AOPA and its regional representatives are lobbying for financing and tax issues in a number of state legislatures. For example, AOPA President Phil Boyer and Eastern Regional Representative John Luce today are meeting with a group of Ohio state legislators to push for a dedicated state aviation trust fund.
In Iowa, last year the legislature cut funding for airport improvements. This year, AOPA and Midwest Regional Representative Bob Dickens are pushing hard for passage of Iowa Senate Bill 82, which would create an airport-investment fund using money from aviation fuel taxes and the sales tax on aircraft and aircraft parts. The money would be administered by the state's department of transportation and could only be used for airport engineering studies, construction, and improvements.
In Kansas, AOPA and aircraft manufacturers have teamed up for a full court press in the state legislature to preserve a sales-tax exemption for aircraft sold in the Sunflower State. Among three aircraft tax-related bills, House Bill 2109 would remove the exemption; HBs 2110 and 2111 would preserve the exemption. AOPA estimates that the proposed tax of about 5.3 percent would add nearly $10,000 to the cost of a brand-new Cessna 172. Regional Representative Dickens has already testified in Topeka to maintain the exemption, and AOPA is keeping a close eye on the legislature's activities.
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