Florida Senate - 2020 (PROPOSED BILL) SPB 7020 FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Infrastructure and Security 596-01914A-20 20207020pb 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to emergency staging areas; creating 3 s. 338.236, F.S.; authorizing the Department of 4 Transportation to plan, design, and construct staging 5 areas as part of the turnpike system for the intended 6 purpose of staging supplies for prompt provision of 7 assistance to the public in a declared state of 8 emergency; requiring the department, in consultation 9 with the Division of Emergency Management, to select 10 sites for such areas; providing factors to be 11 considered by the department and division in selecting 12 sites; requiring the department to give priority 13 consideration to placement of such staging areas in 14 specified counties; authorizing the department to 15 acquire property necessary for such staging areas; 16 authorizing the department to authorize certain other 17 uses of staging areas; requiring staging area projects 18 to be included in the department’s work program; 19 providing an effective date. 20 21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22 23 Section 1. Section 338.236, Florida Statutes, is created to 24 read: 25 338.236 Staging areas for emergencies.—The Department of 26 Transportation may plan, design, and construct staging areas to 27 be activated during a declared state of emergency at key 28 geographic locations on the turnpike system. Such staging areas 29 must be used for the staging of emergency supplies, such as 30 water, fuel, generators, vehicles, equipment, and other related 31 materials, to facilitate the prompt provision of emergency 32 assistance to the public, and to otherwise facilitate emergency 33 response and assistance, including evacuations, deployment of 34 emergency-related supplies and personnel, and restoration of 35 essential services. 36 (1) In selecting a proposed site for a designated staging 37 area under this section, the department, in consultation with 38 the Division of Emergency Management, must consider the extent 39 to which such site: 40 (a) Is located in a geographic area that best facilitates 41 the wide dissemination of emergency-related supplies and 42 equipment; 43 (b) Provides ease of access to major highways and other 44 transportation facilities; 45 (c) Is sufficiently large to accommodate the staging of a 46 significant amount of emergency-related supplies and equipment; 47 (d) Provides space in support of emergency preparedness and 48 evacuation activities, such as fuel reserve capacity; 49 (e) Could be used during nonemergency periods for 50 commercial motor vehicle parking and for other uses; and 51 (f) Is consistent with other state and local emergency 52 management considerations. 53 54 The department must give priority consideration to placement of 55 such staging areas in counties with a population of 200,000 or 56 fewer, as determined by the most recent official estimate 57 pursuant to s. 186.901, in which a multi-use corridor of 58 regional economic significance, as provided in s. 338.2278, is 59 located. 60 (2) The department may acquire property and property rights 61 necessary for such staging areas as provided in s. 338.04. 62 (3) The department may authorize other uses of a staging 63 area as provided in the Florida Transportation Code, including, 64 but not limited to, for commercial motor vehicle parking to 65 comply with federal hours-of-service off-duty requirements or 66 sleeper berth requirements and for other vehicular parking to 67 provide rest for drivers. 68 (4) Staging area projects must be included in the work 69 program developed by the department pursuant to s. 339.135. 70 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.