Florida Senate - 2017 CS for CS for SB 1672
By the Committees on Community Affairs; and Transportation; and
Senators Latvala, Galvano, and Rouson
578-03977-17 20171672c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit
3 Authority; amending s. 339.175, F.S.; creating the
4 Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority Metropolitan
5 Planning Organization Chairs Coordinating Committee to
6 replace the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation
7 Authority Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairs
8 Coordinating Committee; providing that the Tampa Bay
9 Area Regional Transit Authority Metropolitan Planning
10 Organization Chairs Coordinating Committee is created
11 within the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority;
12 amending s. 343.90, F.S.; revising the short title to
13 “Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority Act”;
14 amending s. 343.91, F.S.; revising the definition of
15 the term “authority” to mean the Tampa Bay Area
16 Regional Transit Authority and to include only
17 Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas
18 Counties and any other contiguous county that is party
19 to an agreement of participation; revising the
20 definition of the term “commuter rail”; amending s.
21 343.92, F.S.; creating the Tampa Bay Area Regional
22 Transit Authority to replace the Tampa Bay Area
23 Regional Transportation Authority; decreasing voting
24 membership on the governing board of the authority;
25 requiring the members to be appointed within a
26 specified period; revising appointment and term
27 requirements of such membership; revising requirements
28 for filling vacancies on the board; requiring the
29 Governor to appoint an initial chair of the board from
30 one of the four members appointed by the Governor;
31 providing that seven members of the board constitute a
32 quorum; providing that the vote of seven members is
33 necessary for any action to be taken by the authority;
34 requiring the board to evaluate the abolishment,
35 continuance, modification, or establishment of
36 specified committees, beginning on a specified date;
37 requiring the board to submit its recommendations for
38 abolishment, continuance, modification, or
39 establishment of the committees to the Legislature
40 before a specified time; deleting requirements related
41 to the establishment of a Transit Management
42 Committee, a Citizens Advisory Committee, and
43 technical advisory committees; conforming provisions
44 to changes made by the act; amending s. 343.922, F.S.;
45 revising the express purposes of the authority to
46 include planning, implementing, and operating mobility
47 improvements and expansions of certain multimodal
48 transportation options, producing a certain regional
49 transit development plan, and serving as the recipient
50 of certain federal funds under certain circumstances;
51 directing the authority to provide to the Legislature
52 a plan to produce the regional transit development
53 plan by a specified date; providing requirements for
54 the regional transit development plan; requiring the
55 authority to develop and adopt a regional transit
56 development plan, rather than a transportation master
57 plan; deleting obsolete provisions; conforming
58 provisions to changes made by the act; providing that
59 an action by the authority regarding the funding of
60 commuter rail, heavy rail transit, or light rail
61 transit, or any combination thereof, requires approval
62 by a majority vote of each M.P.O. serving the county
63 or counties where such rail transit investment will be
64 made, and the approval of the Legislature by an act of
65 general law; prohibiting the authority from engaging
66 in certain advocacy that seeks to approve the funding
67 of commuter rail, heavy rail transit, or light rail
68 transit, or any combination thereof; requiring the
69 authority to conduct a feasibility study, through an
70 independent third party, for any project of commuter
71 rail, heavy rail transit, or light rail transit, or
72 any combination thereof, before proceeding with the
73 development of the project and before any related
74 contracts are issued; requiring the feasibility study
75 to be submitted to the Governor, the Legislature, and
76 the board of county commissioners of specified
77 counties; amending ss. 343.94, 343.947, 343.95,
78 343.975, and 343.976, F.S.; conforming provisions to
79 changes made by the act; providing an effective date.
