MULTIMODAL COMMERCE: Provides relative to annual aviation fuel estimates. (8/1/26) (EN SEE FISC NOTE SD EX)
Summary
SB 436 revises Louisiana law governing the estimation and reporting of state aviation fuel tax revenue. It directs the Department of Revenue to make annual estimates of aviation fuel tax collections using specified inputs, including the average price per gallon, gallons sold data from federal sources such as the Energy Information Administration or the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and the applicable state sales tax rate. The bill also requires the Department of Revenue to provide annual reporting to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and to submit the estimate to the Revenue Estimating Conference within five days of completion.
The bill further ties aviation fuel tax distributions to airport-related purposes and adds a new condition for receiving those funds: airports must clearly identify designated ramp space for public use in their published airport directory or diagram. That ramp space must be available to transient aircraft without charge for up to two hours, but the bill expressly states that this does not require airports, fixed base operators, or tenants to provide fueling, towing, parking assistance, concierge services, or other services. The law also requires legislative review and approval of certain agreements between the Department of Revenue and the Department of Transportation and Development before they become binding, and it sunsets the section on January 1, 2027.
Impact
SB 436 amends R.S. 47:306.6 to change how Louisiana estimates aviation fuel tax revenue, formalize reporting obligations, and add oversight by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. It also affects the distribution of aviation fuel tax proceeds by conditioning airport eligibility on public identification of designated ramp space for transient aircraft and clarifying the limited obligations associated with that space. The bill temporarily alters administrative procedures for the Department of Revenue, the Department of Transportation and Development, and the Revenue Estimating Conference, while leaving the underlying aviation fuel tax itself in place.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate and House unanimously, with no recorded dissenting votes in either chamber, and was ultimately signed by the Governor as Act 513. The lack of committee transcript material and the unanimous votes suggest the measure was viewed as a technical or administrative update rather than a contentious policy change.
Contention
No major opposition is reflected in the available record. The only potentially sensitive issue is the new requirement that airports clearly designate public ramp space to remain eligible for aviation fuel tax distributions, which could affect airport operators, fixed base operators, and tenants by imposing a disclosure condition tied to funding. The bill also centralizes more oversight in the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and requires approval of interagency agreements, but there is no evidence in the record of disagreement over those provisions.