AN ACT relating to aerospace infrastructure, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 164 to define terms; establish the Kentucky Aerospace, Aviation, and Defense Investment Fund Advisory Committee; establish the membership of the committee; establish the Kentucky aerospace, aviation, and defense investment fund to be administered by the Council for Postsecondary Education for the purpose of funding public and private partnerships to provide aviation training scholarships and aviation and aerospace equipment grants; require that the portion of the fund expended towards the council's administrative costs shall not exceed 4% of all gross moneys in the fund or $1,500,000 annually, whichever is less; direct the council to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out this Act; require those administrative regulations to be submitted to the Legislative Research Commission for comment prior to filing; require advisory committee members to abstain from voting on a matter involving a conflict of interest; require that the council shall reserve at least 65% of all net moneys in the fund for partnership proposals between aviation programs and aviation industry partners to provide aviation training scholarships to Kentucky residents enrolled in aviation programs; direct the council to prioritize accepting partnerships to proposals targeted to reduce the workforce demand of a specific eligible aviation credential that is determined by the council to be among the highest in demand in the Commonwealth; direct that a partnership shall require a written partnership contract and establish the minimum contract requirements; direct that disbursements of moneys from the fund to support aviation training scholarships shall be made directly to an aviation program pursuant to the terms of the partnership contract; require that an aviation program that enters a partnership contract shall solicit, accept, and review aviation training scholarship applications submitted by students enrolled in the aviation program; direct that an aviation training scholarship issued by an aviation program pursuant to a partnership contract shall be made directly to a recipient pursuant to a written scholarship contract between the recipient and the aviation program; set minimum contract requirements; direct that a grantor may place restrictions upon a contribution to the fund requiring specific criteria for an aviation training scholarship or scholarships funded by the grantor's dedicated funds; direct that the aviation training scholarship contract shall grant the aviation program, the Commonwealth, or the aviation industry partner the authority to initiate recoupment proceedings for the recovery of the total amount of all aviation training scholarships awarded to an individual that fails to complete the terms of a scholarship contract; direct the council to reserve up to 35% of all net moneys in the fund for aviation equipment partnership contracts between public aviation training programs and aviation industry partners to provide aviation and aviation equipment grants; requrie that an aviation equipment partnership shall require a written partnership contract between a public aviation program, aviation industry partner, and the council; establish minimum contract requirements; direct the council to collaborate with the advisory committee to select proposals for partnership contracts; direct that the council may prioritize designated contracts; provide that the council shall require the public aviation program to submit proof that the entire amount of the aviation equipment grant is invested in the maintenance, acquisition, or lease of aviation or aviation training equipment utilized by students enrolled in a public aviation training program; require the council to submit a report to the Legislative Research Commission and establish minimum report requirements; sunset the bill on June 30, 2030; provide that this Act may be cited as the Aerospace Education Reinvestment Opportunity (A.E.R.O.) Act; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.