The legislative session has concluded, and the aviation and\naerospace industry in Oklahoma benefited from several bills ensuring the\nviability of the state\u2019s second largest industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over twenty bills were filed directly or indirectly\naffecting the aviation community. Among those filed were measures that would\nsunset exemptions to the aircraft excise tax, prohibit drones from flying over\nagriculture lands, provide airport immunity, require a private-use airport\nsetback, and provide tax deductions for aerospace companies that donate engine\nand equipment for educational purposes. A measure to create an aerospace\ntraining center through the State Board of Career and Technology Education was\nalso introduced and heard in committee. \nThese measures did not pass this session but are eligible to be\nreconsidered next session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three aviation bills were signed into law, the most\nsignificant being HB 2118 authored by Representative Charles Ortega, (R) House\nDistrict 52, and Senator Gary Stanislawski, (R) Senate District 35. The new law requires that underlying federal\nprocesses administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the\nDepartment of Defense (DoD) must be complied with before a wind developer\nconstructs a wind turbine in Oklahoma. Notice of the proposed constructing of a\nturbine and proof these processes were complied with must be submitted to both\nthe Corporation Commission and Aeronautics Commission. The bill passed with an\nemergency clause, placing it into effect immediately upon being signed into law\nby the Governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victor Bird, director of Aeronautics said, \u201cHB 2118 was\ncrafted to ensure that the military had the airspace it needed to fulfill the\nmission of training new pilots and that the wind energy industry had the\nopportunity to continue its robust growth in Oklahoma. The two can mutually\ncoexist in Oklahoma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grayson Ardies, deputy director for the Aeronautics\nCommission, who had a significant role in drafting the bill, stated \u201cmilitary\naviation (our three Air Force bases, two Air Guard units, and aviation\ncomponents of the Army National Guard and at Ft. Sill) is extremely important\nto the State of Oklahoma. As we learned from the recent \u201cOklahoma Aviation\n& Aerospace Economic Study,\u201d completed by the Aeronautics Commission, the\naerospace and aviation industry is the second largest industry in the State responsible\nfor $43.7 billion in annual economic impact. Military aviation accounts for the\nlargest part of that and is responsible for $19.3 billion. Having safe,\nadequate, and accessible airspace is critical to the missions of Vance and\nAltus AFBs, and the Tulsa and Oklahoma City Air Guard Units,\u201d said Ardies. \u201cWe must ensure that Oklahoma\u2019s Air Force\nbases and other military installations have the military airspace they need to\nfulfill their training and readiness missions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another important piece of legislation benefiting aviation\nwas HB 2518 which extended the maximum length of the primary term of a\ncontract, lease or other arrangement that a municipality may enter into\nregarding facilities or services at an airport it owns or controls, from 40\nyears to 50 years. This was a request\nbill from the Oklahoma City Airport Trust. The measure was authored by\nRepresentative Tammy West, (R) House District 84, and Senator Paul Rosino, (R)\nSenate District 45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bird stated, \u201cAirports are economic engines. From the same\neconomic impact study noted above, we learned that the economic impact of the\n108 public airports in the Oklahoma Airport System (OAS) is $10.6 billion.\nMajor aerospace businesses such as American Airlines, AAR and Skywest are\nlocated at Tulsa International and Oklahoma City\u2019s Will Rogers. General\nAviation Modifications, Inc. (GAMI) and Tornado Alley Turbo are located on the\nAda Municipal Airport. Aircraft Structures International is located at Enid\nWoodring Regional Airport. These companies are known for their work around the\nworld and they provide hundreds of well-paying jobs. These general aviation\nairports are premier Regional Business airports in the OAS. Economic activity\nis generated by aerospace businesses such as these located on the airports, and\nbusinesses that use the airports like Quik Trip at Tulsa International, Devon\nat Will Rogers, Michelin at Ardmore Municipal, and Seaboard Farms at\nGuymon.\u201d Bird continued, \u201cHB 2518 allows\nairports to enter into 50-year leases instead of 40 years with businesses that\nwant to locate on airports and build facilities that will provide high paying\njobs. It will prove beneficial to inducing major employers to build on\nairports. This will enhance the economic\ndevelopment efforts of Oklahoma airports, particularly Oklahoma City\u2019s Will\nRogers World Airport and Tulsa International Airport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce Aerospace Commerce\nEconomic Services (ACES) Program also received a two-fold increase in their\nappropriation from the legislature to $1M. \nThe program created by Senator Rosino during the 2018 session, has a\nmission to build partnerships with aerospace companies, agencies and academia\nto grow the state\u2019s aerospace industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Aeronautics Commission has worked closely with Commerce\nand Senator Rosino over the last year to help facilitate ACES\u2019 objective. We know the importance of fostering and\ndeveloping the aviation and aerospace community because the Commission has been\nserving that pursuit for the past 55 years,\u201d said Bird. Two Aeronautics\nprograms, the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute and the Center for Aerospace and\nDefense Supplier Quality (CADSQ), were the predecessors to ACES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To further embolden the aviation and aerospace community, a\nnewly formed AERO Caucus was also active throughout the session meeting monthly\nto discuss legislation and other issues within the sector. The Caucus hosted an Airmen Appreciation\nAssembly with over 200 airmen from bases across the state during the aviation\nadvocacy day in March and toured Tinker Air Force Base during their May\nmeeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is still much work to be done,\u201d said Bird. \u201cThe\nworkforce needs in the aerospace sector are at an all-time high, our airport\ninfrastructure funding will have an $800M shortfall over the next twenty years,\nand there is also a pilot shortage in all facets of the industry including\nmilitary, commercial, and business and general aviation. The Legislature is looking to the Aeronautics\nCommission, Commerce, CareerTech, and Higher Education to serve the aerospace\nindustry. We appreciate the Legislature providing the tools we need to serve\nthis growing economic engine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The legislative session has concluded, and the aviation and aerospace industry in Oklahoma benefited from several bills ensuring the viability of the state\u2019s second largest industry. Over twenty bills were filed directly or indirectly affecting the aviation community. Among those filed were measures that would sunset exemptions to the aircraft excise tax, prohibit drones from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-slider","category-oklahoma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AERO-Caucus-Tinker-AFB-Touredit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13072"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13074,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13072\/revisions\/13074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}