HCS HB 93 -- AIR TRAVEL BY GOVERNOR

SPONSOR:  Boucher (Gaskill)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Public
Safety, Law Enforcement and Veteran Affairs by a vote of 20 to 0.

This substitute requires the Division of Flight Operations to
give safety clearance for flights made by the Governor in a
private plane if flight conditions are within acceptable
parameters established by the division.  If conditions are not
acceptable, the division must make arrangements for the flight.
The Governor must reimburse the state for any private business
use of a state plane.  The safety and general clearances
established by the division do not apply to certain charter
flights and air transport operations.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that they want to prevent incidents
like the death of Governor Carnahan by requiring the state to
provide a plane to fly the Governor when flight conditions are
not optimal, even on campaign or private flights.  The intent is
to put the responsibility on the Office of Administration to
develop reasonable guidelines for who is safe to fly the
Governor in order to ensure the Governor's safety.  There would
be qualifications for pilots, as well as guidelines about when
to fly and when not to fly.  The rules would apply to flights
taken outside of the Governor's official capacity.

Testifying for the bill were Representatives Gaskill and
Meredith.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Amy Woods, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:42 am