Summary — HB 4834 (Aeronautics Code Revisions)
Status & Procedural Notes
- Bill Number: HB 4834 (tied to HB 4835)
- Sponsor: Rep. Jaime Greene
- Filed: March 13, 2025; introduced/read in House: Sept. 4, 2025 (1st reading April 3, 2025 appears on actions)
- Committee: Transportation and Infrastructure; reported with recommendation for referral to Rules with substitute (H‑1) 9/30/2025; recommendation concurred in.
- Purpose: Update and modernize Michigan’s Aeronautics Code (1945 PA 327, MCL 259.2 et seq.) — largely technical and regulatory revisions to reflect contemporary aviation (including uncrewed aircraft), modify fees/registration, and adjust agency authorities and fund flows.
Main objectives and intent
- Clarify that “aircraft” includes crewed and uncrewed aircraft and align state rules with applicable federal uncrewed aircraft regulations.
- Enable state-level licensing/standards for new infrastructure types (droneports, vertiports) to support safe integration of uncrewed systems and VTOLs.
- Update definitions, registration and dealer licensing periods/fees, funding sources and administration of the State Aeronautics Fund (SAF), and inspection/license procedures.
Key provisions and changes
- Definitions and infrastructure
- “Aircraft” expressly includes crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
- New defined terms: “droneport” (fixed or mobile site for housing/maintaining/fueling/piloting commercial drone fleets) and “vertiport” (site for VTOL takeoffs/landings).
- MDOT Office of Aeronautics authorized to adopt rules establishing licensing standards for droneports/vertiports limited to safety/integration issues (e.g., placement, communications, infrastructure minima, obstruction clearance, markings, security).
- Uncrewed aircraft must be operated consistent with applicable federal regulations.
Commercial operations and activities
- “Commercial activity or operations” expanded to explicitly include “the provision of skydiving services in any form.”
- Removes existing prohibitions requiring commercial operations to be based at licensed aeronautical facilities and related limits on conducting commercial operations at private landing areas or unlicensed landing areas (previously allowed only under temporary permits).
Aircraft registration & fees
- Changes registration from annual to a three‑year cycle.
- Registration fee: changes from 1 cent per pound per year to 3 cents per pound for the three‑year registration (same total over three years).
- Late-registration penalty remains $50 plus $5 per month but extends enforcement/collection time to up to three years (reflecting longer registration term).
- Removes the current half‑fee proration for aircraft first registered after July 1.
- Allows payment of fees by electronic credit card.
- Removes requirement that an aircraft have an FAA (or foreign) registration certificate before obtaining state certification.
Dealer licensing
- Dealer license terms adjusted from annual to either one- or three‑year terms; a three‑year license fee set at $75 (current annual fee is $25). The bill does not specify who chooses the license term.
Airport licensing & inspections
- Airport license fees designated to support safety inspections of that facility; reinspection fees may apply when multiple inspections required.
- Inspection officers and commission authority provisions are updated (technical changes throughout the act).
State Aeronautics Fund (SAF)
- Expands SAF revenue sources to include receipts from state‑owned/maintained weather stations, “transportation reimbursements,” and other aeronautical services.
- Removes requirement that the State Administrative Board approve and release SAF disbursements.
- Requires that SAF‑funded aviation projects be carried out under Office of Aeronautics supervision and approved by the State Aeronautics Commission.
Who is affected
- Aircraft owners/operators (crewed and uncrewed): modified registration cycles, fees, payment options, and state certification prerequisites.
- Drone and VTOL operators and infrastructure developers: potential new licensing standards for droneports/vertiports and clarified state regulatory authority.
- Airports and airport managers/authorities: changes to licensing fees, inspections, and fund administration.
- Aircraft dealers: revised licensing terms and fees.
- MDOT Office of Aeronautics and State Aeronautics Commission: expanded rulemaking and project‑approval/oversight responsibilities; changed fund administration processes.
Other notes
- The bill makes numerous technical, definitional, and cross‑reference updates across the Aeronautics Code and adds one new section (89c) while repealing a prior section (36).
- HB 4834 is tied to HB 4835; implementation details for certain changes may depend on rulemaking by MDOT’s Office of Aeronautics.
