Legislative analysis for counties: P.L. 118-63, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024

Key Takeaways

On May 16, President Joe Biden enacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Act of 2024 (P.L. 118-63), a bipartisan, five-year reauthorization law that provides $105.5 billion for the FAA from Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 through 2028, a nine percent increase from the total provided by the previous law.

Background

On April 29, Congressional transportation leadership released mostly final text of the FAA legislation that resulted from an informal conference between Capitol Hill committee staff who worked out differences between the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935) and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S. 1939) behind the scenes over the past few months.

While final passage required four short-term extensions of the 2018 FAA law, the legislation was eventually passed overwhelmingly in both chambers of Congress in strongly bipartisan votes of 88 to 4 in the Senate and 387 to 26 in the House. Neither chamber amended the compromised text with just a handful of minor, agreed-upon fixes taking place.

How does the FAA authorization impact counties? 

Counties directly support 34 percent of the nation’s public airports that are funded and regulated by the FAA reauthorization. Annually, counties invest over $5 billion in air transportation and employ nearly 12,000 Americans across the country.

The FAA reauthorization is crucial for county-supported airports as it ensures continuous federal funding for infrastructure improvements, including safety, efficiency and modernization projects. The reauthorization also fosters economic development by creating jobs and boosting local economies.

Legislative analysis

Funding authorizations are made throughout the law. Some are funded through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) while others are subject to the annual appropriations process. 

View the full legislative analysis here.