AB100 - Revises provisions relating to economic development of regional commercial air service in this State. (BDR 44-140)

EXEMPT (Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025) FIRST REPRINT A.B. 100 - *AB100_R1* ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 100–ASSEMBLYMEMBERS GURR, KOENIG AND D’SILVA PREFILED JANUARY 14, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Revenue SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to economic development of regional commercial air service in this State. (BDR 44-140) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No. Effect on the State: Contains Appropriation not included in Executive Budget. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to economic development; creating the Office of Aerospace within the Department of Transportation; setting forth the duties of the Office; revising provisions relating to the Nevada Air Service Development Commission; requiring the Office to submit certain written reports relating to grants; requiring the Director of the Office to administer the Fund for Aviation; making an appropriation to the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund; making an appropriation to the Fund for Aviation; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law creates within the Office of Economic Development in the Office 1 of the Governor the Nevada Air Service Development Commission, which consists 2 of the Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development and certain 3 members who are appointed by the Governor. (NRS 231.680) Section 7 of this bill 4 creates the Office of Aerospace within the Department of Transportation and 5 requires the Governor to appoint a Director to head the Office. Sections 3-6 of this 6 bill define certain terms relating to the Office. 7 Section 8 of this bill sets forth the duties of the Office, which include: (1) 8 developing and expanding state planning relating to air service and airspace 9 infrastructure and aviation-flight use, including, airport, airstrip, heliport, spaceport 10 and vertiport, which must be developed subject to certain conditions; (2) creating a 11 system for automated weather observation at rural locations; (3) creating a 12 certification program for airport lighting and maintenance at rural airports; (4) 13 developing a program to distribute the surplus equipment to airports; (5) 14 – 2 – - *AB100_R1* implementing a statewide network of crew cars to support rural airports; and (6) 15 establishing a comprehensive aviation support network. Section 9 of this bill 16 authorizes the Office to apply for grants and accept certain funds. 17 Existing law creates the Nevada Air Service Development Fund as a special 18 revenue fund in the State Treasury and requires the Commission to develop a 19 program to make grants of money from the Fund to an air carrier or any 20 governmental entity for the purpose of establishing air service or providing 21 enhanced air service routes that service certain airports. (NRS 231.690, 231.710) 22 Sections 10 and 23 of this bill: (1) move and rename the Nevada Air Service 23 Development Fund to the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund and provide that 24 money remaining in the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund does not revert to 25 the State General Fund at the end of a fiscal year and must be carried forward to the 26 next fiscal year; and (2) require the Director of the Office to administer the Fund 27 and make grants of money to air carriers or governmental entities that meet certain 28 requirements. Sections 11 and 23 move the responsibility for developing the grant 29 program from the Nevada Air Service Development Commission to the Office. 30 Section 11 also sets forth the requirements for air carriers to be awarded a grant of 31 money from the Office. 32 Sections 12 and 23 of this bill: (1) rename the Nevada Air Service 33 Development Commission the Nevada Aerospace Commission; and (2) move the 34 Commission to the Office of Aerospace. Section 12 requires the Nevada Aerospace 35 Commission to advise the Governor and the Office on the priorities for aerospace 36 development in this State. 37 Existing law creates the Fund for Aviation as a trust fund administered by the 38 Director of the Department of Transportation and authorizes the Director to award 39 grants of money from the Fund for Aviation to counties, cities or other local 40 governments in this State to obtain matching money for federal programs and 41 certain other programs relating to airports. (NRS 494.048) Section 14 of this bill 42 requires the Director of the Office of Aerospace to administer the Fund for Aviation 43 and authorizes the Director of the Office of Aerospace to award such grants of 44 money. 