(1)(a) In addition to the powers granted to the department, the Florida Turnpike Enterprise has full authority to exercise all powers granted to it under this chapter. Powers shall include, but are not limited to, the ability to plan, construct, maintain, repair, and operate the Florida Turnpike System.
(b) It is the express intention of the Florida Turnpike Law that the Florida Turnpike Enterprise be authorized to plan, develop, own, purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, demolish, construct, improve, relocate, equip, repair, maintain, operate, and manage the Florida Turnpike System; to expend funds to publicize, advertise, and promote the advantages of using the turnpike system and its facilities; and to cooperate, coordinate, partner, and contract with other entities, public and private, to accomplish these purposes.
(c) The executive director of the turnpike enterprise shall appoint a staff, which shall be exempt from part II of chapter 110. Among the staff shall be a chief financial officer, who must be a proven, effective administrator with demonstrated experience in financial management of a large bonded capital program and must hold an active license to practice public accounting in Florida pursuant to chapter 473. The turnpike enterprise staff shall also include the Office of Toll Operations.
(d) The Florida Turnpike Enterprise shall pursue and implement new technologies and processes in its operations and collection of tolls and the collection of other amounts associated with road and infrastructure usage. Such technologies and processes must include, without limitation, video billing and variable pricing. The Florida Turnpike Enterprise may require the use of an electronic transponder interoperable with the department’s electronic toll collection system for the use of express lanes on the turnpike system. Variable pricing may not be implemented in express lanes when the level of service in the express lane, determined in accordance with the criteria established by the Transportation Research Board Highway Capacity Manual (5th Edition, HCM 2010), as amended from time to time, is equal to level of service A. Variable pricing in express lanes when the level of service in the express lane is level of service B may only be implemented by charging the general toll lane toll amount plus an amount set by department rule. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, pricing in express lanes when the level of service is other than level of service A or level of service B may vary in the manner established by the Florida Turnpike Enterprise to manage congestion in the express lanes.
(e) Effective July 1, 2018, if a customer’s average travel speed for a trip in an express lane falls below 40 miles per hour, the customer must be charged the general toll lane toll amount plus an amount set by department rule. A customer’s express lane average travel speed is his or her average travel speed from the customer’s entry point to the customer’s exit point.
(f) The Florida Turnpike Enterprise may enter into one or more agreements to fund, construct, and operate facilities for the advancement of autonomous and connected innovative transportation technologies for the purposes of improving safety and decreasing congestion for the traveling public. Such agreements may include terms that authorize a private entity to sell or provide products or business opportunities at the facilities which benefit the traveling public, provide additional revenue, or otherwise advance the enterprise’s objectives as set forth in the Florida Transportation Code.
