Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 1362
By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Harrell
596-02450-26 20261362c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to advanced air mobility; providing a
3 short title; amending s. 255.065, F.S.; revising the
4 definition of the term “qualifying project”; creating
5 s. 330.412, F.S.; defining the term “vertiport”;
6 providing that certain vertiport operators are
7 considered an agency or subdivision of this state for
8 certain purposes and are entitled to sovereign
9 immunity to a specified extent; providing for future
10 legislative review and repeal; amending s. 332.007,
11 F.S.; revising the definition of the term “airport
12 infrastructure”; authorizing the department to fund up
13 to specified percentages of vertiport project costs;
14 amending s. 332.15, F.S.; providing requirements for
15 the department; creating s. 332.151, F.S.; defining
16 the term “vertiport”; requiring the department to
17 expeditiously approve certain vertiports; preempting
18 the regulation of vertiport design, aeronautical
19 operations, and aviation safety to the state;
20 providing exceptions; preempting the regulation of
21 electric aircraft charging stations and associated
22 infrastructure to the state; prohibiting a local
23 governmental entity from enacting or enforcing certain
24 ordinances and regulations; requiring local
25 governmental entities to issue certain building
26 permits based solely upon compliance with specified
27 standards; providing that a permit application for an
28 electric aircraft charging station shall be deemed
29 approved under certain circumstances; providing an
30 effective date.
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Advanced Air
35 Mobility Competitiveness and Infrastructure Act.”
36 Section 2. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
37 255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
38 255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
39 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
40 (i) “Qualifying project” means:
41 1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose,
42 including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit
43 facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility,
44 rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas
45 pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational
46 facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility
47 or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a
48 public educational institution, or any other public facility or
49 infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at
50 large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity;
51 2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that
52 will be principally used by a public entity or the public at
53 large or that supports a service delivery system in the public
54 sector;
55 3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management
56 facility or other related infrastructure; or
57 4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for
58 projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the
59 governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or
60 health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or
61 operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects
62 that the governing board designates as qualifying projects
63 pursuant to this section; or
64 5. Vertiports and charging systems.
65 Section 3. Section 330.412, Florida Statutes, is created to
66 read:
67 330.412 Limitation of liability for certain public
68 vertiport operators.—
69 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “vertiport” has
70 the same meaning as in s. 332.151(1).
71 (2) For vertiports that are colocated with a public
72 airport, the vertiport operator shall be considered an agency or
73 subdivision of this state for purposes of s. 768.28 and is
74 entitled to sovereign immunity to the same extent as a public
75 airport operator.
76 (3) This section expires July 1, 2036, unless reviewed and
77 saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
78 Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
79 332.007, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is
80 added to subsection (6) of that section, to read:
81 332.007 Administration and financing of aviation and
82 airport programs and projects; state plan.—
83 (2)
84 (c) Each commercial service airport as defined in s.
85 332.0075 shall establish and maintain a comprehensive airport
86 infrastructure program to ensure the ongoing preservation of
87 airport infrastructure and facilities in safe and serviceable
88 condition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “airport
89 infrastructure” means the facilities, systems, and structural
90 components of an airport necessary for the safe and efficient
91 movement of people and goods. The term includes vertiport pads,
92 safety zones, charging systems, grid upgrades, and resilience
93 energy systems. Beginning November 1, 2025, and annually
94 thereafter, each commercial service airport shall provide a
95 certification to the department, in a manner prescribed by the
96 department, that it has established and maintains a
97 comprehensive airport infrastructure program. The comprehensive
98 airport infrastructure program report, and related documents and
99 records, must be open to inspection by the department and
100 maintained by the airport for at least 5 years. The
101 comprehensive airport infrastructure program must, at a minimum,
102 include all of the following:
103 1. Identification of airport infrastructure subject to
104 inspection and the schedule for the completion of such
105 inspections, taking into consideration the age, type, intended
106 use, and criticality of the infrastructure to undisrupted
107 commercial or cargo operations.
108 2. A preventative maintenance program for routine
109 maintenance of airport infrastructure, for both commercial and
110 cargo operations.
111 3. A plan to complete any necessary repairs to, or
112 rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure,
113 including prioritization and anticipated timeframe for
114 completion of the work.
115 4. A progress report of inspections and their outcomes,
116 preventative maintenance, and previously identified repair to,
117 or rehabilitation or reconstruction of, airport infrastructure.
118 The progress report must include any changes in timeline for
119 completion, changes in cost estimates, and reasons any
120 inspection, preventative maintenance, or repair or
121 rehabilitation did not take place.
122 (6) Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the
123 department may participate in the capital cost of eligible
124 public-use airport and aviation development projects in
125 accordance with the following rates, unless otherwise provided
126 in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill
127 implementing the General Appropriations Act:
128 (e) When federal funds are not available, the department
129 may fund up to 100 percent of the project costs of a public or
130 private vertiport. If federal funds are available, the
131 department may fund up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share of
132 such project costs.
133 Section 5. Subsection (5) is added to section 332.15,
134 Florida Statutes, to read:
135 332.15 Advanced air mobility.—The Department of
136 Transportation shall:
137 (5) Create a model vertiport siting code, establish
138 vertiport demonstration corridors, and adopt rules for
139 coordination among the department, the Federal Aviation
140 Administration, and local governmental entities with respect to
141 vertiports.
142 Section 6. Section 332.151, Florida Statutes, is created to
143 read:
144 332.151 Vertiport siting; preemption.—
145 (1) As used in this section, the term “vertiport” means an
146 area of land, a body of water, or a structure used or intended
147 to be used for the landing, takeoff, and surface maneuvering of
148 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, including electric,
149 hybrid, and hydrogen-powered aircraft. The term includes
150 associated buildings, facilities, and infrastructure necessary
151 for the safe and efficient operation of such aircraft,
152 including, but not limited to, electric charging and fueling
153 systems, battery thermal management infrastructure, safety
154 areas, and passenger terminals.
155 (2) The Department of Transportation shall expeditiously
156 approve vertiports adopting the model vertiport siting code
157 created pursuant to s. 332.15(5).
158 (3) The regulation of vertiport design, aeronautical
159 operations, and aviation safety is preempted to the state to
160 ensure consistency with federal regulations. This subsection
161 does not apply to local land use and zoning authority or to
162 reasonable noise compatibility ordinances, provided such local
163 regulations do not effectively prohibit the operation of
164 advanced air mobility aircraft authorized by the Federal
165 Aviation Administration.
166 (4)(a) The regulation of electric aircraft charging
167 stations and associated infrastructure is preempted to the
168 state.
169 (b) A local governmental entity may not enact or enforce an
170 ordinance or regulation related to the design, construction, or
171 installation of electric aircraft charging stations.
172 (c) Local governmental entities shall issue any required
173 building permits for electric aircraft charging stations based
174 solely upon compliance with the standards established by the
175 Department of Transportation under s. 332.15(5).
176 (d) If a local governmental entity does not approve or deny
177 a permit application for an electric aircraft charging station
178 within 15 business days after receipt of a complete application,
179 the application shall be deemed approved.
180 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.