11/29/01
From the desk of Brian Weiler, MoDOT Administrator of Aviation
The next legislative session is fast
approaching and I have had several local governmental officials, airport
managers, and pilots contact me for information on the renewal of the jet fuel
sales tax and the Missouri Airport Protection Act. To help this situation and
reduce confusion, I have written and am attaching position papers to help you
better understand these issues and communicate information about them to your
legislative representatives. I am also including a position paper on the GA
entitlement program, which is a federal issue, but which is also impacting
Missouri aviation. I recognize and understand that some of you may not agree
with us on this particular issue.
I only ask that you read the information to understand our position on the GA
entitlement program. However, if you do agree, you may want to talk to you
congressional delegation about it.
I am attaching the issue papers as PDF files and am attaching a Word file of
legislative language we support for the renewal of the jet fuel sales tax.
If you have any problems viewing these attachments, don't hesitate to e-mail me
back or call at 573-526-7912.
Brian Weiler
MoDOT Administrator of Aviation
12/15/01
Greetings,
There has been considerable activity with aviation bills being pre-filed.
This is a summary of the main aviation bills:
(SB = Senate Bill, HB = House Bill)
SB 725 - Missouri Airport Protection Act (Childers) You know the details
HB 1207 - Missouri Airport Protection Act (Meredith)
Jet Fuel - We understand a House Bill will shortly be introduced by Rep.
Meredith and co-sponsored by Rep. Kelly. We need a sponsor for a senate
companion bill. I am attaching suggested bill language if you would like to
visit with you Senator about introducing this bill in the Missouri Senate. I
know the bill will have strong support, but we need a sponsor in the Senate!
SB 699 - This is the bill sponsored by Sen. Wiggins that, among other things,
exempts airlines from having to pay state sales tax on jet fuel for 2 years.
This would eliminate the primary funding source for the state aviation trust
fund and reduce our funding by approximately 90%. The airline industry is the
only industry that has received a multi-billion dollar federal bailout. This
bill will help a bunch of out of state airline at the expense of funding for
Missouri's general aviation airports.
Here are some other state pre-filed bills dealing with aviation:
HB 1175 (Hickey) - This bill basically establishes requirements that airport
land not used within ten years of purchase would be taken away from the airport
under a quiet title law suit. This is tied into the opposition for the Lambert
expansion, but would have obvious negative impacts on airports by not allowing
them to purchase land for future expansion or as a buffer to incompatible land
development beyond 10 year needs.
HB 1182 (Gaskill) - Has to do with use of private aircraft by Governor during
inclement weather. No negative impact to aviation.
HB 1176 (Hickey) - Bill authorizing State noise monitoring of Lambert. This is
also tied to the opposition for the Lambert expansion and would duplicate
existing and extensive local noise monitoring under the airport's approved FAR
150 Noise Compatibility Study.
SB 701 (Wiggins) - This bill cleans up some existing state law and establishes
that the FAA, not the Department of Commerce issue airman certificates.
HB 1065 (Bray) - Bill allows Sunday liquor sales by the drink at establishments
in international airports.
This is being provided to you for informational purposes. You can visit Missouri
legislative websites to view these bills for yourself and to draw your own
conclusion/position on these matters.
See attached file: Jet Fuel Bill
(MS Word Document)
Brian Weiler
MoDOT Administrator of Aviation
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. My
family did and our new baby girl, Abigail Ruth Weiler, is doing great.
Attached is a press release on the upcoming Total Transportation Conference on
January 9th. Dick Hrabko will be speaking for aviation on a panel entitled:
"Outcomes: What Could Be Accomplished with New Transportation Funding?"
Please attend if you can and show support for aviation. Call me at 573-526-7912
if you have questions or need anything.
(See attached file: gov's transp. conf., Jan. 02.doc)
Brian Weiler
MoDOT Administrator of Aviation
Important Notice
Information from Brian Weiler Re: Missouri Protection Act
Date: January 29
Time: 2:30 PM
Location: State Capitol - Hearing Room #1
FYI, Senate Bill 725, which is the Missouri Airport Protection Act, will be
heard in the Senate Local Government and Economic Development Committee next
Tuesday, January 29th, at 2:30pm at the State Capitol. It will be in Senate
Hearing Room #1, which is on the 1st floor on the river side of the Capitol.
The chair of this committee is Doyle Childers, who is also the Senate bill
sponsor, so I think the bill will be well received. However, the aviation
community needs to have a good presence at the hearing to show support for the
bill. I plan to testify in support of the bill for MoDOT. Thanks. Brian.
