The Ohio House has passed and forwarded to the state Senate a biennial budget bill that would make available $6 million to meet the needs of the state’s aviation system—increasing the appropriation from less than $1 million currently budgeted for airports and infrastructure.
AOPA will advocate for Senate approval of the House-passed funding level, which would reverse a slide in aviation funding to "historic lows" in Ohio, said Bryan Budds, AOPA Great Lakes regional manager.
"These funds will allow Ohio’s aviation sector to compete on the regional level for federal Airport Improvement Program grants, vital unmanned aircraft systems integration infrastructure, and a variety of other aviation needs in the state," he said.
House Bill 64, a $72.3 billion biennial budget bill, was introduced in February. It passed the House on April 27, and the Senate took up the measure the same day.
Approval in the House came after months of outreach by AOPA, the Ohio Aviation Association, and other aviation organizations. During that time, AOPA’s government affairs team traveled to the capital, Columbus, to press the case for a budget amendment that would provide the added aviation funding.
"Thousands of AOPA members from all corners of Ohio want to thank State Reps. Rick Perales (R-District 73) and Cheryl L. Grossman (R-District 23) for their continued dedication to increasing aviation’s prominence in Ohio," Budds said.
