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City Council Bill 2011 361 Regional Transportation Center; more info on the background. You will be shocked!
Governor Charlie Crist signs a legislation bill (sponsored by the late Senator Jim King and Representative Audrey Gibson) that explores unifying the regions seven counties transportation initiatives under one governing entity.
House Bill: HB1297 can be found here: http://www.jtafla.com/pdf/RTA/HB1297.pdf
The membership of the Regional Transportation Study Commission is established by Senate Bill 2470 as follows:
Studies and Legislation
The idea of developing a regional approach to transportation in Northeast Florida has been discussed for several decades.
In 1987, Executive order 86-148 created the First Coast Regional Transportation Study Committee. The committee’s report recommended the creation of a 5-county regional transportation authority that would be governed by a 9-member governing board. No action was taken on these recommendations.
In 2009, House Bill 1213 was enacted requiring the JTA to perform a Regional Transportation Authority study at the direction of FDOT. That study affirmed the need for a regional approach to transportation in Northeast Florida but also recommended additional study. Most importantly, the 2009 Regional Transportation Authority Study Final Report found that the development of a regional transportation elements plan is needed as the basis for further action on any regional transportation initiative.
On June 4, 2010, Governor Crist signed Senate Bill 2470 into law (Public law 2010-212). Public Law 2010-212 establishes the North Florida Regional Transportation Study Commission (RTSC). The RTSC is required to submit its final report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31, 2012. Its final report must make specific legislative recommendations, including a regional transportation elements plan, the defining characteristics of transportation elements of regional significance, and an implementation plan for undertaking a regional transportation elements plan.
On June 4, 2010, Governor Crist signed Senate Bill 2470 into law (Public law 2010-212). Public Law 2010-212 established the North Florida Regional Transportation Study Commission (Commission).
The Commission members include representatives from each of the 7 counties in Northeast Florida (Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns). Additionally, the Chair of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, Chair of the Northeast Florida Regional Council and the District II Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation serve as ex-officio, non-voting members of the Commission.
The Commission is required to submit its final report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31, 2012.
The final report must make specific legislative recommendations, including a regional transportation elements plan, the defining characteristics of transportation elements of regional significance, and an implementation plan for undertaking a regional transportation elements plan. The implementation plan may include the establishment of the regional transportation authority, draft legislation, and any other recommendations the Commission deems appropriate.
Underneath this, you will find a list of study reports and additional laws for setting this whole thing up. Pay special attention to 2009 Regional Transportation Study Final Report.
This report gives a really good picture of what the JTA has planned and it is going to be VERY expensive, and they see themselves as being extremely powerful and without pretty much any oversight at all. This was from 2009, so I can only imagine what the report due on 12/31/2012 will look like, but that is the point. The report is not due until the end of 2012 which is 1 1/2 years from now. Still plenty of time to take a look at this and the fiscal impact on the taxpayers (the fiscal impact is going to be huge cause these folks are going to build an empire for themselves). I feel the reason Peyton and JTA are trying to do the land transfer now, is to start a process they plan on forcing us into. A study was done in 2008 or 2009 about the use of public transit and what people wanted, and only 13% of those in the poll said they would use such a thing. Most asked for better roads. Timing is everything though, and the study will be after Obama is removed from office hopefully, and he is the high speed rail/high rise living in centralized areas guy (with everyone walking, using public transit and riding a bicycle).
The study commission also had a criteria of having the meetings for this study commission in each of the areas making it possible for people included in the whole area to be covered to attend a meeting or meetings, but thus far, they have each and every meeting in the same location in Palatka. If you check at this link, you can go to each meeting, then click on meeting information on the left, and it takes you to a page that gives you more info including the location (it is the same for every meeting). http://northfloridartsc.com/Pages/MeetingInformation.aspx
Putnam County BOCC
County Commissioners Meeting Room
2509 Crill Avenue, Suite 100
Palatka, FL 32177
- Two citizens of Baker, Clay, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns County appointed by their respective Board of County Commissioners
- Four citizens of Duval County appointed by the City Council of the City of Jacksonville
- The Chair of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, who shall serve as Chair of the Commission.
