LITTLE ROCK -- An amended version of a bill that would allow Northwest Arkansas National Airport to deannex from Highfill cleared the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday and is headed to the House of Representatives.
The Senate Committee on City, County and Local Affairs forwarded Senate Bill 414 with a do-pass recommendation Tuesday morning, and the Senate approved the measure Tuesday afternoon.
The tally in the Senate was 21 for, five against, six not voting and two voting present. Sen. Clint Penzo, R-Tontitown, and Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, voted against the bill. Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs; Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville; Sen. Jim Petty, R-Van Buren; Sen. Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers; Sen. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville; and Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, voted in favor of the bill.
"I've sat through a lot of tough meetings on this thing, back and forth. It's been very contentious. But what we all ask when we come down here is that we find someplace to negotiate," said Hester, whose district includes the airport and Highfill. "As we saw from where we were a week ago to where we are now, they took out the most contentious parts; they negotiated. I think it's as fair as we can get on this."
The bill will now go to the House Committee on City, County and Local Affairs.
The bill proposes amending the state's Regional Airport Authority Act to allow regional airport authorities to deannex from a city. The original bill had a provision to allow regional airports to levy taxes on airport property, but the bill was amended to remove that.
The measure would allow Northwest Arkansas National Airport to leave Highfill by a two-thirds vote of the airport board. It is one of three regional airport authorities in the state and the only one affected by the change. The others are in Blytheville and Colt.
The bill was also amended in committee to add a provision to prevent an airport authority from buying up land in a city and deannexing that land from the city. The amendment was added to protect cities from losing tax base.
The bill doesn't prevent a city and an airport authority from coming to the table to negotiate details related to a detachment.
Airport officials said annexation of Northwest Arkansas National Airport into a city was never envisioned when the airport was being planned and the Airport Authority was created.
Highfill city leaders and residents have opposed the bill. Highfill Mayor Chris Holland spoke in opposition last week, saying he opposes the bill because it would hurt Highfill by taking away a big portion of the revenue on which the city depends.
Highfill gets sales tax money from seven or eight food vendors at the airport, six car rental companies and other retailers.
The city has two bond issues totaling about $7 million. It collects about $600,000 from its 2% sales tax on businesses at the airport used to pay for those bonds, which aren't slated to be paid off until 2037.
Airport officials contend the bill provides a time frame for the airport to pay the city for lost revenue that would have gone to repaying those bonds as part of any deannexation.
Airport officials have argued sales tax revenue would continue to go to Highfill until all the debts are paid.
Five cities and two counties originally agreed to form the airport authority. Highfill wasn't among them.
Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale each appoint two members to the board, as do Benton and Washington counties. The board's purpose is to build, operate and maintain the facility, including runways, structures, roads, staff and finances required to operate a modern aviation facility.