Colorado Pilots Call to Action

murphey

murphey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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murphey
It's started. If you haven't received an email from CABA or CPA, go to either website

coloradopilots.org

and read the details on HB24-1235 Reducing Impacts of Aviation on Communities. If you are in Colorado or visit frequently, please contact the appropriate reps in your area. Read the details, follow the directions.

No one's against everything in the bill, but three provisions need to be amended (actually, remove one provision entirely)
 
Done. Colorado is trying to out California California it seems.
 
The website doesn't say what the proposed legislation includes, only that it's bad.
 
Most of the bill is ok but there are provisions that are real problems. For starters, one of the provisions enlarges the CAB (Colorado Aeronautics Board) with 2 new members, one will be from a neighborhood or organization that is "harmed" by an airport. CAB's primary function is to distribute av fuel taxes to the 74 airports around Colorado. Airports receive zero funding from the state, everything is av fuel sales and Federal funding (e.g. Infrastructure bill passed a couple years ago). No details here but you can read the entire bill at the State website. Citizens are invited to testify (2 min max) on either the benefits of Colorado Aviation (Oil & Gas then tourism are the top 2 economic engines in Colorado - but without aviation, tourism suffers) or the problems with the bill. There is an organized effort on the aviation side to work with the authors of the bill to amend parts (the negative parts) but retain much of it. The positive aspects include funding to aid airports migrate to no-lead fuel.

I should point out that the anti-airport groups have been and are getting more hostile. At a community meeting a couple months ago chaired by the state Atty Gen, only 2 pilots were allowed to speak (I know both, and neither should have opened their mouths) among the large number of complainers about KBJC (Jeffco airport/Rocky Mtn Metro). LEOs were there to protect the pilots! AOPA was nowhere to be found altho the regional rep claims that he and AOPA are working diligently at the national level to deal with issues such as noise and leaded fuel.

Details here

Reduce Aviation Impacts on Communities | Colorado General Assembly

leg.colorado.gov leg.colorado.gov

High points of the negative aspects here:
  • The enterprise (in Section 9):
  • a fee on avgas would be devastating to general aviation in the state
  • The fee would harm local businesses
  • the fee would especially hurt flight schools, without which our pending national pilot shortage will get worse, and drive up the cost of flying, and the cost of anything flown into the state.
  • Private pilots will simply fuel up in other states, so impact will be felt most deeply on local businesses
  • The fee will likely not bring in much in any case, as avgas is a very small part of total aviation fuel sales.
  • The CAB has the resources to fund the incentives in this bill, without adding damaging fees.
  • Please Support Sponsor amendment to strike the enterprise in section 9.

  • Section 8 (and others, federal preemption)
  • As introduced, the bill contains several provisions that conflict with federal law
  • FAA has sole authority over airspace -- state and local governments have no legal authority to restrict use of airspace.
  • Public use airports cannot deny or restrict aircraft access or operations.
  • CAB does not have authority or personnel to approve or deny noise plans
  • Creating plans to phase out the sale of 100LL before a safe, approved, and viable unleaded alternative exists and is widely available is premature and dangerous.
  • Please Support sponsor amendments to address the issues in these sections.

  • Section 6 (CAB members)
  • CAB is a technical board that deals with airport infrastructure funding and aviation safety
  • Members appointed to it need to have thorough understanding of the industry, aviation safety and airport infrastructure.
  • New CAB positions should comply with existing requirements for appointees
  • Please Support Sponsor amendment addressing these concerns.
 
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Colorado has already become Kalifornia. tragic for sure.
 
I sent the committee members unkind words. They’re not qualified to legislate on this topic. That’s all I had time for.

They don’t care, I know. But at least I’m on record saying so.
 
I can’t comment they are not thinking about the neighboring states that fly into Colorado airports. Being here in Cheyenne, We fly to weld, Noco Etc.. quite often, they will be loosing money from out of state pilots.
 
The issue isn't about lead fuel. Everyone is on board with that other than the supply chain issues. Section 6 question is the problem.
> increase the CAB (the board that gives away money) by 2 to put a member of the "adversely impacted neighborhoods" on the board (voting) and a member of the Colorado Dept of Public Health & Environment (non voting)

The 4 sponsors of the bill are in the districts where a certain group of residents are screaming bloody murder.
 
