No. CS/CS/SB 706
Filed under Transportation.
Commercial Service Airports; Preempting the naming of major commercial service airports to the state; providing names for major commercial service airports; providing that such airport names continue to be valid under certain circumstances; requiring the Department of Transportation to annually review provisions naming major commercial service airports for a certain purpose; providing that a political subdivision is in compliance with certain provisions under specified circumstances, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDThe state now controls what Florida's major commercial airports are called, not the cities and counties that own and run them, and the law fixes seven airports' names directly into statute.
Six airports keep the names they already use today. The seventh, Palm Beach International Airport, is renamed 'President Donald J. Trump International Airport' once the FAA approves and the county secures a rights-holder agreement.
That agreement must give Palm Beach County free, permanent, unrestricted use of the new name for signage, marketing, and branding. State law also shields the county from trademark and right-of-publicity claims for using it.
Government records made on or after July 1, 2026 must use the new statutory names, but the renaming is a branding label only and doesn't force any political subdivision to redo its existing contracts.
AIThe state, not the cities or counties that own and operate them, now controls what Florida's medium- and large-hub commercial airports are called, and the law fixes six of the seven current names directly into statute: Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Tampa, Southwest Florida, and Jacksonville International.
AIPalm Beach International Airport becomes 'President Donald J. Trump International Airport' only once the FAA approves and Palm Beach County executes an agreement with the rights holder covering the name's commercial use.
AIA county or city using the state-assigned airport name cannot be found to have violated Florida law, including the trademark statute and the right-of-publicity statute, solely by using that name.
AIIf a listed airport later falls below the passenger-traffic threshold that makes it a major commercial service airport, its statutory name does not revert or become invalid because of that change.
AIThe Department of Transportation must check every year whether any listed airport's hub classification has changed, and if so, tell the Senate President and House Speaker before the next legislative session.
AIThe statutory airport names are for branding purposes only; they cannot be read to create a new legal entity or to require one, limiting the renaming's legal reach.
AIA political subdivision satisfies this subsection by diligently seeking the required approvals and agreements and starting signage and branding work once it receives them, rather than by completing the change by a fixed date.