HB 69

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the space industry; providing a short
3	title; providing legislative findings; amending s.
4	331.3051, F.S.; revising duties of Space Florida to
5	include supporting the development and operation of the
6	Space Transportation Research and Development Institute;
7	creating s. 331.365, F.S.; establishing the
8	multiuniversity Space Transportation Research and
9	Development Institute within the Office of Tourism, Trade,
10	and Economic Development; providing for duties and
11	administration; providing an effective date.
12
13	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15	Section 1.  Short title.--This act may be cited as the
16	"Space Transportation Research and Development Institute Act."
17	Section 2.  Legislative findings.--The Legislature finds
18	and declares that the anticipated impacts of the National
19	Aeronautics and Space Administration's retirement of the Space
20	Shuttle program reveal an underlying lack of diversification in
21	Florida's space industry. Florida lags significantly behind
22	other states in high-value, space-related research and
23	technology development while its space launch industry suffers
24	from outdated technologies and increased international and
25	domestic competition. The Legislature finds that the state
26	should expand statewide involvement in space research and
27	technology development programs that will leverage and improve
28	the state's space transportation industry through
29	multiuniversity partnerships with industry, the Federal Aviation
30	Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space
31	Administration, and the Department of Defense.
32	Section 3.  Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (8) of
33	section 331.3051, Florida Statutes, to read:
34	331.3051  Duties of Space Florida.--Space Florida shall:
35	(8)  Carry out its responsibility for research and
36	development by:
37	(c)  Supporting the development and operation of the Space
38	Transportation Research and Development Institute. Such support
39	may include, but not be limited to:
40	1.  Providing the institute with advisory support for
41	defining the focus and scope of multiuniversity projects.
42	2.  Providing the institute with access to the Cape
43	Canaveral Spaceport and other spaceport sites in the state,
44	including launch, laboratory, and processing facilities for
45	research and program management.
46	3.  Providing the institute with support for the
47	development of the institute among relevant agencies and
48	policymakers in Washington, D.C., and Tallahassee.
49	4.  Engaging the institute as a partner in support of space
50	policy, range and spaceport technology development, and other
51	space transportation technology programs.
52	5.  Providing support to institute projects through the
53	Florida-NASA Matching Grant Program as provided in subsection
54	(10).
55	Section 4.  Section 331.365, Florida Statutes, is created
56	to read:
57	331.365  Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
58	Development; Space Transportation Research and Development
59	Institute.--
60	(1)  There is established within the Office of Tourism,
61	Trade, and Economic Development a multiuniversity Space
62	Transportation Research and Development Institute. The institute
63	shall be a university-led program to perform high-impact space
64	transportation research and technology development activities
65	and provide policy analysis that will advance state and federal
66	interests in improving the competitiveness of the space
67	transportation industry. The institute shall be led by Embry-
68	Riddle Aeronautical University and shall include other public
69	and private universities in the state and outside the state. The
70	institute shall support research focus areas including, but not
71	limited to, spaceport licensing and safety; range and airspace
72	management systems development, simulation, and qualification;
73	spaceflight human factors issues; spaceflight passenger, crew,
74	and technician training and certification; launch vehicle safety
75	analysis; materials science for spaceflight; spaceport
76	instrumentation, technologies, and processes; and other topics
77	of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration, other
78	federal agencies, state space transportation authorities, and
79	industry.
80	(2)  The institute shall be established in phases, with the
81	initial phase focused on developing a management structure,
82	establishing a formal relationship with the Federal Aviation
83	Administration, and forming partnerships with academic
84	institutions and industry.
85	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.