House Committee OKs bill promoting development of space industry

A bill designed to support the space industry in Florida got a boost from a second House panel.

The House Transportation Economic Development Budget Subcommittee unanimously approved the measure (HB 1177) following a presentation from its sponsor, Merritt Island Republican Rep. Tyler Sirois. The hearing featured no debate, a change of pace from last week when some legislators raised questions about proposed tax exemptions.

The measure aims to provide more autonomy at each installation in the state to promote growth of space development.

The bill language says contracting authority over the spaceports in Florida “shall be vested in the spaceport director or commander for that facility.” Development and program expansion plans for each spaceport facility in Florida would need to be submitted to Space Florida for review, but those plans are “not subject for approval by Space Florida,” per the legislation.

The original measure also called for tax exemptions for nongovernmental companies who are contracted with space programs. Sirois asked for an amendment to remove the tax portion, saying the House Ways and Means Committee will take that element up in a separate tax package. The Committee approved that amendment.

The tax exemptions were a sticking point among some legislators such as Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, who voted against the measure Feb. 10 in the House Ways and Means Committee. She expressed concerns about potential lawsuits over government tax exemptions for private companies.

Still, the bill is designed to grow the number of aerospace companies hooked into space program projects in Florida and comes amid record-breaking aerospace activity. In 2025, Space Florida oversaw a new high of 109 launches from Sunshine State facilities. In January, officials projected that figure would likely be eclipsed this year.

“We continue to see a record number of rocket launches from Florida. It’s become increasingly competitive for us and we need to stay ahead of the curve to make sure that Space Florida has all the tools that they need to get the job done,” Sirois said.

The measure next heads to the House Commerce Committee for review.

A similar bill in the Senate (SB 1512) has already been approved by one committee and has two more stops in front of the Finance and Tax Committee and the Appropriations Committee.