Governor Ron DeSantis has reappointed Fatima Perez and Richard Blanco Jr. to the governing board of the Greater Miami Expressway Agency, the state-created body that operates Miami-Dade's toll expressways, and the state Senate received the Blanco appointment on February 2 for confirmation during the 2026 session, per the Senate's executive appointments record. The Perez appointment carries its own entry in the same record as the chamber works its confirmations calendar. The board sets policy for roads that carry hundreds of thousands of Miami-Dade toll transactions daily.
The agency, known as GMX and formerly the Greater Miami Expressway Authority, runs the Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836), the Airport Expressway (State Road 112), the Don Shula Expressway (State Road 874) and the Snapper Creek Expressway (State Road 878). Perez serves as chair of the GMX governing board and Blanco as secretary, per the agency's own materials, and both were first appointed by DeSantis before this renewal of their terms.
Reappointments of this kind move through the Senate without a floor fight in most sessions, but they matter to commuters because the board approves toll policy, capital spending and the agency's borrowing on corridors that connect downtown Miami, Miami International Airport and the western suburbs. Per the governor's announcement, the reappointments continue the leadership team that has overseen GMX's current construction and tolling programs.
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GMX occupies a distinctive spot in the county's government. Created by state law and restructured from the county's former expressway authority in 2019, it holds its toll revenue on the expressway system rather than in general county funds, and its governing board blends appointments from the governor, the county and local municipalities. That structure is why a two-member reappointment, routine in form, draws attention from commuters and city halls alike: the people confirmed in Tallahassee help set the price of the daily drive through Hialeah and West Miami-Dade.
Why it matters here: any change to toll rates, HOV-to-tolled-lane conversions or the pace of 836 work lands first on drivers in Hialeah, Sweetwater, Doral and West Miami-Dade, and the board's five-member makeup decides those votes. A Senate confirmation during the session that began January 13 closes out the process; the appointments record shows the paperwork arrived at the start of February, leaving the remainder of the 60-day session, which runs through March 13, for a confirmation vote. GMX posts its board meetings and agendas on its own site, where residents can watch the toll and contract votes as they happen.