45 Section 13 of this bill requires the Office to submit an annual report to be 46 transmitted to the Legislature or Legislative Commission detailing certain 47 information for the immediately preceding calendar year relating to the grants 48 awarded from the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund and the Fund for 49 Aviation. 50 Section 15 of this bill makes an appropriation from the State General Fund to 51 the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund in the amount of $10,000,000 for the 52 purpose of conducting a study of the development of intrastate air service in this 53 State and for the purpose of making grants of money pursuant to section 11. 54 Section 16 of this bill makes an appropriation from the State General Fund to the 55 Fund for Aviation in the amount of $1,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and 56 $1,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 to match money that is available from the 57 Federal Aviation Administration for these purposes. 58 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. (Deleted by amendment.) 1 – 3 – - *AB100_R1* Sec. 2. Chapter 494 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1 thereto the provisions set forth as sections 3 to 13, inclusive, of this 2 act. 3 Sec. 3. As used in sections 3 to 13, inclusive, of this act, 4 unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined 5 in sections 4, 5 and 6 of this act have the meanings ascribed to 6 them in those sections. 7 Sec. 4. “Air carrier” means a person who provides 8 commercial air transportation to passengers. The term includes, 9 without limitation, an air taxi operator designated pursuant to 14 10 C.F.R. § 298.3. 11 Sec. 5. “Director” means the Director of the Office of 12 Aerospace appointed pursuant to section 7 of this act. 13 Sec. 6. “Office” means the Office of Aerospace created by 14 section 7 of this act. 15 Sec. 7. 1. The Office of Aerospace is hereby created within 16 the Department of Transportation. 17 2. The Governor shall appoint a Director to head the Office. 18 The Director is in the unclassified service of the State and serves 19 at the pleasure of the Governor. 20 Sec. 8. 1. The Office shall: 21 (a) Develop a statewide plan for advanced air mobility airspace 22 and airport infrastructure and aviation-flight use, including, 23 without limitation, airport, airstrip, heliport, spaceport and 24 vertiport, which must be developed with input from relevant 25 stakeholders; 26 (b) Manage and support the development of air service in this 27 State, with an emphasis on intrastate air service to all areas of this 28 State; 29 (c) Expand existing state planning for airports and heliport 30 systems to highlight the economic impact of airports and aviation 31 in this State; 32 (d) Create a system for automated weather observation at rural 33 locations; 34 (e) Create a certification program in airport lighting and 35 maintenance at rural airports; 36 (f) Develop a program to distribute surplus equipment to 37 airports in this State; 38 (g) Implement a statewide network of crew cars to support 39 rural airports in this State; and 40 (h) Establish a comprehensive aviation support network in this 41 State. 42 2. The Director may adopt regulations to carry out the 43 provisions of sections 3 to 13, inclusive, of this act. 44 – 4 – - *AB100_R1* Sec. 9. The Office of Aerospace may apply for any available 1 grants and accept gifts, grants, bequests and other contributions 2 from any public or private source, including interlocal 3 agreements. 4 Sec. 10. 1. There is hereby created as a special revenue 5 fund in the State Treasury the Nevada Aerospace Development 6 Fund. Any money in the Fund remaining at the end of a fiscal 7 year does not revert to the State General Fund, and the balance in 8 the Fund must be carried forward to the next fiscal year. 9 2. The Director shall administer the Fund. The Director may 10 accept gifts, bequests, grants, appropriations and donations from 11 any source for deposit in the Fund. 12 3. The money in the Fund must be invested as other state 13 funds are invested. All interest earned on the deposit or investment 14 of the money in the Fund, after deducting any applicable charges, 15 must be credited to the Fund. Claims against the Fund must be 16 paid as other claims against the State are paid. 17 4. The Director may make grants of money from the Fund to 18 air carriers or governmental entities that satisfy the criteria set 19 forth in section 11 of this act. 20 Sec. 11. 1. The Office shall develop a program to provide 21 grants of money from the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund 22 created by section 10 of this act to an air carrier or governmental 23 entity for the purpose of establishing air service or providing 24 enhanced air service routes that service a public-use airport that is 25 a National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems public airport. 