spacetoday.net: Florida plans spending to support space industry

Posted: Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 7:26 AM ET (1226 GMT)
Florida governor Jeb Bush released plans Wednesday to provide $55 million in the state's next budget to support the state's space industry. The plan, released in conjunction with the final report of a state commission studying Florida's future in space, includes $35 million in facility improvements at Cape Canaveral, designed to lure the company that wins the contract to develop the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to establish maintenance and refurbishment operations there. The state will also waive sales taxes on space companies, improve educational programs, and consolidate three existing state agencies that deal with space into a single entity, Space Florida. That new agency will be charged with carrying out other recommendations by the commission, including the possibility of creating a new commercial spaceport in the state.