Section 4-10-1 Legislative Findings.

The Legislature of Alabama finds and declares the following: (1) The State of Alabama has within its borders 78 airports; six of these provide services for commercial flights and 72 are general aviation airports. (2) The airports in Alabama altogether require approximately $134.1 million in annual funding, $59.3 million of which is necessary solely for airport pavement funding, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation Aeronautics Bureau and the Airports Council International - North America. (3) Alabama receives approximately $56 million annually in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Airport Improvement Program; to match these funds, Alabama must commit approximately $3.1 million. (4) Other states that have an airport grant program include, but are not limited to: Mississippi, with $5 million annually; North Carolina, with $30 million for general aviation airports and $75 million for commercial service airports; and Wyoming, with $15 million for commercial air service development.