Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 888
By the Committee on Commerce; and Senators Lynn and Baker
577-04410-09 2009888c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the space industry; providing a
3 short title; providing legislative findings; amending
4 s. 331.3051, F.S.; expanding the duties of Space
5 Florida to include supporting the development and
6 operation of the Space Transportation Research and
7 Development Institute; creating s. 331.365, F.S.;
8 establishing the Space Transportation Research and
9 Development Institute within the Office of Tourism,
10 Trade, and Economic Development; providing that the
11 institute is a multiuniversity initiative; providing
12 purposes and duties of the institute; providing for
13 the establishment and administration of the institute;
14 providing that the act does not require appropriation
15 of funds or assignment of personnel resources by the
16 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development;
17 providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Short title.—This act may be cited as the “Space
22 Transportation Research and Development Institute Act.”
23 Section 2. Legislative findings.—The Legislature finds and
24 declares that the anticipated impacts of the National
25 Aeronautics and Space Administration’s retirement of the Space
26 Shuttle program reveal an underlying lack of diversification in
27 Florida’s space industry. Florida lags significantly behind
28 other states in high-value, space-related research and
29 technology development while its space launch industry suffers
30 from outdated technologies and increased international and
31 domestic competition. The Legislature finds that the state
32 should expand statewide involvement in space research and
33 technology development programs that will leverage and improve
34 the state’s space transportation industry through
35 multiuniversity partnerships with industry, the Federal Aviation
36 Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space
37 Administration, and the Department of Defense.
38 Section 3. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (8) of
39 section 331.3051, Florida Statutes, to read:
40 331.3051 Duties of Space Florida.—Space Florida shall:
41 (8) Carry out its responsibility for research and
42 development by:
43 (c) Supporting the development and operation of the Space
44 Transportation Research and Development Institute, when
45 possible. Such support may include, but is not limited to:
46 1. Providing the institute with advisory support for
47 defining the focus and scope of multiuniversity projects.
48 2. Providing the institute with access to the Cape
49 Canaveral Spaceport and other spaceport sites in the state,
50 including launch, laboratory, and processing facilities for
51 research and program management.
52 3. Providing support for the development of the institute
53 among relevant agencies and policymakers in Washington, D.C.,
54 and this state.
55 4. Engaging the institute as a partner in support of space
56 transportation policy, range and spaceport technology
57 development, and other space transportation technology programs.
58 5. Providing support to institute projects through the
59 Florida-NASA Matching Grant Program as provided in subsection
60 (10).
61 Section 4. Section 331.365, Florida Statutes, is created to
62 read:
63 331.365 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development;
64 Space Transportation Research and Development Institute.
65 (1) There is established within the Office of Tourism,
66 Trade, and Economic Development a multiuniversity Space
67 Transportation Research and Development Institute that shall
68 pursue Federal Aviation Administration sponsorship of a Center
69 of Excellence focused on high-impact space transportation
70 research, technology development, and policy analysis
71 activities. The institute shall be led by Embry-Riddle
72 Aeronautical University and shall include other public and
73 private postsecondary academic institutions within and outside
74 the state. The institute, through its partner institutions,
75 shall support research focus areas including, but not limited
76 to, spaceport licensing and safety; range and airspace
77 management systems development, simulation, and qualification;
78 spaceflight human factors issues; spaceflight passenger, crew,
79 and technician training and certification; launch vehicle safety
80 analysis; materials science for spaceflight; spaceport
81 instrumentation, technologies, and processes; and other topics
82 which may be of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration.
83 (2) The institute shall be established in phases, with the
84 initial phase focused on developing a management structure,
85 establishing a formal relationship with the Federal Aviation
86 Administration, and forming partnerships with academic
87 institutions and industry. The institute shall provide a
88 quarterly report to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
89 Development on the institute’s activities, relationship status
90 with the Federal Aviation Administration, research, and
91 partnerships.
92 Section 5. This act shall not require the appropriation of
93 funds or the assignment of personnel resources by the Office of
94 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.
95 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.