Ryan Nicol
The Senate Community Affairs Committee unanimously advanced a bill Monday that would subject commercial airports to increased regulation despite protest from some airports’ representatives.
Sen. Manny Diaz is proposing the measure (SB 1258), which earned bipartisan support in a 5-0 vote from the committee.
Those airports are typically overseen by a separate governing body. The legislation would require more oversight from those bodies, with even more heightened requirements for large-hub commercial service airport
At particular issue Monday was a requirement that a board must vote and allow public comment on any contract in excess of $325,000.
That number was previously set at $65,000. But a strike-all amendment approved Monday bumped it up five-fold.
However, that increase was not enough for several airport representatives who appeared to speak before the committee.
Chad Rosenstein, who serves as the Director of Government Affairs and Grants at the Lee County Port Authority, voiced some of those concerns. He said those contracts are already subject to some public scrutiny.
“Currently, they go on the consent agenda. The public has the ability to comment on those items. It just doesn’t get that specific discussion [for a full vote].”
Rosenstein and others asserted they were mostly in favor of provisions upping ethics and financial regulations on individual board members. But they argued that by requiring a full vote on each of those contracts, it could slow down the process and lead to other airports potentially nabbing those contracts instead.
Rosenstein also lamented the increase in meeting time to debate each item, saying the provision “would take a 45-minute meeting and probably stretch it out to about two-and-a-half hours — very lengthy — to discuss each and every contract.”
Each airport’s governing body would be required to set up a website showing its meeting notices, agendas and official minutes. Members of that body and airport employees would also be subject to the code of ethics for public officers and employees.
For large-hub airports, governing body members must also file more detailed financial disclosures.
The bill defines a large-hub airport as “a publicly owned airport that has at least 1 percent of the annual passenger boardings in the United States as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.”
Four airports would qualify under that definition. Those airports are Orlando International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport.
The measure also mandates the auditor general to conduct financial and operational audits of those large hub airports. Monday’s strike all upped the interval between those audits They were originally required once every five years, but the strike all moved that to once every seven years.
The strike all also narrowed the definition of “commercial service airports” to remove five smallest commercial service airports — Tallahassee, Melbourne, Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Vero Beach. Those airports would not be affected by the legislation.
Committee Chair Anitere Flores also added a successful amendment of her own. It allows airports to maintain preferences for local businesses in awarding contracts, as the bill otherwise requires them to follow the state procurement process.
“In making purchases or conducting a competitive solicitation pursuant to this section, a commercial service airport is authorized to enact or adopt criteria, standards, preferences, or policies for the promotion of small or locally owned businesses, or otherwise apply such criteria, standards, preferences, or policies otherwise generally applicable to competitive solicitations of the political subdivision owning and operating such commercial service airport, and may impose contract provisions necessary to address local economic conditions or local regulatory requirements,” the amendment reads.
In closing, Diaz said the public has a right to know what is being done with the large sums of money being spent by these airports.
“A lot of folks are busy living their lives and paying their taxes,” Diaz said.
“I think it’s ultimately important that they know [how that money is being spent]. They have the right to know.”
