To repeal section 305.230, RSMo 1994, relating to airports, and to enact one new section relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Section 305.230, RSMo 1994, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof to be known as section 305.230, to read as follows:

     305.230. 1. The state highways and transportation commission shall administer an aeronautics program within this state. The state commission shall encourage, foster and participate with the political subdivisions of this state in the promotion and development of aeronautics. The state commission may provide financial assistance in the form of grants from funds appropriated for such purpose to any political subdivision of this state acting independently or jointly or to the owner or owners of any privately owned airport designated as a reliever by the Federal Aviation Administration for the planning, acquisition, construction, improvement or maintenance of airports, or for other aeronautical purposes.

     2. Any political subdivision of this state or the owner or owners of any privately owned airport designated as a reliever by the Federal Aviation Administration receiving state funds for the purchase, construction, or improvement, except maintenance, of an airport shall agree before any funds are paid to it to control by ownership or lease the airport for a period equal to the useful life of the project as determined by the state commission following the last payment of state or federal funds to it. In the event an airport authority ceases to exist for any reason, this obligation shall be carried out by the governing body which created the authority.

     3. Unless otherwise provided, grants to political subdivisions or to the owner or owners of any privately owned airport designated as a reliever by the Federal Aviation Administration shall be made from the aviation trust fund. The aviation trust fund is a revolving trust fund exempt from the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, relating to the transfer of funds to the general revenue funds of the state by the state treasurer. All interest earned upon the balance in the aviation trust fund shall be deposited to the credit of the same fund.

     4. The moneys in the aviation trust fund shall be administered by the state commission and, when appropriated, shall be used for the following purposes:

     (1) As matching funds on an up to eighty percent state/twenty percent local basis, except in the case where federal funds are being matched, when the ratio of state and local funds used to match the federal funds shall be fifty percent state/fifty percent local:

     (a) For preventive maintenance of runways, taxiways and aircraft parking areas, and for emergency repairs of the same;

     (b) For the acquisition of land for the development and improvement of airports;

     (c) For the earthwork and drainage necessary for the construction, reconstruction or repair of runways, taxiways, and aircraft parking areas;

     (d) For the construction, or restoration of runways, taxiways, or aircraft parking areas;

     (e) For the acquisition of land or easements necessary to satisfy Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements;

     (f) For the identification, marking or removal of natural or manmade obstructions to airport control zone surfaces and safety areas;

     (g) For the installation of runway, taxiway, boundary, ramp, or obstruction lights, together with any work directly related to the electrical equipment;

     (h) For the erection of fencing on or around the perimeter of an airport;

     (i) For purchase, installation or repair of air navigational and landing aid facilities and communication equipment;

     (j) For engineering related to a project funded under the provisions of this section and technical studies or consultation related to aeronautics;

     (k) For airport planning projects including master plans and site selection for development of new airports, for updating or establishing master plans and airport layout plans at existing airports;

     (l) For the purchase, installation, or repair of safety equipment and such other capital improvements and equipment as may be required for the safe and efficient operation of the airport;

     (2) As total funds, with no local match:

     (a) For providing air markers, windsocks, and other items determined to be in the interest of the safety of the general flying public;

     (b) For the printing and distribution of state aeronautical charts and state airport directories on an annual basis, and a newsletter on a quarterly basis or the publishing and distribution of any public interest information deemed necessary by the state commission;

     (c) For the conducting of aviation safety workshops;

     (d) For the promotion of aerospace education.

     5. The general assembly may appropriate to the aviation trust fund an amount not to exceed five million dollars in each fiscal year for the purposes of this section. If on January thirty-first of any year, the unobligated balance of the aviation trust fund exceeds five million dollars, no appropriation shall be made for the following fiscal year.

     6. In the event of a natural or manmade disaster which closes any runway or renders inoperative any electronic or visual landing aid on an airport, any funds appropriated for the purpose of capital improvements or maintenance of airports may be made immediately available for necessary repairs once they are approved by the Missouri department of transportation. For projects designated as emergencies by the Missouri department of transportation, all requirements relating to normal procurement of engineering and construction services are waived.