Bill Amendment: FL S0230 | 2014 | Regular Session
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority
Status: 2014-06-20 - Chapter No. 2014-171 [S0230 Detail]
Download: Florida-2014-S0230-Senate_Committee_Amendment_337450.html
Bill Title: Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority
Status: 2014-06-20 - Chapter No. 2014-171 [S0230 Detail]
Download: Florida-2014-S0230-Senate_Committee_Amendment_337450.html
Florida Senate - 2014 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 230 Ì337450ÇÎ337450 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 159 - 346 4 and insert: 5 (2)(a) Immediately upon the effective date of this act, the 6 Central Florida Expressway Authority shall assume the governance 7 and control of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority 8 System, including its assets, personnel, contracts, obligations, 9 liabilities, facilities, and tangible and intangible property. 10 Any rights in such property, and other legal rights of the 11 authority, are transferred to the Central Florida Expressway 12 Authority. The Central Florida Expressway Authority shall 13 immediately succeed to and assume the powers, responsibilities, 14 and obligations of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway 15 Authority. 16 (b) The transfer pursuant to this subsection is subject to 17 the terms and covenants provided for the protection of the 18 holders of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority bonds 19 in the lease-purchase agreement and the resolutions adopted in 20 connection with the issuance of the bonds. Further, the transfer 21 does not impair the terms of the contract between the Orlando 22 Orange County Expressway Authority and the bondholders, does not 23 act to the detriment of the bondholders, and does not diminish 24 the security for the bonds. After the transfer, the Central 25 Florida Expressway Authority shall operate and maintain the 26 expressway system and any other facilities of the Orlando-Orange 27 County Expressway Authority in accordance with the terms, 28 conditions, and covenants contained in the bond resolutions and 29 lease-purchase agreement securing the bonds of the authority. 30 The Central Florida Expressway Authority shall collect toll 31 revenues and apply them to the payment of debt service as 32 provided in the bond resolution securing the bonds, and shall 33 expressly assume all obligations relating to the bonds to ensure 34 that the transfer will have no adverse impact on the security 35 for the bonds. The transfer does not make the obligation to pay 36 the principal and interest on the bonds a general liability of 37 the Central Florida Expressway Authority or pledge additional 38 expressway system revenues to payment of the bonds. Revenues 39 that are generated by the expressway system and other facilities 40 of the Central Florida Expressway Authority which were pledged 41 by the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority to payment of 42 the bonds will remain subject to the pledge for the benefit of 43 the bondholders. The transfer does not modify or eliminate any 44 prior obligation of the department to pay certain costs of the 45 expressway system from sources other than revenues of the 46 expressway system. 47 (3)(2)The governing body of the authority shall consist of 48 ninefivemembers. The chairs of the boards of the county 49 commissions of Seminole, Lake, and Osceola Counties shall each 50 appoint one member, who may be a commission member or chair. The 51 Mayor of Orange County shall appoint a member from the Orange 52 County Commission. The Governor shall appoint three citizen 53 members. Of the Governor’s appointments, twoThreemembers must 54shallbe citizens of Orange County and one member must be a 55 citizen of either Seminole County, Lake County, or Osceola 56 County,who shall be appointed by the Governor. The eighth 57fourthmember mustshallbe, ex officio,the Mayor ofchair of58the County Commissioners ofOrange County. The ninth member must 59 be the Mayor of the City of Orlando. The executive director of 60 Florida Turnpike Enterprise shall serve as a nonvoting advisor 61 to the governing body of the authority, and the fifth member62shall be, ex officio, the district secretary of the Department63of Transportation serving in the district that contains Orange64County.The term ofEachappointedmember appointed by the 65 Governor shall servebefor 4 years. Each county-appointed 66 member shall serve for 2 years. The terms of standing board 67 members expire upon the effective date of this act. Each 68 appointed member shall hold office until his or her successor 69 has been appointed and has qualified. A vacancy occurring during 70 a term mustshallbe filled only for the balance of the 71 unexpired term. Each appointed member of the authority shall be 72 a person of outstanding reputation for integrity, 73 responsibility, and business ability, but, except as provided in 74 this subsection, anoperson who is an officer or employee of a 75 municipality orany city or of Orangecounty may notin any76other capacity shallbe an appointed member of the authority. 77 Any member of the authority isshall beeligible for 78 reappointment. 79 (4)(3)(a) The authority shall elect one of its members as 80 chair of the authority. The authority shall also elect one of 81 its members as vice chair, one of its members asasecretary, 82 and one of its members asatreasurerwho may or may not be83members of the authority. The chair, vice chair, secretary, and 84 treasurer shall hold such offices at the will of the authority. 