The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: CS/SB 1126
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee (Recommended by Appropriations Subcommittee on
Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development); and Senator Harrell
SUBJECT: Department of Transportation
DATE: April 18, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Price Vickers TR Favorable
2. McAuliffe Hrdlicka ATD Recommend: Fav/CS
3. McAuliffe Sadberry AP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1126 represents the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) legislative proposals
for the 2021 Legislative Session. The bill contains a number of FDOT-related revisions to
current law including:
 Adds road and bridge maintenance or construction vehicles to the list of vehicles subject to
the Move Over Law.
 Increases from $275 to $300 million the authorized dollar amount representing an alternative
debt service cap on Right-of-Way Acquisition and Bridge Construction Bonds issued to
finance or refinance the cost of acquiring real property for state roads or the cost of bridge
construction.
 Removes the expiration date for the Legislative Budget Commission (LBC) chair and vice
chair’s authority to approve amendments to the FDOT’s work program that transfer fixed
capital outlay appropriations between categories or increase an appropriation category.
 Clarifies that the Department of Revenue is the entity responsible for transferring a portion of
documentary stamp tax revenues distributed to the State Treasury and credited to the State
Transportation Trust Fund (STTF) from the State Treasury to the General Revenue Fund.
 Revises from October 1 to August 1 the date for metropolitan planning organization (MPO)
annual submissions of project priorities to the FDOT districts for purposes of developing the
FDOT’s tentative work program and MPO transportation improvement programs.
 Removes provisions requiring the FDOT to provide space and video conference capability at
each FDOT district office for persons requesting a hearing before the Commercial Motor
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Vehicle Review Board, instead requiring the FDOT to allow such persons to appear remotely
before the board via communications media technology already authorized by Administration
Commission rule.
 Grants the FDOT rulemaking authority for the purpose of implementing statutory provisions
relating to airport zoning.
 Revises provisions relating to a notice and hearing the FDOT is required to provide when a
transportation project on the State Highway System modifies an existing access to an
abutting property owner to provide clarity and improve readability.
 Removes obsolete references to a previously expired general service revenue service charge
from specified collected revenue deposited into the STTF.
The bill repeals the Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES)
program and related provisions and instead creates programs related to arterial highway projects.
More specifically, the bill:
 Authorizes the FDOT to upgrade existing arterial roadways with targeted improvements,
such as adding new tolled or non-tolled limited access alignments to manage congestion
points and retrofitting roadways with tolled or non-tolled grade separations that provide
alternatives to a signalized intersection for through traffic.
 Directs the FDOT to develop by December 31, 2035, and include in the work program
construction of controlled access facilities to achieve free flow of traffic on U.S. 19 and
requires the facility to be developed using existing or portions of existing roadway by
specified improvements.
 Directs the FDOT to identify and include in the work program projects to widen certain
two-lane arterial rural roads serving high volumes of truck traffic to four lanes.
 Directs the FDOT to begin the project development and environmental phase for a project to
extend the Florida Turnpike from its current terminus in Wildwood to a terminus as
determined by the FDOT, and to submit a summary report by December 31, 2022.
The revenue redirected to the STTF as a result of the 2019 M-CORES legislation is retained in
the STTF and is dedicated for purposes of funding the authorized controlled access facility
projects and widening projects on arterial rural highways. Additionally, beginning July 1, 2023,
the distribution of $35 million to the FTE for feeder roads and related projects is discontinued;
such funds will remain in the STTF to support statewide transportation priorities.
The bill is expected to have a minimal fiscal impact to the STTF, as it does not change the
amount of revenue distributed to the STTF, but it does revise the authorized uses of such
funding. The extent of any potential fiscal impact to the FDOT resulting from the increased
alternative debt service cap on Right-of-Way Acquisition and Bridge Construction Trust Fund
bonds is unknown. The remaining revisions are primarily administrative and housekeeping in
nature and are expected to present no immediate fiscal impact to state or local revenues.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2021, except as otherwise expressly provided.
II. Present Situation:
For ease of organization and readability, the present situation is discussed below in conjunction
with the effect of proposed changes.
