(1) Under s. 11, Art. VII of the State Constitution, the department may request the Division of Bond Finance to issue bonds secured by toll revenues collected on high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes established on facilities owned by the department.
(2) The department may continue to collect the toll on the high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes after the discharge of any bond indebtedness related to such project. All tolls so collected shall first be used to pay the annual cost of the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes project or associated transportation system.
(3) Any remaining toll revenue from the high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes shall be used by the department for the construction, maintenance, or improvement of any road or to support public transportation projects that benefit the operation of high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes on the State Highway System within the county or counties in which the toll revenues were collected or to support express bus service on the facility where the toll revenues were collected.
(4) The department may implement variable rate tolls on high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes. The department may require the use of an electronic transponder interoperable with the department’s electronic toll collection system for the use of high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes.
(5) 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 minimum express lane toll. 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.
(6) Except for high-occupancy toll lanes or express lanes, tolls may not be charged for use of an interstate highway where tolls were not charged as of July 1, 1997.
(7) This section does not apply to the turnpike system as defined under the Florida Turnpike Enterprise Law.
