§ 10-3-601 — Wyoming air services enhancement; legislative findings; Wyoming aeronautics commission authority to contract for services; requirements

(a) The legislature finds that an adequate and
comprehensive system of air service in Wyoming is vital for
economic development within Wyoming. Competition among air
service providers within the state is virtually nonexistent and,
without competition, services will remain limited and unreliable
and high air fares will remain a major impediment to use of air
services by Wyoming residents and businesses.
(b) The Wyoming aeronautics commission may enter into
agreements to provide financial assistance to persons doing
business or who will do business in the state, to economic
development organizations within the state, to joint powers
boards or to other entities formed to provide for enhanced air
service to communities in Wyoming that have or are seeking
commercial air service, for the enhancement of air services in
the state conditioned upon contractual assurances that specified
benefits will accrue to the state through increased air traffic
and enplanements. For purposes of this article, "enhanced air
service" shall include, but not be limited to, assisting
airports in the state with commercial air service to have the
appropriate level of state or federal security configuration to
accommodate proposed air service and aircraft capacity. When
entering into an agreement the commission shall give
consideration to each of the following potential benefits
accruing to the state: increasing the minimum number of
enplanements at airports facing a possible loss of federal
airport improvement program funding, increasing passenger
enplanements at commercial airports in Wyoming, increasing the
number of Wyoming passengers originating flights in Wyoming
commercial airports rather than airports in other states,
increasing frequency or sustaining flight operations from
commercial airports in Wyoming to regional airport hubs,
increasing the consistency of service, and lowering airfares in
Wyoming communities as a result of an air service enhancement
grant. The commission shall consult with counties, cities,
towns, joint powers boards, airport boards or other entities
pursuing air service enhancement before entering into agreements
to provide air service enhancement and shall require local funds
for the provision of air service enhancement grants. The amount
of local funds required for the provision of enhancing air
services shall be determined by the commission, taking into
account the types of service for which grants are approved, the
diverse characteristics of the communities to which air service
is contracted for and other considerations examined by the
commission.
(c) The commission has primary responsibility and may
consult with or delegate to the aeronautics division of the
Wyoming department of transportation, Wyoming business council
or other entities as necessary, to develop criteria and
contracts for financial aid under this section.
(d) All applications for financial aid under this section
shall be submitted to the aeronautics commission. The
aeronautics commission shall approve or deny the application.
The applicant shall be promptly notified of the decision. In
making the decision to approve or deny the application, the
commission shall give priority to an applicant whereby:
(i) The applicant can provide assurances that the
enhancement has a reasonable chance of success and will achieve
benchmarks specified by the applicant;
(ii) Participation by the commission is necessary to
the success of the enhancement because funding from other
sources for the enhancement is unavailable;
(iii) The applicant will use the proceeds of the
financial assistance provided under this section only to secure
or enhance air services within the state or to market or promote
the service for which the financial assistance is granted;
(iv) The financial assistance has the reasonable
potential in the opinion of the aeronautics commission to create
a substantial amount of air travel originating within the state;
(v) The applicant has already made or is
contractually committed to make a substantial financial and time
commitment to the enhancement and local funds are provided to
secure a financial grant under this section, in an amount
determined by the commission;
(vi) The applicant will not pledge financial aid
granted pursuant to this section as collateral for any other
purpose than is specified in the contract between the applicant
and the commission;
(vii) The applicant will provide reasonable
assurances that within a time specified by the commission, the
state shall benefit from its investment by means of commercial
airports having sufficient enplanements to retain or reestablish
eligibility for federal airport improvement program funding and
that commercial airports in the state will receive increased
revenues from established passenger facility charges as a result
of increased enplanements or from other benefits.
(e) Before granting any financial aid under this section,
the commission shall enter into an agreement with the applicant
providing for a benefit to the state which is commensurate with
the level of risk and amount of the financial aid, using the
criteria specified in paragraph (d)(vii) of this section. The
attorney general shall review and approve the contract before
the commission enters into any agreement under this section.
(f) As used in this article, "commission" means the
Wyoming aeronautics commission created by W.S. 10-3-101.
(g) The Wyoming aeronautics commission will establish
benchmarks for determining the success of the program.