Commercial UAS Modernization Act

Summary: Commercial UAS Modernization Act This bill amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to permit a person to operate a small commercial unmanned aircraft (drone) without an airworthiness certificate within the United States for the period beginning on enactment of this Act and ending on the effective date of a final rule based on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking &quot;Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems&quot; dated February 23, 2015, subject to the following conditions and restrictions:    the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must receive proof that the drone owner has liability insurance for the drone;  the owner must register the drone; the operator must pass a test developed to assess initial aeronautical knowledge and a proficiency test administered by a drone test site; and  the operator must demonstrate the ability to fly the drone in accordance with certain operating restrictions concerning visibility, time of day, air traffic control, airspace, preflight inspection, and operator health.    A drone may not be operated until the operator of a test site certifies that it meets the requirements in the rulemaking notice and can operate within the restrictions. The owner or operator of a drone involved in an accident causing personal injury or property damage must report it to the FAA within two days after the accident. The FAA shall:  appoint a Deputy Associate Administrator for Unmanned Aircraft, establish a joint aircraft system research and development data collection and analysis program at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, and implement an air traffic management pilot program to research and test a new regulatory structure for drone operations in airspace below 1,200 feet. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial UAS Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERIM RULE FOR THE OPERATION OF SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FOR 
              COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title III of the FAA Modernization 
and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 337. OPERATION OF SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FOR COMMERCIAL 
              PURPOSES.

    ``(a) In General.--A person may operate a small unmanned aircraft 
for commercial purposes without an airworthiness certificate within the 
United States, subject to the requirements under subsection (b) and the 
operating restrictions under subsection (c) during the period beginning 
on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the effective 
date of a final rule based on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (80 Fed. 
Reg. 9544, February 23, 2015).
    ``(b) General Requirements.--
            ``(1) Liability insurance.--A small unmanned aircraft may 
        not be operated for commercial purposes during the period set 
        forth in subsection (a) unless the Administrator receives an 
        attestation that the owner of such aircraft has a liability 
        insurance policy covering the operation of such aircraft.
            ``(2) Registration.--A small unmanned aircraft may not be 
        operated for commercial purposes unless the owner has 
        registered the aircraft under section 3(a) of the Commercial 
        UAS Modernization Act.
            ``(3) Testing requirements.--
                    ``(A) Exam development.--Not later than 30 days 
                after the date of the enactment of the Commercial UAS 
                Modernization Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
                Aviation Administration shall develop an initial 
                aeronautical knowledge test that meets the requirements 
                set forth in the notice referred to in subsection (a).
                    ``(B) Requirements.--An individual may not operate 
                a small unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes 
                unless he or she--
                            ``(i) has received a passing grade on the 
                        test developed under subparagraph (A);
                            ``(ii) passed a proficiency test 
                        administered by a test site selected pursuant 
                        to section 332(c); and
                            ``(iii) has demonstrated the ability to fly 
                        the aircraft in accordance with the operating 
                        restrictions set forth in subsection (c).
            ``(4) Certification.--A small unmanned aircraft may not be 
        operated for commercial purposes until the operator of a test 
        site selected pursuant to section 332(c), in collaboration with 
        a designated airworthiness representative, certifies that the 
        small unmanned aircraft--
                    ``(A) meets the requirements for small unmanned 
                aircraft set forth in the notice referred to in 
                subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) is capable of operating within the limits 
                described in subsection (c).
    ``(c) Operating Restrictions.--During the period set forth in 
subsection (a), small unmanned aircraft operated for commercial 
purposes--
            ``(1) may only be operated under visual line of sight 
        rules;
            ``(2) may not be operated higher than 500 feet above ground 
        level;
            ``(3) may not be operated, unless the operator has prior 
        authorization from the air traffic control facility having 
        jurisdiction over that airspace--
                    ``(A) in Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace; or
                    ``(B) within the lateral boundaries of the surface 
                area of Class E airspace designated for an airport;
            ``(4) shall comply with model aircraft operating standards 
        set forth in Advisory Circular 91-57, which was issued by the 
        Federal Aviation Administration on June 9, 1981, or the current 
        revision of such standards;
            ``(5) may only be operated in daylight conditions;
            ``(6) shall yield right of way to all other users of the 
        National Airspace System;
            ``(7) may not be operated by any individual with any 
        physical or mental condition that the individual knows, or has 
        reason to know, would interfere with the safe operation of the 
        aircraft; and
            ``(8) may only be operated after a preflight inspection (as 
        described in the notice referred to in subsection (a)).
    ``(d) Enforcement.--The Secretary of Transportation, or designee, 
may bring a civil action against a person in a district court of the 
United States to enforce this section or a requirement or regulation 
prescribed, or an order or any term of a certificate or permit issued, 
under this section. The action may be brought in the judicial district 
in which the person does business or the violation occurred.
    ``(e) Accident Reporting.--The owner or operator of a small 
unmanned aircraft that is involved in any accident causing personal 
injury or property damage, other than to the small unmanned aircraft, 
shall report such accident to the Federal Aviation Administration not 
later than 2 days after such accident.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 336 the following:

``Sec. 337. Operation of small unmanned aircraft for commercial 
                            purposes.''.

