HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1673 Transportation Services for Persons with Disabilities and the Transportation
Disadvantaged
SPONSOR(S): Infrastructure Strategies Committee, Transportation & Modals Subcommittee, Busatta
Cabrera
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 1380
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Transportation & Modals Subcommittee 13 Y, 0 N, As CS Hinshelwood Hinshelwood
2) Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations 11 Y, 0 N Hicks Davis
Subcommittee
3) Infrastructure Strategies Committee 23 Y, 0 N, As CS Hinshelwood Harrington
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Florida law defines the term “transportation disadvantaged” as those persons who, because of physical or
mental disability, income status, or age, are unable to transport themselves or to purchase transportation and
are, therefore, dependent upon others to obtain access to health care, employment, education, shopping,
social activities, or other life-sustaining activities, or children who are handicapped or high-risk. In 1989, the
Legislature created the Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged (Commission) within the Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) to accomplish the coordination of transportation services provided to the
transportation disadvantaged.
The bill makes the following changes to laws relating to transportation services for persons with disabilities and
the transportation disadvantaged:
Amends the Commission’s membership by increasing the number of members from seven to 11.
Amends requirements and qualifications for Commission members.
Amends the Commission’s duties.
Provides requirements specific to transportation service providers who provide paratransit services to
persons with disabilities, including requiring such providers to train for drivers, provide certain ride
booking and vehicle tracking services, regularly maintain and upgrade all technology-based services,
offer pre-booking and on-demand service, establish reasonable time periods between a request for
service and the arrival of the transportation service provider at the location specified in the request,
establish best practices for limiting the duration of travel times, establish transparency regarding the
quality of paratransit service provided, establish an efficient system for the reporting of adverse
incidents.
Requires the Commission to establish requirements for the investigation of adverse incidents reported.
Requires competitive procurement of contracts entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2024,
with transportation service providers for the provision of paratransit service to persons with disabilities.
Requires FDOT to ensure that all grants and agreements between FDOT and entities providing
paratransit service include certain provisions relating to performance requirements, penalties for
repeated violations, minimum liability insurance, and complaint processes.
Requires FDOT, by January 1, 2025, to provide to the Governor and the Legislature a comprehensive
report on the services provided by the Commission.
The bill may have an indeterminate negative fiscal impact on the state, local governments, and the private
sector. See Fiscal Analysis Section.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2024.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation
Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged (Commission)
Florida law defines the term “transportation disadvantaged” as those persons who, because of physical
or mental disability, income status, or age, are unable to transport themselves or to purchase
transportation and are, therefore, dependent upon others to obtain access to health care, employment,
education, shopping, social activities, or other life-sustaining activities, or children who are handicapped
or high-risk.1
In 1989, the Legislature created the Commission within the Florida Department of Transportation
(FDOT) to accomplish the coordination of transportation services provided to the transportation
disadvantaged.2 The goal of this coordination is to assure the cost-effective provision of transportation
by qualified community transportation coordinators (CTCs) or transportation operators 3 for the
transportation disadvantaged.4 The Commission is the state-level board that develops policies and
procedures for the coordination of services to the transportation disadvantaged population.5
The Commission consists of seven members appointed by the Governor in accordance with the
following qualifications:6
Five of the members must have significant experience in the operation of a business, and it is
the intent of the Legislature that, when making an appointment, the Governor select persons
who reflect the broad diversity of the business community in this state, as well as the racial,
ethnic, geographical, and gender diversity of the population of this state.
Two of the members must have a disability and use the transportation disadvantaged system.
Each member must be a resident and registered voter of this state.
At least one member must be at least 65 years of age.
A member may not, within the 5 years immediately before his or her appointment, or during his
or her term on the Commission, have or have had a financial relationship with, or represent or
have represented as a lobbyist, the following: a transportation operator; a CTC; a metropolitan
planning organization (MPO); 7 a designated official planning agency; a purchaser agency;8 a
local coordinating board; a broker of transportation; or a provider of transportation services.
