Title 49TransportationRelease 119-73

§47135 Innovative financing techniques

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE VII— - AVIATION PROGRAMS › Part PART B— - AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT AND NOISE › Chapter CHAPTER 471— - AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT › § 47135

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation can OK an airport’s request to use grants for new financing methods for a development project at an airport that is not a large hub. No more than 30 such applications can be approved in one fiscal year. The grants must be used to learn about these methods, cut total project costs, or speed up delivery without hurting safety or the environment. Those methods cannot make the United States a direct or indirect guarantor of airport debt. Allowed techniques include paying interest, using commercial bond insurance or other credit help for airport bonds, flexible non‑Federal matching rules, using funds apportioned under section 47114 to pay principal and interest on terminal work done before this law was enacted, and any other methods the Secretary finds fit.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §47135

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary of Transportation may approve an application by an airport sponsor to use grants received under this subchapter for innovative financing techniques related to an airport development project that is located at an airport that is not a large hub airport.
(2)The Secretary may approve not more than 30 applications described under paragraph (1) in a fiscal year.
(b)The purpose of grants made under this section shall be to—
(1)provide information on the benefits and difficulties of using innovative financing techniques for airport development projects;
(2)lower the total cost of an airport development project; or
(3)expedite the delivery or completion of an airport development project without reducing safety or causing environmental harm.
(c)(1)In no case shall the implementation of an innovative financing technique under this section be used in a manner giving rise to a direct or indirect guarantee of any airport debt instrument by the United States Government.
(2)In this section, innovative financing techniques are limited to—
(A)payment of interest;
(B)commercial bond insurance and other credit enhancement associated with airport bonds for eligible airport development;
(C)flexible non-Federal matching requirements;
(D)use of funds apportioned under section 47114 for the payment of principal and interest of terminal development for costs incurred before the date of the enactment of this section; and
(E)any other techniques that the Secretary determines are consistent with the purposes of this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(D), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106–181, which was approved Apr. 5, 2000.

Amendments

2024—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 118–63, § 721(1), added subsecs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which read as follows: “(a) In General.—The Secretary of Transportation may approve, after the date of enactment of the Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, applications for not more than 20 airport development projects for which grants received under this subchapter may be used for innovative financing techniques. Such projects shall be located at airports that each year have less than .25 percent of the total number of passenger boardings each year at all commercial service airports in the most recent calendar year for which data is available. “(b) Purpose.—The purpose of grants made under this section shall be to provide information on the benefits and difficulties of using innovative financing techniques for airport development projects.” Subsec. (c)(2)(E). Pub. L. 118–63, § 721(2), added subpar. (E). 2003—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–176 inserted “, after the date of enactment of the Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act,” after “approve” in first sentence.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2003 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 108–176 applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 2003, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–176, set out as a note under section 106 of this title.

Effective Date

Section applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1999, see section 3 of Pub. L. 106–181, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2000

Amendments

note under section 106 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 47135

Title 49Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73