TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new bill that has passed the Florida Legislature could give the state the power to rename major airports across the state.
That bill — HB 919 — was filed back in December by state Rep. Meg Weinberger (R-West Palm Beach), and it expressly preempts to the state the ability to rename major commercial service airports.
More specifically, the bill refers to the following airports:
- Orlando International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
- Tampa International Airport
- Southwest Florida International Airport
- Jacksonville International Airport
- Palm Beach International Airport
The selection of airports is based on the FAA’s classification system, which states that these hubs are either medium- or large-sized.
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However, the bill only renames one of these airports: the Palm Beach International Airport, which it would redub as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.” This means that government records will have to refer to the airport as such.
The name change is subject to approval by the FAA and the execution of an agreement between the county and the trademark holder permitting the use of that name, though.
While HB 919 gives the state the authority to rename all of these airports, it instead says that the rest will retain their names. That said, the ability would still be vested in the state to do so if it chooses in the future.
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But that’s only if the bill gets approved.
So far, HB 919 has been passed by both the House and Senate, meaning it now needs the governor’s signature in order to become law.
If that happens, HB 919 is slated to take effect on July 1.