Each candidate for appointment to the Commission must, before accepting the appointment,
submit fingerprints and pass a level 2 background screening.
1 S. 427.011(1), F.S.
2 S. 427.013, F.S.
3 The term “transportation operator” means one or more public, private for-profit, or private nonprofit entities engaged by
the CTC to provide service to transportation disadvantaged persons pursuant to a coordinated system or plan. S.
427.011(6), F.S.
4 S. 427.013, F.S.
5 Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, 2023 Annual Performance Report, p. 8,
https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default -
source/ctd/docs/aoraprdocs/2023_ctd_annual_performance_report -electronic_version2.pdf?sfvrsn=94e1d74a_3 (last
visited Feb. 16, 2024).
6 S. 427.012(1), F.S.
7 Section 427.011(2), F.S., defines the term “metropolitan planning organization” as the organization responsible for
carrying out transportation planning and programming in accordance with the provisions of 23 U.S.C. § 134, as provided
in 23 U.S.C. § 104(f)(3).
8 The term “purchasing agency” means a department or agency whose head is an ex officio, nonvoting adviser to the
Commission, or an agency that purchases transportation services for the transportation disadvantaged. S. 427.011(8),
F.S.
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Additionally, the following individuals, or their senior management level representatives, serve as ex
officio, nonvoting advisors to the Commission:9
The Secretary of Transportation,
The Secretary of Children and Families,
The Secretary of Economic Opportunity,
The executive director of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs,
The Secretary of Elderly Affairs,
The Secretary of Health Care Administration,
The director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and
A county manager or administrator who is appointed by the Governor.
The statutory mandates for the Commission to carry out its purpose include, among other
requirements, the following:10
Compile all available information on the transportation operations for and needs of the
transportation disadvantaged in the state.
Establish statewide objectives for providing transportation services for the transportation
disadvantaged.
Develop policies and procedures for the coordination of local government, federal, and state
funding for the transportation disadvantaged.
Identify barriers prohibiting the coordination and accessibility of transportation services to the
transportation disadvantaged and aggressively pursue the elimination of these barriers.
Serve as a clearinghouse for information about transportation disadvantaged services, training,
funding sources, innovations, and coordination efforts.
Assist communities in developing transportation systems designed to serve the transportation
disadvantaged.
Approve the appointment of all CTCs.
Have the authority to apply for and accept funds, grants, gifts, and services from the federal
government, state government, local governments, or private funding sources.
Make an annual report to the Governor and Legislature by January 1 of each year.
Prepare a statewide 5-year transportation disadvantaged plan which addresses the
transportation problems and needs of the transportation disadvantaged, which is fully
coordinated with local transit plans, compatible with local government comprehensive plans,
and which ensures that the most cost-effective and efficient method of providing transportation
to the disadvantaged is programmed for development.
Develop an interagency uniform contracting and billing and accounting system that must be
used by all CTCs and their transportation operators.
Develop and maintain a transportation disadvantaged manual.
Design and develop transportation disadvantaged training programs.
Coordinate all transportation disadvantaged programs with appropriate state, local, and federal
agencies and public transit agencies to ensure compatibility with existing transportation
systems.
Designate the official planning agency in areas outside of the purview of an MPO.
Develop need-based criteria that must be used by all CTCs to prioritize the delivery of
nonsponsored transportation disadvantaged services that are purchased with Transportation
Disadvantaged Trust Fund moneys.
Establish a review procedure to compare the rates proposed by alternate transportation
operators with the rates charged by a CTC to determine which rate is more cost-effective.
Conduct a cost-comparison study of single-coordinator, multicoordinator, and brokered CTC
networks to ensure that the most cost-effective and efficient method of providing transportation
to the transportation disadvantaged is programmed for development.
Develop a quality assurance and management review program to monitor, based upon
approved Commission standards, services contracted for by an agency, and those provided by
a community transportation operator pursuant to s. 427.0155, F.S.
9 S. 427.012(1)(g), F.S.
10 S. 427.013, F.S.
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Ensure that local CTCs work cooperatively with local workforce development boards
established in chapter 445, F.S., to provide assistance in the development of innovative
transportation services for participants in the welfare transition program.
