On June 23^rd, the scheduled last day of the legislative session, the Capitol was rocked by the stunning announced resignation of Senator Joseph Bruno as Majority Leader. With work still left to be done to finish the session, the news created confusion in Albany as to who would be the new leader and what impact these events may have on the upcoming elections. Within twenty-four hours of Bruno stepping-down, Senator Dean Skelos (Nassau County, Long Island) was elected by the Republican Conference as the new Majority Leader and Senator Thomas Libous (Binghamton) as Skelos’ top deputy. Senator Libous has been and will continue to be the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, at least for now. Subsequently on July 15^th, Bruno announced his retirement prior to the end of his term leaving a slim 31-30 seat Republican margin in the Senate

Today, Governor David Patterson announced that the budget deficit for this year has grown to $6.4 billion. He called for an emergency session with legislators on August 19^th to address the financial issues the State is facing at this time.

On the aviation side, a few activities are worth noting:

GA Sales Tax Exemption

NYAMA requested the sponsors of the GA aviation sales tax exemption bill introduce an amendment to include language to repeal the December 2009 sunset date for the maintenance and repair tax exemption. The bill was amended and passed by the Senate. Assemblyman Schimminger managed to have the bill considered by the Ways and Means Committee but, as predicted, the bill was held along with bills to provide tax exemptions for motor fuel, gifts to charities, and fuel used for marine purposes. S425-B (Larkin)/A3806-B (Schimminger)

NYAMA has scheduled a meeting for August 6 with the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance and the Department of Transportation to discuss the drafting of a report on the effects of the maintenance and repair sales tax exemption on the aviation industry. The finding of this report will be important to NYAMA’s efforts to extend and expand the aviation sales tax exemption.

Airport Records of Minors Traveling Alone

An Assembly bill requires airports to identify and maintain a record of all minors unaccompanied by an adult. This bill, aimed at fighting "human trafficking", was scheduled to be taken up by the Assembly Transportation Committee. Assembly staff was contacted by NYAMA to explain that the information being sought by the sponsors is already available from the airlines as they are required to keep passenger information and make it available to the FAA. The airports themselves would not be able to acquire and process this information in any meaningful way. Also, the use of passenger information may be under the jurisdiction of the FAA and as such, the state would be preempted from requiring airports to compile this information. As a result, the bill was held in committee. A8724 (Rivera)

Helicopter Altitude Restrictions

The bill to regulate aircraft (helicopter) altitude was scheduled to be on the Assembly Transportation Committee agenda earlier in the session but was removed from the agenda after NYAMA spoke to the Assembly Program and Counsel's office and relayed concerns including the point that the state is preempted by FAA rules. The bill was subsequently amended to remove any references to altitude restrictions and instead requires DOT to study and recommend noise abatement efforts in the affected area. There is no Senate sponsor. A10187

Assault of Airport Employee Signs

Legislation to require airports to post signs indicating attacks on airport personnel are crimes, passed both houses of the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor. NYAMA supported the bill when it was transmitted to the Governor. (Chapter 100, Laws of 2008)

Impersonation of a pilot

This bill provides that impersonation of a pilot or member of an aviation flight or ground crew is a class A misdemeanor. The bill passed the Senate. S1540 (Fuschillo)

Operation of an Aircraft While Intoxicated

The bill expands the crime and penalties for operating an aircraft while intoxicated. The bill passed Senate but died in the Assembly Codes Committee. S2741-A (DeFrancisco)/A7633-A (Latimer)  

Stolen Transportation Security Identification

The bill includes property consisting of certain identification devices issued by transportation authorities as property which, when stolen, would constitute grand larceny in the fourth degree. The bill passed the Senate but has no Assembly sponsor. S1542 (Fuschillo) 

Unlawful solicitation of ground transportation services at an airport

NYAMA supports this legislation to increase the penalties for unlawful solicitation of ground transportation services at airports and making it a printable offense. This bill would address this problem by making a first offense for unlawful solicitation of ground transportation services at an airport a class A misdemeanor and a printable offense. Unfortunately, the Assembly did not pass the bill. While Senator Padavan's amended bill (A misdemeanor) passed the Senate, the Assembly did a further amendment which simply increases the minimum fine from $100 to $250 and the maximum fine from $250 to $1000. The Assembly passed its version but because the bills don't match, the issue was not resolved prior to the end of session. S5865 (Padavan)/A8868 (Aubrey)