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Committee advances discussion on aeronautics code update to define drone ports and vertiports
Summary
Lawmakers and Michigan Department of Transportation officials discussed House Bills 4834 and 4835 to modernize the Michigan Aeronautics Code, adding definitions and licensing authority for drone ports and vertiports, adjusting aircraft registration rules and shifting some licensing details into rulemaking.
Representative Green and Michigan Department of Transportation officials presented House Bills 4834 and 4835 to the House Transportation Infrastructure Committee, explaining changes to Michigan’s aeronautics code to reflect modern aviation technology and advanced air mobility.
Representative Green urged the panel to update state law to reflect drone technology, new aircraft designs and “air mobility” infrastructure such as vertiports. "Michigan's aeronautics code was first enacted in 1945 and in the decades since, aviation has changed dramatically," Green said, and argued the bills would “ensure Michigan's aeronautics laws reflect today's technologies, today's safety standards, and tomorrow's opportunities.”
Brian Buds, director of aeronautics at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), walked the committee through technical specifics in the bills. Key elements Buds described include:
- Adding “uncrewed aircraft” to the statutory definition of aircraft and defining “drone port” and “vertiport” to support…
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