Senate committee delays SB223 as sponsor seeks guardrails on ADS‑B aircraft data

Senator Connolly told the Senate committee that he will not move SB223 to a vote until he and stakeholders — including airports, flight‑tracking vendors and revenue officials — meet to resolve concerns about third‑party use of ADS‑B aircraft broadcast data.

The bill targets data from ADS‑B (automated dependent surveillance broadcast), equipment the federal government required for certain airspace for safety and traffic avoidance. "The equipment was paid for by the aircraft owners," Connolly said, "and we were told when we put it on there it was for safety and security for FAA, and now you have these third party companies that are using it and going to the airport to say, we're gonna do all your billing for you for a fee." He added he would not push the measure forward until parties could "sit down and have discussions" and try to resolve differences.

Committee members raised several concerns. Sandra Coleman thanked the sponsor for the explanation and said she supported looking for oversight mechanisms but was not comfortable voting yes until the committee could verify where and how the data are shared. Senator Albritton argued some of the information resembles publicly available GIS data and urged caution so that government services are not cut out of existing processes.

Committee discussion named commercial vendors that access broadcast ADS‑B feeds, with the sponsor citing ForeFlight and FlightAware as examples. Members described billing problems pilots must appeal when airports or vendors assume a low‑altitude broadcast indicates a landing; one example discussed was a $150 landing charge sent to a pilot who had not landed at that airport. A senator also relayed an off‑hand estimate she had heard — that the measure could have a $10 million to $20 million effect on the ETF — and urged the sponsor to obtain a fiscal note.

After discussion, Senator Haley moved to carry SB223 over one week; the motion was seconded and the committee carried the motion on a roll call. The chair announced, "The bill's carried over." The sponsor said he would convene affected parties and staff to seek workable guardrails for data use before bringing the bill back.

What happens next: The bill was carried over for one week; the sponsor said he will meet with stakeholders and report back to the committee.