The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: CS/SB 1646
INTRODUCER: Transportation Committee and Senator Davis
SUBJECT: Commercial Service Airport Transparency and Accountability
DATE: April 18, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Price Vickers TR Fav/CS
2. Price Twogood RC Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1646 revises legislation enacted in 2020 relating to commercial service airport
transparency and accountability. The bill:
Defines the term “consent agenda;”
Revises the website location on which a commercial service airport must provide a link to its
airport master plan;
Amends the requirement for posting a contract to the airport’s website to provide that any
contract or contract amendment in excess of $325,000, increased from $65,000, must be
posted on the airport’s website, and to expressly limit the requirement to contracts for the
purchase of commodities or contractual services;
Requires that commercial service airports use competitive solicitation processes for
purchases of commodities and contractual services that exceed the threshold amount of
$325,000, increased from $65,000;
Specifies that governing bodies of certain categories of commercial service airports must
approve, award, or ratify any contract for commodities or contractual services in excess of
specified amounts as a separate line item on the governing body’s agenda with a reasonable
opportunity for public comment; and prohibits approval, award, or ratification of such
contracts as part of a consent agenda; and
Makes technical and clarifying revisions.
The bill presents no apparent fiscal impact to the state or private sector. The fiscal impact to local
governments and special districts that operate commercial service airports is indeterminate. See
the “Fiscal Impact” heading below.
BILL: CS/SB 1646 Page 2
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Neither state nor federal law establishes requirements for airport governance or ownership. As
such, Florida airports operate under either a government department model (where the airport
operates as a department of the local government) or an airport authority model (where the
airport authority is created as either an independent or a dependent special district). Airport
operation and administration is generally governed as part of the local government or special
district that owns the airport.
Commercial Service Airports
As defined in federal law, a “commercial service airport means a public airport in a State that the
Secretary determines has at least 2,500 passenger boardings each year and is receiving scheduled
passenger aircraft service.”1 For the calendar year 2021 (the latest posted data), the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) classified 518 airports as commercial service airports
nationwide. Out of these, 21 were located in Florida.2 The locations of these airports at the time
included Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Ft. Myers, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville,
Sarasota, Sanford, Pensacola, Clearwater, Valparaiso, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Key West,
Tallahassee, Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Melbourne, Sarasota, and Vero Beach.
As defined in state law, a “commercial service airport” is a primary airport as defined in 49
U.S.C. § 47102 (a commercial service airport with more than 10,000 passenger boardings each
year) which is classified as a large, medium, or small hub airport by the FAA. The referenced
federal law defines large, medium, and small hub airports respectively as follows:
A commercial service airport that has at least 1.0 percent of the passenger boardings.
A commercial service airport that has at least 0.25 percent but less than 1.0 percent of
the passenger boardings.
A commercial service airport that has at least 0.05 percent but less than 0.25 percent of
the passenger boardings.
According to the Florida Airports Council, commercial service airports support over 1,179,000
jobs and, along with other airport categories, facilitate generation of $175 billion in economic
activity.3
Transparency and Accountability
In 2020, the Legislature created s. 332.0075, F.S., relating to commercial service airport
transparency and accountability.4 That section of law requires each airport’s governing body5 to
1
49 U.S.C. § 47102(7).
2
See faa.gov, CY 2021 Commercial Service Enplanements Data (9/16/2022) (faa.gov) (last visited March 30, 2023).
Commercial service airports can and do fall in and out of the classification category based on the number of enplanements.
3
See the Florida Airport Council document, Florida Aviation by the Numbers (on file in the Senate Transportation
Committee).
4
Chapter 2022-156, Laws of Fla.
5
Defined in s. 332.0075(1)(c), F.S., as the governing body of the county, municipality, or special district that operates a
commercial service airport.
BILL: CS/SB 1646 Page 3
establish and maintain a website to post information relating to the operation of a commercial
service airport, including:
All published notices of meetings and published meeting agendas of the governing body.
The official minutes of each meeting of the governing body, which must be posted within
seven business days after the date of the meeting in which the minutes were approved.
The approved budget for the commercial service airport for the current fiscal year, which
must be posted within seven business days after the date of adoption. Budgets must remain
on the website for two years after the conclusion of the fiscal year for which they were
adopted.
A link to the Airport Master Plan for the commercial service airport on the FAA’s website.
A link to all financial and statistical reports for the commercial service airport on the FAA’s
website.
Any contract or contract amendment executed by or on behalf of the commercial service
airport in excess of $65,000, which must be posted no later than seven business days after the
commercial service airport executes the contract or contract amendment.