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III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
M-CORES Program (Section 13)
Present Situation
Section 338.2278, F.S., establishes the M-CORES Program within the FDOT. If projects in the
corridors are determined to be economically and environmentally feasible and are consistent to
the maximum extent feasible with the appropriate approved local government comprehensive
plans, the projects will be included in the FDOT’s tentative work program. Funding for
M-CORES projects through turnpike revenue bonds, right-of-way and bridge construction bonds,
the FDOT Financing Corporation, the use of public-private partnerships, or by any combination
thereof is authorized. The FDOT is also authorized to accept donations of land for use as
transportation rights-of-way or to secure or use transportation rights-of-way for such projects.
The 2019 legislation redirected motor vehicle license tax revenues from the General Revenue
Fund taxes to the STTF, with transfers from STTF to the General Revenue Fund in Fiscal Years
2019-2020 and 2020-21.1 Beginning Fiscal Year 2021-2022 and thereafter, the General Revenue
Fund receives no further transfers, and the estimated $132 million is retained in the STTF.
The redirected motor vehicle license tax proceeds are directed to the M-CORES program; as
additional funding for the SCRAP, the SCOP, and the Transportation Disadvantaged Trust Fund
(TDTF);2 and to the FDOT’s workforce development program, as revised by the law. These
funds are in addition to any other statutory funding allocations provided by law.
For the 2019-2020 fiscal year and annually thereafter, from the amounts retained in the STTF,
the SCRAP, the SCOP, and the TDTF receive $10 million annually each and the workforce
development program receives $2.5 million annually ending in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
The funds allocated to the TDTF must be used to award competitive grants to community
transportation coordinators and transportation network companies to provide cost-effective,
door-to-door, on-demand, and scheduled transportation services (services that increase access to
job training, employment, health care, and other life-sustaining services; that enhance regional
connectivity and cross-county mobility; or that reduce difficulty in connecting to transportation
hubs and from hubs to final destinations).
Effect of Proposed Changes
Section 13 of the bill repeals s. 338.2278, F.S., related to the M-CORES program and the motor
vehicle license tax proceeds directed to other programs. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2021-2022, the
annual allocation to the M-CORES program, the additional annual allocations over current
1
The transfer in Fiscal Year 2019-2020 was $65.7 million and the transfer for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 is estimated to be $38.6
million.
2
The Transportation Disadvantaged Program established in Part I of ch. 427, F.S., coordinates a network of local and state
programs providing transportation services for elderly, disabled, and low-income citizens. The Commission for the
Transportation Disadvantaged (CTD) is authorized to use moneys in the TDTF to subsidize a portion of a transportation
disadvantaged person’s non-sponsored (for example, not paid for by Medicaid) transportation costs.
BILL: CS/SB 1126 Page 4
statutory funding for the SCRAP, the SCOP, and the TDTF, as well as the last year of funding
for workforce development are repealed.
As discussed below, however, the increased revenues derived from redirecting to the STTF
portions of motor vehicle license taxes remain in the STTF under the bill.
Conforming Revisions (Sections 1, 11, 14, 15, and 19)
Effect of Proposed Changes
Section 11 amends s. 334.044(35), F.S., to remove the M-CORES-related revisions enacted in
2019 with respect to workforce development, including authorization for the FDOT to enter into
contracts with consultants and non-profit entities for the provisions of workforce recruitment,
training curriculum, and support services, and a requirement for a report the FDOT has already
completed. Current funding for the program would expire on July 1, 2021, instead of continuing
through the end of the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The FDOT’s authorization for the workforce
development program is not repealed. The FDOT may continue administration of the program to
the extent that future funding resources are available.
Section 1 repeals s. 163.3168(4), F.S., to remove an M-CORES-related provision relating to
local applications for technical assistance from the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).
This provision currently requires the DEO to give preference to a county with a population of
200,000 or less, and to a municipality located within such a county, for assistance in determining
whether the area in and around a proposed M-CORES interchange contains appropriate land uses
and natural resource protections and for aid in developing or amending a local government’s
comprehensive plan to provide for such uses, protections, and intended benefits under the
M-CORES program.
Section 14 repeals an M-CORES-related provision contained in s. 338.236, F.S., relating to
staging areas to be activated during a declared state of emergency on the turnpike system. That
section currently requires the FDOT to give priority consideration to placement of such staging
areas in counties with a population of 200,000 or less and in which an M-CORES corridor is
located.
Section 15 amends s. 339.0801(2), F.S., to remove an M-CORES-related allocation and restore
that subsection as it existed prior to enactment of the M-CORES program. This subsection
currently provides $35 million in annual funding to the FTE to be used in accordance with
turnpike requirements and to the maximum extent feasible for feeder roads, structures,
interchanges, and appurtenances to create or facilitate access to the existing turnpike system, and
beginning in Fiscal Year 2022-2023 the funds must be used for similar access to M-CORES
corridors.3
This statute is also amended under Section 16 of the bill at a future date.
Section 19 repeals s. 339.1373, F.S., relating to M-CORES specific financing and planning
requirements of the FDOT.
3
The $35 million is from increased revenues to the STTF due to changes enacted in 2012.
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Arterial Highway Projects (Sections 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, and 25)
Present Situation
The FDOT routinely manages and improves arterial roads to increase capacity and facilitate
traffic throughput, while at the same time achieving the paramount goal of improving safety. The
FDOT and the FTE are experienced in retrofitting transportation facilities with grade separations
and adding new alignments for the same purposes.
An example of upgrades to existing arterial highways to maximize operational efficiency and
safety is implementation of controlled access facilities. The FDOT’s Access Control
Classification System and Access Management Standards for roads on the State Highway
System employs seven classes of controlled access facilities, beginning with Class 1 (limited
access facilities providing for high speed and high volume traffic movements serving interstate,
interregional, and intercity highways but which do not provide direct property connections).
According to the FDOT rule,
Access Classes 2 through 7 consist of controlled access facilities and are
arranged from the most restrictive (Access Class 2) to the least restrictive
(Access Class 7) class based on development. Generally the roadways
serving areas without existing extensive development are classified in the
upper portion of the range (Access Class 2, 3 and 4). Those roadways
serving areas with existing moderate to extensive development are
generally classified in the lower portion of the range (Access Class 5, 6
and 7). The access management standards for each access class are further
determined by the posted speed limit.4
The rule appears to provide the FDOT the flexibility, based on engineering decisions, to employ
the most appropriate type of upgrade to an existing arterial highway given its characteristics and
the particular goal of a given project, such as congestion management.
Effect of Proposed Changes
Section 21 creates s. 339.66, F.S., relating to upgrading arterial highways with controlled access
facilities. The bill sets forth Legislative findings that provision and maintenance of safe, reliable,
and predictably free-flowing facilities to support the movement of people and freight and to
enhance hurricane evacuation efficiency is important; and that planning now for population
growth and technology changes while prudently making timely improvements to address demand
is in the best interest of the state.
The bill directs the FDOT, in coordination with the FTE, to evaluate existing or portions of
existing roadways for development of specific controlled access facilities and include such
projects as identified in the work program. The FDOT is authorized to upgrade roadways with
4
Rule 14-97.003, F.A.C. The rule implements the FDOT’s statutory duties with respect to regulation of access to the State
Highway System, access permitting, and access management standards in ss. 335.182, 335.184, and 335.188, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1126 Page 6
targeted improvements, such as adding new tolled or non-tolled limited access alignments to
manage congestion points and retrofitting existing roadway with tolled or non-tolled grade
separations that provide alternatives to a signalized intersection for through traffic. Such
improvements must enhance the economic prosperity and preserve the character of impacted
communities.
The FDOT may not reduce any non-tolled general use lanes of an existing facility and must:
 Maintain existing access points to the roadway provided by designated streets, graded roads,
or driveways, avoiding community impact.
 After construction is completed, provide property owners of land with no existing access the
right to one access point and provide owners with more than one mile of roadway frontage
along the facility with one access point for each mile owned.
 Locate any tolling points so that a non-tolled alternative exists for local traffic.
Under the bill, any portions of a controlled access facility to be tolled are approved turnpike
proje