On Wednesday the Senate Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Operations and Authority Creation Study Committee held its first meeting to discuss the creation of a state airport authority that would assume control over the world’s busiest airport.
The idea has been a contentious one since state Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson) first sponsored SR 882, the bill that created the committee in the first place. City of Atlanta officials, including Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms, have predictably pushed back, pointing to the airport’s enormous economic value (an estimated $70 billion in annual economic impact) as reason enough not to make a change in oversight.
Others though, including Jones, point to the “cloud of corruption” and “pay-to-play atmosphere” that have dogged airport officials across administrations, currently manifesting themselves as part of the ongoing City Hall corruption scandal. In addition, gaffes including power outages and security breaches have also led critics to wonder aloud about the seeming lack of accountability at Hartsfield-Jackson.
Speakers at Wednesday’s meeting, which was mainly organizational, included Michael Bell, a former Atlanta CFO who has in the past urged for the creation of a state airport authority, and Michael Highsmith, outside counsel for the City of Atlanta, who argued that city officials are more than capable of continuing to operate the airport.
Jones told IAG that the committee’s purpose was to “determine whether a state-run authority that has business people of various backgrounds, similar to the Ports Authority, would be viable in Georgia.” The idea is that by removing politics from airport management as much as possible, we could avoid some of the vendor-procurement issues that have plagued it for decades.
Following meetings will include testimony from airport vendors on that procurement and contract process, as well as experts who will speak on bond and lease obligations and how to deal with those should a transfer of power occur. With a findings report due on December 1st, Jones and the rest of his committee will be busy this Fall.
Legislation in 2019 is possible, says Jones, depending on the findings of the committee.
Any potential legislation will of course be effected by the result of the governor’s race between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp. Jones said he has spoken to Kemp about the study committee, and that the Secretary of State “wants to watch the process play out” as he continues his campaign. Of course that race will be resolved in November, giving supporters of the proposal time to feel out a new governor as he (or she) prepares for the 2019 legislative session.
Charlotte, North Carolina underwent a similar process in recent years, with the state’s General Assembly passing a bill to create a new commission that would oversee Charlotte Douglas International Airport. That move though was blocked via an injunction claiming that the Federal Aviation Administration must give approval for any change in airport management. For now the city maintains control of the airport until the sides can come to an agreement, which seems unlikely to happen any time soon.
Jones said he has been in contact with FAA officials throughout this process, knowing full well that having them involved and on board before passing any relevant legislation will be key moving forward.
The committee will also kick the tires on the idea of creating a second airport for the metro-area over the next two decades, an idea that Jones says would be impossible without an overarching state airports authority. “We can’t keep saturating one area of the state when it comes to the need for aviation processes,” he told IAG.
Expect the committee’s findings and subsequent legislation to be one of the major storylines heading into next year’s session.
