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These are incredibly challenging times for transportation. Florida is facing a huge transportation funding crisis and our economic future is in serious jeopardy. An additional $23 billion is needed over the next ten years just to "maintain" current transportation conditions. That's why we're working so hard to be Your "Voice" for Transportation. But we need YOU!  We've designed this Web site to be informative and user-friendly so YOU can join us in this important work. Together we can Keep Florida Moving!

Summary of Major Transportation-Related Legislation That Passed This Session

SB 1500 — Appropriations
by Appropriations Committee

The General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 provides for a total budget of $74.5 billion, including:

• General revenue (GR): $26.8 billion
• Trust funds (TF): $47.7 billion
• Full time equivalent positions (FTE): 114,481.5

Total reserves - $2.8 billion:

• $1.4 billion Working Capital Trust Fund
• $214.5 million Budget Stabilization Transfer (Fiscal Year 2013-2014 transfer)
• $708.3 million Budget Stabilization Fund (Est. 6/30/13 balance based on anticipated transfers)
• $499.3 million Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund (Est. 6/30/13 balance)

Total reserves as a percentage of general revenue: 9.7 percent.

Major Highway Safety/Transportation Issues Funded

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Total: $413.9 million ($1 million GR; $412.9 million TF); 4,419 FTE
Florida Highway Patrol Replacement Vehicles - $11.0 million TF
Florida Highway Patrol Communications System - $5.4 million TF
State Overtime Action Response (SOAR) & Incidental Overtime for Florida Highway Patrol - $10.2 million TF
Driver Related Issuance and Vehicle Enhancements (DRIVE) - $1.8 million TF
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Grant - $10.4 million TF
Drive Right Marketing Campaign - $1 million GR

Department of Transportation
Total: $9.5 billion ($2.4 million GR; $9.4 billion TF); 6,630 FTE

• Grants and Aids - Transportation Disadvantaged - $111 million TF
• Sarasota-Manatee Operations Center Design Build Project - $10 million TF
• Transportation Work Program - $8.67 billion TF
• Intrastate and Arterial Highway Construction - $3.6 billion TF
• Right-of-Way Land Acquisition - $725 million TF
• Seaport Development Grants - $243 million TF
• Rail Development Grants - $184 million TF
• Intermodal Development Grants - $52 million
• Public Transit Development Grants - $421 million TF
• Bridge Construction - $290 million TF
• County Transportation Programs (Including SCRAP & SCOP) - $152 million TF
• Coast to Coast Connector Trail - $50 million TF
• Economic Development Road Fund - $15 million TF
• Keep Florida Beautiful - $800,000 TF

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2013.
Vote: Senate 40-0; House 106-11

CS/CS/CS/SB 52 — Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving
by Judiciary Committee; Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities Committee; Transportation Committee; Senators Detert, Montford, Margolis, Richter, Latvala, Abruzzo, Benacquisto, Soto, and Sachs

CS/CS/CS/SB 52 creates the “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law.” The bill prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other text in a handheld wireless communication device, or sending or reading data in the device, for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication. The bill makes exceptions for emergency workers performing official duties, reporting emergencies or suspicious activities, and for receiving various types of navigation information, emergency traffic data, radio broadcasts, and autonomous vehicles. The bill also makes an exception for interpersonal communications that can be conducted without manually typing the message or without reading the message.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect October 1, 2013.
Vote: Senate 39-1; House 110-6

CS/HB 579 — Natural Gas Motor Fuel
by Regulatory Affairs Committee; Energy and Utilities Subcommittee; and Rep. Ray and others (CS/CS/SB 560 by Appropriations Committee; Transportation Committee; and Senators Simpson, Bean, Bradley, Stargel, Latvala, Grimsley, Evers, Soto, Ring, Gibson, Hays, Lee, Altman, Thompson, Garcia and Diaz de la Portilla)

The bill repeals the decal fee program for motor vehicles powered by alternative fuels, repeals the sales tax on alternative fuels, establishes a new fuel tax structure for motor vehicles powered by natural gas, and creates a natural gas fuel fleet vehicle rebate program.

