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Objectives:
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To provide funding to the Department of Transportation's South Florida Rail Corridor Program for commuter operations The Departments owns the South Florida Rail Corridor (SFRC) and the authority operates, dispatches, maintains, and manages a commuter rail system in the tri-county area of Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach Counties on the SFRC.
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Restrictions:
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343.58 (4) (c)1. Funds provided to the authority by the department under this subsection constitute state financial assistance provided to a nonstate entity to carry out a state project subject to ss. 215.97 and 215.971. The department shall provide the funds in accordance with the terms of a written agreement to be entered into between the authority and the department, which shall provide for department review, approval, and audit of authority expenditure of such funds and shall include such other provisions as are required by applicable law. The department is specifically authorized to agree to advance the authority 25 percent of the total funds provided under this subsection for a state fiscal year at the beginning of each state fiscal year, with monthly payments over the fiscal year on a reimbursement basis as supported by invoices and such additional documentation and information as the department may reasonably require and a reconciliation of the advance against remaining invoices in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
2. To enable the department to evaluate the authority¿s proposed uses of state funds, the authority shall annually provide the department with actual expenditures for the previous fiscal year and its proposed budget for the following authority fiscal year and shall promptly provide the department with any additional documentation or information required by the department for its evaluation of the proposed uses of the state funds.
(d) Funding required by this subsection shall cease upon commencement of an alternate dedicated local funding source sufficient for the authority to meet its responsibilities for operating, maintaining, and dispatching the South Florida Rail Corridor. The authority and the department shall cooperate in the effort to identify and implement such an alternate dedicated local funding source before July 1, 2019. Upon commencement of the alternate dedicated local funding source, the department shall convey to the authority a perpetual commuter rail easement in the South Florida Rail Corridor and all of the department¿s right, title, and interest in rolling stock, equipment, tracks, and other personal property owned and used by the department for the operation and maintenance of the commuter rail operations in the South Florida Rail Corridor.
(5) The current funding obligations under subsections (1), (3), and (4) shall cease upon commencement of the collection of funding from the funding source under subsection (2). If the funding under subsection (2) is discontinued for any reason, the funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) shall resume when collection from the funding source under subsection (2) ceases. Payment by the counties shall be on a pro rata basis the first year following cessation of the funding under subsection (2). The authority shall refund a pro rata share of the payments for the current fiscal year made pursuant to the current funding obligations under subsections (1) and (3) as soon as reasonably practicable after it begins to receive funds under subsection (2). If, by December 31, 2015, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has not received federal matching funds based upon the dedication of funds under subsection (1), subsection (1) shall be repealed.
(6) Before the authority undertakes any new capital projects or transit system improvements not approved by the authority board, and not identified in the authority¿s 5-year capital program, on or before July 1, 2012, the authority shall ensure that the funding available to the authority under this section, together with any revenues available to the authority, are currently, and are anticipated to continue to be, sufficient for the authority to meet its obligations under any agreement through which federal funds have been or are anticipated to be received by the authority.
Funds provided by the Department to the Authority for operations will be reduced to an estimated $30.6 million if the Authority is no longer responsible for dispatch and maintenance of the South Florida Rail Corridor following termination of the June 13, 2013 Operating Agreement between the Department and the Authority, and may be further reduced if an alternate dedicated local funding source sufficient for the Authority to meet its responsibilities for operating, maintaining, and dispatching the South Florida Rail Corridor commences as contemplated in s. 343.58(4)(d), Florida Statutes.
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Award Procedures:
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The department shall provide the funds in accordance with the terms of a written agreement to be entered into between the authority and the department, which shall provide for department review, approval, and audit of authority expenditure of such funds and shall include such other provisions as are required by applicable law.
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