Aviation Supporters,
Senate Committee Substitute to Senate Bill 970 (SCS SB 970) has been voted out
of the Senate Transportation Committee and we believe the bill Sponsor, Senator
Morris Westfall, will try to have the bill debated on the Senate floor as early
as TODAY. If you support this legislation as described in my earlier memo which
is attached below, you might want to contact your Senator and tell them to
support SCS SB 970.
PS - The House Local Government Committee heard the Missouri Airport Protection
Act (HB 1207) yesterday afternoon and the hearing went very well. Thanks to
representatives from MPA, AOPA, MoSAC, several airports (e.g. Lees Summit, KC
Downtown, West Plains, Excelsior Springs, Springfield and Versailles), and CMSU
for attending and showing support.
Date: February 20
FYI, the House Local Government Committee voted HB 1207
(better known as the Missouri Airport Protection Act) "DO Pass" by a 10 to 3
vote. The vote took place late yesterday afternoon (2/19). The bill will now
have to be placed on the House Calendar for future House floor debate. There is
much work ahead, but this was a major step.
Date: March 22
Important Information Jet Fuel Bill 970
Friends of Missouri Aviation,
I have been receiving calls about the status of the jet fuel sales tax bill.
As I mentioned in an earlier e-mail, the original senate jet fuel bill (SB968)
was rolled into a larger transportation bill about a month ago, which is SB 970.
This bill also makes permanent a 6-cent per gallon motor fuel tax (not an
increase) and raises some fees on billboards on roads. At that time, I said it
was yet to be seen if combining us into a larger transportation bill was good or
bad for aviation. As it turns out, I think it was a good thing because SB 970
was passed by the full Senate on Wednesday and now goes to the House for
consideration.
The aviation part of SB 970 does several positive things for aviation, which
generally are as follows; (1) extends the current transfer of jet fuel revenue
to the state aviation trust fund for 5 more years until 2008, (2) changes the
grant match ratio from 80% state / 20% local to 90/10 to help smaller airports
and match federal aviation programs, and (3) removes the current $5 million
annual cap on aviation funds that can be deposited in the aviation trust fund.
FYI, aviation lost out on approximately $130K last year because we exceeded the
$5 million cap.
Many people have asked me to tell them when is the best time to support aviation
legislation. This is it!!! The legislature just started their spring break and
will be home in their districts for the next week. If you support this
legislation, now is the best time to contact your member of the House of
Representatives and tell them to support SB 970 and fight against additional
amendments to the bill. The Senate has already passed it so the pressure is
needed on the House side. Local airport and pilot support for this bill could
make the difference.
Date: April 19
Missouri Friends of Aviation,
Just wanted to update you on some changes that occurred this week with the jet
fuel sales tax legislation. In my last update, I said the original senate jet
fuel bill (SB968) had been rolled into SB 970, which included several other non-
aviation, but transportation related issues. This bill passed the Senate, but
when it got to the House Transportation Committee, a 1 cent sales tax for
transportation was successfully tacked onto it, which basically killed its
chances. So, SB 970 is gone.
We still have one chance. SB 915 has been making its way through the Senate and
just recently received first round approval from the Senate this past Wednesday.
The bill proposes a $500 million package for transportation by a 3/8% general
sales tax increase and a 6-cent fuel (diesel and gasoline) tax increase.
THIS DOES NOT IMPACT AVIATION GASOLINE. Senator Childers (Yea Doyle !!!!) was
successful in amending the bill to include an extension of the jet fuel
sales tax transfer to the State Aviation Trust Fund until 2008.
One potential issue is that if this bill passes, the 6-cent motor fuel tax
increase will have to go to a vote of the people. We do not know if that means
the jet fuel extension would also have to go to a vote or if it just passes if
signed by the Governor. I realize this can get very confusing with all of these
bill changes. This has been a very interesting session to follow. We are
alive, but it is still very much an up hill battle. For those of you that don't
remember, the original jet fuel bill only passed in the last couple of hours of
the 1998 legislative session.
I realize some of you may not be able to support SB 915 because of other things
contained in the bill, but I at least want to make you aware that this bill now
includes our jet fuel extension issue. There is less than a month left in the
session so this is probably the last realistic chance we have.