Position and rate information for each employee of the commercial service airport, including,
at a minimum, the employee's position title, position description, and annual or hourly salary,
which information must be updated annually.6
Notwithstanding any other law, commercial service airports are subject to Chapter 287, F.S., for
purchases of commodities or contractual services which exceed $65,000. If the purchase of
commodities or contractual services exceeds $65,000, the purchase may not be made without
receiving competitive sealed bids, competitive sealed proposals, or competitive sealed replies
unless an exception applies as provided in s. 287.057(3), F.S., or an immediate danger to the
public health, safety, or welfare or other substantial loss to the commercial service airport
requires emergency action.7
A governing body must approve, award, or ratify all contracts executed by or on behalf of a
commercial service airport in excess of $325,000 as a separate line item on the agenda and must
provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment. Such contracts may not be approved,
awarded, or ratified as part of a consent agenda.8
State Procurement
Chapter 287, F.S., provides statutory requirements for the procurement of goods and services by
the state. The Legislature recognizes that fair and open competition is a basic tenet of public
procurement. It is essential to the effective and ethical procurement of commodities and
contractual services that there be a system of uniform procedures utilized by state agencies in
managing and procuring commodities and contractual services, that detailed justification of
agency decisions in the procurement of commodities and contractual services be maintained, and
that adherence by the agency and the vendor to specific ethical considerations be required.9
6
Section 332.0075(2), F.S.
7
Section 332.0075(3)(a), F.S.
8
Section 332.0075(3)(b), F.S.
9
Section 287.001, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1646 Page 4
Depending on the cost and characteristics of the needed goods or services, agencies may utilize a
variety of procurement methods, which include:10
Single source contracts, which are used when an agency determines that only one vendor is
available to provide a commodity or service at the time of purchase;
Invitations to bid, which are used when an agency determines that standard services or goods
will meet needs, wide competition is available, and the vendor’s experience will not greatly
influence the agency’s results;
Requests for proposal, which are used when the procurement requirements allow for
consideration of various solutions and the agency believes more than two or three vendors
exist who can provide the required goods or services; and
Invitations to negotiate, which are used when negotiations are determined to be necessary to
obtain the best value and involve a request for highly complex, customized, mission-critical
services.
Florida law establishes five categories of purchase thresholds and requires entities to follow
certain conditions when funds are expended in these amounts. The categories and amounts are:11
CATEGORY ONE: $20,000.
CATEGORY TWO: $35,000.
CATEGORY THREE: $65,000.
CATEGORY FOUR: $195,000.
CATEGORY FIVE: $325,000
For contracts for commodities or services in excess of $35,000 (CATEGORY TWO), state
agencies must utilize a competitive solicitation process;12 however, certain contractual services
and commodities are exempt from this requirement.13
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill amends s. 332.0075, F.S., enacted in 2020 relating to commercial service airport
transparency and accountability. The bill defines the term “consent agenda” to mean an agenda
that consists of items voted on as a group and that does not provide the opportunity for public
comment on each individual item before approval or disapproval by the governing body.
The bill revises the website location on which a commercial service airport must provide a link
to its airport master plan by requiring the link to be posted on the airport’s website, instead of on
the FAA’s website.
The bill amends the requirement for posting a contract to the airport’s website to provide that any
contract or contract amendment in excess of $325,000, increased from $65,000, must be posted
on the airport’s website, and to expressly limit the requirement to contracts for the purchase of
commodities or contractual services. Under the bill, the airport would not be required to post
10
See ss. 287.012(6) and 287.057, F.S.
11
Section 287.017, F.S.
12
Section 287.057(1), F.S., requires all projects that exceed the Category Two ($35,000) threshold contained in s. 287.017,
F.S., to be competitively bid.
13
See s. 287.057(3), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1646 Page 5
contracts unrelated to the purchase of commodities of contractual services on the airport’s
website.
The bill requires that commercial service airports use competitive solicitation processes for
purchases of commodities and contractual services that exceed the threshold amount of
$325,000, increased from $65,000.
Lastly, the bill requires a commercial service airport governing body to approve, award, or ratify
any contract for commodities or contractual services as a separate line item on its agenda, with a
reasonable opportunity for public comment, if such contract is executed by or on behalf of a
commercial service airport that is classified by the FAA as a:
Small hub airport and the contract amount exceeds $500,000.
Medium hub airport and the contract amount exceeds $1 million.
Large hub airport and the contract amount exceeds $1.5 million.
A governing body may not approve, award, or ratify any such contract as part of a consent
agenda.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
BILL: CS/SB 1646 Page 6
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
Counties, municipalities, or special districts that operate a commercial service airport
may experience an indeterminate but positive fiscal impact resulting from the increase in
the threshold amounts that trigger competitive solicitation and more efficient
procurement processes.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends section 332.0075 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Transportation on April 4, 2023:
The committee substitute:
Removes the provision requiring a commercial service airport governing body to
approve, award, or ratify all contracts for commodities or contractual services in
excess of $4 million as a separate line item, and
Requires such governing body to approve, award, or ratify contracts for commodities
or contractual services as a separate line item on the agenda, and to provide a
reasonable opportunity for public comment, dependent on the FAA’s classification of
the commercial service airport as a small, medium, or large hub airport and on the
amount of the contract.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.