The Florida Senate

341.827  Service areas; segment designation.--

(1)  The authority shall determine in which order the service areas, as designated by the Legislature, will be served by the high-speed rail system.

(2)  The authority shall plan and develop the high-speed rail system so that construction proceeds as follows:

(a)  The initial segments of the system shall be developed and operated between the St. Petersburg area, the Tampa area, the Lakeland/Winter Haven area, and the Orlando area, with future service to the Miami area.

(b)  Construction of subsequent segments of the high-speed rail system shall connect the metropolitan areas of Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach, Ft. Pierce, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers/Naples, Sarasota/Bradenton, Gainesville/Ocala, Tallahassee, and Pensacola.

(c)  Selection of segments of the high-speed rail system to be constructed subsequent to the initial segments of the system shall be prioritized by the authority, giving consideration to the demand for service, financial participation by local governments, financial participation by the private sector, and the available financial resources of the authority.

History.--s. 35, ch. 2002-20.