Citations Affected: IC 8-22.
Synopsis: Commerce powers of airport authorities. Allows the board
of an airport authority to enter into agreements and joint contracts with
other boards to promote and encourage aviation related trade or
commerce.
Effective: July 1, 2001.
January 17, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Commerce, Economic
Development and Technology.
February 19, 2001, reported _ Do Pass.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
transportation.
the board determines. If the authority was established under
IC 19-6-2
(before its repeal on April 1, 1980), the entire cost must
be borne by the authority, and ordinances creating the plan or
making changes in it must be approved by the mayor of the city.
The plan may be administered and funded by a trust fund or by
insurance purchased from an insurance company licensed to do
business in Indiana or by a combination of them. The board may
also include in the plan provisions for life insurance, disability
insurance, or both.
(13) To sell surplus real or personal property in accordance with
law.
(14) To adopt and use a seal.
(15) To acquire, establish, construct, improve, equip, maintain,
control, lease, and regulate municipal airports, landing fields, and
other air navigation facilities, either inside or outside the district;
to acquire by lease (with or without the option to purchase)
airports, landing fields, or navigation facilities, and any structures,
equipment, or related improvements; and to erect, install,
construct, and maintain at the airport or airports facilities for the
servicing of aircraft and for the comfort and accommodation of air
travelers and the public. The Indiana department of transportation
must grant its approval before land may be purchased for the
establishment of an airport or landing field and before an airport
or landing field may be established.
(16) To fix and determine exclusively the uses to which the
airport lands may be put. All uses must be necessary or desirable
to the airport or the aviation industry and must be compatible with
the uses of the surrounding lands as far as practicable.
(17) To elect a secretary from its membership, or to employ a
secretary, an airport director, superintendents, managers, a
treasurer, engineers, surveyors, attorneys, clerks, guards,
mechanics, laborers, and all employees the board considers
expedient, and to prescribe and assign their respective duties and
authorities and to fix and regulate the compensation to be paid to
the persons employed by it in accordance with the authority's
appropriations. All employees shall be selected irrespective of
their political affiliations.
(18) To make all rules and regulations, consistent with laws
regarding air commerce, for the management and control of its
airports, landing fields, air navigation facilities, and other
property under its control.
(19) To acquire by lease the use of an airport or landing field for
aircraft pending the acquisition and improvement of an airport or
landing field.
(20) To manage and operate airports, landing fields, and other air
navigation facilities acquired or maintained by an authority; to
lease all or part of an airport, landing field, or any buildings or
other structures, and to fix, charge, and collect rentals, tolls, fees,
and charges to be paid for the use of the whole or a part of the
airports, landing fields, or other air navigation facilities by aircraft
landing there and for the servicing of the aircraft; to construct
public recreational facilities that will not interfere with air
operational facilities; to fix, charge, and collect fees for public
admissions and privileges; and to make contracts for the operation
and management of the airports, landing fields, and other air
navigation facilities; and to provide for the use, management, and
operation of the air navigation facilities through lessees, its own
employees, or otherwise. Contracts or leases for the maintenance,
operation, or use of the airport or any part of it may be made for
a term not exceeding fifteen (15) years and may be extended for
similar terms of years, except that any parcels of the land of the
airport may be leased for any use connected with the operation
and convenience of the airport for an initial term not exceeding
forty (40) years and may be extended for a period not to exceed
ten (10) years. If a person whose character, experience, and
financial responsibility has been determined satisfactory by the
board offers to erect a permanent structure that facilitates and is
consistent with the operation, use, and purpose of the airport on
land belonging to the airport, a lease may be entered into for a
period not to exceed ninety-nine (99) years. However, the board
must pass an ordinance to enter into such a lease. The board may
not grant an exclusive right for the use of a landing area under its
jurisdiction. However, this does not prevent the making of leases
in accordance with other provisions of this chapter. All contracts
and leases are subject to restrictions and conditions that the board
prescribes. The authority may lease its property and facilities for
any commercial or industrial use it considers necessary and
proper, including the use of providing airport motel facilities.
(21) To sell machinery, equipment, or material that is not required
for aviation purposes. The proceeds shall be deposited with the
treasurer of the authority.
(22) To negotiate and execute contracts for sale or purchase,
lease, personal services, materials, supplies, equipment, or any
other transaction or business relative to an airport under the
board's control and operation. However, whenever the board
determines to sell part or all of aviation lands, buildings, or
improvements owned by the authority, the sale must be in
accordance with law.
(23) To vacate all or parts of roads, highways, streets, or alleys,
whether inside or outside the district, in the manner provided by
statute.
(24) To annex lands to itself if the lands are owned by the
authority or are streets, roads, or other public ways.
(25) To approve any state, county, city, or other highway, road,
street or other public way, railroad, power line, or other
right-of-way to be laid out or opened across an airport or in such
proximity as to affect the safe operation of the airport.
(26) To construct drainage and sanitary sewers with connections
and outlets as are necessary for the proper drainage and
maintenance of an airport or landing field acquired or maintained
under this chapter, including the necessary buildings and
improvements and for the public use of them in the same manner
that the authority may construct sewers and drains. However, with
respect to the construction of drains and sanitary sewers beyond
the boundaries of the airport or landing field, the board shall
proceed in the same manner as private owners of property and
may institute proceedings and negotiate with the departments,
bodies, and officers of an eligible entity to secure the proper
orders and approvals; and to order a public utility or public
service corporation or other person to remove or to install in
underground conduits wires, cables, and power lines passing
through or over the airport or landing field or along the borders or
within a reasonable distance that may be determined to be
necessary for the safety of operations, upon payment to the utility
or other person of due compensation for the expense of the
removal or reinstallation. The board must consent before any
franchise may be granted by state or local authorities for the
construction of or maintenance of railway, telephone, telegraph,
electric power, pipe, or conduit line upon, over, or through land
under the control of the board or within a reasonable distance of
land that is necessary for the safety of operation. The board must
also consent before overhead electric power lines carrying a
voltage of more than four thousand four hundred (4,400) volts and
having poles, standards, or supports over thirty (30) feet in height
within one-half (1/2) mile of a landing area acquired or
maintained under this chapter may be installed.