House Bill 697

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI AVIATION SAFETY ACT; TO DEFINE TERMINOLOGY; TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING JULY 1, 2024, THE OWNING ENTITY OF ALL EXISTING OR NEWLY CONSTRUCTED COVERED TOWERS AND STRUCTURES THAT HAVE HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS OF MORE THAN 50 FEET BUT LESS THAN 200 FEET SHALL CAUSE SUCH TOWER OR STRUCTURE TO BE CLEARLY MARKED CONSISTENT WITH APPLICABLE GUIDANCE IN THE FAA ADVISORY CIRCULAR (AC 70/7460 IL) TO REQUIRE THE OWNING ENTITY OF A NEWLY CONSTRUCTED STRUCTURE, BEFORE THE COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE STRUCTURE TO DISCLOSE THE HEIGHT, THE PRECISE LOCATION OF LATITUDINAL AND LONGITUDINAL COORDINATES OF THE COVERED TOWER OR STRUCTURE AND THE TYPE OF OBSTRUCTION MARKING OR LIGHTING TO THE APPROPRIATE ENTITY BY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH THE APPROPRIATE ENTITIES; TO REQUIRE THE APPROPRIATE ENTITIES KEEP THEIR DATABASES CURRENT TO PROTECT ANY PROPRIETARY INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Aviation Safety Act."

SECTION 2. As used in this act the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Agricultural purposes" means farming in all its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities performed by a farmer or on a farm, or on pasture land or rangeland.

(b) "Appropriate entities" means the Federal Aviation Administration and the Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association.

1. Is a meteorological evaluation tower (MET), a self-standing tower, real-time kinematic tower or tower supported by guy wires and ground anchors;

2. Is ten (10) feet or less in diameter at the above-ground base, excluding the concrete footing;

3. At the highest point of the structure, is at least fifty (50) feet above ground level;

4. At the highest point of the structure, is not more than two hundred (200) feet above ground level;

5. Has accessory facilities on which an antenna, sensor, camera, meteorological instrument or other equipment is mounted to document whether a site has sufficient wind resources to operate a wind turbine generator; and

6. Is located on land that is in a rural area and used for agricultural purposes or, immediately adjacent to such land;

(ii) "Covered tower" does not include any structure that:

1. Is a street light erected or maintained by a federal, state, local, or tribal entity;

2. Is an advertising billboard;

3. Is registered with the Federal Communications Commission under the Antenna Structure Registration program set forth under Part 17 of Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, and is determined by the FAA Administrator to pose no hazard to air navigation; or

4. Has already mitigated any hazard to aviation safety in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration guidance or as otherwise approved by the Administrator.

(d) "Real-time kinematic (RTK) position tower" means a tower used to supplement the global positioning system (GPS) to provide highly accurate positioning and navigation data technology in a wide range of applications, from surveying and mapping to agriculture and construction.

(e) "Rural area" means a city, town or unincorporated area that has a population of not more than ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants, as defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 USCS Section 918c(a)(5)).

(f) "Structure" means, but is not limited to, meteorological evaluation towers, real-time kinematic positioning towers, an currently unregulated nondisclosed structures greater than fifty (50) feet and less than two hundred (200) feet in height which endanger aviation operators unaware of said structure.

SECTION 3. (1) Beginning on July 1, 2024, pursuant to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 and use of the database developed by the FAA Administrator, the owning entity of all existing or newly constructed covered towers and structures, whether regulated or unregulated nondisclosed within the state, and before the completion of construction of the structure, shall, by electronic communication with the appropriate entities, disclose:

(a) The height of such covered tower or structure;

(b) The precise location of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates; and

(2) (a) The appropriate entities shall keep the databases for which they are responsible for maintaining, current to the extent practicable, and ensure that any proprietary information in the database is protected from disclosure in accordance with law, which shall be accessible via the entities' website or develop mobile application.

(b) The appropriate entities shall ensure that, by virtue of accessing the database, users agree and acknowledge that information in the database:

(i) May only be used for aviation safety purposes; and

(ii) May not be disclosed for purposes other than aviation safety, regardless of whether or not the information is marked or labeled as proprietary or with a similar designation.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.