Date: April 25
Missouri Aviation Community,
We are at long last starting to get our first shipments of the New 2002-2003
Missouri Airport Directory and Travel Guide and hope to get them out to airports
in the next couple of weeks. However, if you just can't wait or want a preview,
you can visit it online by going to the aviation area in MoDOT's website, which
is http://www.modot.state.mo.us
Like the state aeronautical chart we also publish, the airport directory is
provided free-of-charge as a service from MoDOT and funding comes from the State
Aviation Trust Fund. MoDOT has not published a separate directory since 1979
and we feel this will be an excellent tool for Missouri aviation community.
Enjoy!!
Brian Weiler
MoDOT Administrator of Aviation
Date: May 10
Things are going fast and furious in Jefferson City with the
end of the legislative session approaching next Friday, but there is some good
news!! It is obvious I was premature in saying SB 970 was basically dead
in my last update. SB 970 is still alive and was actually passed out of the
House last night.
There are still two transportation bills in the legislature (SB 915 & SB970).
At this point, our jet fuel extension language is in both bills. Now there was
a concern that any new transportation tax would have to go to a vote of the
people and a question as to whether the jet fuel issue would also have to go to
a vote if it was contained in the same bill.
My government affairs people tell me that it looks like they are going to try to
clean up SB 915 so that it only includes those items that have to go the a
general vote (i.e. 3/4% sales tax increase and a 3 cent per gallon motor fuel
tax increase for transportation) and that they will put all other transportation
related item into SB 970 that don't need a general vote (i.e. jet fuel renewal,
highway design/build, billboards, etc....) This appears to be good for us.
More Good News !!!!! Representative Merideth (Yea Denny) was successful in
tacking the Missouri Airport Protection Act onto SB 970 before it was passed out
of the House last night. However, the fight is not over. The bill has to go
back to the Senate because the House tacked on amendments and it is a safe bet
that the telecommunications lobby will be pushing hard to get the airport
protection act stripped out of SB 970.
You might be asking yourself, what can I do? Well, I suggest contacting your
Senator a saying the following:
1) You support of jet fuel extension language contained in SB 970.
2) You support keeping the Missouri Airport Protection Act language in SB 970.
It is all over next Friday and we can save ourselves a lot of hard work in the
next legislative session if we can push this through this year. Remember we got
the original jet fuel bill passed in the last hour of the 1998 legislative
session. It is crunch time!!
Date: May 15
Latest Update from Brian Weiler - MoDOT
Rep. Merideth just called and said the telecommunication lobby is working very
hard to strip the Missouri Airport Protection Act out of SB 970. The bill is
currently in conference committee and being marked up TODAY!! The following
legislatures have been targeted by the telecommunication lobby. They also need
to hear from the Missouri's aviation community that the airport protection act
should stay in SB 970.
Rep. Larry Crawford (573) 751-2134
Rep. Don Koller (573) 751-2112
Rep. Tim Green (573) 751-6845
Sen. Wayne Goode (573) 751-2420
Sen. Danny Staples (573) 751-3534
Sen. Morris Westfall (573) 751-3645
Sen. John Russell (573) 751-2745
Sen. David Klindt (573) 751-1415
Missouri Aviation Community,
Governor Holden signed HB 1196 yesterday (May 28th), which among other things,
extends the jet fuel transfer to 12/31/08, raises the annual cap to $6 million,
and changes the state aviation grant match from 20% to 10%. However, the grant
match change does not take effect until August 28th of this year.
I did some investigation about what happened in those final days and traced it
back to MoDOT's Governmental Affairs Office. They saw the SB 970 was getting so
many amendments tacked onto it that passage was becoming unlikely. So they took
several of MoDOT's legislative priorities that were in SB 970 (design/build, 10
mile contracting rule, billboards, and the aviation stuff) and got them tacked
onto HB 1196.
HOWEVER, and this is a big however, I credit the aviation community as a whole
for educating the legislature about the need for aviation funding to the point
that there was virtually no opposition to this issue and it was basically a none
issue.
I know we didn't get the Missouri Airport Protection Act passed, but I still
feel this was a very successful legislative year for Missouri aviation. We may
want to consider a different approach to the MAPA next year or don't push it for
a year.
FYI, MoDOT and other transportation organizations will be out soon talking about
the proposed state transportation tax increase that will be on the ballot on
August 6th. It would raise the state sales tax by 1/2 % and increase the state
motor fuel tax by 4 cents per gallon. IT DOES NOT RAISE AVIATION FUEL TAXES,
but it would provide some additional funding for state aviation and the other
modes of transportation (ports, rail, transit). You will hear more about this
latter.
Thank you again for your continued support of Missouri aviation.
Brian C. Weiler, A.A.E.