80
81 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
82
83 Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (6) of section
84 339.175, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
85 339.175 Metropolitan planning organization.—
86 (6) POWERS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The powers,
87 privileges, and authority of an M.P.O. are those specified in
88 this section or incorporated in an interlocal agreement
89 authorized under s. 163.01. Each M.P.O. shall perform all acts
90 required by federal or state laws or rules, now and subsequently
91 applicable, which are necessary to qualify for federal aid. It
92 is the intent of this section that each M.P.O. shall be involved
93 in the planning and programming of transportation facilities,
94 including, but not limited to, airports, intercity and high
95 speed rail lines, seaports, and intermodal facilities, to the
96 extent permitted by state or federal law.
97 (i) The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Transportation
98 Authority Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairs Coordinating
99 Committee is created within the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit
100 Transportation Authority, composed of the M.P.O.’s serving
101 Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk,
102 and Sarasota Counties. The authority shall provide
103 administrative support and direction to the committee. The
104 committee must, at a minimum:
105 1. Coordinate transportation projects deemed to be
106 regionally significant by the committee.
107 2. Review the impact of regionally significant land use
108 decisions on the region.
109 3. Review all proposed regionally significant
110 transportation projects in the respective transportation
111 improvement programs which affect more than one of the M.P.O.’s
112 represented on the committee.
113 4. Institute a conflict resolution process to address any
114 conflict that may arise in the planning and programming of such
115 regionally significant projects.
116 Section 2. Section 343.90, Florida Statutes, is amended to
117 read:
118 343.90 Short title.—This part may be cited as the “Tampa
119 Bay Area Regional Transit Transportation Authority Act.”
120 Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (e) of subsection (1) of
121 section 343.91, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
122 343.91 Definitions.—
123 (1) As used in this part, the term:
124 (a) “Authority” means the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit
125 Transportation Authority, the body politic and corporate and
126 agency of the state created by this part, covering the seven
127 county area comprised of Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough,
128 Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties and
129 any other contiguous county that is party to an agreement of
130 participation.
131 (e)1. “Commuter rail” means a complete system of tracks,
132 guideways, stations, and rolling stock necessary to effectuate
133 medium-distance to long-distance passenger rail service to,
134 from, or within the municipalities within the authority’s
135 designated seven-county region.
136 2. “Heavy rail transit” means a complete rail system
137 operating on an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy
138 volume of traffic, characterized by high-speed and rapid
139 acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multicar
140 trains on fixed rails in separate rights-of-way from which all
141 other vehicular and pedestrian traffic are excluded. “Heavy rail
142 transit” includes metro, subway, elevated, rapid transit, and
143 rapid rail systems.
144 3. “Light rail transit” means a complete system of tracks,
145 overhead catenaries, stations, and platforms with lightweight
146 passenger rail cars operating singly or in short, multicar
147 trains on fixed rails in rights-of-way that are not separated
148 from other traffic for much of the way.
149 Section 4. Section 343.92, Florida Statutes, is amended to
150 read:
151 343.92 Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Transportation
152 Authority.—
153 (1) There is created and established a body politic and
154 corporate, an agency of the state, to be known as the Tampa Bay
155 Area Regional Transit Transportation Authority.
156 (2) The governing board of the authority shall consist of
157 13 15 voting members appointed no later than 45 days after the
158 creation of the authority.
159 (a) The secretary of the department shall appoint two
160 advisors to the board who must be the district secretary for
161 each of the department districts within the designated seven
162 county area of the authority.
163 (b) The 13 15 voting members of the board shall be as
164 follows:
165 1. The county commissions of Citrus, Hernando,
166 Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas, Manatee, and
167 Sarasota Counties shall each appoint one county commissioner
168 elected official to the board. Members appointed under this
169 subparagraph shall serve 2-year terms with not more than three
170 consecutive terms being served by any person. If a member under
171 this subparagraph leaves elected office, a vacancy exists on the
172 board to be filled as provided in this subparagraph within 90
173 days subparagraph.
174 2. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority
175 (TBARTA) Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairs Coordinating
176 Committee shall appoint one member to the board who must be a
177 chair of one of the six metropolitan planning organizations in
178 the region. The member appointed under this subparagraph shall
179 serve a 2-year term with not more than three consecutive terms
180 being served by any person.
