(a) Power to Issue.
(1) The department may perform acts, issue and amend orders and make, promulgate, and amend reasonable, general or special rules, regulations and procedures, and establish minimum standards, consistent with this chapter, that it deems necessary to carry out this chapter and to perform its duties under this chapter, commensurate with and for the purpose of protecting and ensuring the general public interest and safety, the safety of persons operating, using or traveling in aircraft or persons receiving instructions in flying or ground subjects pertaining to aeronautics, and the safety of persons and property on land or water, and developing and promoting aeronautics in this state.
(2) No rule or regulation of the department shall apply to airports or air navigation facilities owned or operated by the United States.
(b) Conformity to Federal Legislation and Rules. All rules and regulations prescribed by the department under the authority of this chapter shall be kept in conformity, as nearly as may be, with the then current federal legislation governing aeronautics and the rules, regulations, and standards duly issued under that legislation.