I reported earlier this week that a bill in the Legislature that would protect companies doing business at Spaceport America against civil lawsuits from passengers could mean a renegotiation of the lease agreement with Virgin Galactic, but a state official says that’s not the case.
The fiscal impact report for Senate Bill 37, sponsored by Clinton Harden, R-Clovis, states that the spaceport authority, which is insured through the state’s Risk Management Division, requires those who lease facilities at the spaceport to carry “certain levels of insurance.”
“If this bill becomes law, those leases will have to be reviewed and perhaps amended to account for decreased liability,” the official legislative report states.
The only current lease holder is Virgin Galactic, which signed its lease in December, so I reported earlier this week that, based on the fiscal impact report, the bill might mean a renegotiation of the contract and that Virgin might not have to pay the state as much money as it’s already agreed to pay over the course of its 20-year lease.
That won’t happen, according to Steve Landeene, executive director of the spaceport authority.
“No renegotiation will occur based on approval of this bill,” he wrote in an e-mail about the Virgin contract.
He said that’s because the “insurance requirements” for Virgin have “been set and will not be changed.” He added that the fees required by the lease won’t be changed either. They’re based on ground rent, facilities rent and user fees, not insurance.