Non-voting Members (3)
- The Florida Department of Transportation’s District II Secretary
- The Chair of the Northeast Florida Regional Council
- The Chair of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization
COMMISSION MEMBERS
Views: 96
Comment
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Comment by CJ on June 23, 2011 at 5:27am
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A little harder to understand and I could use some input for interpretation but heres another code I think covers 361 and JTA
Sec. 106.331. - Indebtedness in excess of or contrary to appropriat...
No officer or employee of the city or of any independent agency receiving appropriations from the Council shall, on behalf of the city or independent agency, have any authority to expend or authorize the expenditure of any money, incur or authorize the incurring of any liability or enter into or authorize the making of any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money:
(a)
For any purpose for which no appropriation has been made by the Council.
(b)
In excess of the amount appropriated for each department within each subfund by the Council for the purpose for which the money was or is to be expended, liability incurred or contract made and remaining at the time unencumbered, unexpended and unimpounded.
(c)
Contrary to the terms and purpose of the appropriation from which the money was or is to be expended, liability satisfied or contract paid.
(d)
When, at the time such expenditure, liability or contract is authorized, there are no funds in the City Treasury or independent agency treasury that are available to discharge or pay the same, even if there is an appropriation which authorizes the expenditure, liability or contract.
(Ord. 77-691-638, § 2; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 93-1772-1044, § 2)
Note—Former § 126.331.
Sec. 106.332. - Transfers of funds or expense credits prohibited.
No officer or employee of the city or of any independent agency receiving appropriations from the Council shall have any authority to make or authorize the making of any transfer of funds or of expense credits from any account to any other account within the budget of the city or independent agency, contrary to the terms and purposes of the appropriation that provided the funds or established the expense credits, unless the transfer is first authorized by the Council by general or specific ordinance or is made by the Mayor pursuant to the authority contained in Section 15.08 of the Charter or in Section 106.304 or the budget ordinance.
(Ord. 77-691-638, § 2; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)
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Comment by FCTP on June 22, 2011 at 7:23pm
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Last night Richard Clark spoke at the Business Owners Meeting. He said the best way to get the attention of the councilmen is to Call them personally. Email them a heartfelt note. Go and visit with them. Each person on the council needs to be contacted. Would love it if someone could put a list together and we could have people sign up to contact them. I'm heading out of town or I would do it. I love all you guys!
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Comment by Patricia M. McBride on June 22, 2011 at 7:07pm
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So, what can be done? Something has to be done. I get the feeling from what John C said, he thinks that land is worth way more than 5 million, and I am betting it is worth tons more.
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Comment by Debbie G on June 22, 2011 at 6:57pm
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Between federal, state, and local funding JTA is subsidized at about 80%. No matter how the numbers are manipulated this just doesn't work! Did you know we have to have JTA running in specific areas because we take "transportation funds" from the federal government. Another example of centralized control in Washington through our tax dollars. Here is a screen shot from JTA's 2009 filing, they have not filed an update since. The entire database can be found at this address: http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/archives.htm
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The Tea Party Alliance in Florida has two ladies who are Transportation gurus and know all the ins and outs of these deals. They are engineers so they know what they are talking about. Here is what Karen had to say:
These regional transportation authorities:
1) are unconstitutional in my opinion. The Gov is the chief admin officer according to the FL Constitution. The JTA, like TBARTA in our region, are agencies created by the legislature and not under control of FDOT as they should be. They report to noone.
2) Strip citizens of access. My county transportation board has 12 members and listens to me. I only have 2 of 17 reps on the TBARTA board whose "Master Plan" includes 250 miles of passenger rail. They vote to approve it the day after tomorrow and did not make any changes after Hillsborough County citizens voted out rail.
3) are run by progressives who use it as a vehicle to "educate the voters" using tax dollars to bypass election laws. Their "Master Plan" is now showing up in Hillsborough County's comprehensive plan.
I wrote a letter to the editor on TBARTA just after Gov Scott vetoed their funding and it lists other reasons why these authorities are bad. Http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/letters/saturdays-letters-scott-sma...