MoDOT Administrator of Aviation
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Fall, 2003
Centennial of Powered Flight Celebration
I would like to thank everyone who attended Missouri’s Centennial of Powered Flight Celebration at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport Aug. 25, 2003. Although it was a typically hot and humid August day, the turnout was great. We had well over 300 people in attendance. Special thanks for sponsoring the event go to the Missouri Pilots Association, Missouri State Aviation Council and Missouri Airport Managers Association. We also had great participation from The Boeing Company, the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Experimental Aircraft Association and the United States Postal Service. Thank you to everyone who brought static displays to the event. It was a great day to learn more about and to promote aviation.
2004 Aviation Funding Bill Still Grounded
The multi-year reauthorization bill (HR 2115) known as Flight 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act for the nation’s aviation programs remains grounded after weeks of negotiations and discussions. The main stumbling block is a provision that would allow the privatization of air traffic control towers at 69 airports. The bill currently proposes funding for the Airport Improvement Program at $3.4 billion in 2004 with increases in subsequent years.
State Airport System Plan Update
Thanks to everyone who has completed their airport, tenant or user survey for the State Airport System Plan Update. We are compiling the information and updating our records. If you have not turned in your surveys, please do so. This information is important for calculating your airport’s economic impact and to assist in planning for needed capital improvement and maintenance projects. We are also preparing the report’s Forecast and Economic Benefits sections and will meet with the plan’s Planning Advisory Team in November. We are organizing a series of workshops to gather information and input on the plan. The workshops will be held in January and February at 10 locations throughout the state. If possible, please plan on attending and provide your input and ideas at one of the workshops. The workshop locations and dates are:
January 14, 2004 Maryville Community Center
1407 Country Club Road
January 15 Clay County Regional Airport
13106 Rhodus Road, Excelsior Springs
January 26 MoDOT District 3
1711 Hwy 61, South Hannibal
January 27 Grand River Inn
US Hwy 36 & 55, Chillicothe
January 28 MoDOT Materials Lab
1617 Missouri Blvd. Room 201
Jefferson City
January 29 MoDOT Technology Information Center
14301 South Outer Forty, Chesterfield
February 9 Joplin Regional Airport
5501 North Dennis Weaver Drive
February 10 Springfield Branson Regional Airport
5000 West Kearney, Main Terminal at Intermodal Facility
February 11 West Plains Civic Center
110 St. Louis Street
February 12 Cape Girardeau Regional Airport
Interstate 55 at Hwy AB, Main Terminal
If you would like to learn more about the State Airport System Plan Update, please visit the website www.mosasp.com.
Joe Pestka
Administrator of Aviation
Administrators Column
Fire and Rescue Training Institute (FRTI) Workshops
Fifteen FRTI workshops were recently held throughout the state. The University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute conducted the training with funding provided by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
I would like to thank Mark Lee, Don Elliot and Bruce Bjorge from the University of Missouri FRTI for conducting the workshops. Mark, Don and Bruce did an incredible job. Most of all, I would like to thank those that attended the workshops as participants. This was a 12-hour course that was conducted over a Friday evening and Saturday. It was packed full of aviation technology and nomenclature for the firefighter and emergency responder to learn.
I attended the training held at Osage Beach and was amazed at how knowledgeable the class participants were on aviation issues. As I drove home from the workshop, I was inspired by the professionalism and knowledge the emergency responders maintain. I know it’s a ‘cliché to say it, but I can’t thank our law enforcement, firefighters and emergency responders enough for the service they provide to our communities. They put their life on the line for us each day.
Legislative Update
Please keep a close watch on the proposed 2006 federal Airport Improvement Program budget. This year’s budget is proposed to be $600 million less than planned. States could lose on average approximately 40 percent of their federal state apportionment funding and about 50 percent of discretionary funding. This would be a huge impact on the ability to complete much needed maintenance and capital improvement projects at Missouri’s airports.
On the state legislative front and on a much more positive note, Senate Bill 396 was passed by the Missouri legislature on May 13, 2005 and signed into law on June 27, 2005. The legislation extends the expiration date of the state aviation trust fund from December 31, 2008 to December 31, 2013. The legislation also increases the annual funding for control tower operations from $125,000 to $167,000. Senator Jason Crowell from Cape Girardeau sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and Representative Nathan Cooper from Cape Girardeau filed a companion bill in the House.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Chris Blum, the Regional Administrator for the FAA’s Central Region. On May 1, Chris assumed the responsibilities of Regional Administrator for the Central and Great Lakes regions of the FAA, which consists of 12 states. Congratulations Chris on the new and expanded position.