If approved by the Governor, except as otherwise provided, these provisions take effect January 1, 2014.
Vote: Senate 39-0; House 116-2

CS/SB 606 — Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission
by Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee; Community Affairs Committee; Transportation Committee; and Senators Gibson, Thrasher, Bradley, and Bean

The bill creates the Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission (commission) for the purposes of improving mobility and expanding multimodal transportation options for persons and freight throughout Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2013.
Vote: Senate 36-0; House 118-0

CS/CS/HB 7125 — Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
by Economic Affairs Committee, Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, and Transportation & Highway Safety Subcommittee and Rep. Raburn and others (CS/CS/SB 1458 by Appropriations Committee, Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, Transportation Committee and Senator Brandes)

The bill makes numerous changes to the way the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV, department) administers many of its programs and functions.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2013.
Vote: Senate 38-0; House 114-1

CS/CS/CS/HB 319 — Community Transportation Projects
by Economic Affairs Committee; Transportation and Highway Safety Subcommittee; Economic Development and Tourism Subcommittee; and Rep. Ray (CS/CS/SB 972 by Transportation Committee; Community Affairs Committee; and Senator Hukill)

This bill provides that an alternative funding system must provide a means for new development to pay for its impacts and proceed with development. The bill allows local governments to pool contributions from multiple applicants toward one planned facility improvement and clarifies when s. 163.3180(5)(h), F.S., applies to local governments implementing transportation concurrency or development agreements. The bill also provides that an applicant may satisfy concurrency requirements by making a good faith offer to enter into a binding agreement and requires local governments to provide the basis upon which landowners will be assessed a proportionate share of costs.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect upon becoming law.
Vote: Senate 36-0; House 108-5

CS/CS/HB 85 — Public-Private Partnerships
by Appropriations Committee; Government Operations Subcommittee; and Rep. Steube and others (CS/CS/CS/SB 84 by Appropriations Committee; Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee; Community Affairs Committee; and Senators Diaz de la Portilla and Bean)

The bill authorizes public-private partnerships to contract for public service work with not-for-profit-organizations. The bill adds provisions for contracts for park land and public education facilities. This bill creates an alternative procurement process and requirements for public-private partnerships to facilitate the construction of public-purpose projects, and creates the Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Task Force to make recommendations guidelines for the Legislature to consider for public-private partnerships to foster uniformity across the state. The bill specifies the requirements for such partnerships, which include provisions that require responsible public entities to provide notice of unsolicited proposals, conduct independent analyses of proposed partnerships, notify other affected local jurisdictions, and enter into interim and comprehensive agreements for qualifying projects. The bill authorizes responsible public entities to approve a qualifying project if there is a need for or benefit derived from the project, the estimated cost of the project is reasonable, and the private entity’s plans will result in the timely acquisition, design, construction, improvement, renovation, expansion, equipping, maintenance, or operation of the qualifying project.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2013.
Vote: Senate 37-0; House 111-4

CS/CS/SB 50 — Public Meetings
by Rules Committee; Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee; and Senators Negron and Evers

The bill authorizes a board or commission to adopt certain reasonable rules or policies governing the opportunity to be heard. If a board or commission adopts such rules or policies and thereafter complies with them, it is deemed to be acting in compliance with the section. The bill authorizes a circuit court to issue injunctions for the purpose of enforcing the section upon the filing of an application for such injunction by any citizen of Florida. If such an action is filed and the court determines that the board or commission violated the section, the bill requires the court to assess reasonable attorney fees against the board or commission. The bill also authorizes the court to assess reasonable attorney fees against the individual filing the action if the court finds that the action was filed in bad faith or was frivolous. The bill excludes specified public officers from such attorney fee provisions. If a board or commission appeals a court order finding that it violated the section and the order is affirmed, the bill requires the court to assess reasonable appellate attorney fees against the board or commission.

If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect October 1, 2013.
Vote: Senate 40-0; House 113-2

Source: Florida Senate