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23LSO-0016
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0016
Numbered
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0040
Airport districts.
Sponsored by: Joint Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Interim Committee
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to aeronautics; authorizing counties and municipalities to establish airport districts; specifying requirements; specifying duties and powers of airport districts; specifying duties of municipalities and counties; authorizing assessments; authorizing the airport district to issue bonds and incur debt as specified; authorizing distribution from fuel taxes to airport districts; requiring cooperation from the aeronautics commission with airport districts and joint powers boards; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 10
‑
5
‑
401 through 10
‑
5
‑
405 are created to read:
ARTICLE 4
AIRPORT DISTRICTS
10
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5
‑
401.
Airport districts; creation.
(a)
Each board of county commissioners that has established an airport or airport board either singly or jointly under W.S. 10
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5
‑
101 through 10
‑
5
‑
202 may establish by resolution an airport district provided that:
(i)
The airport district is to be composed of lands within counties and municipalities that plan to participate in the district, which:
(A)
Are not within an existing airport district;
(B)
Are not within the boundaries of a county or municipality exercising its powers authorized under W.S.
10
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5
‑
101 to own and operate an airport; and
(C)
Are not within the boundaries of a county or municipality that has appointed an airport board under W.S. 10
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5
‑
202, unless the governing board of that county or municipality elects to participate in the district.
(ii)
If an airport or airport board has been formed jointly by more than one (1) county or municipality, the resolution is adopted by all participating counties and municipalities;
(iii)
The resolution provides a plan to transfer to the district all responsibility for operation of the airport or airports, and to the extent necessary, ownership and debt related to airport facilities.
(b)
Not less than sixty (60) days before any resolution under subsection (a) of this section is adopted, the board of county commissioners of each county in which the district is located shall submit the proposed boundaries of the airport district to the county assessor and the department of revenue for review for any conflict, overlap, gap or other boundary issue. The assessor and the department may make written comments thereon to the county commissioners.
(c)
After adoption of the resolution under subsection (a) of this section, the airport district shall be a governmental subdivision of the state of Wyoming and a body corporate with all the powers of a public or quasi
‑
municipal corporation specified in this article. The airport district shall operate and be empowered to sue and be sued under the name and style of ".... Airport District" and shall be the successor to any similar organization or corporation. The district shall have perpetual existence except as provided in W.S. 10
‑
5
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402(g). The participating counties and municipalities adopting the resolution under subsection (a) of this section shall file with the county clerk of each county in which the district is located and with the secretary of state a certificate showing the district's creation.
(d)
Lands may be added to or subtracted from an existing airport district by adoption of a resolution as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(e)
Unless otherwise provided in this article, airport districts shall be governed by the Special District Elections Act of 1994.
10
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5
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402.
Powers; management; removal; dissolution.
(a)
Each airport district shall be governed by an airport district governing board consisting of not less than three (3) nor more than nine (9) appointed qualified electors of the district. The formation of the airport district governing board including the specific number of members on the board and terms of the initial board members shall be decided by mutual agreement among the governing bodies of the counties and municipalities located within the boundaries of the airport district. Board members shall serve a term of three (3) years, except for initial board members, and may be reappointed. Terms of initial board members shall be staggered with one (1) or more members serving for one (1) year, one (1) or more members serving for two (2) years and one (1) or more members serving for three (3) years.
(b)
The airport district governing board shall organize each year by selecting members to fill the roles of president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The roles of secretary and treasurer may be held concurrently by the same member of the board. No individual member of the board shall be personally liable for any action or procedure of the board. Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to payment for travel and other necessary expenses incurred while attending to business or meetings of the board in the same manner and amount provided for state employees.
(c)
The airport district governing board may exercise all powers granted to municipal corporations and counties under W.S. 10
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5
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101 and to regional transportation authorities under W.S. 18
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14
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102.
(d)
The airport district governing board may appoint a full
‑
time or part
‑
time manager and other personnel as necessary to operate and maintain the airport and its allied facilities. These employees shall be paid a reasonable compensation as the board deems proper.