181 2.3.a. Two members of the board shall be the mayor, or the
182 mayor’s designee, of the largest municipality within the service
183 area of each of the following independent transit agencies or
184 their legislatively created successor agencies: Pinellas
185 Suncoast Transit Authority and Hillsborough Area Regional
186 Transit Authority. The largest municipality is that municipality
187 with the largest population as determined by the most recent
188 United States Decennial Census.
189 b. Should a mayor choose not to serve, his or her designee
190 must be an elected official selected by the mayor from that
191 largest municipality’s city council or city commission. A mayor
192 or his or her designee shall serve a 2-year term with not more
193 than three consecutive terms being served by any person.
194 c. A designee’s term ends if the mayor leaves office for
195 any reason. If a designee leaves elected office on the city
196 council or commission, a vacancy exists on the board to be
197 filled by the mayor of that municipality as provided in sub
198 subparagraph a.
199 3. The following independent transit agencies or their
200 legislatively created successor agencies shall each appoint from
201 the membership of their governing bodies one member to the
202 board: Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and Hillsborough Area
203 Regional Transit Authority. Each member appointed under this
204 subparagraph shall serve a 2-year term with not more than three
205 consecutive terms being served by any person. If a member no
206 longer meets the transit authority’s criteria for appointment, a
207 vacancy exists on the board, which must be filled as provided in
208 this subparagraph within 90 days.
209 d. A mayor who has served three consecutive terms on the
210 board must designate an elected official from that largest
211 municipality’s city council or city commission to serve on the
212 board for at least one term.
213 4.a. One membership on the board shall rotate every 2 years
214 between the mayor, or his or her designee, of the largest
215 municipality within Manatee County and the mayor, or his or her
216 designee, of the largest municipality within Sarasota County.
217 The mayor, or his or her designee, from the largest municipality
218 within Manatee County shall serve the first 2-year term. The
219 largest municipality is that municipality with the largest
220 population as determined by the most recent United States
221 Decennial Census.
222 b. Should a mayor choose not to serve, his or her designee
223 must be an elected official selected by the mayor from that
224 municipality’s city council or city commission.
225 4.5. The Governor shall appoint to the board four members
226 from the regional four business community representatives, each
227 of whom must reside in one of the seven counties governed by the
228 authority and, none of whom may not be an elected official
229 officials, and at least one but not more than two of whom shall
230 represent counties within the federally designated Tampa Bay
231 Transportation Management Area. Of the members initially
232 appointed under this subparagraph, one shall serve a 1-year
233 term, two shall serve 2-year terms, and one shall serve a term
234 as the initial chair as provided in subsection (5). Thereafter,
235 a member Members appointed under this subparagraph by the
236 Governor shall serve a 2-year term 3-year terms with not more
237 than three two consecutive terms being served by any person.
238 (c) Appointments may be staggered to avoid mass turnover at
239 the end of any 2-year or 4-year period. A vacancy during a term
240 shall be filled by the respective appointing authority within 90
241 days in the same manner as the original appointment and only for
242 the remainder of the unexpired term.
243 (3) The members of the board shall serve without
244 compensation but shall be entitled to receive from the authority
245 reimbursement for travel expenses and per diem actually incurred
246 in connection with the business of the authority as provided in
247 s. 112.061.
248 (4) Members of the board shall comply with the applicable
249 financial disclosure requirements of ss. 112.3145, 112.3148, and
250 112.3149.
251 (5) The Governor shall appoint one of the four members
252 appointed under subparagraph (2)(b)4. as the initial chair from
253 among the full membership of the board immediately upon their
254 appointment. In no case may those appointments be made any later
255 than 45 days following the creation of the authority. The
256 initial chair shall serve will hold this position for a minimum
257 term of 2 years. The board shall elect a vice chair and
258 secretary-treasurer from among its members who shall serve a
259 minimum term of 1 year and shall establish the duties and powers
260 of those positions during its inaugural meeting. During its
261 inaugural meeting, the board shall will also establish its rules
262 of conduct and meeting procedures.
