ARTICLE 2. State Airports and Air Navigation Facilities [21631. - 21646.]

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC 2.

in effect

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21631. Section 21631.

From appropriations or other money made available for the purpose, the department, on behalf of and in the name of the state, may plan, establish, construct, enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and protect airports and air navigation facilities, either within or without the state, including the construction, installation, equipment, maintenance, and operation at the airports of buildings and other facilities for the servicing of aircraft or for the comfort and accommodation of air travelers.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21632. Section 21632.

(a) The department may also acquire existing airports and air navigation facilities, but it shall not acquire any airport or air navigation facility owned or controlled by a political subdivision of this or any other state without the consent of the political subdivision. (b) Whenever an airport owned or operated by the United States in this state ceases to be so owned or operated, the department, in consultation with local and regional transportation planning agencies, may evaluate the present and future need for the airport in the state’s public-use airport system, including the need for both the transportation of people and goods. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine aviation needs and does not eliminate any requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. (c) Prior to finalizing the evaluation, the department shall submit a copy of its report to the commission for review and comment. The commission shall complete its review and forward any comments to the department not later than 45 days after receiving the evaluation. (d) Upon completion of its evaluation, the department may make a recommendation to the Legislature, the commission, the affected local agencies, and the appropriate federal agency for the airport’s ownership and type of operation as a public-use airport, if the department determines that the airport would be of significant benefit to the state’s airport system. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department, in making its recommendation, give priority for ownership and operation of these public-use airports to a local political subdivision or subdivisions acting jointly. (e) Notwithstanding Section 21606, if a political subdivision or subdivisions acting jointly notify the department of their intentions to prepare a reuse plan for the airport, and simultaneously apply to the Federal Aviation Administration for a federal grant to develop an airport master plan for the airport, the department shall not make its recommendation pursuant to subdivision (d). If the department’s evaluation determines that the airport would be of significant benefit to the state’s airport system, and the political subdivision or subdivisions acting jointly fail to convert the federal airport to a civil public-use airport in accordance with the department’s evaluation within five years of notification to the department, or fail to evidence substantial progress toward that purpose as determined by the department, then the department may take action in accordance with subdivision (f). (f) If the department determines the airport is of present or future benefit to the state’s public-use airport system, and no political subdivision applies to the appropriate federal agency to acquire or operate the airport, or has notified the department of its intention to prepare a reuse plan for the airport and thereafter fails to act upon its application pursuant to subdivision (e), the department may, subject to subdivision (g), assist in the formation of a public entity to own and operate the airport which shall be representative of political subdivisions in the area which surrounds and is served by the airport, as determined by the department. If established, the owning and operating entity may, subject to subdivision (g), prepare and submit an application to the appropriate federal agency to acquire or operate, or acquire and operate, the airport as a public airport. (g) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), if any political subdivision has previously applied to the appropriate federal agency to acquire and operate the airport as a public airport, has completed all required environmental and fiscal evaluations, and subsequently withdrew its application prior to December 31, 1988, the department shall not file any application to acquire or operate the airport or assist in the formation of a public entity to own and operate the airport.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21633. Section 21633.

For the purposes of this article, the department, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation, or otherwise, may acquire real or personal property, or any interest therein, including any property described in Section 21652.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21636. Section 21636.

The department may dispose of any property, airport, air navigation facility, or portion or interest, acquired pursuant to this article, by sale, lease, or otherwise. The disposal shall be in accordance with the laws of this state governing the disposition of other state property, except that in the case of disposals to any political subdivision or government or the United States for aeronautical purposes, the disposal may be effected in the manner and upon the terms the department deems in the best interests of the state.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21637. Section 21637.

In operating an airport or air navigation facility owned or controlled by the state, the department may enter into contracts, leases, and other arrangements for a term not exceeding 20 years with any person, granting the privilege of using or improving the airport or air navigation facility or space therein for commercial purposes, conferring the privilege of supplying goods, commodities, things, services, or facilities at the airport or air navigation facility, or making available services to be furnished by the department or its agents at the airport or air navigation facility. In each case the department may establish the terms and conditions and fix the charges, rentals, or fees for the privileges or services, which shall be reasonable and uniform for the same class of privilege or service and shall be established with regard to the property and improvement used and the expenses of operation to the state. In no case shall the public be deprived of its rightful, equal, and uniform use of the airport, air navigation facility, or portion of either. The department shall grant no exclusive privilege for the sale or delivery of gasoline or other petroleum products.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21638. Section 21638.

The department shall call for bids for the operation of any state-owned airport and shall lease the airport for a term not to exceed five years to the highest qualified bidder or bidders. No person shall be granted any authority to operate the airport other than as a public airport or to enter into any contracts, leases, or other arrangements in connection with the operation of the airport which the department might not have undertaken under Section 21637. The state may operate an airport only if no acceptable bid is received.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21639. Section 21639.

The department shall grant no exclusive right for the use of any airport or air navigation facility under its jurisdiction. This section shall not be construed to prevent the making of contracts, leases, and other arrangements pursuant to this article.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21640. Section 21640.

To enforce the payment of any charges for repairs, improvements, storage, or care of any personal property by the department or its agents in connection with the operation of an airport or air navigation facility owned or operated by the state, the state has a lien on the property, which is enforceable by the department as provided by law.

Cal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 21646. Section 21646.

It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to release or fly or cause to be released or flown, within five miles of any airport, any moored balloon, kite, unmanned rocket, or unmanned free balloon which might be ingested by an aircraft engine or might cause a pilot’s view of the airport and zone approach to be obstructed, or which could be used to suspend an object capable of endangering airborne aircraft or impairing a pilot’s vision.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026