The Senate has agreed to the House version of legislation preempting major commercial airport names to the state and naming Palm Beach International Airport for President Donald Trump
On Tuesday, the House passed by an 81-30 vote Rep. Meg Weinberger’s bill (HB 919), while Sen. Debbie Mayfield’s legislation (SB 706) cleared its final Committee stop.
The Senate decided to take up the House version, passing it Thursday.
The bill would make the brand identity name change at PBI contingent on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval and an agreement between Palm Beach County and Trump for the commercial use of his name. It would also preempt the names of major commercial airports in the state, all of which will remain as is except for the Palm Beach facility, which will be the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
Several Democratic amendments were rejected, including bids to make the name change contingent on a referendum of Palm Beach County residents, that the FAA code continue to be called PBI, that the name change be postponed until Trump leaves office, and that Trump not be able to profit from the name.
Mayfield said Trump could commercialize the designation, but that “Palm Beach County and the airport is not going to be paying him a royalty for him merchandising his stuff.”
Democrats objected to the bill before its inevitable passage.
Sen. Barbara Sharief said the move would have logistical impacts and financial burdens for local taxpayers, as the renaming would “require rebranding across global aviation systems, changes to federal and international aviation databases, signage replacement, marketing material updates, contract revisions, digital and cybersecurity updates, coordination with airlines, cruise lines, and tourism partners.”
Sen. Tina Polsky said Senators from Palm Beach County were “really unhappy” with the bill, suggesting the $5.5 million allocated to rebrand the airport could have been spent better on member projects rather than on a tribute to the President.
Sen. Shevrin Jones said the $5.5 million could have been used for projects in his district, such as remediation for drainage issues that lead to homes being “flooded with feces every year,” money the Governor routinely vetoes.
“We found that money to be able to pay for the name change on the airport, and it’s disheartening to me because when I go back home into my district, the one thing that I have to tell them is that we could not bring this money home again, but we could pay $5.5 million to change the name on the airport,” said the future caucus leader from Miami Gardens.
“How much more do taxpayers need to financially support a billionaire president? All this headache, and not once will the people living there even be asked,” added Democratic Caucus leader Lori Berman, who also represents Palm Beach County.
Sen. Lavon Bracy Davis said the proposed renaming normalized and embraced a legacy that includes “calling Mexican immigrants, rapists, and criminals, referring to African nations and Haiti as ‘s-hole countries.’”
“Fueling the racist birther conspiracy against President Barack Obama, a lie rooted in the idea that a black man could not legitimately be president of the United States. Calling for the execution of the Central Park Five and refusing to apologize even when they were exonerated. Telling four Congresswomen of color to go back to where they come from. Spreading inflammatory lies about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs. And just recently, Donald Trump posted on his personal social media, a video depicting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys and apes,” Bracy Davis recounted.
In her close, Mayfield said Trump has “delivered” for Floridians and Americans alike by fighting illegal immigration, bolstering the U.S. economy, stemming transnational drug trafficking, and brokering peace around the world while using “force against foreign dictatorship in Iran and Venezuela.”
“His record speaks for itself,” Mayfield said.
