in any county as defined
  164  in s. 125.011(1) shall determine its surplus revenues as defined
  165  in s. 348.0002(12). The authority shall then dedicate at least
  166  20 percent, but not more than 50 percent, of the annual surplus
  167  revenues to transportation- and transit-related expenses for
  168  projects in the area served by the authority. The metropolitan
  169  planning organization for any county as defined in s. 125.011(1)
  170  shall annually select a project or projects within the county to
  171  be funded by the authority’s dedicated surplus revenues as
  172  provided in this subsection and provide to the authority a list
  173  reflecting the selected project or projects. The authority shall
  174  select from the list for funding from the authority’s dedicated
  175  surplus revenues transportation- and transit-related expenses
  176  that have a rational nexus to the transportation facilities of
  177  the authority and may include, but are not limited to, expenses
  178  associated with the planning, design, acquisition, construction,
  179  extension, rehabilitation, equipping, preservation, maintenance,
  180  or improvement of public transportation facilities, transit
  181  facilities, intermodal facilities, or multimodal corridors owned
  182  or operated by such municipality or county; and transit-related
  183  expenses that impact the capacity or use of the transportation
  184  facilities of the authority. For the purpose of this subsection,
  185  a rational nexus must demonstrate that the proposed
  186  transportation expenditure makes a substantial impact on the
  187  capacity or use of the transportation facilities of the
  188  authority, or that the proposed transit expenditure complements
  189  the operation of, or expands the access to, the transportation
  190  facilities of the authority.
  191         (12) A county as defined in s. 125.011(1) must have a
  192  financial audit of the revenues and expenditures of the county’s
  193  transportation plan conducted by an independent third party not
  194  less than biennially and must post the audits on the county’s
  195  website to be eligible to receive the dedicated surplus revenues
  196  as provided in subsection (11).
  197         (13) An authority established in any county as defined in
  198  125.011(1) must have a financial audit conducted by an
  199  independent third party not less than biennially, and the audit
  200  report must be made publicly available on the authority’s
  201  website.
  202         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
  203  
  204  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  205  And the title is amended as follows:
  206         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  207  and insert:
  208                        A bill to be entitled                      
  209         An act relating to limited access and toll facilities;
  210         amending s. 338.166, F.S.; authorizing the Department
  211         of Transportation to require the use of an electronic
  212         transponder interoperable with the department’s
  213         electronic toll collection system for the use of high
  214         occupancy toll lanes or express lanes; requiring, as
  215         of a specified date, that a customer be charged the
  216         minimum express lane toll if his or her average travel
  217         speed for a trip in an express lane falls below a
  218         specified rate; providing measurement of a customer’s
  219         express lane average travel speed; amending s.
  220         338.2216, F.S.; authorizing the Florida Turnpike
  221         Enterprise to require the use of an electronic
  222         transponder interoperable with the department’s
  223         electronic toll collection system for the use of
  224         express lanes on the turnpike system; prohibiting
  225         variable pricing from being implemented in express
  226         lanes when the level of service in the express lane,
  227         determined in accordance with specified criteria, is
  228         equal to level of service A; specifying that variable
  229         pricing in express lanes when the level of service in
  230         the express lane is level of service B may only be
  231         implemented by charging the general toll lane toll
  232         amount plus an amount set by department rule;
  233         providing that pricing in express lanes when the level
  234         of service is other than level of service A or level
  235         of service B may vary in the manner established by the
  236         Florida Turnpike Enterprise to manage congestion in
  237         the express lanes; requiring, as of a specified date,
  238         that a customer be charged a general toll lane toll
  239         amount plus an amount set by department rule if his or
  240         her average travel speed for a trip in an express lane
  241         falls below a specified rate; providing for
  242         measurement of a customer’s express lane average
  243         travel speed; amending s. 338.231, F.S.; extending the
  244         timeframe during which the department must program
  245         sufficient funds in the tentative work program such
  246         that the percentage of turnpike toll and bond financed
  247         commitments in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and
  248         Palm Beach County are at least a specified percent of
  249         a certain share of certain net toll collections;
  250         amending s. 348.0004, F.S.; providing applicability;
  251         requiring toll increases by authorities in certain
  252         counties to be justified by an independent study by a
  253         third party; providing an exception for an increase to
  254         adjust for inflation pursuant to a specified procedure
  255         for toll rate adjustments; requiring toll increases to
  256         be approved by a specified margin in a vote of the
  257         expressway authority board; prohibiting the amount of
  258         toll revenues used for administrative expenses by the
  259         authority from being greater than a specified
  260         percentage above the annual state average of
  261         administrative costs; requiring the Florida
  262         Transportation Commission to determine the annual
  263         state average of administrative costs based on the
  264         annual administrative expenses of all the expressway
  265         authorities of this state; authorizing the commission
  266         to adopt certain rules; requiring a specified distance
  267         between main through-lane tolling points on
  268         transportation facilities constructed after a
  269         specified date; providing applicability; conforming a
  270         cross-reference; requiring authorities in certain
  271         counties to reduce toll charges by a specified amount
  272         at the time that any toll is incurred for certain
  273         SunPass registrants, subject to certain requirements;
  274         prohibiting such authorities from imposing additional
  275         requirements for receipt of the reduced toll amount;
  276         requiring an authority in certain counties to
  277         determine its surplus revenues and dedicate a certain
  278         amount of the annual surplus revenues to
  279         transportation- and transit-related expenses for
  280         projects in the area served by the authority;
  281         requiring the metropolitan planning organization for
  282         certain counties to annually select a project or
  283         projects within the counties to be funded by the
  284         authority’s dedicated surplus revenues and provide to
  285         the authority a list reflecting the selected project
  286         or projects; requiring the authority to select from
  287         the list for funding from the authority’s dedicated
  288         surplus revenues transportation- and transit-related
  289         expenses that have a rational nexus to the
  290         transportation facilities of the authority; requiring
  291         a rational nexus to demonstrate that the proposed
  292         transportation expenditure makes a substantial impact
  293         on the capacity or use of the transportation
  294         facilities of the authority or that the proposed
  295         transit expenditure complements the operation of, or
  296         expands the access to, the transportation facilities
  297         of the authority; requiring certain counties to have a
  298         financial audit of the revenues and expenditures of
  299         the county’s transportation plan conducted by an
  300         independent third party not less than biennially and
  301         to post the audits on the counties’ websites to be
  302         eligible to receive the dedicated surplus revenues;
  303         requiring that an authority established in certain
  304         counties have an audit conducted by an independent
  305         third party not less than biennially; requiring the
  306         audit report be made publicly available on the
  307         authority’s website; providing an effective date.