[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3983 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3983
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
adopt a performance- and risk-based approach in reviewing requests for
certain certificates of waiver, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 2023
Mr. Molinaro (for himself, Mr. Mann, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr.
Kean of New Jersey, and Mr. Williams of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
adopt a performance- and risk-based approach in reviewing requests for
certain certificates of waiver, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Drone Safety and Efficiency Act''.
SEC. 2. 14 CFR PART 107 WAIVER IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall adopt a performance- and risk-based approach in
reviewing requests for certificates of waiver under section 107.200 of
title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
(b) Standardization of Waiver Application.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Administrator shall improve the the process established to
submit requests for certificates of waiver described in
subsection (a).
(2) Format.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Administrator may not require the use of open-ended descriptive
prompts that are required to be filled out by an applicant,
except to provide applicants the ability to provide the
Administration with information for an unusual or irregular
operation.
(3) Data.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Administrator shall leverage data gathered from
previous requests for certificates of waivers.
(B) Considerations.--In carrying out subparagraph
(A), the Administrator shall safely use--
(i) big data analytics; and
(ii) machine learning.
(c) Consideration of Property Ownership Interest.--
(1) In general.--In determining whether to issue a
certificate of waiver under section 107.200 of title 14, Code
of Federal Regulations, the Administrator shall--
(A) consider whether the waiver applicant has
control over access to all real property on the ground
within the area of operation; and
(B) recognize and account for the safety
enhancements of such controlled access.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to direct the Administrator to consider the lack
of control over access to all real property on the ground
within an area of operation, or a lack of property interest in
such area of operation, as negatively affecting the safety of
the operation intended to be conducted under such certificate
of waiver.
(d) Public Availability of Waivers.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall publish all
certificates of waiver issued under section 107.200 of title
14, Code of Federal Regulations, on the website of the
Administration, including, with respect to each issued
certificate of waiver--
(A) the terms, conditions, and limitations; and
(B) the class of airspace and any restrictions
related to operating near airports or heliports.
(2) Publication.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Administrator shall ensure that published information is made
available in a manner that prevents inappropriate disclosure of
proprietary information.
(e) Precedential Use of Previously Approved Waivers.--
(1) Waiver approval precedent.--Except as provided in
paragraph (3), if the Administrator determines, using criteria
for a particular waiver, that an application for a certificate
of waiver issued under section 107.200 of title 14, Code of
Federal Regulations, is substantially similar (or is comprised
of elements that are substantially similar) to an application
for a certificate of waiver that the Administrator has
previously approved, the Administrator may streamline, as
appropriate, the approval of applications with substantially
similar conditions and limitations as a previously approved
application.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (1) shall
be construed to preclude an applicant for a certificate of
waiver from applying to modify a condition, or remove a
limitation of, such certificate.
(f) Modification of Waivers.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish an
expedited review process for a request to modify or renew
certificates of waiver previously issued under section 107.200
of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, as appropriate.
(2) Use of review process.--The review process established
under paragraph (1) shall be used to review certificates of
waiver that cover operations that are substantially similar in
all material facts to operations covered under a subsequently
issued certificate of waiver.
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