(e)
The airport district governing board is authorized to enact any ordinances necessary to establish and operate an airport district and shall file any enacted ordinance with the county clerk for each county in which the district is located. The airport district governing board shall administer the finances of its district according to the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act.
(f)
The governing bodies of the participating counties and municipalities may mutually agree to remove any member of the airport district governing board without public hearing unless the member requests that the action be taken during a public hearing. Vacancies on the airport district governing board shall be filled by the governing bodies of the participating counties and municipalities for the balance of the unexpired term created by the vacancy.
(g)
An airport district may be dissolved by resolution of the county commissioners in a regular and public meeting. If the airport district governing board was formed by appointees from more than one (1) governing body of the participating counties and municipalities, the resolution shall be adopted by all participating counties and municipalities. The resolution shall provide for a plan to transfer or otherwise dispose of all responsibility for operation of the airport, and to the extent necessary, ownership and debt related to airport facilities, to an accepting public entity.
(h)
The airport district governing board shall make meeting agendas, minutes and financial information available to the public by publication on the special district website in each county in which the airport district is located. All meetings of an airport district governing board shall be held in accordance with public meeting requirements provided by W.S. 16
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4
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401 through 16
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4
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408, and all records of an airport district are subject to the Wyoming Public Records Act provided by W.S. 16
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4
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201 through 16
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4
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205.
10
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5
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403.
Taxation; limitation.
(a)
After the governing body of each county and municipality participating in the airport district authorizes a request from an airport district governing board to propose a levy, an airport district governing board may submit to the qualified electors of the district the question of whether the district shall annually levy not to exceed three (3) mills on the dollar of assessed valuation of the district to operate the district. The question shall be submitted by the county clerk of each county in which the district is located as ordered by the board of county commissioners in each county in which the district is located at an election called, conducted, canvassed and returned in the manner provided for bond elections by the Political Subdivision Bond Election Law.
(b)
If the proposition in subsection (a) of this section is approved by the electors, the annual mill levy shall expire ten (10) years from the date of initial imposition and the same proposition or a proposition to impose a mill levy in a different amount, not to exceed three (3) mills, may be submitted at the general election held ten (10) years from the date the proposition was approved and every ten (10) years thereafter until the proposition is defeated. If a proposition to impose or continue the levy is defeated, it shall not again be submitted to the electors until an election occurring not less than twenty
‑
three (23) months after the election at which the proposition was defeated.
(c)
The assessed valuation of the district mill levy under this section shall not be construed as being part of the general county mill levy.
(d)
An airport district governing body for which a mill levy approved according to subsection (a) of this section will be levied shall not later than the second Wednesday in June of each fiscal year in which the mill levy will be levied present the airport district's budget for approval to the governing bodies of all participating counties and municipalities during a public hearing at a regularly scheduled meeting of each participating governing body or at a joint meeting scheduled for that purpose. The budget presentation required in this subsection shall include forecasted operating revenues and expenditures, forecasted capital expenditures, forecasted grant revenues and forecasted reserves.
(e)
After presentation of the airport district budget as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the board of county commissioners in each county in which the airport district is located shall, at the time of making any general county mill levy, impose the airport district mill levy upon the taxable property within an airport district to be used solely to operate the district, if approved by the electors in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. These monies shall be placed in an account certified by the airport district governing board.
10
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5
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404.
Issuance of bonds, notes, warrants and other revenue securities.
(a)
Upon majority vote of the members of an airport district governing board, the board may issue revenue bonds, notes, warrants and other revenue securities for the purposes of this article in the same manner provided by W.S. 35
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2
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424 through 35
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2
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436 for trustees of hospital districts.
