Administration and financing of aviation and airport programs and projects; state plan.

(1) Federal funding of individual local airport projects shall continue to be wholly between the local airport sponsors and the appropriate federal agencies; however, the Department of Transportation is authorized to receive federal grants for statewide projects when no local sponsor is available.

(2)(a) The Department of Transportation shall prepare and continuously update an aviation and airport work program in accordance with subsections (6) and (7) based on a collection of the local sponsors’ proposed projects to be included in the work program of the department developed pursuant to s. 339.135. The airport work program shall separately identify development projects and discretionary capacity improvement projects.

(b) The aviation and airport work program shall be consistent with the statewide aviation system plan and, to the maximum extent feasible, consistent with approved local government comprehensive plans. Projects involving funds administered by the department to be undertaken and implemented by the airport sponsor shall be included in the aviation and airport work program.

(c) Each commercial service airport as defined in s. 332.0075 shall establish and maintain a comprehensive airport infrastructure program to ensure the ongoing preservation of airport infrastructure and facilities in safe and serviceable condition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “airport infrastructure” means the facilities, systems, and structural components of an airport necessary for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. The term includes vertiport pads, safety zones, charging systems, grid upgrades, and resilience energy systems. Beginning November 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each commercial service airport shall provide a certification to the department, in a manner prescribed by the department, that it has established and maintains a comprehensive airport infrastructure program. The comprehensive airport infrastructure program report, and related documents and records, must be open to inspection by the department and maintained by the airport for at least 5 years. The comprehensive airport infrastructure program must, at a minimum, include all of the following:

1. Identification of airport infrastructure subject to inspection and the schedule for the completion of such inspections, taking into consideration the age, type, intended use, and criticality of the infrastructure to undisrupted commercial or cargo operations.

2. A preventative maintenance program for routine maintenance of airport infrastructure, for both commercial and cargo operations.

3. A plan to complete any necessary repairs to, or rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure, including prioritization and anticipated timeframe for completion of the work.

4. A progress report of inspections and their outcomes, preventative maintenance, and previously identified repair to, or rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure. The progress report must include any changes in timeline for completion, changes in cost estimates, and reasons any inspection, preventative maintenance, or repair or rehabilitation did not take place.

(3) Assistance pursuant to the provisions of this section shall only be provided for projects which are included in the department’s adopted work program developed pursuant to s. 339.135.

(4)(a) The annual legislative budget request for aviation and airport development projects shall be based on the funding required for development projects in the aviation and airport work program. The department shall provide priority funding in support of the planning, design, and construction of proposed projects by local sponsors of public-use airports, with special emphasis on projects for runways and taxiways, including the painting and marking of runways and taxiways, lighting, other related airside activities, and airport access transportation facility projects on airport property.

(b) Projects which provide for construction of an automatic weather observation station are eligible for the use of funds provided for herein.

(c) No single airport shall secure airport or aviation development project funds in excess of 25 percent of the total airport or aviation development project funds available in any given budget year. However, any public-use airport which receives discretionary capacity improvement project funds in a given fiscal year shall not receive greater than 10 percent of total aviation and airport development project funds appropriated in that fiscal year.

(d) Unless prohibited by the appropriations act or general legislation, the department may transfer funds for an airport and aviation development project to other airport and aviation development projects to maximize the aviation services or federal aid available to this state.

(5) Only those projects or programs provided for in this act that will contribute to the implementation of the state aviation system plan, that are consistent with and will contribute to the implementation of any airport master plan or layout plan, and that are consistent, to the maximum extent feasible, with the approved local government comprehensive plans of the units of government in which the airport is located are eligible for the expenditure of state funds in accordance with fund participation rates and priorities established herein.

(6) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the department may participate in the capital cost of eligible public-use airport and aviation development projects in accordance with the following rates, unless otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill implementing the General Appropriations Act:

(a) The department may fund up to 50 percent of the portion of eligible project costs which are not funded by the Federal Government, except that the department may initially fund up to 75 percent of the cost of land acquisition for a new airport or for the expansion of an existing airport which is owned by a municipality, a county, or an authority, and shall be reimbursed to the normal statutory project share when federal funds become available or within 10 years after the date of acquisition, whichever is earlier. Due to federal budgeting constraints, the department may also initially fund the federal portion of eligible project costs subject to:

1. The department receiving adequate assurance from the Federal Government or local sponsor that this amount will be reimbursed to the department; and

2. The department having adequate funds in the work program to fund the project.

Such projects must be contained in the Federal Government’s Airport Capital Improvement Program, and the Federal Government must fund, or have funded, the first year of the project.

