HB 1177 Florida House · 2026 Regular Session

Spaceport Operations and Space Florida

Summary

Spaceport Operations and Space Florida; Requires governing board of certain seaports to coordinate with Space Florida for specified purposes; provides that Space Florida is not agency & is not subject to certain bidding & contract procedures under certain conditions; requires Space Florida to employ full-time business development director for specified purposes; revises membership of Space Florida board of directors.

Issues: ✗ Budget & Taxes

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 7, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

H 1177 c2 → H 1177 c3 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to expand its scope from focusing solely on spaceports to also including seaports and their surrounding areas. The version now requires seaport governing boards to coordinate with Space Florida to prevent conflicts between port plans and space initiatives. It also reorganized the bill's sections and added specific duties for Space Florida regarding business development and marketing.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened to include seaports and the areas within five miles of them, in addition to existing spaceport provisions.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for seaport governing boards to coordinate with Space Florida to ensure port changes do not conflict with Space Florida's business plans.

Replaced the requirement to enhance quintimodal transportation hubs with a mandate to employ a full-time business development director and create a comprehensive business plan.

Added new duties for Space Florida to enter into agreements with state departments, develop a plan to attract aerospace jobs, and run marketing campaigns.

DEFINITION

Introduced the new definition of 'strategic spaceport hub' as spaceport territory located within five miles of a deepwater commercial seaport.

Removed the definitions for 'quintimodal transportation hub' and 'spaceport director or commander'.

STRUCTURE

Reorganized the bill's sections, moving the Space Florida definition from Section 2 to Section 3 and adding new content to Section 1.

Floor votes · House Mar 5, 2026

How they voted

107–0

Passed · 10 other

Total votes 117

Mar 5, 2026

D Democratic34

31 Yea 3

91% Yea

R Republican83

76 Yea 7

91% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 5, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

CS passed; YEAS 107, NAYS 0

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Bill referred to House Calendar

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Commerce Committee

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Commerce Committee

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Commerce Committee agenda

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Commerce Committee agenda

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in Commerce Committee

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred to Commerce Committee

lower

Feb 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee

lower

Feb 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee agenda

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Commerce Committee

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Ways & Means Committee

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Ways & Means Committee

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

PCS added to Ways & Means Committee agenda

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in Ways & Means Committee

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Committee

Referred to Commerce Committee

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Committee

Referred to Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee

lower

Jan 15, 2026

Committee

Referred to Ways & Means Committee

lower

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors