CS/HB 1049 - Limited Access and Toll Facilities

• Authorizes the Department of Transportation and Florida Turnpike Enterprise to require electronic transponders for high-occupancy and express lanes, effective July 1, 2018; customers traveling below 40 mph in express lanes must be charged minimum tolls.

• Restricts variable pricing in Florida Turnpike express lanes: prohibits pricing when level of service is A, limits pricing to general toll plus departmental surcharge when level of service is B, and allows variable pricing only for service levels worse than B.

• Extends the timeframe for programming toll and bond-financed commitments in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties from June 30, 2017 to June 30, 2027, maintaining the 90 percent threshold of net toll collections.

• Requires toll increases by expressway authorities in specific counties to be justified by independent traffic and revenue studies (except inflation adjustments), approved by two-thirds board vote, and limits administrative expenses to 10 percent above state average.

• Mandates expressway authorities provide 5-10 percent SunPass discounts, dedicate 20-50 percent of surplus revenues to transportation/transit projects, conduct biennial independent audits, and publicly post financial statements, contracts, expenditures, and project information on websites.