Eliminating all the Regional Transportation agencies, along with the passenger rail act, ought to be something all our groups can champion for the 2012 legislative session.
and this is what Sharon had to say:
Regional transportation agencies = REGIONAL taxes
IN ADDITION to local taxes we already pay.
Then it becomes MORE DIFFICULT to fight special interest boondoggles like rail. There is a sales tax increase on the ballot in the Atlanta metro area for more rail. I have been in contact with opposition there and was told the pro rail special interests in that region have launched a $25 million marketing campaign to get it passed. We fought a $1.7 million pro rail campaign in Hillsborough.
Phoenix light rail was built with stimulus money and is maintained by
Regional sales tax and Phoenix had to implement a 2% sales tax on food and groceries last year to keep the trains running and they cannot
Build out to the surrounding areas that are paying the tax but do not get the benefit they were promised of rail built out.
Regional Transportation Agencies - Efficiencies are never gained and waste becomes larger and it makes it harder for the taxpayer to have any input.
Sharon Calvert
Tampa Tea Party
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I just got this in from the State of Florida Legal information site
Article III Legislature, section 6 of the Florida Constitution:
SECTION 6. Laws.—Every law shall embrace but one subject and matter properly connected therewith, and the subject shall be briefly expressed in the title. No law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title only. Laws to revise or amend shall set out in full the revised or amended act, section, subsection or paragraph of a subsection. The enacting clause of every law shall read: “Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:”.
Here is a link to that section: http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution#A3S06 .
Here is a link to Article VIII Local Government of the Florida Constitution: http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution#A8 . No mention is made of ordinances being limited to a single subject.
Section XI Article 3 of the Florida Constitution addresses proposed initiatives seeking to amend the Florida Constitution:
SECTION 3. Initiative.—The power to propose the revision or amendment of any portion or portions of this constitution by initiative is reserved to the people, provided that, any such revision or amendment, except for those limiting the power of government to raise revenue, shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith. It may be invoked by filing with the custodian of state records a petition containing a copy of the proposed revision or amendment, signed by a number of electors in each of one half of the congressional districts of the state, and of the state as a whole, equal to eight percent of the votes cast in each of such districts respectively and in the state as a whole in the last preceding election in which presidential electors were chosen.
Here is a link to Article XI: http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution#A11.
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Mr Wright did you talk to the 4-5 Council members that have voted against it?
Clark, Cescimbeni,Etc?
Even Lee seems like she be wishy washy right now
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Ms McBride I am so incredibly disgusted!
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You are right Tom. I was so into looking at this modernistic vision, I lost track .............. I do see parking and actually see the convention center which for a minute I thought had been gobbled up by the JTA too! Why oh why would they put inter city/inter state bus downtown and rail going between cities and states downtown when we have a beautiful airport with lots of open space around it. It would just make so much better sense to me than turning the downtown into a huge transportation center. Is it just me or does this all make sense????
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Tom, I am still digging. I have more to add and wonder how many of our city councilmen know about all of this? If they know, then, they also know with our city about to go bankrupt, this little project, will push us over the edge and will cost huge amounts for years and years.
Understand that funding for this RTC relies on "private/public partnerships which are a socialist endeavor where the government runs businesses and this is alien to anything America stands for nor is taking over businesses or telling them how to operate any business or responsibility of any government at any level. The JTA currently is subsidized by the taxpayer for 60% of it's operating costs and no business endeavors are going to relieve the taxpayer from the obligations of supporting this monster undertaking (that probably no one will use to the point it would be profitable, because if that was a possibility, a REAL free market business would be doing it). This is just another tax paid boon doggle.NORTHEAST FLORIDA
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION STUDY COMMISSION
PROCESS STEPS AND TENTATIVE SCHEDULE/WORKPLANNE Florida regional transportation authority inches forward
No. 1 concluded a regional transportation authority was feasible, thus No. 2.
Posted: March 8, 2010 - 1:00am | Updated: March 8, 2010 - 1:28am
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-08/story/ne_florida_regi...
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