CTCs
A CTC is a transportation entity competitively procured or recommended by an MPO or other
appropriate official planning agency and local coordinating board and approved by the Commission, to
ensure that safe, quality coordinated transportation services are provided or arranged in a cost-
effective manner to serve the transportation disadvantaged in a designated service area.11
The Commission contracts with CTCs, typically for up to five years, to ensure the provision of services
at the local level.12 While the Commission establishes guidelines for eligibility within the parameters laid
out in Florida Statutes, specific eligibility policies are determined at the local level within such
guidelines.13
A CTC can be a public transportation organization (such as a transit authority), a private for-profit
transportation company, a not-for-profit human services agency, or a local government entity.14
Through a competitive procurement process, the CTC may also contract (i.e., broker) with local
transportation operators to provide services in its designated service area.15
Additionally, the Commission works with “purchasing agencies” to “sponsor” transportation for their
transportation disadvantaged clients.16 Examples of purchasing agencies include the Agency for Health
Care Administration (AHCA), Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), and local governments.17 A
CTC may provide “sponsored” transportation for eligible individuals on behalf of a purchasing agency,
such as trips to medical appointments covered under Florida’s Medicaid Managed Medical Assistance
program.18
CTCs that operate fixed bus route services may also serve certain groups within the transportation
disadvantaged population, such as individuals with disabilities who qualify for complementary
paratransit services 19 required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.20
Local Coordinating Boards (LCBs)
The Local Coordinating Board (LCB) serves as a local advisory body to the Commission and assists
the Commission in identifying the local service needs and providing information, advice, and direction
on the coordination of services.21 LCBs are chaired by a local elected official, and its membership
represents local and state stakeholders, including state agencies, riders of the system, the public
education system, military veterans, the workforce development system, the medical community, and
the transportation industry.22 LCBs meet at least quarterly and assist CTCs and designated official
planning agencies (e.g., MPOs) in a variety of activities, including establishing eligibility guidelines and
setting trip priorities funded by the transportation disadvantaged program, developing the
11 S. 427.011(5), F.S.; Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, supra note 5 at p. 34.
12 Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, supra note 5 at p. 8.
13 Id.
14 Id.
15 Id.
16 Id.
17 Id. at 8-9.
18 Id. at p. 9.
19 “Paratransit” means those elements of public transit which provide service between specific origins and destinations
selected by the individual user with such service being provided at a time that is agreed upon by the user and provider of
the service. Paratransit service is provided by taxis, limousines, “dial-a-ride,” buses, and other demand-responsive
operations that are characterized by their nonscheduled, nonfixed route nature. S. 427.011(9), F.S.
20 Id.
21 Id.
22 Id.
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Transportation Disadvantaged Service Plan, and evaluating the performance of the CTC on an annual
basis.23
Transportation Disadvantaged Trust Fund24
The Commission administers several grant programs that are funded through the Transportation
Disadvantaged Trust Fund (TDTF). TDTF funds are mostly used to purchase trips for eligible
individuals to access activities “not sponsored” by other purchasing agencies. In order for an eligible
individual to qualify for TDTF non-sponsored services, he or she must, at minimum, demonstrate no
availability of any other funding or reimbursement (including self-pay), and no means of any other
transportation (including public transit). Using an example discussed above, an eligible individual may
receive “sponsored” trips to medical appointments under Florida’s Medicaid Managed Medical
Assistance program; however, there may not be a similar funding source for that same individual to
access grocery shopping and other life-sustaining activities, where such trips could be reimbursed
using TDTF monies.
In Fiscal Year 2022-23, the Legislature appropriated approximately $61.2 million to the TDTF. The
following pie chart provides a breakdown of the revenues that were deposited within the TDTF (as of
June 30, 2023). The largest portion of TDTF revenues come from the vehicle registration fees that are
paid by residents when they renew their license tag with the State of Florida.
Coordinated Transportation System Organization
In summary, the Commission ensures the availability of transportation services for the transpor