The Government of Florida has recently passed a bill that will require the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to take an additional consultative phase before pursuing projects under the PPP model. The new law will take effect on July 1st.

With this new bill, which has been already signed by the Governor, FDOT has to consult with the Division of Bond Finance of the state Board of Administration proposals regarding the financing or refinancing of a transport PPP project.

The new legislation gives authority to the Division of Bond Finance of the state Board of Administration to make independent valuations about the PPP projects and to propose alternatives to the governor.

The current Division of Bond Finance duties and responsibilities are, among others, the following:

• Issues bonds for or on behalf of State agencies and authorities unless law provides otherwise
• Administers the volume cap allocation for private activity bonds
• Provides an arbitrage compliance program for State bond issues
• Provides technical assistance on new financing programs and legislative proposals

This new requirement is added to the existing obligation of FDOT, which has to, among others, provide a summary to the governor, the chair of each legislative appropriations committee, the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives about any effects a proposed P3 project may have on the department’s and the state’s debt load limits.