Florida wins court ruling to dissolve MDX toll board, dealing a blow to 836 extension
The Miami-Dade toll agency that pushed an extension of the 836 expressway into Kendall might be forced to dissolve after an appeals court tossed out the authority’s lawsuit challenging a 2019 state law creating a replacement toll board.
This week’s ruling against the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority by the First District Court of Appeal could clear the way for the state to dissolve the MDX and replace it with the Greater Miami Expressway Authority (GMX).
That would be a boon for opponents of the 836 extension. They see MDX’s leadership as the main force behind the 14-mile proposed toll road that is popular with Kendall residents seeking traffic relief but condemned by environmental groups and others as an over-hyped route to more sprawl.
“The decision spells the end of MDX as we know it,” said Paul Schweip, the Coffey Burlington lawyer who was part of a legal challenge against the 836 project. “Bring on GMX.”
Gene Stearns, MDX’s lawyer, said he plans to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court over the appeals ruling that MDX didn’t have authority to challenge the state law by suing Florida’s Department of Transportation.
But he’s also pressing MiamiDade County to file a new lawsuit to keep MDX alive and try to overturn the 2019 law, which he calls a violation of Miami-Dade’s 1996 agreement with MDX to take over county toll roads.
“This is so clear,” said Stearns, of Stearns Weaver Miller. “The way [the court] got around it is to say, ‘Well, the wrong person sued.’ ”
Jason Gonzalez, the Shutts and Bowen lawyer representing Florida in the case, said Thursday a new lawsuit by Miami-Dade “would be a complete waste of time.” He said the appeals ruling — which reversed a 2019 ruling by a Leon County judge — shows the county would hit the same legal wall as MDX did over local officials’ ability to sue over a state law affecting their duties and powers.
AN OPENING FOR GMX BOARD?
The Wednesday appeals ruling revives a fight that mixed traffic policy with politics as local leaders clashed over the fate of a toll agency that was a prime transportation funder in Miami-Dade but also a political punching bag for expanded tolling. It continues to administer, under court order while the suit progresses, five of the county’s busiest commuter routes (the Airport Expressway/SR 112; the Dolphin/SR 836; the Don Shula/SR 874; the Snapper Creek/SR 878; and the Gratigny/SR 924).
The ruling causes no immediate change to the order allowing MDX management to continue running the toll system, according to lawyers in the case.
But it could give an opening to the GMX’s board members in waiting. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed three members of the nine-seat board, and the Transportation Department’s board member is part of the governor’s administration. Miami-Dade commissioners so far haven’t filled the remaining five seats reserved for county appointments (two by the commission, and three by the Transportation Planning Organization, where commissioners cast a majority of the votes).
On Thursday, Fatima Perez, a DeSantis appointee to the GMX board, issued a statement saying
“it’s time for the litigation to end.”
“MDX wasted a lot of time and toll revenue paying a law firm over $1 million while losing its meritless lawsuit yesterday,” she said, adding that Florida’s legal bills were about $250,000 in the case. “This is the kind of misuse of funds that led the Legislature and Governor to abolish and replace MDX.”
Miami-Dade lawmakers Bryan Avila and Manny Diaz Jr. sponsored the legislation (House Bill 385) backed by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez, a longtime MDX foe who called the law “real reform.”
On Wednesday, Avila, a Republican representing the Miami Springs area, said the court decision meant “a great day for the residents of Miami-Dade County.”
The law imposes some toll restrictions and gives the state Legislature new veto power over major construction projects paid for by borrowing against future toll revenue. While the GMX board could vote on new bonds for borrowing money, Florida’s Legislative Budget Commission has the power to review the proposed debt issuance and reject it
TIME TO MAKE A DECISION
The MDX faced a firestorm in 2014 when it expanded tolling on the 836 and 112. Branded “tollmageddon” by critics, the move nearly doubled revenue for the agency to $250 million a year and put the MDX in stronger financial shape as it pursued the 14-mile “Kendall Parkway” extension.
Carlos Gimenez, the former Miami-Dade mayor who remains chairman of the MDX board, championed the project while leading the county and the toll agency. The newly elected Republican congressman’s successor as mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, opposed it as a county commissioner.
Now, Levine Cava must decide whether to back Miami-Dade suing Florida over the GMX law. Under Gimenez, Miami-Dade filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing MDX but isn’t a plaintiff.
Stearns called Florida’s action an assault on Miami-Dade’s status as a “home-rule” county in the Florida Constitution, a status that he said should shield the county from state legislation reworking how MiamiDade’s government functions.
“This is a power grab, pure and simple,” he said.
“If the county shows up, we’ll win,” Stearns continued. “They need to be front and center if they’re going to stand up for home rule in Miami-Dade County.”