85 FiveThreemembers of the authorityshallconstitute a quorum, 86 and the vote of fivethreemembers isshall benecessary for any 87 action taken by the authority. ANovacancy in the authority 88 does notshallimpair the right of a quorum of the authority to 89 exercise all of the rights and perform all of the duties of the 90 authority. 91 (b) Upon the effective date of his or her appointment, or 92 as soon thereafter as practicable, each appointed member of the 93 authority shall enter upon his or her duties. Members of the 94 authority may be removed from office by the Governor for 95 misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office. 96 (c) Members of the authority are entitled to receive 97 reimbursement from the authority for travel and other necessary 98 expenses incurred in connection with the business of the 99 authority as provided in s. 112.061, but may not draw salaries 100 or other compensation. 101 (5)(4)(a) The authority may employ an executive secretary, 102 an executive director, its own counsel and legal staff, 103 technical experts, and thesuchengineers,andsuchemployees 104 that, permanent or temporary, asit requires. The authoritymay105require andmay determine the qualifications and fix the 106 compensation of such persons, firms, or corporations, and may 107 employ a fiscal agent or agents;, provided,however,thatthe 108 authority shall solicit sealed proposals from at least three 109 persons, firms, or corporations for the performance of any 110 services as fiscal agents. The authority may delegate to one or 111 more of its agents or employees thesuch of itspowerasit 112 deemsshall deemnecessary to carry out the purposes of this 113 part, subject always to the supervision and control of the114authority. Members of the authority may be removed from their115office by the Governor for misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance,116or nonfeasance in office.117(b) Members of the authority are shall be entitled to118receive from the authority their travel and other necessary119expenses incurred in connection with the business of the120authority as provided in s. 112.061, but may not they shall draw121no salaries or other compensation.122 (6) In addition to meeting the requirements of chapter 112, 123 a member or the executive director of the authority may not: 124 (a) Personally represent another person or entity for 125 compensation before the authority for a period of 2 years 126 following vacation of his or her position. 127 (b) Within 2 years after retirement or termination, have an 128 employment or contractual relationship with a business entity 129 other than an agency, as defined in s. 112.312, that was doing 130 business with the authority at any time during the person’s 131 membership on or employment by the authority. 132 (c) After retirement or termination, have an employment or 133 contractual relationship with a business entity other than an 134 agency as defined in s. 112.312, in connection with a contract 135 in which the member or executive director personally and 136 substantially participated in through decision, approval, 137 disapproval, recommendation, rendering of advice, or 138 investigation while he or she was a member or employee of the 139 authority. 140 (d) A violation of this subsection is punishable in 141 accordance with s. 112.317. 142 (7) The authority’s general counsel shall serve as the 143 authority’s ethics officer. 144 (8) Authority board members, employees, and consultants who 145 hold positions that may influence authority decisions shall 146 refrain from engaging in any relationship that may adversely 147 affect their judgment in carrying out authority business. The 148 following disclosures must be made annually on a disclosure form 149 to prevent such conflicts of interest and preserve the integrity 150 and transparency of the authority to the public: 151 (a) Any relationship a board member, employee, or 152 consultant has which affords a current or future financial 153 benefit to such board member, employee, or consultant, or to a 154 relative or business associate of such board member, employee, 155 or consultant, and which a reasonable person would conclude has 156 the potential to create a prohibited conflict of interest. 157 (b) Whether a relative of such board member, employee, or 158 consultant is a registered lobbyist, and if so, the names of 159 such lobbyist’s clients. Such names shall be provided in writing 160 to the ethics officer. 161 (c) Any and all interests in real property that such board 162 member, employee, or consultant has, or that a relative, 163 principal, client, or business associate of such board member, 164 employee, or consultant has whenever such real property is 165 located within, or within a one-half mile radius of, any actual 166 or prospective authority roadway project. The executive director 167 shall provide a corridor map and a property ownership list 168 reflecting the ownership of all real property within the 169 disclosure area, or an alignment map with a list of associated 170 owners, to all board members, employees, and consultants. 171 (9) The disclosure forms required under subsection (8) must 172 be reviewed by the ethics officer or, if a form is filed by the 173 general counsel, by the executive director. 174 (10) The conflict of interest process shall be outlined in 175 the authority’s Code of Ethics. 