(b)
There shall be no limit on the assessed valuation of the district for payment of principal and interest on bonds approved by the airport district governing board, the governing bodies of the participating counties and municipalities and the electors of a district as provided in subsection (a) of this section. The aggregate amount of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness shall not exceed four percent (4%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within the district, and bearing a certain rate of interest, payable and redeemable at a certain time, shall not exceed twenty
‑
five (25) years. In determining the aggregate amount of indebtedness, there shall not be included with the computation bonds or other evidences of indebtedness payable solely from net revenues of an income producing facility or project.
10
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5
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405.
Borrowing money without election in anticipation of collection of taxes; issuance of short
‑
term notes.
Upon majority vote of the members of an airport district governing board, the board may borrow money without an election in anticipation of the collection of taxes or other revenues and may issue short
‑
term notes to evidence the amount borrowed. The amounts borrowed under this section shall not exceed the anticipated revenue and shall be repaid as soon as the anticipated revenue is received. Short
‑
term notes issued under this section shall be payable from the fund for which the money is borrowed and shall mature before the close of the fiscal year in which the money is borrowed.
Section 2.
W.S. 10
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3
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201(a)(iii), (b) and (c)(intro), 10
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3
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401(a) and (b), 10
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5
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101(a)(viii) and (b), 10
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5
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301, 16
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12
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202(a) by creating a new paragraph (xxiv) and by renumbering (xxiv) as (xxv), 22
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29
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103(a) by creating a new paragraph (xiv) and by renumbering (xiv) as (xv), 39
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17
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111(c)(i), 39
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17
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211(d)(iii) and 39
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17
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311(a)(iii) and (b)(iv)(C) are amended to read:
10
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3
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201.
Powers and duties generally.
(a)
The commission shall cooperate with:
(iii)
The cities
,
and
counties
, airport districts and joint powers boards
in Wyoming;
(b)
In lieu of the requirements of this subsection, any airport sponsor may directly apply for, receive or disburse federal airport funds, and may also direct all construction and maintenance of the airport. The aeronautics commission may designate the airports to be built and maintained with the assistance of state or federal funds and is the sole authority to determine the disbursement of funds for the state's airports. The aeronautics commission through the department shall be the authority in the state to apply for, or directly accept, receive, receipt for or disburse any funds granted by the United States government for airport construction or maintenance. A county, city, town
, airport district
or joint powers board may enter into an agreement with the division describing the terms and conditions of the agency in accordance with federal laws, rules and regulations and applicable laws of this state. The division may enforce the proper maintenance of these airports by the counties, cities
,
and
towns
, airport districts
or joint powers boards as agreed in the contracts existing between the sponsors of the airports and the federal government. All construction and maintenance of these airports shall be under the direction of the department.
(c)
The department may offer engineering or other technical advice to any municipality, county,
airport district,
joint powers board or other qualified party in connection with the construction, maintenance or operation of airports. The commission shall encourage:
10
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3
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401.
Grants
‑
in
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aid for airport construction and improvement and air service promotion; authority to make; limitation.
(a)
The commission may make grants
‑
in
‑
aid from state funds for construction and development of airports to counties, cities, towns
, airport districts
and joint powers boards within the state. No grant
‑
in
‑
aid for planning, construction or improvement of any airport shall be made unless the airport is owned, leased or held under a state or federal special use permit or agreement, exclusively or jointly, by the county, city, town
, airport district
or joint powers board to which the grant is made. Grants may be spent for runways, terminals, hangars and other improvements and for planning any improvements to the airport. The commission may designate state funds for purposes of creating, amending and updating any system plan of an airport for the state.
(b)
The commission may grant not more than five percent (5.0%) of the amount available for grants
‑
in
‑
aid under subsection (a) of this section to counties, cities
,
and
towns
, airport districts and joint powers boards
to promote air service in Wyoming. In accordance with W.S.
10
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3
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402, any amount granted under this subsection shall be equally matched by the recipient county, city
,
or
town
, airport district or joint powers board
. No amount granted under this subsection shall be used for airline subsidies.
10
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5
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101.
Powers of municipalities and counties generally; rules and regulations.
