Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1362
By Senator Harrell
31-01180A-26 20261362__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to advanced air mobility; providing a
3 short title; amending s. 212.08, F.S.; providing an
4 exemption from the sales and use tax for certain
5 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and
6 related items and for electricity used for certain
7 training operations; amending s. 255.065, F.S.;
8 revising the definition of the term “qualifying
9 project”; creating s. 330.412, F.S.; defining the term
10 “vertiport”; providing immunity from liability for
11 certain vertiport operators; providing applicability;
12 requiring the Department of Transportation to adopt
13 rules; amending s. 332.007, F.S.; revising the
14 definition of the term “airport infrastructure”;
15 authorizing the department to fund up to specified
16 percentages of vertiport project costs; amending s.
17 332.15, F.S.; providing requirements for the
18 department; creating s. 332.151, F.S.; defining the
19 term “vertiport”; requiring the department to
20 expeditiously approve certain vertiports; preempting
21 the regulation of vertiport design, aeronautical
22 operations, and aviation safety to the state;
23 providing exceptions; preempting the regulation of
24 electric aircraft charging stations and associated
25 infrastructure to the state; prohibiting a local
26 governmental entity from enacting or enforcing certain
27 ordinances and regulations; requiring local
28 governmental entities to issue certain building
29 permits based solely upon compliance with specified
30 standards; providing that a permit application for an
31 electric aircraft charging station shall be deemed
32 approved under certain circumstances; providing an
33 effective date.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Advanced Air
38 Mobility Competitiveness and Infrastructure Act.”
39 Section 2. Paragraph (ffff) is added to subsection (7) of
40 section 212.08, Florida Statutes, to read:
41 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
42 storage tax; specified exemptions.—The sale at retail, the
43 rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the
44 storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following
45 are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this
46 chapter.
47 (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.—Exemptions provided to any
48 entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is
49 otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a
50 representative or employee of the entity by any means,
51 including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even
52 when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed
53 by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by
54 this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is
55 otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has
56 obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department
57 or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as
58 required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made
59 with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this
60 subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an
61 exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict
62 compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and
63 shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer
64 this subsection.
65 (ffff) Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and
66 related items.—The sale of the following is exempt from the tax
67 imposed by this chapter:
68 1. Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft,
69 batteries, and training devices placed into service for at least
70 36 months.
71 2. Electricity used for electric vertical takeoff and
72 landing aircraft training operations.
73 Section 3. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
74 255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
75 255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
76 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
77 (i) “Qualifying project” means:
78 1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose,
79 including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit
80 facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility,
81 rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas
82 pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational
83 facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility
84 or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a
85 public educational institution, or any other public facility or
86 infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at
87 large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity;
88 2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that
89 will be principally used by a public entity or the public at
90 large or that supports a service delivery system in the public
91 sector;
92 3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management
93 facility or other related infrastructure; or
94 4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for
95 projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the
96 governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or
97 health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or
98 operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects
99 that the governing board designates as qualifying projects
100 pursuant to this section; or
101 5. Vertiports and charging systems.
102 Section 4. Section 330.412, Florida Statutes, is created to
103 read:
104 330.412 Limitation of liability for certain public or
105 private vertiport operators.—
106 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “vertiport” has
107 the same meaning as in s. 332.151(1).
108 (2) A vertiport operator is not liable for any personal
109 injury, wrongful death, property damage, or other economic loss
110 related to his or her acts or omissions in the performance of
111 his or her services unless the act or omission constituted gross
112 negligence or willful misconduct.
113 (3) The limitation of liability provided in subsection (2)
114 applies only if the vertiport operator posts and maintains a
115 clearly legible warning sign in a conspicuous location at the
116 vertiport which notifies the public of the liability protections
117 afforded under this section.
118 (4) The Department of Transportation shall adopt rules to
119 implement this section.
120 Section 5. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
121 332.007, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is
122 added to subsection (6) of that section, to read:
123 332.007 Administration and financing of aviation and
124 airport programs and projects; state plan.—
125 (2)
126 (c) Each commercial service airport as defined in s.
