Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
CS for CS for SB 1362
By
the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and
Economic Development; the Committee on Transportation; and
Senator Harrell
606-03020-26 20261362c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to vertiports; amending s. 255.065,
3 F.S.; revising the definition of the term “qualifying
4 project”; amending s. 332.007, F.S.; revising the
5 definition of the term “airport infrastructure”;
6 authorizing the Department of Transportation to fund
7 up to specified percentages of public vertiport
8 project costs; providing an effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
13 255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
14 255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
15 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
16 (i) “Qualifying project” means:
17 1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose,
18 including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit
19 facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility,
20 rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas
21 pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational
22 facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility
23 or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a
24 public educational institution, or any other public facility or
25 infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at
26 large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity;
27 2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that
28 will be principally used by a public entity or the public at
29 large or that supports a service delivery system in the public
30 sector;
31 3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management
32 facility or other related infrastructure;
or
33 4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for
34 projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the
35 governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or
36 health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or
37 operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects
38 that the governing board designates as qualifying projects
39 pursuant to this section
; or
40
5.
Vertiports and charging systems
.
41 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
42 332.007, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is
43 added to subsection (6) of that section, to read:
44 332.007 Administration and financing of aviation and
45 airport programs and projects; state plan.—
46 (2)
47 (c) Each commercial service airport as defined in s.
48 332.0075 shall establish and maintain a comprehensive airport
49 infrastructure program to ensure the ongoing preservation of
50 airport infrastructure and facilities in safe and serviceable
51 condition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “airport
52 infrastructure” means the facilities, systems, and structural
53 components of an airport necessary for the safe and efficient
54 movement of people and goods.
The term includes vertiport pads,
55
safety zones, charging systems, grid upgrades, and resilience
56
energy systems.
Beginning November 1, 2025, and annually
57 thereafter, each commercial service airport shall provide a
58 certification to the department, in a manner prescribed by the
59 department, that it has established and maintains a
60 comprehensive airport infrastructure program. The comprehensive
61 airport infrastructure program report, and related documents and
62 records, must be open to inspection by the department and
63 maintained by the airport for at least 5 years. The
64 comprehensive airport infrastructure program must, at a minimum,
65 include all of the following:
66 1. Identification of airport infrastructure subject to
67 inspection and the schedule for the completion of such
68 inspections, taking into consideration the age, type, intended
69 use, and criticality of the infrastructure to undisrupted
70 commercial or cargo operations.
71 2. A preventative maintenance program for routine
72 maintenance of airport infrastructure, for both commercial and
73 cargo operations.
74 3. A plan to complete any necessary repairs to, or
75 rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure,
76 including prioritization and anticipated timeframe for
77 completion of the work.
78 4. A progress report of inspections and their outcomes,
79 preventative maintenance, and previously identified repair to,
80 or rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure.
81 The progress report must include any changes in timeline for
82 completion, changes in cost estimates, and reasons any
83 inspection, preventative maintenance, or repair or
84 rehabilitation did not take place.
85 (6) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the
86 department may participate in the capital cost of eligible
87 public-use airport and aviation development projects in
88 accordance with the following rates, unless otherwise provided
89 in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill
90 implementing the General Appropriations Act:
91
(e)
When federal funds are not available, the department
92
may fund up to 100 percent of the project costs of a public
93
vertiport. If federal funds are available, the department may
94
fund up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share of such project
95
costs.
96 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.