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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to a rapid rail transit compact; 2
creating s. 351.41, F.S.; authorizing the Governor to 3
execute a rapid rail transit compact with specified 4
states, to join the Southern Rail Commission; 5
providing the form of the compact; providing an 6
effective date. 7
8
WHEREAS, North Florida has lacked passenger rail service 9
since September 2005, when track damage from Hurricane Katrina 10
led to the terminati on of Amtrak's Sunset Limited route, which 11
ran from New Orleans to Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, 12
and Orlando, and 13
WHEREAS, the Southern Rail Commission (SRC), formed by the 14
United States Congress in 1982, has evolved over time with a 15
vision to "promote the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of 16
people and goods to enhance economic development along rail 17
corridors; provide transportation choices; and facilitate 18
emergency evacuation routes," and 19
WHEREAS, the States of Alabama, Louisiana, and Miss issippi 20
are members of the SRC, and 21
WHEREAS, the SRC has been highly successful in 22
collaborating with Amtrak and other partners to obtain federal 23
funding for the restoration of passenger rail service in its 24
member states, including $178 million in federal grant funding 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
in September 2023 to restore passenger rail service from New 26
Orleans, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama, and 27
WHEREAS, the new route between New Orleans and Mobile, 28
referred to as the "Mardi Gras service," is expected to be 29
operational by the su mmer of 2025 and will run twice daily 30
between New Orleans and Mobile, with stops in Bay St. Louis, 31
Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi, and 32
WHEREAS, the SRC has also identified a project connecting 33
the entire Gulf Coast with services from Baton Rouge to Orlando, 34
called the Gulf Coast Passenger Rail route, and 35
WHEREAS, states such as Florida, which are contiguous to 36
existing SRC member states, are eligible to become SRC members, 37
and 38
WHEREAS, by joining the SRC, Florida can leverage the power 39
of a multistate coalition to study, plan, and obtain federal 40
funding for passenger rail initiatives that benefit its 41
residents and businesses, without obligating this state to spend 42
state funds on rail infrastructure, and 43
WHEREAS, passenger rail stimulates e conomic development by 44
fostering tourism, attracting businesses, improving access to 45
markets, promoting job creation, and spurring investment in 46
local communities, and 47
WHEREAS, passenger rail enhances connectivity between 48
communities, businesses, military bases, health care facilities, 49
educational institutions, sports venues, and tourist 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
attractions, fostering regional cooperation and cohesion among 51
diverse populations, and 52
WHEREAS, passenger rail can expand this state's capacity 53
for emergency evacuation and disaster response during 54
emergencies and provide another option for mobilizing emergency 55
response personnel, particularly when roadways have reached 56
capacity or have been damaged, and 57
WHEREAS, passenger rail provides an alternative mode of 58
transportation, reducing traffic congestion on highways by 59
alleviating the strain on existing road infrastructure, which 60
increases safety and efficiency for all travelers, and 61
WHEREAS, accessible and convenient transportation options 62
increase quality of life for res idents by providing greater 63
mobility, reducing travel times, and offering an alternative to 64
driving, NOW, THEREFORE, 65
66
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 67
68
Section 1. Section 351.41, Florida Statutes, is created to 69
read: 70
351.41 Rapid Rail Transit Compact. —The Governor, on behalf 71
of this state, is hereby authorized to execute a compact, in 72
substantially the following form, with the States of Alabama, 73
Louisiana, and Mississippi, and the Legislature hereby signifies 74
in advance its approval and ratification of such compact: 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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RAPID RAIL TRANSIT COMPACT 77
ARTICLE I 78
The purpose of this compact is to study the feasibility of 79
rapid rail transit service between the states of Alabama, 80
Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi and to establish a j oint 81
interstate commission to assist in this effort. 82
83
ARTICLE II 84
This compact shall become effective immediately as to the 85
states ratifying it whenever the states of Alabama, Florida, 86
Louisiana, and Mississippi have ratified it and Congress has 87
given consent thereto. Any state not mentioned in this article 88
which is contiguous with any member state may become a party to 89
this compact, subject to approval by the legislature of each of 90
