TWT H.B. 1288 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS TRANSPORTATION H.B. 1288 By: Oliveira 3-23-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND While abandoned automobiles, motorcycles, buses and vans may all be routinely disposed of by municipalities, no legal mechanism exists to dispose of abandoned aircraft. At the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport where a heavy volume of air traffic from Mexico and Latin America lands, for instance, there is currently an abandoned aircraft that is uncertifiable according to Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The plane is also unsightly, but the City of Brownsville does not have a recourse to dispose of the plane. PURPOSE As proposed, H.B. 1288 gives state district courts authority to make a determination on aircraft ownership and order local governments to dispose of abandoned aircraft. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 22, Transportation Code by adding Subchapter Z, Section 22.901. (a) If a local government is unable to determine ownership of an aircraft located at an airport owned by the local government, the local government may petition the district court to determine the ownership of the aircraft. (b) Once a petition is filed, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine aircraft ownership. The local government must present all information is has pertaining to the aircraft's ownership. If there is sufficient evidence to determine the aircraft owner, the court shall notify the owner of the aircraft. (c) If the court is unable to make a determination on aircraft ownership, the court will require the local government to collect additional evidence about the plane's ownership or provide notice in the manner that is most likely to reach the owner of the aircraft. Unless evidence is discovered which allows the court to determine the owner of the aircraft, the court must wait 60 days before taking further action. (d) If the court cannot make an ownership determination on the aircraft after requiring the local government to take additional steps under Subsection (c), the court shall declare the aircraft as abandoned property, and the court will give the title to the aircraft to the local government. The local government will then dispose of the aircraft in the same manner it disposes of salvage or surplus property. (e) If an aircraft owner fails to claim the aircraft within 60 days after the date notice is given under Subsection (b), the local government may petition the district court to declare the aircraft abandoned property under Subsection (d). (f) A court ownership determination does not affect the right of the local government to recover fees against the owner of the aircraft for storage or maintenance of the aircraft. SECTION 2. Emergency Clause. Effective upon passage.