26th Annual Texas Aviation Conference
The recently completed 26th Annual Texas Aviation Conference held in Austin was a huge success. The conference attendance set an all-time record of 557 participants, many of whom had glowing comments about the program and hotel accommodations. The presentations given were first rate and we are deeply indebted to all of the vendors and conference attendees who made this conference one of the best ever. Be sure and hold the dates of May 11 through 13 next year for the 27th Annual Texas Aviation Conference, which will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Austin.
FAA Reauthorization Making Progress?
The expectation for FAA Reauthorization has been low for the past several months, with most experts predicting no new FAA program until late next year. The primary stumbling blocks have been: ( l) How to pay for FAA in the future (continuation of the passenger ticket tax and fuel tax or switch to a system of “user fees” for air traffic control services) and (2) A bitter fight over granting additional bargaining rights for air traffic controllers. With almost everyone giving up on resolving these issues anytime soon, lo and behold, a compromise was reached on the funding and labor issues and the proposed FAA reauthorization legislation looked to be on the fast track.
As often is the case in Congress, as the bill moved forward, it became weighted down with several amendments, most of which had nothing to do with air transportation, such as one favored by the highway lobby and an amendment to fund a $1.6B elevated train to John F. Kennedy Airport.
Needless to say, the bill came to an abrupt halt with no immediate resolution in sight. Prognosis? Poor. The Senate has already moved to other issues. It has a lot of contentious items on the legislative calendar that it wants to get out of the way before the summer recess. With elections in the foll, there is not much hope at this point for reauthorization of FAA programs until sometime next year.
How does that affect TxDOT’s grant program? Under the current continuing resolution, we are to receive 75 percent of the amount of state apportionment funds granted in FY ’08. We expect to receive those funds soon. We are hopeful that we will receive the remaining 25 percent of the program funds prior to the end of the fiscal year. In all probability, we expect project delays for bidding and construction for the FY ’08 program. Additionally, with the ever-increasing petroleum costs, our bid prices continue to escalate. Airport sponsors need to be aware that their construction prices could very well come in higher than original estimates and may require a larger local matching share. In all likelihood, we will have to delay some projects from one year to the next to remain within our budget of available funds.
