The Texas House Select Committee on General Aviation will gavel in at 10 a.m. Aug. 18 to take invited and public testimony on five interim charges spanning the condition of the state’s general aviation airports, regional air service, workforce shortages, disaster response and airport governance.
Public testimony may be limited at the chair’s discretion, according to the hearing notice, and written comments can be submitted online until adjournment through the House comment portal.
Chaired by Rep. Keith Bell, R–Forney, with Rep. Armando Martinez, D–Weslaco, as vice chair, the nine-member panel — five Republicans and four Democrats — meets in Room E2.026 of the Capitol Extension. Speaker Dustin Burrows created the select committee in March as one of three new select panels, charging it with advancing aviation infrastructure to support rural economic growth, transportation access and emergency services; its members were appointed March 26.
The first charge asks members to examine the condition and capacity of general aviation airports and the capital improvements needed to promote access and safety, along with opportunities to maximize federal funding. The Texas Department of Transportation acts as the state’s agent for federal airport grants under the FAA’s state block grant program and channels roughly $146 million a year in combined federal and state funding through its Aviation Capital Improvement Program, with local sponsors typically covering a 10 percent share, according to the TxDOT Aviation Division. The program is a tentative schedule of federal and state airport development projects, updated each fiscal year with input from local airport sponsors.
A second charge takes up barriers that keep carriers from expanding regional air service into underserved markets, and asks the committee to recommend options for a statewide regional air service master plan — a potential blueprint for connecting smaller Texas cities that have lost or never gained scheduled service.
The panel will also study shortages in the aviation workforce and opportunities for industry to partner with public universities, community colleges and state technical colleges on training pathways. A fourth charge examines the role general aviation airports play in disaster response, directing members to identify improvements that would better facilitate staging and deployment of assets and sharpen coordination between state and federal agencies when storms, wildfires or floods strike.
Finally, members will review governance and procurement frameworks for general aviation airports, including how fees are assessed, and recommend practices to improve operational efficiency and position airports to integrate emerging aviation technology, according to the notice. Each of the five charges is open for electronic public comment, from airport infrastructure to emerging technology.
Because this is an interim hearing, the committee will take no votes on legislation. Its findings and recommendations will shape the select panel’s report and any aviation legislation filed in the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 10:00 AM CT, Tuesday, August 18, 2026
- Where
- Room E2.026, Capitol Extension, Austin
- Chair
- Rep. Keith Bell, R–Forney (HD-4)
- Vice Chair
- Rep. Armando Martinez, D–Weslaco (HD-39)
- Format
- Invited and public testimony; public testimony may be limited at the chair’s discretion; interim charges only — no vote on legislation
- Live video
- house.texas.gov/video-audio
- Submit comments online
- comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c023 (until adjournment)
- Full agenda
- Official hearing notice (capitol.texas.gov)
Committee members
- Rep. Keith Bell, R–Forney (HD-4) — Chair
- Rep. Armando Martinez, D–Weslaco (HD-39) — Vice Chair
- Rep. Terry Canales, D–Edinburg (HD-40)
- Rep. Philip Cortez, D–San Antonio (HD-117)
- Rep. Pat Curry, R–Waco (HD-56)
- Rep. Gary Gates, R–Richmond (HD-28)
- Rep. Cole Hefner, R–Mount Pleasant (HD-5)
- Rep. John W. McQueeney, R–Fort Worth (HD-97)
- Rep. Mary Ann Perez, D–Houston (HD-144)