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News & Notes
Small county road program preserved
The Senate Transportation Committee passed its second transportation bill this week. While SB 1688 is viewed as relatively minor piece of legislation, it includes two issues important to FAC. First, it creates a Transportation Revenue Study Commission, similar to a national commission created several years ago, whose purpose is to consider long-term funding options for Florida’s transportation system. Second, the bill preserves the Small County Road Assistance Program (SCRAP) by eliminating the 2010 sunset provision in law. The bill also modifies the eligibility criteria by (1) requiring FDOT to use the most recent decennial census data for determining those counties that meet the population threshold of 75,000 persons, and (2) eliminating the minimum millage requirements for the program. The House took up its first transportation package this week, HB 1399 by Representative Aubochon. Of interest to counties, among the bill’s numerous provisions, it requires a local governmental entity to pay the cost of relocating a utility interfering with a public road if the utility facility serves the governmental entity exclusively. The bill also revises FDOT's authority to amend the adopted work program by increasing the minimum threshold for certain work program amendments from $150,000 to $500,000. However, both FAC and the Florida League of Cities were successful in having the bill sponsor offer an amendment that allows local governments to provide specific information to the department and the governor’s office regarding how a work program amendment may impact their concurrency management systems.