263 (6) At the end of the initial chair’s term, the board shall
264 elect a chair from among the its members. The chair shall hold
265 office at the will of the board. In that election, the board
266 shall also elect a vice chair and secretary-treasurer.
267 (7) The first meeting of the authority shall be held no
268 later than 60 days after the creation of the authority.
269 (8) Seven Eight members of the board shall constitute a
270 quorum, and the vote of seven eight members is necessary for any
271 action to be taken by the authority. The authority may meet upon
272 the constitution of a quorum. A vacancy does not impair the
273 right of a quorum of the board to exercise all rights and the
274 ability to perform all duties of the authority.
275 (9) Beginning July 1, 2017, the board must evaluate the
276 abolishment, continuance, modification, or establishment of may
277 establish committees for the following committees areas:
278 (a) Planning committee.
279 (b) Policy committee.
280 (c) Finance committee.
281 (d) Citizens advisory committee.
282 (e) Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority Metropolitan
283 Planning Organization Chairs Coordinating Committee.
284 (f) Transit management committee.
285 (g) Technical advisory committee.
286
287 The board must submit its recommendations for abolishment,
288 continuance, modification, or establishment of the committees to
289 the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
290 Representatives before the beginning of the 2018 Regular
291 Session.
292 (10) The authority may employ an executive director, an
293 executive secretary, its own legal counsel and legal staff,
294 technical experts, engineers, and such employees, permanent or
295 temporary, as it may require. The authority shall determine the
296 qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons, firms,
297 or corporations and may employ a fiscal agent or agents;
298 however, the authority shall solicit sealed proposals from at
299 least three persons, firms, or corporations for the performance
300 of any services as fiscal agents. The authority may, except for
301 duties specified in chapter 120, delegate its power to one or
302 more of its agents or employees to carry out the purposes of
303 this part, subject always to the supervision and control of the
304 authority.
305 (11)(a) The authority shall establish a Transit Management
306 Committee comprised of the executive directors or general
307 managers, or their designees, of each of the existing transit
308 providers and bay area commuter services.
309 (b) The authority shall establish a Citizens Advisory
310 Committee comprised of appointed citizen committee members from
311 each county and transit provider in the region, not to exceed 16
312 members.
313 (c) The authority may establish technical advisory
314 committees to provide guidance and advice on regional
315 transportation issues. The authority shall establish the size,
316 composition, and focus of any technical advisory committee
317 created.
318 (11)(d) Persons appointed to a committee shall serve
319 without compensation but may be entitled to per diem or travel
320 expenses as provided in s. 112.061.
321 Section 5. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2),
322 subsection (3), subsection (4), and paragraph (g) of subsection
323 (5) of section 343.922, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
324 subsections (9) and (10) are added to that section, to read:
325 343.922 Powers and duties.—
326 (1) The express purposes of the authority are to:
327 (a) Plan, implement, and operate improve mobility
328 improvements and expansions of expand multimodal transportation
329 options for passengers and freight throughout the designated
330 seven-county Tampa Bay region.
331 (b) Produce a regional transit development plan,
332 integrating the transit development plans of participant
333 counties, to include a prioritization of regionally significant
334 transit projects and facilities.
335 1. The authority shall provide to the President of the
336 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on or
337 before the beginning of the 2018 Regular Session, a plan to
338 produce the regional transit development plan.
339 2. The regional transit development plan prepared by the
340 authority must adhere to guidance and regulations set forth by
341 the department or any successor agency, including, but not
342 limited to:
343 a. Public involvement;
344 b. Collection and analysis of socioeconomic data;
345 c. Performance evaluation of existing services;
346 d. Service design and ridership forecasting; and
347 e. Financial planning.
