By News Service of Florida
State lawmakers hope Florida will play a major role in efforts to develop new technologies for air transportation, as a key state legislative committee advanced a proposal Monday to help those efforts take off in the state.
The House Ways & Means Committee unanimously approved an incentive package for “advanced air mobility” projects around the state aimed at developing a network of battery-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically.
Carrying a handful of people like a family car, the aircraft have inspired many joking references to the flying cars in the Jetsons animated show of a high-tech future. The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft typically have a range of 60 to 100 miles on a single charge, although some are designed for longer trips.
The incentives advanced on Monday include tax breaks on aircraft, batteries, training equipment and electricity used for the new type of aircraft. It allows the Florida Department of Transportation to fund infrastructure improvements, streamlines regulations for the building of “vertiports” and allows public-private partnerships to be used to construct the new facilities.
Rep. Leonard Spencer, a Gotha Democrat, said the measure was intended to make sure “Florida leads in this next phase of aviation.”
“Advanced Air Mobility is moving from testing to deployment, and states that put the right policies in place now will capture the jobs, capital, investment and innovation that come along with it,” he said. “This bill ensures Florida is leading other states in this growing industry.”
He said the new technologies could be used to provide many different services, including air taxis, medical transport, disaster response and cargo delivery.
Spencer said the development of new kinds of aircraft could also help rural airports and general aviation airports for private aircraft attract new business.
Rep. Doug Bankson, R-Apopka, was the only lawmaker to express any hesitation about the new proposal, although he ultimately voted for it.
Bankson said he worried about legislators jumping in now would be “premature” when the industry is rapidly changing.
“It’s not that there’s not some good things here that I disagree with wholeheartedly. [But] is it time at this point?” said Bankson, who is a pilot. “When I’m flying in the plane, we’re real clear between left seat and right seat, who has the airplane. It felt like someone grabbing that other yoke at the same time. FDOT is already moving a lot of the things you’re saying.”
But Bankson said he was encouraged in conversation with state transportation department officials that the agency could work in tandem with Spencer to promote the industry.
Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue has championed advanced air mobility for years. He and Gov. Ron DeSantis saw prototypes of the VTOLs last June at the Paris Air Show, an international aerospace trade fair and air show. In October, the two announced plans for an aerial test bed at the department’s SunTrax facility in Polk County.
The proposal must still pass two more committees before going before the full House.