(1) The Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council is created within the Department of Transportation. The council consists of the following 17 members: the port director, or the port director’s designee, of each of the ports of Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach, Port Everglades, Miami, Port Manatee, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Pensacola, Key West, and Fernandina; the secretary of the Department of Transportation or his or her designee; the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development or his or her designee; and the secretary of the Department of Community Affairs or his or her designee.

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   (2) The council shall adopt bylaws governing the manner in which the business of the council will be conducted. The bylaws shall specify the procedure by which the chairperson of the council is elected.

   (3) The council shall prepare a 5-year Florida Seaport Mission Plan defining the goals and objectives of the council concerning the development of port facilities and an intermodal transportation system consistent with the goals of the Florida Transportation Plan developed pursuant to s. 339.155. The Florida Seaport Mission Plan shall include specific recommendations for the construction of transportation facilities connecting any port to another transportation mode and for the efficient, cost-effective development of transportation facilities or port facilities for the purpose of enhancing international trade, promoting cargo flow, increasing cruise passenger movements, increasing port revenues, and providing economic benefits to the state. The council shall update the 5-year Florida Seaport Mission Plan annually and shall submit the plan no later than February 1 of each year to the President of the Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development; the Department of Transportation; and the Department of Community Affairs. The council shall develop programs, based on an examination of existing programs in Florida and other states, for the training of minorities and secondary school students in job skills associated with employment opportunities in the maritime industry, and report on progress and recommendations for further action to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives annually.

   (4) The council shall adopt rules for evaluating projects which may be funded under ss. 311.07 and 320.20. The rules shall provide criteria for evaluating the economic benefit of the project, measured by the potential for the proposed project to maintain or increase cargo flow, cruise passenger movement, international commerce, port revenues, and the number of jobs for the port’s local community.

   (5) The council shall review and approve or disapprove each project eligible to be funded pursuant to the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Program. The council shall annually submit to the Secretary of Transportation; the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development; and the Secretary of Community Affairs a list of projects which have been approved by the council. The list shall specify the recommended funding level for each project; and, if staged implementation of the project is appropriate, the funding requirements for each stage shall be specified.

   (6) The Department of Community Affairs shall review the list of projects approved by the council to determine consistency with approved local government comprehensive plans of the units of local government in which the port is located and consistency with the port master plan. The Department of Community Affairs shall identify and notify the council of those projects which are not consistent, to the maximum extent feasible, with such comprehensive plans and port master plans.

   (7) The Department of Transportation shall review the list of projects approved by the council for consistency with the Florida Transportation Plan and the department’s adopted work program. In evaluating the consistency of a project, the department shall determine whether the transportation impact of the proposed project is adequately handled by existing state-owned transportation facilities or by the construction of additional state-owned transportation facilities as identified in the Florida Transportation Plan and the department’s adopted work program. In reviewing for consistency a transportation facility project as defined in s. 334.03(31) which is not otherwise part of the department’s work program, the department shall evaluate whether the project is needed to provide for projected movement of cargo or passengers from the port to a state transportation facility or local road. If the project is needed to provide for projected movement of cargo or passengers, the project shall be approved for consistency as a consideration to facilitate the economic development and growth of the state in a timely manner. The Department of Transportation shall identify those projects which are inconsistent with the Florida Transportation Plan and the adopted work program and shall notify the council of projects found to be inconsistent.

   (8) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, in consultation with Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall review the list of projects approved by the council to evaluate the economic benefit of the project and to determine whether the project is consistent with the Florida Seaport Mission Plan. The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall review the economic benefits of each project based upon the rules adopted pursuant to subsection (4). The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall identify those projects which it has determined do not offer an economic benefit to the state or are not consistent with the Florida Seaport Mission Plan and shall notify the council of its findings.

   (9) The council shall review the findings of the Department of Community Affairs; the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development; and the Department of Transportation. Projects found to be inconsistent pursuant to subsections (6), (7), and (8) and projects which have been determined not to offer an economic benefit to the state pursuant to subsection (8) shall not be included in the list of projects to be funded.

   (10) The Department of Transportation shall include in its annual legislative budget request a Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development grant program for expenditure of funds of not less than $8 million per year. Such budget shall include funding for projects approved by the council which have been determined by each agency to be consistent and which have been determined by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development to be economically beneficial. The department shall include the specific approved seaport projects to be funded under this section during the ensuing fiscal year in the tentative work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4). The total amount of funding to be allocated to seaport projects under s. 311.07 during the successive 4 fiscal years shall also be included in the tentative work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135(4). The council may submit to the department a list of approved projects that could be made production-ready within the next 2 years. The list shall be submitted by the department as part of the needs and project list prepared pursuant to s. 339.135(2)(b). However, the department shall, upon written request of the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council, submit work program amendments pursuant to s. 339.135(7) to the Governor within 10 days after the later of the date the request is received by the department or the effective date of the amendment, termination, or closure of the applicable funding agreement between the department and the affected seaport, as required to release the funds from the existing commitment. Notwithstanding s. 339.135(7)(c), any work program amendment to transfer prior year funds from one approved seaport project to another seaport project is subject to the procedures in s. 339.135(7)(d). Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the department may transfer unexpended budget between the seaport projects as identified in the approved work program amendments.

   (11) The council shall meet at the call of its chairperson, at the request of a majority of its membership, or at such times as may be prescribed in its bylaws. However, the council must meet at least semiannually. A majority of voting members of the council constitutes a quorum for the purpose of transacting the business of the council. All members of the council are voting members. A vote of the majority of the voting members present is sufficient for any action of the council, except that a member representing the Department of Transportation, the Department of Community Affairs, or the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development may vote to overrule any action of the council approving a project pursuant to subsection (5). The bylaws of the council may require a greater vote for a particular action.

   (12) Members of the council shall serve without compensation but are entitled to receive reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. The council may elect to provide an administrative staff to provide services to the council on matters relating to the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Program and the council. The cost for such administrative services shall be paid by all ports that receive funding from the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Program, based upon a pro rata formula measured by each recipient’s share of the funds as compared to the total funds disbursed to all recipients during the year. The share of costs for administrative services shall be paid in its total amount by the recipient port upon execution by the port and the Department of Transportation of a joint participation agreement for each council-approved project, and such payment is in addition to the matching funds required to be paid by the recipient port. Except as otherwise exempted by law, all moneys derived from the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Program shall be expended in accordance with the provisions of s. 287.057. Seaports subject to competitive negotiation requirements of a local governing body shall abide by the provisions of s. 287.055.

s. 65, ch. 90-136; s. 26, ch. 90-227; s. 5, ch. 91-429;