2016/06/16 – The Mississippi NAACP is pleased with a recent action of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that clarifies what must be done if a lawmaking body wants to change the owner or operator of a public airport.  Since the introduction of the Jackson Airport Takeover bill (Senate Bill 2162), it has been our position that this legislation exhibits an unprecedented power grab of a governmental entity’s assets.  In its June 6 release in the Federal Register, the FAA spells out clearly the proper process to “impact airport ownership, sponsorship, governance, or operations.” The FAA cites consulting with the current ownership and requesting technical assistance from the FAA as required preliminary measures to actions of such a nature.
“Legislation of this magnitude unveils the racially and socio-economically repressive motives of the legislature that continue to move outrageous bills through a short-sighted, conservative body of lawmakers,” said MS NAACP President Derrick Johnson.  “The MS NAACP continues to support the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority’s autonomy over the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport and will continue to actively oppose attempts by a majority in the Mississippi Legislature to create a new board to control its operation.  We are fortunate to have a regulatory body vigilant enough to issue guidelines that will continue to supercede the blatant overreaching of our state’s legislature.”

Source: Mississippi State Conference NAACP