176 (11) Authority employees and consultants are prohibited 177 from serving on the governing body of the authority while 178 employed by or under contract with the authority. 179 (12) The code of ethics policy shall be reviewed and 180 updated by the ethics officer and presented for board approval 181 at a minimum of once every 2 years. 182 (13) Employees shall be adequately informed and trained on 183 the code of ethics and shall continually participate in ongoing 184 ethics education. 185 Section 4. Section 348.754, Florida Statutes, is amended to 186 read: 187 348.754 Purposes and powers.— 188 (1)(a) The authority created and established underby the189provisions ofthis part isherebygranted and hasshall havethe 190 right to acquire, hold, construct, improve, maintain, operate, 191 own, and lease in the capacity of lessor,the Central Florida 192Orlando-Orange CountyExpressway System, hereinafter referred to 193 as “system.” Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, 194 including paragraph (2)(n), the area served by the authority 195 shall be within the geographical boundaries of Orange, Seminole, 196 Lake, and Osceola Counties. 197 (b)It is the express intention of this part that said198authority,In the construction of the Central Floridasaid199Orlando-Orange CountyExpressway System, the authority mayshall200be authorized toconstruct any extensions, additions, or 201 improvements to thesaidsystem or appurtenant facilities, 202 including all necessary approaches, roads, bridges,andavenues 203 of access, rapid transit, trams, fixed guideways, thoroughfares, 204 and boulevards with anysuchchanges, modifications, or 205 revisions of thesaidproject which areas shall bedeemed 206 desirable and proper. 207 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to 208 the contrary, to ensure the continued financial feasibility of 209 the portion of the Wekiva Parkway to be constructed by the 210 department, the authority may not, without the prior consent of 211 the secretary of the department, construct any extensions, 212 additions, or improvements to the expressway system in Lake 213 County. 214 (2) The authorityis hereby granted, and shall have andmay 215 exercise all powers necessary, appurtenant, convenient, or 216 incidental to the implementationcarrying outof the stated 217aforesaidpurposes, including, but notwithout beinglimited to, 218 the following rights and powers: 219 (a) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, complain 220 and defend in all courts. 221 (b) To adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal. 222 (c) To acquire by donation or otherwise, purchase, hold, 223 lease as lessee, and use any franchise or any,property, real, 224 personal,ormixed, or tangible or intangible, or any options 225thereofin its own name or in conjunction with others, or 226 interest in those optionstherein, necessary or desirable to 227 carryfor carryingout the purposes of the authority, and to 228 sell, lease as lessor, transfer, and dispose of any property or 229 interest in the propertythereinat any time acquired by it. 230 (d) To enter into and make leases for terms not exceeding 231 99 years, aseitherlessee or lessor, in order to carry out the 232 right to lease as specifiedset forthin this part. 233 (e) To enter into and make lease-purchase agreements with 234 the department for terms not exceeding 9940years, or until any 235 bonds secured by a pledge of rentals pursuant to the agreement 236thereunder, and any refundings pursuant to the agreement 237thereof, are fully paid as to both principal and interest, 238 whichever is longer. The authority is a party to a lease 239 purchase agreement between the department and the authority 240 dated December 23, 1985, as supplemented by a first supplement 241 to the lease-purchase agreement dated November 25, 1986, and a 242 second supplement to the lease-purchase agreement dated October 243 27, 1988. The authority may not enter into other lease-purchase 244 agreements with the department and may not amend the existing 245 agreement in a manner that expands or increases the department’s 246 obligations unless the department determines that the agreement 247 or amendment is necessary to permit the refunding of bonds 248 issued before July 1, 2013. 249 (f) To fix, alter, charge, establish, and collect rates, 250 fees, rentals, and other charges for the services and facilities 251 of the Central FloridaOrlando-Orange CountyExpressway System,252 which mustrates, fees, rentals and other charges shallalways 253 be sufficient to comply with any covenants made with the holders 254 of any bonds issued pursuant to this part;provided,however, 255thatsuch right and power may be assigned or delegated,by the 256 authority,to the department. Toll revenues attributable to an 257 increase in the toll rates charged on or after the effective 258 date of this act for the use of a portion of the system may not 259 be used to construct or expand a different portion of the system 260 unless a two-thirds majority of the members of the authority 261 votes to approve such use. This requirement does not apply if, 262 and to the extent that: 263 1. Application of the requirement would violate any 264 covenant established in a resolution or trust indenture under 265 which bonds were issued by the Orlando-Orange County Expressway 266 Authority on or before the effective date of this act; or 267 268 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 269 And the title is amended as follows: 270 Delete line 17 271 and insert: 272 273