348 (c) Serve, with the consent of the Governor or his or her
349 designee, as the recipient of federal funds supporting an
350 intercounty project or a regionally significant transit project
351 that exists in a single county within the designated region.
352 (2)(a) The authority has the right to plan, develop,
353 finance, construct, own, purchase, operate, maintain, relocate,
354 equip, repair, and manage those public transportation projects,
355 such as express bus services; bus rapid transit services; light
356 rail, commuter rail, heavy rail, or other transit services;
357 ferry services; transit stations; park-and-ride lots; transit
358 oriented development nodes; or feeder roads, reliever roads,
359 connector roads, bypasses, or appurtenant facilities, that are
360 intended to address critical transportation needs or concerns in
361 the Tampa Bay region as identified by the authority by July 1,
362 2009. These projects may also include all necessary approaches,
363 roads, bridges, and avenues of access that are desirable and
364 proper with the concurrence of the department, as applicable, if
365 the project is to be part of the State Highway System.
366 (3)(a) No later than July 1, 2009, The authority shall
367 develop and adopt a regional transit development transportation
368 master plan that provides a vision for a regionally integrated
369 multimodal transportation system. The goals and objectives of
370 the master plan are to identify areas of the Tampa Bay region
371 where multimodal mobility, traffic safety, freight mobility, and
372 efficient emergency evacuation alternatives need to be improved;
373 identify areas of the region where multimodal transportation
374 systems would be most beneficial to enhance mobility and
375 economic development; develop methods of building partnerships
376 with local governments, existing transit providers, expressway
377 authorities, seaports, airports, and other local, state, and
378 federal entities; develop methods of building partnerships with
379 CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc., to craft mutually
380 beneficial solutions to achieve the authority’s objectives, and
381 with other private sector business community entities that may
382 further the authority’s mission, and engage the public in
383 support of regional multimodal transportation improvements. The
384 master plan shall identify and may prioritize projects that will
385 accomplish these goals and objectives, including, without
386 limitation, the creation of express bus and bus rapid transit
387 services, light rail, commuter rail, and heavy rail transit
388 services, ferry services, freight services, and any other
389 multimodal transportation system projects that address critical
390 transportation needs or concerns, pursuant to subsection (2);
391 and identify the costs of the proposed projects and revenue
392 sources that could be used to pay those costs. In developing the
393 master plan, the authority shall review and coordinate with the
394 future land use, capital improvements, and traffic circulation
395 elements of its member local governments’ comprehensive plans
396 and the plans, programs, and schedules of other units of
397 government having transit or transportation authority within
398 whose jurisdictions the projects or improvements will be located
399 to define and resolve potential inconsistencies between such
400 plans and the authority’s developing master plan. By July 1,
401 2008, the authority, working with its member local governments,
402 shall adopt a mandatory conflict resolution process that
403 addresses consistency conflicts between the authority’s regional
404 transportation master plan and local government comprehensive
405 plans.
406 (b) The authority shall consult with the department to
407 further the goals and objectives of the Strategic Regional
408 Transit Needs Assessment completed by the department.
409 (c) Before the adoption of the regional transit development
410 master plan, the authority shall hold at least one public
411 meeting in each of the seven counties within the designated
412 region. At least one public hearing must be held before the
413 authority’s board.
414 (d) After its adoption, the regional transit development
415 master plan shall be updated every 5 years before July 1.
416 (e) The authority shall present the original regional
417 transit development master plan and updates to the governing
418 bodies of the counties within the designated seven-county
419 region, to the TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairs
420 Coordinating Committee, and to the legislative delegation
421 members representing those counties within 90 days after
422 adoption.
423 (f) The authority shall coordinate plans and projects with
424 the TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairs
425 Coordinating Committee, to the extent practicable, and
426 participate in the regional M.P.O. planning process to ensure
427 regional comprehension of the authority’s mission, goals, and
428 objectives.
