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SPECIAL MESSAGE
BY
GOVERNOR FARRIS BRYANT
TO
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE
April 25, 1961
The Honorable Randolph Hodges
President, Florida Senate
The honorable william V. Chappell, Jr.
Speaker, House of Representatives
Gentlemen:
The Legislature, this administration, and the people of
Florida are seriously concerned with the conduct of the affairs of the
State Road Department. It is right that we are. During the fiscal
year 1959-60 this Department disbursed 805.002.230.83; its six
thousand employees made and executed plans that affected the lives and
fortunes of us all. Indeed, there are few departments or functions
of government which affect all of our people so significantly.
The legal framework within which the Road Department works
is basically sound, designed as it was by the Legislature of 1955 to
insure efficient and equitable management of the resources and powers
entrusted to the Department. Yet the record is clear:
1. As of January 3, 1961, $8,300,000 of primary road funds
in excess of that legally available hasbeen spent, and it is apparent
that in July of 1960 this excess was far greater. The law was not at
fault -- the administration of the law was.
2. More than $9,000,000 had been transferred prior to
January 3, 1961, from the Secondary Road Fund for use in the
construction of primary roads, in violation of the clear intent of the
law.
3. Roads which were not authorised were built with funds
not legally available under the guise of a "change order." The law
was not at fault - the administration of the law was.
0. Fuuds were "borrowed" from county funds for construc-
tion of primary roads upon promises for repayment that were not kept,
in violation of the spirit of separation of the primary and secondary
road program.
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5. Prescribed right-of-way procedures were not followed.
The fault here lies in both the legal and administrative structure.
At present the right-of-way function is fragmented into at least
three different parts as follows:
(1) The Right-of-way Engineer, working under the
direct supervision of the Assistant State highway
Engineer for Planning in the Engineering Division is
responsible for the determination of the right-of-way
requirements and the preparation of the right-of-way
maps and deeds and other legal instruments.
(2). The appraisal and actual acquisition functions
are lodged with the Legal Division under the super-
vision of the Resident Attorney. Condemnation
functions are also his responsibility.
(3) The rental, maintenance and disposal of improve-
ments on rights-of-way is the responsibility of the
Properties and Advertising branch of the
Administrative Division under the supervision of the
Executive Director of the Department.
Because there is no single organizational head responsible for
right-of-way in its entirety there is constant confusion among
employees of the Department as to who is responsible for what. Field
offices in the district do not know to whom to turn for direction.
The headquarters office does not know upon whom to rely for
performance. There is no training program because there is no one
responsible for the same. There is necessarily a complete breakdown
of communication between the three major units now dealing with
right-of-way matters; between each of these and field employees;
between the district offices and headquarters; and between highway
department employees generally and property owners and others involved
in the right-of-way operation.
It is inevitable that in addition to the increased cost
of right-ot-way which results there are extensive delays.
6. An adequate testing program was not established, and
the results of tests made were sometimes ignored.
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7. Accounting procedures were inadequate to permit prompt
detection and correction of variations tram propriety, and the
information that was developed was frequently deliberately ignored.
8. Employee practices creating conflicting interests and
loyalties were in evidence on such a wide scale that they must have
been known to the Road Board -- or should have been known in the
exercise of the due care for the state welfare required of them.
There was ample power to deal with these practices, but it was not used.
9. Contractors engaged in practices damaging or fraught
with danger to the integrity or the Road Department, on such a wide
scale that they must have been known to the Road Board -- or should
have been known in the exercise or the due care for the state welfare
required of them. The Road Code is inadequate to deal with that
situation.
10. Members of the Road Board engaged in business dealings
which supported rumors and a widespread belief that their conduct was
selfishly motivated and not in the public interest, with the
consequence that Department employees were encouraged to establish the
same pattern of conduct. The Road Code is inadequate to deal with
that situation.
In addition to the above there are other factors in this
subject area that deserve consideration.
11. At the present time the State pays attorneys for
litigants in right-or-way cases a fee based upon the total recovery,
rather than upon only that portion in excess or the appraised value
granted to the litigant. we are the only state that pays any attorney
fees for land owners. To eliminate this excess payment will not only
reduce the cost of litigation ~- it will also reduce litigation.
12. The law is not clear in eminent domain cases as to
whether enhancement value may be set off against both general and
special damages to the remainder land.
13. The State Road Department should, and can under
present law, obtain title to all right-of-way prior to receipt of bids
for construction on the same. Failure to do so frequently results
in excessive costs, and seldom results in a saving or time.
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14. There has been a great lack of state-wide, long range
road construction planning.
15. A long range plan for right-ot-way acquisition is a
critical need, both to relieve local government and to facilitate
state-wide planning of roads.
It is apparent from a review of these problems that most
or them can and should be solved by good administrative practice.
