Florida Senate - 2026                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1362
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì595294HÎ595294                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/18/2026           .                                
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       The Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and
       Economic Development (Harrell) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
    6  255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
    8         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
    9         (i) “Qualifying project” means:
   10         1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose,
   11  including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit
   12  facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility,
   13  rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas
   14  pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational
   15  facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility
   16  or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a
   17  public educational institution, or any other public facility or
   18  infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at
   19  large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity;
   20         2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that
   21  will be principally used by a public entity or the public at
   22  large or that supports a service delivery system in the public
   23  sector;
   24         3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management
   25  facility or other related infrastructure; or
   26         4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for
   27  projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the
   28  governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or
   29  health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or
   30  operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects
   31  that the governing board designates as qualifying projects
   32  pursuant to this section; or
   33         5.Vertiports and charging systems.
   34         Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
   35  332.007, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is
   36  added to subsection (6) of that section, to read:
   37         332.007 Administration and financing of aviation and
   38  airport programs and projects; state plan.—
   39         (2)
   40         (c) Each commercial service airport as defined in s.
   41  332.0075 shall establish and maintain a comprehensive airport
   42  infrastructure program to ensure the ongoing preservation of
   43  airport infrastructure and facilities in safe and serviceable
   44  condition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “airport
   45  infrastructure” means the facilities, systems, and structural
   46  components of an airport necessary for the safe and efficient
   47  movement of people and goods. The term includes vertiport pads,
   48  safety zones, charging systems, grid upgrades, and resilience
   49  energy systems. Beginning November 1, 2025, and annually
   50  thereafter, each commercial service airport shall provide a
   51  certification to the department, in a manner prescribed by the
   52  department, that it has established and maintains a
   53  comprehensive airport infrastructure program. The comprehensive
   54  airport infrastructure program report, and related documents and
   55  records, must be open to inspection by the department and
   56  maintained by the airport for at least 5 years. The
   57  comprehensive airport infrastructure program must, at a minimum,
   58  include all of the following:
   59         1. Identification of airport infrastructure subject to
   60  inspection and the schedule for the completion of such
   61  inspections, taking into consideration the age, type, intended
   62  use, and criticality of the infrastructure to undisrupted
   63  commercial or cargo operations.
   64         2. A preventative maintenance program for routine
   65  maintenance of airport infrastructure, for both commercial and
   66  cargo operations.
   67         3. A plan to complete any necessary repairs to, or
   68  rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure,
   69  including prioritization and anticipated timeframe for
   70  completion of the work.
   71         4. A progress report of inspections and their outcomes,
   72  preventative maintenance, and previously identified repair to,
   73  or rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure.
   74  The progress report must include any changes in timeline for
   75  completion, changes in cost estimates, and reasons any
   76  inspection, preventative maintenance, or repair or
   77  rehabilitation did not take place.
   78         (6) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the
   79  department may participate in the capital cost of eligible
   80  public-use airport and aviation development projects in
   81  accordance with the following rates, unless otherwise provided
   82  in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill
   83  implementing the General Appropriations Act:
   84         (e)When federal funds are not available, the department
   85  may fund up to 100 percent of the project costs of a public
   86  vertiport. If federal funds are available, the department may
   87  fund up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share of such project
   88  costs.
   89         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
   90  
   91  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   92  And the title is amended as follows:
   93         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   94  and insert:
   95                        A bill to be entitled                      
   96         An act relating to vertiports; amending s. 255.065,
   97         F.S.; revising the definition of the term “qualifying
   98         project”; amending s. 332.007, F.S.; revising the
   99         definition of the term “airport infrastructure”;
  100         authorizing the Department of Transportation to fund
  101         up to specified percentages of public vertiport
  102         project costs; providing an effective date.