Altman proposes charter change for Port Canaveral to help space industry

Florida Rep. Thad Altman of Indialantic will be pushing for a change in Port Canaveral's charter to more explicitly define the port's commitment to the space industry.

Altman plans to present his proposal to the other five members of Brevard County's legislative delegation at their annual meeting Wednesday afternoon that, coincidentally, will he held at the port.

A majority of the delegation would need to vote in favor of the proposed local law at the delegation meeting for it to be moved forward at the 2020 session of the Florida Legislature.

Altman — who also is president of The Astronauts Memorial Foundation — said the bill's purposes include:

• Making a legislative determination and declaration that it is a function of the Canaveral Port Authority to facilitate and assist in human spaceflight and space exploration.
• Declaring that supporting space exploration and human spaceflight constitutes a proper public purpose.
• Requiring that the Canaveral Port Authority make available bulkhead space to space companies and agencies for space vehicle and payload recovery operations. An initial version of Altman's proposal would have called for the port to provide this space at no cost. But Altman said he is changing that provision.
• Providing for an annual public hearing at a Port Authority meeting to discuss the state of space operations at the port.

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"It is imperative that we ensure that the Space Coast continues to be a leader in the launch of exploration and human space flight missions, and remains economically competitive to other areas in attracting aerospace companies and contracts," Altman said. "Seaborne recovery and port operations have become an integral part of modern-day launches. Without an adequate and reliable access for recovery, we are adding an unnecessary obstacle to an endeavor that is already filled with challenges."

Altman said he plans to meet with port officials as early as Monday to discuss his proposal, in advance of the legislative delegation meeting.

Canaveral Port Authority Chairman Micah Loyd said he is aware of Altman's proposal, and is looking forward to discussions with the legislator about the idea.

Loyd said the port already is committed to working with space industry companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, and has "a great working relationship" with them.

He noted that the port is spending about $14 million on infrastructure improvements for bulkhead facilities that space companies will be using.

Loyd said Altman "has the right interest in mind" in seeking to support the space industry.

But Loyd cautioned that he did not want provisions of the proposed local law to be unfair to the port's other tenants in the cruise and cargo industries.

Altman said the impetus for his proposed local law was a 2016 FLORIDA TODAY article that dealt with a dispute at the time between the port and SpaceX.

The dispute centered on tariff fees that the port was proposing to charge SpaceX when it brought one of its used rocket boosters to the port after it successfully lands on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Delegation has packed agenda

The Brevard County legislative delegation will have a packed agenda at its annual meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting will be from 2 to 6 pm. at the Canaveral Port Authority Commission Room, 445 Challenger Road, Port Canaveral.

The delegation will hear testimony from the public on matters of statewide and local concern, as well as consider four local bills.

In all, advanced signups include 11 local government presentations and 52 community presentations.

The all-Republican delegation includes Sens. Tom Wright, who chairs the delegation, and Debbie Mayfield, as well as Reps. Thad Altman, Randy Fine, Rene Plasencia and Tyler Sirois.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.

His Political Spin column appears Sundays in FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649

or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman

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