JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Big changes are in store for the way the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is governed, and we now know why the legislature took action yet again.
New legislation has just passed that will give more power to the state when it comes to who’s in charge.
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Action News Jax has been covering JTA for more than a year, and this is the second state law passed directly affecting JTA since our “Taken for a Ride” series began.
The same representative sponsored both bills and said he did it to make sure JTA would start focusing on the right things.
“That’s been the goal the whole time,” Florida House Rep. Shane Abbott (R-District 5) said. “To make sure that those public transportation authorities are doing just that, providing transportation for the public.”
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He’s a state representative from the panhandle who’s pushed sweeping changes for the way JTA does business.
After our reporting last year exposed JTA’s tab of luxury travel, corporate massages, and more, Abbott passed a bill curbing the amount transit authorities can spend on administrative costs. Based on those results, or lack of them, he said he’s now tackling accountability.
“We know that some (agencies) kind of ignored that,” he said. “And so, we came back with some language this year allowing the governor to appoint four new board members, one from each of the counties … and I’m sure and have confidence and faith that the governor is going to appoint some folks that are going to be cognizant of what they’re supposed to be doing at the public transit authority.”
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This legislation removes the Florida Department of Transportation from the board, giving that seat to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He’d have four members to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s three. Of his four seats, one must be from Duval, the others must be from St Johns, Clay, or Nassau counties, the other counties JTA serves.
JTA is the only authority statewide whose board got shaken up, specifically calling it out.
“We looked at what happened or what the results of last year’s bill was,” Abbott said, “and then decided we needed to address that one in a different manner directly to make sure that again we’re doing what’s best for the public.”
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When asked what this said about the kind of job JTA and its prior board were doing, he said, “I can’t speak to what they were doing. I can just speak to the fact that I have complete faith in the governor that he’s gonna appoint four members that are gonna make sure that they run that thing in a manner where the priority is making sure that those dollars are spent on what they’re supposed to be spent on.”
Abbott said the governor should be signing the bill soon. Once that happens, it will go into effect July 1.
We reached out to JTA for comment, and a spokesperson told us, “As the JTA continues to grow our regional footprint, we worked with the Governor’s office and welcome new members from our neighboring counties.”
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