(b) The department may retroactively reimburse cities, counties, or airport authorities up to 50 percent of the nonfederal share for land acquisition when such land is needed for airport safety, expansion, tall structure control, clear zone protection, or noise impact reduction. No land purchased prior to July 1, 1990, or purchased prior to executing the required department agreements shall be eligible for reimbursement.

(c) When federal funds are not available, the department may fund up to 80 percent of master planning and eligible aviation development projects at public-use airports. If federal funds are available, the department may fund up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share of such projects. Such funding is limited to general aviation airports, or commercial service airports that have fewer than 100,000 passenger boardings per year as determined by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(d) The department is authorized to fund up to 100 percent of the cost of an eligible project that is statewide in scope or that involves more than one county where no other governmental entity or appropriate jurisdiction exists.

(e) When federal funds are not available, the department may fund up to 100 percent of the project costs of a public vertiport. If federal funds are available, the department may fund up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share of such project costs.

(7) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the department may participate in the capital cost of eligible public airport and aviation discretionary capacity improvement projects. The annual legislative budget request shall be based on the funding required for discretionary capacity improvement projects in the aviation and airport work program.

(a) The department shall provide priority funding in support of:

1. Terminal and parking expansion projects that increase capacity at airports providing commercial service in counties with a population of 500,000 or less.

2. Land acquisition which provides additional capacity at the qualifying international airport or at that airport’s supplemental air carrier airport.

3. Runway and taxiway projects that add capacity or are necessary to accommodate technological changes in the aviation industry.

4. Public-use airport access transportation projects that improve direct airport access and are approved by the airport sponsor.

5. International terminal projects that increase international gate capacity.

6. Projects that improve safety and efficiency of airport operations.

7. Emerging technology projects, workforce development projects, and projects that benefit the strategic intermodal system through intermodal connectivity.

(b) No single airport shall secure discretionary capacity improvement project funds in excess of 50 percent of the total discretionary capacity improvement project funds available in any given budget year.

(c) Unless prohibited by the General Appropriations Act or by law, the department may transfer funds within each category of the airport and aviation discretionary capacity improvement program to maximize the aviation services or federal aid available to this state.

(d) The department may fund up to 50 percent of the portion of eligible project costs which are not funded by the Federal Government except that the department may initially fund up to 75 percent of the cost of land acquisition for a new public-use airport or for the expansion of an existing public-use airport which is owned by a municipality, a county, or an authority, and shall be reimbursed to the normal statutory project share when federal funds become available or within 10 years after the date of acquisition, whichever is earlier.

(8) The department may also fund eligible projects performed by not-for-profit organizations that represent a majority of public airports in this state and postsecondary education institutions as defined in s. 1008.47 that support the training of pilots, air traffic control personnel, or aircraft maintenance technical personnel. Eligible projects may include activities associated with aviation master planning, professional education, safety and security planning, enhancing economic development and efficiency at airports in this state, or other planning efforts to improve the viability and safety of public-use airports in this state. Programs that support the transition of honorably discharged military personnel to the aviation industry are also eligible projects under this subsection. The department may provide matching funds for eligible projects funded by the Department of Commerce.

(9) The department may fund strategic airport investment projects at up to 100 percent of the project’s cost if:

(a) Important access and on-airport capacity improvements are provided;

(b) Capital improvements that strategically position the state to maximize opportunities in tourism, international trade, logistics, and the aviation industry are provided;

(c) Goals of an integrated intermodal transportation system for the state are achieved; and

(d) Feasibility and availability of matching funds through federal, local, or private partners are demonstrated.

(10) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, and unless otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill implementing the General Appropriations Act, the department may fund up to 100 percent of eligible project costs of all of the following at a public-use airport located in a rural community as defined in s. 288.0656 which does not have any scheduled commercial service:

(a) The capital cost of runway and taxiway projects that add capacity. Such projects must be prioritized based on the amount of available nonstate matching funds.

(b) Economic development transportation projects pursuant to s. 339.2821.

Any remaining funds must be allocated for projects specified in subsection (6).

(11) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, a municipality, a county, or an authority that owns a public-use airport may participate in the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Investment Partnership Program under federal law by contracting with a private partner to operate the airport under lease or agreement. Subject to the availability of appropriated funds from aviation fuel tax revenues, the department may provide for improvements under this section to a municipality, a county, or an authority that has a private partner under the Airport Investment Partnership Program for the capital cost of a discretionary improvement project at a public-use airport.