The Alabama Legislature is advancing SB228, a bill that would rename the Alabama Space Authority the Alabama Aerospace Authority and expand its membership and duties.

The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville), passed the full Senate unanimously on February 10 and cleared the House State Government Committee last week.

Under the bill, the Alabama Space Authority — currently an office within the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs responsible for promoting research and development in space exploration and spaceport technology — would be formally renamed the Alabama Aerospace Authority later this year.

The bill would also expand the authority’s membership by adding the Finance Director and the Secretary of Workforce as ex officio voting members, and the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission as an ex officio nonvoting member.

Among the new duties added by the bill, the authority would be required to develop strategies to promote and encourage private investment in the aerospace sector.

The legislation comes as Huntsville cements its standing as a national aerospace hub. President Trump announced last September that U.S. Space Command will officially and permanently locate its headquarters to Redstone Arsenal, bringing an estimated 1,400 jobs to North Alabama.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].