The Florida Senate

348.0004  Purposes and powers.--

(1)(a)  An authority created and established pursuant to the Florida Expressway Authority Act may acquire, hold, construct, improve, maintain, operate, own, and lease an expressway system.

(b)  Each authority, in the construction of an expressway system, shall construct expressways. Construction of an expressway system may be completed in segments, phases, or stages, in a manner which will permit the expansion of these segments, phases, or stages to the desired expressway configuration. Each authority, in the construction of an expressway system, may construct any extensions of, additions to, or improvements to, the expressway system or appurtenant facilities, including all necessary approaches, roads, bridges, and avenues of access, with such changes, modifications, or revisions of the project that are deemed desirable and proper. An authority may only add additional expressways to an expressway system, under the terms and conditions set forth in the Florida Expressway Authority Act, with the prior express written consent of the board of county commissioners of each county located within the geographic boundaries of the authority, and only if such additional expressways lack adequate committed funding for implementation, are financially feasible, and are compatible with the existing plans, projects, and programs of the authority.

(2)  Each authority may exercise all powers necessary, appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying out of its purposes, including, but not limited to, the following rights and powers:

(a)  To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and complain and defend in all courts.

(b)  To adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal.

(c)  To acquire, purchase, hold, lease as lessee, and use any franchise or property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes of the authority and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer, and dispose of any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it.

(d)  To enter into and make leases, either as lessee or as lessor, in order to carry out the right to lease as set forth in the Florida Expressway Authority Act.

(e)  To enter into and make lease-purchase agreements with the department until any bonds secured by a pledge of rentals thereunder, and any refundings thereof, are fully paid as to both principal and interest.

(f)  To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and facilities system, which tolls, rates, fees, rentals, and other charges must always be sufficient to comply with any covenants made with the holders of any bonds issued pursuant to the Florida Expressway Authority Act. However, such right and power may be assigned or delegated by the authority to the department. Notwithstanding s. 338.165 or any other provision of law to the contrary, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), to the extent surplus revenues exist, they may be used for purposes enumerated in subsection (7), provided the expenditures are consistent with the metropolitan planning organization's adopted long-range plan. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, but subject to any contractual requirements contained in documents securing any outstanding indebtedness payable from tolls, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), the board of county commissioners may, by ordinance adopted on or before September 30, 1999, alter or abolish existing tolls and currently approved increases thereto if the board provides a local source of funding to the county expressway system for transportation in an amount sufficient to replace revenues necessary to meet bond obligations secured by such tolls and increases.

(g)  In any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), to borrow money, make and issue negotiable notes, bonds, refund bonds and other evidence of indebtedness, either in temporary or definitive form, of the authority, which bonds or other evidence of indebtedness may be issued pursuant to the State Bond Act, or in the alternative, pursuant to the provisions of s. 348.0005(2), to finance an expressway system within the geographic boundaries of the authority, and to provide for the security of the bonds or other evidence of indebtedness and the rights and remedies of the holders of the bonds or other evidence of indebtedness. Any bonds or other evidence of indebtedness pledging the full faith and credit of the state shall only be issued pursuant to the State Bond Act.

1.  An authority shall reimburse the county in which it exists for any sums expended from any county gasoline tax funds used for payment of such obligations. Any county gasoline tax funds so disbursed shall be repaid in accordance with the terms of any lease-purchase or interlocal agreement with any county or the department together with interest, at the rate agreed to in such agreement. In no event shall any county gasoline tax funds be more than a secondary pledge of revenues for repayment of any obligations issued pursuant to this part.

2.  In any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), an authority may refund any bonds previously issued, to the extent allowable by federal tax laws, to finance or refinance an expressway system regardless of whether the bonds being refunded were issued by such authority, an agency of the state, or a county.

(h)  To enter contracts and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of its business.

(i)  Without limitation of the foregoing, to borrow money and accept grants from, and to enter into contracts, leases, or other transactions with, any federal agency, the state, any agency of the state, county, or any other public body of the state.

(j)  To have the power of eminent domain, including the procedural powers granted under chapters 73 and 74.

(k)  To pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber all or any part of the revenues, tolls, rates, fees, rentals, or other charges or receipts of the authority, including all or any portion of county gasoline tax funds received by the authority pursuant to the terms of any lease-purchase agreement between the authority and the department, as security for all or any of the obligations of the authority.

(l)  To do all acts and things necessary or convenient for the conduct of its business and the general welfare of the authority in order to carry out the powers granted to it by law.

(m)  An expressway authority in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may consider any unsolicited proposals from private entities and all factors it deems important in evaluating such proposals. Such an expressway authority shall adopt rules or policies in compliance with s. 334.30 for the receipt, evaluation, and consideration of such proposals in order to enter into agreements for the planning design, engineering, construction, operation, ownership, or financing of additional expressways in that county. Such rules must require substantially similar technical information as is required by rule 14-107.0011(3)(a)-(e), Florida Administrative Code. In accepting a proposal and entering into such an agreement, the expressway authority and the private entity shall for all purposes be deemed to have complied with chapters 255 and 287. Similar proposals shall be reviewed and acted on by the authority in the order in which they were received. An additional expressway may not be constructed under this section without the prior express written consent of the board of county commissioners of each county located within the geographical boundaries of the authority. The powers granted by this section are in addition to all other powers of the authority granted by this chapter.

(3)  Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the consent of any municipality is not necessary for any project of an existing or new authority, whether or not the project lies in whole or in part within the boundaries of the municipality, if the project is consistent with the locally adopted comprehensive plan. However, if a project is inconsistent with the affected municipal comprehensive plan, the project may not proceed without a hearing pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57, at which it is determined that the project is consistent with the adopted metropolitan planning organization transportation improvement plan, if any, and the applicable strategic regional plan, and at which regional interests are determined to clearly override the interests of the municipality.

(4)  The use or pledge of all or any portion of county gasoline tax funds may not be made without the prior express written consent of the board of county commissioners of each county located within the geographic boundaries of the authority.

(5)  Any authority formed pursuant to this act shall comply with all statutory requirements of general application which relate to the filing of any report or documentation required by law, including the requirements of ss. 189.4085, 189.415, 189.417, and 189.418

(6)  Notwithstanding subsection (3) or any other provision of law to the contrary, in any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), no expressway authority shall undertake any construction that is not consistent with both the metropolitan planning organization's transportation improvement program and the county's comprehensive plan.

(7)  In any county as defined in s. 125.011(1), an expressway authority may finance or refinance the planning, design, acquisition, construction, extension, rehabilitation, equipping, preservation, maintenance, or improvement of a public transportation facility or transportation facilities owned or operated by such county, an intermodal facility or facilities, multimodal corridor or corridors, including, but not limited to, bicycle facilities or greenways that will improve transportation services within the county, or any programs or projects that will improve the levels of service on an expressway system, subject to approval of the governing body of such county after public hearing.

(8)  The governing body of the county may enter into an interlocal agreement with an authority pursuant to chapter 163, for the joint performance or performance by either governmental entity of any corporate function of the county or authority necessary or appropriate to enable the authority to fulfill the powers and purposes of this part and promote the efficient and effective transportation of persons and goods in such county.

History.--s. 25, ch. 90-136; s. 148, ch. 92-152; s. 56, ch. 94-237; s. 9, ch. 95-149; s. 88, ch. 96-410; s. 27, ch. 97-280; s. 55, ch. 99-385.