One of the most concerted advocacy pushes AUVSI has made this year has been in West Virginia, where HB 4667 was recently signed into law. The original bill, SB5, included harmful avigation easement language upon introduction. Avigation easement proposals seek to dismantle federal authority of the airspace, restrict drone operations, and upend years of industry-government collaboration toward unlocking the full potential of drone technology. This is an issue that AUVSI tracks closely across all fifty states in an effort to beat back legislation that could harm the drone and AAM industries. 

 

A few of AUVSI’s guiding advocacy pillars are to support the opening of markets, to reduce barriers to integration, and to inject more certainty and predictability into drone and AAM operations and the marketplace. To that end, our advocacy work supports legislation that recognizes federal authority of the airspace and opposes those that would create a patchwork of rules and impose burdensome fees on operators and consumers.  

 

AUVSI engaged in meaningful discussions with the sponsor of SB5, Senator Chandler Swope (R-Mercer, 06), and his legislative colleague, Delegate Gary Howell (R-Mineral, 56), to share the uncrewed system industry’s perspective and to reiterate concerns that the original bill would effectively ground commercial drone operations in the state before they can take off. We are grateful that Senator Swope and Delegate Howell listened to our concerns and opened a line of communication for future legislation. 

 

After significant effort, SB5 was split into house bills HB4667 and HB4827. Despite removal from SB5, HB4667 reintroduced language creating an AAM Committee, which will include representatives from industry, and recognizes state preemption of the airspace.  

 

While AUVSI appreciates the intent of HB4827, with respect to AAM operations, the confusing language around public-use vertiports in W. Va. Code § 5B-2K-5 must be modified or clarified to promote and encourage the construction and adoption of the necessary infrastructure that will power this innovative future of transportation. 

 

AAM has the potential to create completely new workforce categories, reduce traffic on roads, and provide a sustainable alternative to carbon emitting vehicles. It also stands to connect rural to urban communities throughout the country, of which there are both in the state of West Virginia. We anticipate the opportunity to further collaborate with future minded West Virginia lawmakers that are looking to attract AAM operations to the state. 

 

AUVSI thanks Senator Swope and Delegate Howell for their close partnership. We look forward to working with them in subsequent sessions to support West Virginia’s leadership in fostering the future of aerospace, including on ways AAM can benefit the Mountain State. Nationwide, we will continue to support commonsense legislation built on stakeholder input and will partner with industry stakeholders, chapters, and grassroots advocates to achieve that goal. Additionally, we will continue to beat back legislation that intends to undermine federal authority over the national airspace system. 

 

Contact Mike Smitsky at msmitsky@auvsi.org to learn how you can get involved with AUVSI’s state-level air advocacy initiatives.