This is not to say that improvement cannot be made in the law -- but
rather that improvement of the law will not take the place or good
administration. A good Road Code cannot take the place of a good
Road Board. At the most it is an aid.
Many of the instances cited above were occasioned not
because of a weak law, but in spite of a strong law. For instance,
the application of the 20% cash requirement law was well understood --
it was simply ignored. Again, the legal prohibition against building
unauthorized roads through change orders was well known -- it was
simply ignored.
What can be done by way of improving the statutory
framework within which the Department works should be done. I therefore
recommend:
1. All right-of-way functions in the Department should be
consolidated under a new major division of the Department, responsible
directly to the Chairman, effecting the necessary coordination with
the three maJor divisions of the Department in the same manner that
the three existing divisions effect coordination among themselves at
the present time. The major subdivisions of the right-of-way division
would then be administratively established as follows:
(a) Appraising and Appraisal Review Division. (It
should be noted that last year more than a quarter of a
million dollars was spent on fee appraisers, much of which
could be saved by a properly staffed appraisal unit, fee
appraisers to be used principally in litigated cases.)
(b) Negotiation Division.
(c) Property Management Division, which would manage
the disposal of structures and handle excess properties,
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right-of-way research and right-of-way training, maps and
descriptions,and liaison with cities, counties, etc.
Provision should be made that only articles on rights of
way of less than.$500 value may be sold by a negotiated
sale.
(d) Administration of Right-of-way Division which
would handle public utility adjustment and railroad
problems, Federal aid for right-of-way, fiscal accounting,
records and other necessary right-ofnway functions.
2. Administrative procedures have already been established
to insure that the titles to right-of-way shall have been secured
prior to the receipt of bids for construction on the same. This may
well be implemented by a statute requiring such a policy to be
followed.
3. The Road Department should be authorized to enter into
an agreement with the State and County Retirement System Investment
Board as described in Section 122.1, Florida Statutes. and/or with
the Retirement System for School Teacher Board of Trustees as
described in Section 238.10, Florida Statutes, for the acquisition of
real property necessary for the completion of the Federal Interstate
Highway System in Florida and the extension or improvement of the
primary road system in Florida, provided that the amount involved
under all such agreements with each board-shall not at any one time
exceed 105 of the total assets of each of said funds respectively.
Titles should be acquired in the name of the respective fund and the
Road Department required to purchase the same from said fund within
two years from the date of acquisition by the fund, with options for
renewal at the discretion of the fund managers. The department should
be required to pay interest to the fund annually at a rate agreed
upon by the managers of the funds. Counties should be authorized to
participate in the plan by securing their indebtedness with secondary
gasoline tax funds.
a. The Executive Director of the Road Department should
be placed under the direction of the State Highway Engineer.
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S. A Testing Division should be established as a major
division of the Road Department, with direct authority over offices
of the Testing Division in district headquarters, with all reports
to be made in duplicate to the Chief Highway Engineer and the
Chairman of the Board. All decisions relative to waiver of
specifications should be made by the Chief Highway Engineer upon the
filing in writing or the decision to make such waiver with the
Justification therefor with each the Testing Division head and the
Chairman or the Board.
6. Legal provision should be made to keep separate and
inviolate primary and secondary funds. Authority should be granted
to utilize surplus secondary funds for the purchase of rights-cr-wsy
upon the same terms and conditions as provided for the borrowing from
retirement funds hereinabove set forth, the managing authority to be
the State Finance Committee of the Cabinet. Experience has shown
that a surplus is always available so that county requirements can
always be not.
7. In accordance with the terms of a bill already
introduced (House Bill 1&79), a limitation upon the contractual
authority or the Road Department should be established.
8. The State Road Board has already entered upon a long
range state-wide planning and construction program by dedicating
tho million during this quadrennium for projects or state-wide
importance regardless of district boundaries. Statutory provision
may well be made requiring long range state-wide planning on a
permanent basis.
9. Statutory authority for the payment of attorneys'
fees to litigants upon that portion of the decree against the state
represented by the appraised value should be repealed.
10. The law relative to the actor! of enhancement value
against damage to the remainder land of the property owner should be
made to clearly apply to both general and special damages.
11. Express provision against conflict or interest at
all levels within the Road Department should be enacted, and
criminal statutes directed at parties contracting with the Road
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Department creating such conflict of interest should likewise be
enacted.
12. A right-of-way acquisition fund should be created by
the enactment of an excise tax upon the charges of public utilities
in the amount of l§%, the proceeds thereof to be used in the counties
from which collected to meet the obligations so far as possible now
borne by local governments for the acquisition of rights-ofway, with
provision for the purchase of other than primary rights-of-way under
proper local auspices.
with these suggested changes and the new administrative
procedures being established within the Road Department it is
respectfully submitted that an aggressive, efficient and honest road
program can be achieved.
Respectfully submitted,
Governor
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