429 (g) The authority shall provide administrative support and
430 direction to the TBARTA Metropolitan Planning Organization
431 Chairs Coordinating Committee as provided in s. 339.175(6)(i).
432 (4) The authority may undertake projects or other
433 improvements in the regional transit development master plan in
434 phases as particular projects or segments become feasible, as
435 determined by the authority. The authority shall coordinate
436 project planning, development, and implementation with the
437 applicable local governments. The authority’s projects that are
438 transportation oriented must be consistent to the maximum extent
439 feasible with the adopted local government comprehensive plans
440 at the time such projects are funded for construction. Authority
441 projects that are not transportation oriented and meet the
442 definition of development pursuant to s. 380.04 must be
443 consistent with the local comprehensive plans. In carrying out
444 its purposes and powers, the authority may request funding and
445 technical assistance from the department and appropriate federal
446 and local agencies, including, but not limited to, state
447 infrastructure bank loans.
448 (5) The authority is granted and may exercise all powers
449 necessary, appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the
450 carrying out of the aforesaid purposes, including, but not
451 limited to, the following rights and powers:
452 (g) To borrow money and to make and issue negotiable notes,
453 bonds, refunding bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness or
454 obligations, either in temporary or definitive form, hereinafter
455 in this chapter sometimes called “revenue bonds” of the
456 authority, for the purpose of financing all or part of the
457 mobility improvements within the Tampa Bay region, as well as
458 the appurtenant facilities, including all approaches, streets,
459 roads, bridges, and avenues of access authorized by this part,
460 the bonds to mature not exceeding 40 years after the date of the
461 issuance thereof, and to secure the payment of such bonds or any
462 part thereof by a pledge of any or all of its revenues, rates,
463 fees, rentals, or other charges.
464 (9)(a) An action by the authority regarding the funding of
465 commuter rail, heavy rail transit, or light rail transit, as
466 defined in s. 343.91, or any combination thereof, requires
467 approval by a majority vote of each M.P.O. serving the county or
468 counties where such rail transit investment will be made, and
469 the approval of the Legislature by an act of general law.
470 (b) The authority may not engage in any advocacy regarding
471 a referendum, ordinance, legislation, or proposal under
472 consideration by any governmental entity or the Legislature
473 which seeks to approve the funding of commuter rail, heavy rail
474 transit, or light rail transit, as defined in s. 343.91, or any
475 combination thereof.
476 (10) The authority must conduct a feasibility study,
477 through an independent third party, for any project of commuter
478 rail, heavy rail transit, or light rail transit, as defined in
479 s. 343.91, or any combination thereof, before proceeding with
480 the development of the project and before any related contract
481 is issued. The feasibility study shall be submitted, upon
482 completion, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
483 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the board of county
484 commissioners of Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and
485 Pinellas Counties.
486 Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 343.94, Florida
487 Statutes, is amended to read:
488 343.94 Bond financing authority.—
489 (1) Pursuant to s. 11(f), Art. VII of the State
490 Constitution, the Legislature approves bond financing by the
491 Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Transportation Authority for
492 construction of or improvements to commuter rail systems,
493 transit systems, ferry systems, highways, bridges, toll
494 collection facilities, interchanges to the system, and any other
495 transportation facility appurtenant, necessary, or incidental to
496 the system. Subject to terms and conditions of applicable
497 revenue bond resolutions and covenants, such costs may be
498 financed in whole or in part by revenue bonds issued pursuant to
499 paragraph (2)(a) or paragraph (2)(b), whether currently issued
500 or issued in the future or by a combination of such bonds.