And here's the idiotic clause to increase the size of the board

In appointing the 2 new voting members, the governor is required to give
priority to individuals who are not trained pilots and who reside directly
in the predominant flight path of a high-traffic general aviation airport or
a commercial airport at which there is significant general aviation activity
and in an area that has a population density of more than 3,000
individuals per square mile.

In other words, KBJC Rocky Mtn Metro (NW of Denver) and KAPA Centennial, SE of Denver. KAPA is usually the 2nd or 3rd busiest non-class B in the nation on any given day. You can search POA for discussions about KAPA. KBJC has much less volume of traffic but the people in the surrounding towns are p*ssed at the increase of traffic. Hm....wonder if they were just as unhappy about the increased traffic during the fires a couple years ago when the big water/fire suppressant tankers were based out of KBJC.
 
Ghery said:
I'm glad I left Colorado in 1983 (and California in 1995). The loonies are ruining otherwise great states.
Click to expand...
Is Washington state more to your liking in that regard?
 
The loonies are running Washington too. It is a beautiful state with amazing geography. We led the aviation, computer, and biotech revolutions. Unfortunately, we were also a trailblazer in election fraud. Most of those tech innovators have fled the high, predatory taxes and political insanity brought on by decades and decades of one-party rule. The results are evident in the state of one of the world's once greatest cities, Seattle. Today Seattle is trying to out Californicate San Francisco and LA. Same is true of Portland, Oregon. Another great city and state destroyed by decades of single-party rule.

Twenty years ago, after 25 years of living and working within the Seattle city limits, I saw the writing on the wall and fled north. Seattle declined faster and farther than my wildest speculations. Unfortunately, the Seattle cancer is metastatic. It is now knocking on our door.
 
Domenick said:
The loonies are running Washington too. It is a beautiful state with amazing geography. We led the aviation, computer, and biotech revolutions. Unfortunately, we were also a trailblazer in election fraud. Most of those tech innovators have fled the high, predatory taxes and political insanity brought on by decades and decades of one-party rule. The results are evident in the state of one of the world's once greatest cities, Seattle. Today Seattle is trying to out Californicate San Francisco and LA. Same is true of Portland, Oregon. Another great city and state destroyed by decades of single-party rule.

Twenty years ago, after 25 years of living and working within the Seattle city limits, I saw the writing on the wall and fled north. Seattle declined faster and farther than my wildest speculations. Unfortunately, the Seattle cancer is metastatic. It is now knocking on our door.
Click to expand...

I agree. This state is rapidly turning into another California. The only reason I haven't left is that the grandkids live in western Washington. My wife likes living close to them.
 
Passing along the summary from CPA...

Hi aviators!

Success in the Hearing on HB24-1235!

A big thank you to our members that testified at a very long hearing, you really came through.​


This bill was amended in Committee to be acceptable to the aviation community. It was changed significantly from the original draft.

Highlights:​

  • Reduced in length from 24 pages to 8
  • Retained the positive incentives for authorizations of aircraft engines to use unleaded avgas, including STCs
  • Retained the positive incentives for airports to provide unleaded avgas
  • Deleted Section 9 with its enterprise fund
  • Deleted all portions that are preempted by federal law and FAA regulations
  • Deleted the tax on 100LL
  • Deleted the requirement that the Division install noise monitoring systems.
  • But expanded “aviation purposes” for the Colorado Aeronautical Board (CAB) and the Aeronautics Division of CDOT (Division) to fund noise monitoring devices and education to reduce adverse impacts. The Division can handle this
  • In the added two voting members of CAB, they are to be “familiar with airport infrastructure, aviation, and the mission of the Board.”
  • All the tasks of CAB and the Division about educating and assisting airports are already within their purview
  • Compliance with noise abatement plans and various elements such as flight patterns are “voluntary.”
This amendment is a result of the amazing work of Kelly Sloan, lobbyist for the Colorado Aviation Business Association and others, the good cooperation by prime sponsor Representative Kyle Brown, and the collaboration of CABA with Colorado Pilots Association, Dave Ulane of the Division and many aviation organizations and individuals, including testimony at the long hearing by the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee on March 6, 2024.

Minor amendments are likely as this bill goes through the process. We’ll keep you informed.
 
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