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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Altamirano		DATE TYPED:	2/9/03		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Change Airport Landing Fees				SB	381
					ANALYST:		Reynolds-Forte

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue		Subsequent Years Impact	Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04
	Indeterminate		Recurring	Local Governments Airport Fees

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

Responses Received From

State Highway and Transportation Department

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

SB 381 changes current law that limits airport-landing fees to commercial aircraft in excess of 18,000 pounds to allow airports to charge landing fees for any aircraft used in a commercial activity. The bill gives airports the ability to charge landing fees to smaller commercial aircraft such as air charter companies, agricultural operations, flight schools, air ambulances aerial photography companies, etc.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

SB 381 has no fiscal impact on the Aviation Division of the State Highway Department. It will have a positive impact on those airports that elect to charge a fee. The revenue as a result of this bill will depend upon the number of airports electing to charge the fee, and the number of aircraft utilizing such airports.

ALTERNATIVES

The State Highway and Transportation Department believes SB381 could have a negative impact on certain communities due to the increase in the cost of aircraft operations. They suggest that lowering the current 18,000 pounds restriction to 9,000 would protect the small operators and still provide a mechanism to charge the larger air ambulances and charter companies.

PRF/prr