(a)
Municipal corporations and counties within the state are authorized at the discretion of their governing boards, acting either singly or jointly to:
(viii)
Do all things necessary in the discretion of the city, town or county governing authority for the purpose of making effective the powers conferred by W.S. 10
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5
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101 through 10
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5
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204
or to establish an airport district under W.S. 10
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5
‑
401 through 10
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5
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405
.
(b)
Any city, town or county governing authority in the state, either singly or jointly, may prescribe and enforce rules
and regulations
by ordinance or resolution,
not in conflict with W.S. 10
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5
‑
101 through 10
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5
‑
204
, or may establish an airport district under W.S. 10
‑
5
‑
401 through 10
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5
‑
405 to prescribe and enforce rules
by ordinance
,
or resolution,
governing
these
airports
under the city, town, county or airport district's jurisdiction, as applicable
. The municipal court of the city or town has jurisdiction to punish any violator of the ordinances of the city
,
or
town
, county or airport district
governing an airport whether the airport is within or without the city limits.
10
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5
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301.
Power of counties, cities and towns.
(a)
The governing body of each incorporated Wyoming municipality and county may regulate and restrict by ordinance the number of stories and size of buildings and the height of other structures constructed upon land within one
‑
half (1/2) mile of the boundaries of airports owned or controlled by the town, city
,
or
county
or airport district
. They may provide zoning for airspace beyond one
‑
half (1/2) mile of the boundaries and within the county, to assure aircraft reasonable safety for visual and instrument approach and departure. The right to zone shall be confined to the geographical limits of the current applicable approach zone established by the federal aviation administration for the particular airport and in no case shall the right to zone extend beyond six (6) nautical miles along the approach path from the end of the instrument runway.
(b)
The powers herein granted to towns and cities shall apply to all municipal airports
and airport districts
whether situated within or without the incorporated limits of a city or town.
16
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12
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202.
Applicability to special districts and other specified entities; general provisions.
(a)
This chapter applies to the following entities unless otherwise specified:
(xxiv)
Airport districts;
(xxiv)
(xxv)
Other districts as specified by law.
22
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29
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103.
Applicability to special districts; general provisions.
(a)
This act applies to the following districts as specified in subsection (b) of this section:
(xiv)
Airport districts;
(xiv)
(xv)
Other districts as specified by law.
39
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17
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111.
Distribution.
(c)
The department shall credit to appropriate accounts based upon deductions from the taxes collected under this article in the following order:
(i)
Deduct the pro rata share of the cost of collecting the taxes received from gasoline used for aircraft at any municipal or county airport and distribute the remainder to the
airport district,
city, town or county where the airport is located. These funds shall be used for the maintenance of the airport;
39
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17
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211.
Distribution.
(d)
The department shall:
(iii)
Deduct the pro rata share of the cost of collecting the taxes received from jet fuel used for aircraft at any municipal or county airport and distribute the remainder to the
airport district,
city, town or county where the airport is located. These funds shall be used for the maintenance of the airport.
39
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17
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311.
Distribution.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, all alternative fuel license taxes and fees shall be distributed as follows:
(iii)
The department shall certify to the state treasurer amounts to be credited to appropriate accounts based upon deductions from the taxes collected under this article provided that the department shall deduct the pro rata share of the cost of collecting the taxes received from alternative fuel used for aircraft at any municipal or county airport and distribute the remainder to the
airport district,
city, town or county where the airport is located. These funds shall be used for the maintenance of the airport.
(b)
All alternative fuel license taxes and fees related to liquefied natural gas, biodiesel or renewable diesel shall be distributed as follows:
(iv)
The state treasurer shall:
(C)
Deduct the pro rata share of the cost of collecting the taxes received from alternative fuel used for aircraft at any municipal or county airport and distribute the remainder to the
airport district,
city, town or county where the airport is located. These funds shall be used for the maintenance of the airport.
Section 3
.
This act is effective July 1, 2023
.
(END)
1
HB0040