Originally published in 1997
Fiscal year 1998 brings an increase in both state and federal funding for airport grants. The Texas Transportation Commission sent a budget request to the 75th Legislature asking for increased aviation funding for airport development grants. While the legislature did not approve the entire request, state grant dollars were increased to $15 million for fiscal year 1998 as compared to $12.8 million for last year. Additionally, federal appropriations for the State Block Grant program for fiscal year 1998 increased to $21,810,553. These increases allow the Aviation Division to meet more of the ever-growing needs of the aviation community.
While federal funding for airport improvements comes from aviation-generated revenue, funding for state grants comes from the state highway fund. An attempt to redirect existing state aviation industry tax revenue from the general fund to an airport development fund was undertaken during the past legislative session. Unfortunately, the effort was not successful. However, the needs of our statewide airport system did receive considerable attention by the legislative members. Hopefully, progress toward adequate state funding for airport improvements will continue in future sessions of the Texas Legislature.
As another plus for the Texas aviation program, TxDOT Aviation was selected for a federal discretionary grant award of $1 million for the new Innovative Finance Program. Under this program, TxDOT will award grants to publicly owned airports on a 75% federal, 25% local funding basis. Eligible items will include as many as eight Automated Weather Observation Systems, seven visual approach aids, and four safety and security items. The actual number of projects to be funded in each category will depend on the number of participating local airport sponsors and the actual contract costs for each type of proposed project. In a recent mail notification, eligible airport sponsors received details on how they may be selected.