House and Senate bills to help Florida get ready for the future of flying vertiports both cleared committee hurdles Wednesday.
Lawmakers won’t have to debate the most controversial measure of HB 1093 and SB 1362 that would have given vertiport operators sovereign immunity in civil lawsuits. That provision has been taken out of the bill which is now focused on investing in infrastructure as vertiports could be coming to Florida in the next two years.
The Transportation and Economic Development Budget Subcommittee approved Rep. Leonard Spencer’s bill Wednesday with little fanfare and no debate. Technically, the committee voted last week to move through the bill, but it returned to the committee Wednesday for a quick re-do because of an issue with the amendment filing to prevent the bill from being temporarily postponed, Chair Rep. Jason Shoaf said.
Spencer’s bill is meant to help boost public-private partnerships for vertiports and would allow the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to pay for 100% of a public or private vertiport if no federal money is available. With federal funds, FDOT could fund up to 80% of the nonfederal share of the project, the bill added.
The bill also updates state law to include vertiport pads, safety zones, charging systems, grid upgrades, and resilience energy systems when defining commercial airports.
“This bill is about ensuring Florida leads in the next phase of aviation,” Spencer said last week. “Advanced air mobility is rapidly transitioning from research and testing to real world deployment. The states that prepare their infrastructure now are going to capture the investment, the innovation, and the high wage high wage jobs that come along with it.”
Lawmakers acknowledged the bill was significantly different from when it was first filed but called it was a step in the right direction.
The identical Senate companion, which was also amended to eliminate the immunity language, advanced through the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development with strong support on Wednesday.
“This is the age of Jetsons. Welcome to Florida,” said bill sponsor Sen. Gayle Harrell.
