Ohio governor signs homeland security bill

Ohio governor signs homeland security bill

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has signed into law a sweeping homeland security measure. AOPA was able to mitigate onerous requirements in a preliminary draft of the bill, which would have required airports to screen all general aviation passengers, maintain five-year logs of all transient aircraft, and require double locks on all aircraft.

After meeting with AOPA's state lobbyists, lawmakers and Taft's office agreed to drop the regulations and adopt the GA airport security guidelines developed by the aviation industry and the Transportation Security Administration.

"AOPA's concern from the beginning was to prevent pilots from having to face irksome and unnecessary restrictions," said Roger Cohen, AOPA vice president of regional affairs. "We commend Gov. Taft and Ohio legislators for recognizing the effectiveness of GA security initiatives like AOPA's Airport Watch Program."

The bill also requires owners of Ohio-based aircraft to register with the Ohio Department of Transportation and to update registration if the aircraft's base airport changes.

Aircraft owners who have not previously registered their aircraft in Ohio will have 30 days to do so. The previous registration requirement was 48 hours. The law will also authorize the director of Transportation to fine violators up to $500 per violation.

January 25, 2006