the member states. 91
92
ARTICLE III 93
The states which are parties to this compa ct, hereinafter 94
referred to as party states, do hereby establish and create a 95
joint agency which shall be known as the Southern Rail 96
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the commission, or any 97
successor name adopted by all members of the commission. The 98
membership of such commission shall consist of the Governor of 99
each party state, one representative each from the Mississippi 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Energy and Transportation Board, or its successor, the Office of 101
Aviation and Public Transportation of the Louisiana Department 102
of Transportation and Development, or its successor, the Alabama 103
Department of Energy, or its successor, and the Florida 104
Department of Transportation, or its successor, and five other 105
citizens of each party state, to be appointed by the Governor 106
thereof. The appointed members of the commission shall serve for 107
terms of 4 years each. Vacancies on the commission shall be 108
filled by appointment by the Governor for the unexpired portion 109
of the term. The members of the commission shall not be 110
compensated for service on the commission, but each of the 111
appointed members shall be entitled to actual and reasonable 112
expenses incurred in attending meetings, or incurred otherwise 113
in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the 114
commission. The members of the commis sion shall hold regular 115
quarterly meetings and such special meetings as its business may 116
require. They shall choose annually a chairman and vice chairman 117
from among their members, and the chairmanship shall rotate each 118
year among the party states in order of their acceptance of this 119
compact. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations for 120
the transaction of its business and a record shall be kept of 121
all its business. It shall be the duty of the commission to 122
study the feasibility of providing interstat e rapid rail transit 123
service between the party states. Toward this end, the 124
commission shall have power to hold hearings; to conduct studies 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
and surveys of all problems, benefits, and other matters 126
associated with such service, and to make reports thereon; to 127
acquire, by gift, grant, or otherwise, from local, state, 128
federal, or private sources, such money or property as may be 129
provided for the proper performance of its functions, and to 130
hold and dispose of same; to cooperate with other public or 131
private groups, whether local, state, regional, or national, 132
having an interest in such service; to formulate and execute 133
plans and policies for emphasizing the purpose of this compact 134
before the Congress of the United States and other appropriate 135
officers and agencies of the United States; and to exercise such 136
other powers as may be appropriate to enable it to accomplish 137
its functions and duties and to carry out the purpose s of this 138
compact. 139
140
ARTICLE IV 141
Each party state agrees that its Legislature may, in its 142
discretion, from time to time make available and pay over to the 143
commission funds for the establishment and operation of the 144
commission. The contribution of each party state shall be in 145
equal amounts, if possible, but nothing in this article shall be 146
construed as binding the Legislature of any state to make an 147
appropriation of a set amount of funds at any particular time. 148
149
ARTICLE V 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Nothing in this compact shall be construed so as to 151
conflict with any existing statute, or to limit the powers of 152
any party state, or to repeal or prevent legislation, or to 153
affect any existing or future cooperative arrangement or 154
relationship between any federal agency and a party state. 155
156
ARTICLE VI 157
(1) This compact shall continue in force and remain 158
binding upon each party state u ntil the Legislature or Governor 159
of each or any state takes action to withdraw therefrom. 160
However, any such withdrawal does not become effective until 6 161
months after the date of the action taken by the Legislature or 162
Governor. Notice of such action shall b e given to the other 163
party state or states by the Secretary of State of the party 164
state which takes such action. 165
(2) There is hereby granted to the Governor, to the 166
members of the commission for Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and 167
Mississippi, and to the co mpact administrator all the powers 168
provided for in the compact and in this section. All officers of 169
this state are hereby authorized and directed to do all things 170
falling within their respective jurisdictions which are 171
necessary or incidental to carrying o ut the purpose of the 172
compact. 173
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 174