127 332.0075 shall establish and maintain a comprehensive airport
128 infrastructure program to ensure the ongoing preservation of
129 airport infrastructure and facilities in safe and serviceable
130 condition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “airport
131 infrastructure” means the facilities, systems, and structural
132 components of an airport necessary for the safe and efficient
133 movement of people and goods. The term includes vertiport pads,
134 safety zones, charging systems, grid upgrades, and resilience
135 energy systems. Beginning November 1, 2025, and annually
136 thereafter, each commercial service airport shall provide a
137 certification to the department, in a manner prescribed by the
138 department, that it has established and maintains a
139 comprehensive airport infrastructure program. The comprehensive
140 airport infrastructure program report, and related documents and
141 records, must be open to inspection by the department and
142 maintained by the airport for at least 5 years. The
143 comprehensive airport infrastructure program must, at a minimum,
144 include all of the following:
145 1. Identification of airport infrastructure subject to
146 inspection and the schedule for the completion of such
147 inspections, taking into consideration the age, type, intended
148 use, and criticality of the infrastructure to undisrupted
149 commercial or cargo operations.
150 2. A preventative maintenance program for routine
151 maintenance of airport infrastructure, for both commercial and
152 cargo operations.
153 3. A plan to complete any necessary repairs to, or
154 rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure,
155 including prioritization and anticipated timeframe for
156 completion of the work.
157 4. A progress report of inspections and their outcomes,
158 preventative maintenance, and previously identified repair to,
159 or rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure.
160 The progress report must include any changes in timeline for
161 completion, changes in cost estimates, and reasons any
162 inspection, preventative maintenance, or repair or
163 rehabilitation did not take place.
164 (6) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the
165 department may participate in the capital cost of eligible
166 public-use airport and aviation development projects in
167 accordance with the following rates, unless otherwise provided
168 in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill
169 implementing the General Appropriations Act:
170 (e) When federal funds are not available, the department
171 may fund up to 100 percent of the project costs of a public or
172 private vertiport. If federal funds are available, the
173 department may fund up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share of
174 such project costs.
175 Section 6. Subsection (5) is added to section 332.15,
176 Florida Statutes, to read:
177 332.15 Advanced air mobility.—The Department of
178 Transportation shall:
179 (5) Create a model vertiport siting code, establish
180 vertiport demonstration corridors, and adopt rules for
181 coordination among the department, the Federal Aviation
182 Administration, and local governmental entities with respect to
183 vertiports.
184 Section 7. Section 332.151, Florida Statutes, is created to
185 read:
186 332.151 Vertiport siting; preemption.—
187 (1) As used in this section, the term “vertiport” means an
188 area of land, a body of water, or a structure used or intended
189 to be used for the landing, takeoff, and surface maneuvering of
190 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, including electric,
191 hybrid, and hydrogen-powered aircraft. The term includes
192 associated buildings, facilities, and infrastructure necessary
193 for the safe and efficient operation of such aircraft,
194 including, but not limited to, electric charging and fueling
195 systems, battery thermal management infrastructure, safety
196 areas, and passenger terminals.
197 (2) The Department of Transportation shall expeditiously
198 approve vertiports adopting the model vertiport siting code
199 created pursuant to s. 332.15(5).
200 (3) The regulation of vertiport design, aeronautical
201 operations, and aviation safety is preempted to the state to
202 ensure consistency with federal regulations. This subsection
203 does not apply to local land use and zoning authority or to
204 reasonable noise compatibility ordinances, provided such local
205 regulations do not effectively prohibit the operation of
206 advanced air mobility aircraft authorized by the Federal
207 Aviation Administration.
208 (4)(a) The regulation of electric aircraft charging
209 stations and associated infrastructure is preempted to the
210 state.
211 (b) A local governmental entity may not enact or enforce an
212 ordinance or regulation related to the design, construction, or
213 installation of electric aircraft charging stations.
214 (c) Local governmental entities shall issue any required
215 building permits for electric aircraft charging stations based
216 solely upon compliance with the standards established by the
217 Department of Transportation under s. 332.15(5).
218 (d) If a local governmental entity does not approve or deny
219 a permit application for an electric aircraft charging station
220 within 15 business days after receipt of a complete application,
221 the application shall be deemed approved.
222 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.