SEC. 3. DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title III of the FAA Modernization 
and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95), as amended by section 2(a), 
is further amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 338. DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.

    ``(a) Appointment.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration (referred to in this section as the `Administrator') 
shall appoint a Deputy Associate Administrator for Unmanned Aircraft 
(referred to in this section as the `Deputy Associate Administrator'), 
who shall report to the Administrator and to the Secretary of 
Transportation.
    ``(b) Registration.--
            ``(1) Procedures.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        the enactment of the Commercial UAS Modernization Act, the 
        Deputy Associate Administrator, in consultation with the 
        Administrator, shall develop procedures for registering small 
        unmanned aircraft.
            ``(2) Fees.--The Deputy Associate Administrator is 
        authorized to collect reasonable fees, in an amount to be 
        determined by the Deputy Associate Administrator, from the 
        owner or operator of the small unmanned aircraft as part of the 
        registration process.
    ``(c) Principal Duties.--The Deputy Associate Administrator shall--
            ``(1) create an achievable comprehensive research and 
        development plan for the safe integration of unmanned aircraft 
        into the National Airspace System, which--
                    ``(A) takes into account work being done at other 
                Federal agencies, in conjunction with their industry 
                collaborators;
                    ``(B) is based on an initial audit of current 
                unmanned aircraft activity across the Federal 
                Government in order to identify gaps and overlaps; and
                    ``(C) allows for programmatic exemptions based on 
                previous analysis.
    ``(d) Other Issues.--The Deputy Associate Administrator, in 
consultation with the Administrator, shall develop strategies for 
resolving--
            ``(1) unmanned aircraft spectrum issues;
            ``(2) barriers to unmanned aircraft operating beyond line 
        of sight;
            ``(3) barriers to allowing payload carriage; and
            ``(4) barriers to utilizing automated unmanned aircraft 
        systems.
    ``(e) Exemptions.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Deputy Associate Administrator, 
        in consultation with the Administrator, shall expedite and 
        expand exemptions from the interim operating restrictions 
        otherwise applicable to unmanned aircraft under section 337.
            ``(2) Exemptions.--The exemptions authorized under 
        paragraph (1) may include--
                    ``(A) beyond line of sight operations;
                    ``(B) programmatic exemptions based on previous 
                analysis;
                    ``(C) extended visual line of sight and marginal 
                visual flight rules weather conditions; and
                    ``(D) heavier unmanned vehicles.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 337, as added by section 2(b), the 
following:

``Sec. 338. Deputy Associate Administrator for Unmanned Aircraft.''.

SEC. 4. JOINT AIRCRAFT SYSTEM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DATA COLLECTION 
              AND ANALYSIS PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall establish a joint aircraft system research and 
development data collection and analysis program at the William J. 
Hughes Technical Center (referred to in this section as the 
``Center'').
    (b) Research and Development Priorities.--The Director of the 
Center shall set priorities for data collection, analysis, and research 
under the program established under subsection (a), including 
identifying safety standards for detect and avoid, command and control, 
autonomous aircraft systems, and air traffic management for beyond-
visual-line of sight operations for such aircraft.
    (c) Use of Test Sites.--The program established under subsection 
(a) shall utilize the 6 unmanned aircraft system test sites of the 
Federal Aviation Administration--
            (1) to conduct research;
            (2) to collect data;
            (3) to develop quarterly milestones to expedite commercial 
        unmanned aircraft system operations; and
            (4) to work with other Federal agencies, the Center of 
        Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Federally funded 
        research and development centers, industry, academia, and 
        others, as appropriate, to implement the plan referred to in 
        paragraph (3).
    (d) Air Traffic Management Pilot Program.--
            (1) Implementation.--The Administrator of the Federal 
        Aviation Administration, acting through the Center, and the 
        Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration, shall implement an air traffic management pilot 
        program to research and test a new regulatory structure for 
        commercial and other operations of small unmanned aircraft in 
        controlled and uncontrolled airspace below 1,200 feet above 
        ground level.
            (2) Management testing.--The Center shall partner with a 
        neutral third party to test the management of small unmanned 
        aircraft in the airspace described in paragraph (1).
    (e) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Director of 
the Center shall submit a report that summarizes the actions taken 
under subsections (b), (c), and (d) to--
            (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
        of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
        the House of Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.