Dear Aviation Colleagues:
Mission Accomplished!! Senate Bill 396 was signed by Lt. Governor Peter Kinder
on June 27, 2005. The bill extends the expiration date of the state aviation
trust fund from December 31, 2008 to December 31, 2013. The legislation also
increases the annual funding for control tower operations from $125,000 to
$167,000. I would like to thank everyone that supported this legislation.
Also, thanks to Bruce Loy, Carolyn Morris, Brian Weiler, Don Morrison and Bill
Johnson from Fulton who testified in support of the legislation.
I apologize for not notifying folks about this great event. It would have been
nice to have a big aviation contingency at the bill signing but I did not
receive any advance notice. The bill was signed at the Cape Girardeau Regional
Airport and Bruce Loy was able to pull together his mayor, some city council
representatives, airport board members, etc. for the bill signing so there was a
good showing. Good work Bruce!
Thanks again everyone for your support of this very important legislation.
Dear Aviation Colleagues:
I thought I would pass on an update on several bills being discussed this
legislative session:
SB120/HB529 - State Aviation Trust Fund
Revisions - would increase trust fund from $6.0 million to $8.5 million
annually. Would also allow $500,000 of state funds to be used toward splitting
the local match of operating costs for air traffic control towers that are
partially funded by the federal government. A hearing was scheduled for SB 120
on February 15, 2007 but was cancelled. At this point, I have not heard of a
rescheduled hearing date for this bill.
HB571 - would adjust definition of a
commercial aircraft from 7,000 pounds down to 1,000 pounds. This legislation
has the potential to decrease the amount of personal property tax assessed on
aircraft that weigh between 1,000 and 7,000 pounds.
The Missouri Pilots Association recently mailed a letter to each state senator
and representative asking them to support these two bills and also to invite
them to State Aviation Day. (State Aviation Day is April 25, 2007, 11:00 am at
the State Capitol. I know there is work being done on possibly a flyover or
two, so you may want to plan on getting to the Capitol a little early)
_____________________________________________________________________________
SB602 - this bill would provide an
exemption for transoceanic flights from having to pay sales tax into the state
aviation trust fund.
HB624 - this bill requires operators of
storage facilities to provide documentation to the county assessor where the
rental or leasing facility is located for property tax purposes. The bill
defines "personal property" as any house trailer, manufactured home, boat,
vessel, floating home, floating structure, airplane, or aircraft. Any storage
facility that fails to provide the required documentation will be assessed a
penalty.
If you support SB120/HB529 and HB571, please consider contacting your state
senator and representative.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
_____________________________________________________________________________
There have been a number of pilots/airport managers who have
been dealing with the new Lockheed Martin Flight Service Stations (FSS) and have
had problems with a variety of their services. If you or any of your fellow
pilots have had any of these negative experiences, you can get your complaint on
record by calling the toll free number listed below or online via website listed
below. This hopefully will help the FAA become more aware of these issues with
Lockheed Martin and help eliminate the problems.
Flight Service Station
Feedback Line
The Federal
Aviation Administration has established a toll-free telephone number for pilots
to comment on services they receive from Lockheed Martin flight service
facilities.
The number is 1-888-FLT
SRVC, or 1-888-358-7782.
Customer feedback from
this line will be used by the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization to make sure flight
service stations operated by Lockheed Martin meet agency standards. The
information will be used by the agency to better monitor and manage Lockheed
Martin’s performance levels.
Pilot comments will be
collected and recorded by the FAA’s Flight Service Operations and Safety Group.
They will then be forwarded to Lockheed Martin. The company must respond to
pilots within 15 days, notifying the FAA when they have done so.
A database of comments
and actions taken to address pilot concerns will be maintained by the Flight
Service Operations and Safety Group. This information will be forwarded to the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has expressed interest in
receiving it.
Pilots will be asked by
an automated system to provide their name, date, time and location of the
service involved, along with their aircraft identification number and a brief
description of what occurred.
The system can accept up
to 80 calls simultaneously, minimizing the likelihood of a busy signal. Messages
may be up to three minutes long.
In
addition to the new toll-free comment line, pilots can also provide feedback
online. The online service can be accessed from the FAA Home page through the
“Pilots” link on the right side of the page (http://www.faa.gov/pilots/),
and clicking the email link under the Flight Service Stations heading:
9-AWA-ATO-SYSOPS-FS@faa.gov.
Joe Pestka
Administrator of Aviation