Title: Temporary Airports

Summary: Requires documentation to be submitted to DOT for temporary airport site approval & registration; requires temporary airport to obtain registration before operation of aircraft; requires DOT to publish notice of receipt of registration application; requires DOT to issue registration concurrent with site approval; provides certain registrations are considered approved; removes condition for licensure or registration; revises exemption for airport used for aerial application or spraying of crops.

Full Text:
An act relating to temporary airports; amending s. 330.27, F.S.; revising the definition of the term "temporary airport"; amending s. 330.30, F.S.; requiring certain documentation to be submitted to the Department of Transportation for temporary airport site approval and temporary airport registration; requiring a temporary airport to obtain registration before operation of aircraft to or from the airport; requiring the department to publish certain notice of receipt of a temporary airport registration application; specifying the period during which such application may be approved or denied; requiring the department to issue registration concurrent with site approval; providing that certain registrations are considered approved under specified conditions; requiring written notice to the department's agency clerk before an applicant takes action based on such default registration; removing a condition for licensure or registration as a temporary airport; prohibiting approval of subsequent registration applications under certain circumstances; revising an exemption from certain provisions for an airport used for aerial application or spraying of crops; providing an effective date. CS/HB 2023 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 330.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 330.27 Definitions, when used in ss. 330.29-330.39.-(7) "Temporary airport" means an any airport at which flight operations are conducted under visual flight rules established by the Federal Aviation Administration and which is that will be used for a period of less than consecutive days with no more than operations per day. Section 2. Subsection (1), paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2), and paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of section 330.30, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 330.30 Approval of airport sites; registration and licensure of airports.-(1) SITE APPROVA LS; REQUIREMENTS, EFFECTIVE PERIOD, REVOCATION.-(a) Except as provided in subsection (3), the owner or lessee of a any proposed airport shall, before prior to site acquisition or construction or establishment of the proposed airport, obtain approval of the airport site from the department. Applications for approval of a site shall be made in a form and manner prescribed by the department. The department shall grant the site approval if it is satisfied: CS/HB 2023 1. That the site has adequate area allocated for the airport as proposed. 2. That the proposed airport will conform to licensing or registration requirements and will comply with the applicable local government land development regulations or zoning requirements. 3. That all affected airports, local governments, and property owners have been notified and any comments submitted by them have been given adequate consideration. 4. That safe air-traffic patterns can be established for the proposed airport with all existing airports and approved airport si tes in its vicinity. (b) Site approval shall be granted for a public airport airports only after a favorable department inspection of the proposed site. (c) Site approval shall be granted for a private airport airports only after receipt of documentati on in a form and manner the department deems necessary to satisfy the conditions in paragraph (a). (d) Site approval shall be granted for a temporary airport only after receipt of documentation in a form and manner the department deems necessary to satisfy the conditions in paragraph (a). Such documentation must be included with the application for a temporary airport registration. (e)(d) Site approval may be granted subject to any CS/HB 2023 reasonable conditions the department deems necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare. (f)(e) Approval as a public airport or a private airport shall remain valid for years after the date of issue,unless revoked by the department or unless a public airport license is issued or a private airport regist ration is completed pursuant to subsection (2) before prior to the expiration date. (g)(f) The department may extend a public airport or private airport site approval for subsequent periods of years per extension for good cause. (h)(g) The department may revoke an airport a site approval if it determines: 1. That the site has been abandoned as an airport site; 2. That the site has not been developed as an airport within a reasonable time period or development does not comply with the conditions of the site approval; 3. That, except as required for in-flight emergencies, aircraft have operated on the site; or 4. That the site is no longer usable for aviation purposes due to physical or legal changes in conditions that were the subject of the app roval granted. (2) LICENSES AND REGISTRATIONS; REQUIREMENTS, RENEWAL, REVOCATION.-(a) Except as provided in subsection (3), the owner or lessee of an any airport in this state shall have either a CS/HB 2023 public airport license,or private airport registration,or temporary airport registration before prior to the operation of aircraft to or from the airport facility.Application for a license or registration shall be made in a form and manner prescribed by the department. Upon granting site approval: 1. For a public airport, upon granting site approval, the department shall issue a license after a final airport inspection finds the airport facility to be in compliance with all requirements for the license. The license may be subject to any reasonable conditio ns that the department deems may deem necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare. 2. For a private airport, upon granting site approval, the department shall provide controlled electronic access to the state aviation facility data system to permit the applicant to complete the registration process. Registration shall be completed upon self-certification by the registrant of operational and configuration data deemed necessary by the department. 3. For a temporary airport, the department must publish notice of receipt of a completed registration application in the next available publication of the Florida Administrative Register and may not approve a registration application less than days after the date of publication of the notice. The department must approve or deny a registration application within days after receipt of a completed application and must CS/HB 2023 issue the temporary airport registration concurrent with the airport site approval. A completed registration application that is not approved or denied within days after the department receives the completed application is considered approved and shall be issued, subject to such reasonable conditions as are authorized by law. An applicant seeking to claim registration by default un der this subparagraph must notify the agency clerk of the department, in writing, of the intent to rely upon the default registration provision of this subparagraph and may not take any action based upon the default registration until after receipt of such notice by the agency clerk. (c) The department may license a public airport or a private airport may register as a temporary airport provided that the airport will not endanger the public health, safety, or welfare and the airport meets the temporary ai rport requirements established by the department. A temporary airport license or registration shall be valid for less than days and is not renewable. The department may not approve a subsequent temporary airport registration application for the same gen eral location if the purpose or effect is to evade otherwise applicable airport permitting or licensure requirements. (3) EXEMPTIONS.-The provisions of this section do not apply to: (e) An airport which meets the criteria of s. 330.27(7) used exclusive ly for aerial application or spraying of crops on CS/HB 2023 a seasonal basis, not to include any licensed airport where permanent crop aerial application or spraying facilities are installed, if the period of operation does not exceed days per calendar year and the frequency of operations does not exceed operations per day.Such proposed airports, which will be located within miles of existing airports or approved airport sites, shall establish safe air-traffic patterns with such existing airports or approved airport sites, by memorandums of understanding, or by letters of agreement between the parties representing the airports or sites. Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.