Airport grant bill passes House unanimously

OLYMPIA — A bipartisan bill which triples the size of aviation grants for airports was passed unanimously by the House on Tuesday.

House Bill 1018 would increase the size of grants for airports from $250,000 to $750,000. Dent, who drafted the bill on behalf of the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division, said the last increase in grant amounts was around 35 years ago and the rate of inflation dramatically reduced scope of accomplishable projects.

“Inflation has used up a lot of our ability to do projects, Dent said. “Most of our grants have to do with asphalt and pavement. It’s really important for the aviation communities to do this and we ask for the support.”

Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, who is a student pilot, testified in support of the bill, asking the House to keep new pilots and rural airports in mind.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to avoid a pothole or a dangerous hazard on an unrepaired airstrip,” Dye said. “I strongly support this piece of legislation to keep people like me, a chicken, with not very big wings, able to fly and land safely in case of an emergency.”

This bill is predicted to have little fiscal impact. According to the fiscal note, the state would issue fewer larger grants therefore spending around the same amount of overall resources as before.

During the hearing in early-January, Tristan Atkins, the director of aviation for the Department of Transportation, testified in strong support of the bill. Atkins said the $250,000 grant limit had not kept up with inflation and prevented the state from fully funding projects that were critical at public use airports. He said many projects, especially at smaller or rural airports, were forced to split up into smaller multi-phase projects over several construction seasons.

The bill will move to the Senate for further discussion.