26 2. An application for a grant of money from the Fund must 27 be in the form prescribed by the Director and must include, 28 without limitation: 29 (a) A statement designating the airport described in subsection 30 1 for which the air carrier will commence or continue air service if 31 the grant is awarded; 32 (b) Commitments from the air carrier that if the Office awards 33 the grant to the air carrier, the air carrier will enter into a written 34 agreement with the Office that provides for the air carrier to 35 commence or continue air service to the airport designated in the 36 application in exchange for receiving from the Office one of the 37 guarantees set forth in subsection 4; and 38 (c) Letters of support from each airport that participates in the 39 air service route offered by the air carrier pursuant to 40 subsection 1. 41 3. The Office may make a grant of money from the Nevada 42 Aerospace Development Fund if the Office finds that the grant 43 will: 44 – 5 – - *AB100_R1* (a) Enable an air carrier to commence or continue air service 1 to an airport described in subsection 1; and 2 (b) Provide economic benefit to this State. 3 4. The Office may make a grant of money from the Nevada 4 Aerospace Development Fund only to: 5 (a) Guarantee that an air carrier will receive an agreed 6 amount of revenue per flight that the air carrier operates into or 7 out of the airport designated in the application pursuant to 8 paragraph (a) of subsection 2; or 9 (b) Guarantee a profit goal for the air carrier that is 10 established by agreement between the air carrier and the Office. 11 5. As used in this section: 12 (a) “National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems public 13 airport” means an airport in this State that is part of the most 14 recent version of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems 15 published by the United States Secretary of Transportation 16 pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 47103. 17 (b) “Public-use airport” has the meaning ascribed to it in 49 18 U.S.C. § 47102. 19 Sec. 12. 1. The Nevada Aerospace Commission is hereby 20 created within the Office. The Commission shall advise the 21 Governor and the Office on the priorities for aerospace 22 development in this State. 23 2. The Commission consists of: 24 (a) The Director; 25 (b) One member appointed by the Governor who is a member 26 of the Commission on Tourism; 27 (c) One member appointed by the Governor who represents the 28 Nevada Aviation Association or its successor organization; 29 (d) One member appointed by the Governor who represents the 30 department of aviation in a county whose population is 700,000 or 31 more; 32 (e) One member appointed by the Governor who represents the 33 Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority; 34 (f) One member appointed by the Governor who represents the 35 Nevada Resort Association or its successor organization; 36 (g) One member appointed by the Governor who represents the 37 Nevada Association of Counties or its successor organization; and 38 (h) One member appointed by the Governor who represents 39 the Nevada League of Cities or its successor organization. 40 3. The Governor shall ensure that at least one member 41 appointed pursuant to subsection 2 is a resident of a county whose 42 population is less than 100,000. 43 – 6 – - *AB100_R1* 4. The terms of office for the members of the Commission 1 appointed pursuant to paragraphs (b) to (h), inclusive, of 2 subsection 2 are 2 years, which terms must be staggered. 3 5. At the first meeting of each fiscal year, the Commission 4 shall elect from among its members a Chair, a Vice Chair and a 5 Secretary. 6 6. The Commission shall meet at least once each calendar 7 quarter and at other times at the call of the Chair or a majority of 8 its members. A majority of the members of the Commission 9 constitutes a quorum for the transaction of all business. 10 7. The members of the Commission serve without 11 compensation. 12 Sec. 13. On or before February 1 of each year, the Office 13 shall prepare and submit to the Director of the Legislative Counsel 14 Bureau for transmittal to the Legislature, or if the Legislature is 15 not in session, the Legislative Commission, a report detailing for 16 the immediately preceding calendar year: 17 1. The total number of applications for grants of money from 18 the Nevada Aerospace Development Fund created by section 10 of 19 this act that were received pursuant to section 11 of this act; 20 2. The total amount of grants from the Nevada Aerospace 21 Development Fund that were awarded by the Office to air carriers 22 or governmental entities pursuant to section 11 of this act; 23 3. For each grant of money awarded from the Nevada 24 Aerospace Development Fund, the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]