Loading chat...
FL H0833
Bill
Status
Failed
6/16/2025
Primary Sponsor
Yvonne Hayes Hinson
Click for details
AI Summary
- Authorizes the Governor to execute a Rapid Rail Transit Compact with Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, allowing Florida to join the Southern Rail Commission (SRC), a joint interstate agency originally formed by Congress in 1982
- Creates s. 351.41, F.S., establishing Florida's participation in studying the feasibility of interstate rapid rail transit service, with the commission empowered to hold hearings, conduct studies, acquire funding, and advocate before Congress
- Florida's commission membership would include the Governor, one representative from the Florida Department of Transportation, and five citizens appointed by the Governor to serve 4-year terms, with members uncompensated except for actual and reasonable expenses
- North Florida has lacked passenger rail service since Hurricane Katrina damaged tracks in September 2005, and the SRC has already secured $178 million in federal grant funding to restore service from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, with the "Mardi Gras service" expected to be operational by summer 2025
- State legislature contributions to the commission are discretionary and in equal amounts among party states, with no binding obligation to appropriate a set amount; any party state may withdraw with 6 months' notice, and the act takes effect July 1, 2025
Legislative Description
Rapid Rail Transit Compact
Last Action
Died in Commerce Committee
6/16/2025
Committee Referrals
Commerce Committee4/1/2025
Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee3/2/2025
Full Bill Text
No bill text available