Howard Glassman, Executive Director Florida MPO Advisory Council July 25, 2013

1. 2013 FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE SESSION SUMMARY Howard Glassman, Executive Director Florida MPO Advisory Council July 25, 2013

2. 2013 State Legislative Session Highlights • Ended on May 3 with Sine Die at a reasonable 7:15 pm! • FDOT legislative package didn’t pass, however, FDOT Work Program fully funded at $8.4 billion • Other Transportation related bills did pass • MPOAC Policy Committee meets August 23 to begin development of 2014 legislative recommendations

3. Florida Ban on Texting While Driving (SB 52) • Prohibits motor vehicle operation while using a wireless communications device, with exceptions • Defines the term “wireless communications device” • Provides for enforcement as a secondary action • Specifies what information is admissible as evidence of a violation • Provides for points to be assessed when violation is within school safety zone or resulting in a crash

4. Community Transportation Projects (HB 319) • Requires local government implementing an alternative mobility funding system to follow same general principles as local governments implementing concurrency • Alternative funding systems must provide a means for new development to pay for its impacts and proceed with development “pay and go” • Requires mobility fees to comply with the dual rational nexus test • If alternative funding system is not mobility fee based it may not require new development to pay for existing deficiencies

5. Public-Private Partnerships (HB 85) • Provides legislative intent relating to the construction or improvement by private entities of facilities used for a public purpose • Creates the “Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Task Force” to submit a final report by July 1, 2014 • Authorizes counties to enter into public-private partnership agreements to construct, extend, or improve county roads

6. Natural GasMotor Fuel (HB 579) • Allows natural gas to be taxed as a fuel starting on January 2019 • Repeals annual decal fee program for motor vehicles fueled by liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural gas • Expands the use of the local government infrastructure surtax to include the installation of systems for natural gas fuel • Creates the Natural Gas Fuel Fleet Vehicle Rebate Program within the Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services and provides an annual appropriation • Florida OPPAGA to prepare a report by December 2017 on how other states tax natural gas fuel and provide incentives to consumers of such fuels.

7. Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission (SB 606) • Creates the six-county Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission • Requires Commission to develop a multi-modal regional transportation plan to be coordinated with the North Florida TPO and other entities • Develop an implementation plan that identifies available and potential funding sources • Authorized to “secure funding commitments from federal and state sources or from applicable counties for the planning, development, construction…of regionally significant projects” • Specifies that the powers of the Commission are supplemental to already existing agencies

8. Public Meetings (SB 50) • Defines the term “board or commission” • Requires that a member of the public be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard by a board or commission before it takes official action on a proposition • Provides that an action taken by a board or commission which is found in violation of this section is not void

9. General Transportation / FDOT Bill(HB 7127/SB 1132) Did Not Pass • MPO related changes • Increases MPO membership cap to 25 members when two or more MPOs consolidate or include a new urbanized area • Provides MPOs “may” instead of “shall” provide voting membership to authorities and other agencies created by law to perform transportation functions not under the jurisdiction of a general purpose local government represented on the MPO • Provides that the Miami-Dade MPO is designated a separate MPO conterminous with the boundaries of Miami-Dade

10. General Transportation / FDOT Bill(HB 7127/SB 1132) • Florida Regional Transportation Finance Authority Allows any county or two or more contiguous counties, with the approval of the Legislature, to form a regional Transportation Finance Authority to finance, construct, maintain and operate regional transportation projects • Public Transit Block Grants Prohibits use of public transit block grants for the “pursuit of strategies or actions leading to or promoting the levying of new or additional taxes through public referenda” excluding “communicating factual information”

11. General Transportation / FDOT Bill(HB 7127/SB 1132) • Space Transportation A minimum of $15 million annually may be made available from the State Transportation Trust Fund to fund space transportation projects • Strategic Airport Investment Projects Authorizes the FDOT to fund up to 100% of the cost of strategic airport investment projects that provide important access and on-airport capacity improvements

12. Questions or Comments For further information please contact: Howard Glassman, Executive Director Florida MPO Advisory Council (850) 414-4062 Office (850) 545-1890 Cell www.mpoac.org