501 Section 7. Section 343.947, Florida Statutes, is amended to
502 read:
503 343.947 Department may be appointed agent of authority for
504 construction.—The department may be appointed by the authority
505 as its agent for the purpose of constructing and completing
506 transportation projects, and improvements and extensions
507 thereto, in the authority’s regional transit development master
508 plan. In such event, the authority shall provide the department
509 with complete copies of all documents, agreements, resolutions,
510 contracts, and instruments relating thereto; shall request the
511 department to do such construction work, including the planning,
512 surveying, and actual construction of the completion,
513 extensions, and improvements to the system; and shall transfer
514 to the credit of an account of the department in the treasury of
515 the state the necessary funds therefor. The department shall
516 proceed with such construction and use the funds for such
517 purpose in the same manner that it is now authorized to use the
518 funds otherwise provided by law for its use in construction of
519 commuter rail systems, transit systems, ferry systems, roads,
520 bridges, and related transportation facilities.
521 Section 8. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 343.95,
522 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
523 343.95 Acquisition of lands and property.—
524 (1) For the purposes of this part, the authority may
525 acquire private or public property and property rights,
526 including rights of access, air, view, and light, by gift,
527 devise, purchase, or condemnation by eminent domain proceedings,
528 as the authority may deem necessary for any purpose of this
529 part, including, but not limited to, any lands reasonably
530 necessary for securing applicable permits, areas necessary for
531 management of access, borrow pits, drainage ditches, water
532 retention areas, rest areas, replacement access for landowners
533 whose access is impaired due to the construction of a facility,
534 and replacement rights-of-way for relocated rail and utility
535 facilities; for existing, proposed, or anticipated
536 transportation facilities within the seven-county Tampa Bay
537 region designated identified by the authority; or for the
538 purposes of screening, relocation, removal, or disposal of
539 junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities. The authority
540 may condemn any material and property necessary for such
541 purposes.
542 (3) When the authority acquires property for a
543 transportation facility within the designated seven-county Tampa
544 Bay region, the authority is not subject to any liability
545 imposed by chapter 376 or chapter 403 for preexisting soil or
546 groundwater contamination due solely to its ownership. This
547 subsection does not affect the rights or liabilities of any past
548 or future owners of the acquired property, nor does it affect
549 the liability of any governmental entity for the results of its
550 actions which create or exacerbate a pollution source. The
551 authority and the Department of Environmental Protection may
552 enter into interagency agreements for the performance, funding,
553 and reimbursement of the investigative and remedial acts
554 necessary for property acquired by the authority.
555 Section 9. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 343.975,
556 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
557 343.975 Complete and additional statutory authority.—
558 (1) The powers conferred by this part are supplemental to
559 the existing powers of the board and the department. This part
560 does not repeal any of the provisions of any other law, general,
561 special, or local, but supplements such other laws in the
562 exercise of the powers provided in this part and provides a
563 complete method for the exercise of the powers granted in this
564 part. The projects planned and constructed by the Tampa Bay Area
565 Regional Transit Transportation Authority shall comply with all
566 applicable federal, state, and local laws. The extension and
567 improvement of the system, and the issuance of bonds hereunder
568 to finance all or part of the cost thereof, may be accomplished
569 upon compliance with the provisions of this part without regard
570 to or necessity for compliance with the provisions, limitations,
571 or restrictions contained in any other general, special, or
572 local law, including, but not limited to, s. 215.821. An
573 approval of any bonds issued under this part by the qualified
574 electors or qualified electors who are freeholders in the state
575 or in any other political subdivision of the state is not
576 required for the issuance of such bonds pursuant to this part.
577 (3) This part does not preclude the department from
578 acquiring, holding, constructing, improving, maintaining,
579 operating, or owning tolled or nontolled facilities funded and
580 constructed from nonauthority sources that are part of the State
581 Highway System within the geographical boundaries of the Tampa
582 Bay Area Regional Transit Transportation Authority.
583 Section 10. Section 343.976, Florida Statutes, is amended
584 to read:
585 343.976 Effect on local government action.—This act does
586 not prohibit any local government that is a member of the Tampa
587 Bay Area Regional Transit Transportation Authority from
588 participating in or creating any other transit authority,
589 regional transportation authority, or expressway authority.
590 Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.