AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 16

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STATE AND LOCAL ACTION
1 California

Court backs FAA: Santa Monica can’t ban jets

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has denied a petition from Santa Monica, California, to review the FAA’s decision that the city could not ban certain jet traffic at Santa Monica Airport. The FAA had stopped the city from going forward with an ordinance to ban large turbine aircraft from operating at the airport and ruled that it had no authority for the ban. The appeals court upheld the FAA decision, finding that the action was not “arbitrary and capricious.” AOPA has long been involved in the dispute at Santa Monica and provided input as a friend of the court in the city’s appeal. “The outcome of this case could have had tremendous negative impacts on any federally obligated airport—allowing local officials to implement restrictions on operations in spite of FAA grant assurances and federal law,” said AOPA Vice President of Airport Advocacy Bill Dunn, who attended the October 2010 hearing with AOPA legal counsel Kathy Yodice. “Instead, the court reaffirmed the FAA’s authority to safeguard airports’ role in the national air transportation system.” 2 Oklahoma 3 South Carolina

Montana bill to cut aeronautics board tabled after outreach
A bill that would have disbanded the Montana Aeronautics Board was tabled for no further action in committee after AOPA and the state aviation community reached out to the sponsor to explain the bill’s potential impact. Montana Sen. Kendall Van Dyk sponsored the bill, S.B.181, which would have consolidated the nine-member volunteer board into one position on the state’s transportation board as a cost-saving measure. AOPA Northwest Regional Representative Mike Ferguson, who served as Aeronautics Division administrator for 27 years, contacted Van Dyk to explain the critical role of the board in providing invaluable counsel throughout his tenure. “State lawmakers are facing difficult budget decisions this year, and Senator Van Dyk saw this bill as a way to cut costs,” Ferguson said. “He didn’t realize initially what the impact could be to Montana pilots, but he listened to members of the aviation community and responded to our concerns.”

4 Montana

Management out, lights back on at Oklahoma airpark

The Cherokee County Commission recently took over operations from a local airport authority that the commission concluded had become unable to manage the airport. One of the first things the commission did next was to reverse the airport authority’s move to shut down the pilot-controlled lighting along the airport’s 2,600-foot sod runway. Tenkiller Lake Airport’s AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Valerie Westedt spearheaded the local effort to restore safe conditions by engaging the county commission and by providing AOPA with research to mount the offensive. Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president of airport advocacy, praised Westedt as an excellent example of what pilots can achieve when they rally to protect their interests.

S.C. panel urges aircraft tax reduction
A yearlong review of South Carolina’s tax structure found that the state levies comparatively low taxes but faces “structural deficiencies” that could threaten its ability to raise stable revenue in the future. The report by the South Carolina Tax Realignment Commission noted that, “property taxes on private passenger airplanes are amongst the highest in the nation,” and recommended that lawmakers “consider lowering the assessment ratio on private passenger aircraft.” The report described South Carolina’s property tax system as “a product of extremes,” that included a low tax burden on urban primary residences and very high tax levies on boats and airplanes. AOPA is studying the report’s recommendations and will review legislative initiatives resulting from it.

The number of newly elected state legislators across the country to take office this year (23.7 percent of the total number of seats).
AOPA PILOT •

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The number of Republican senators in the for states this next fiscal year. Democratic-controlled Hawaii State Senate (the total margin is 24 to 1).

The estimated total budget gap
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011
