I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5106 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to allow airports to impose an 

access restriction for certain hours, to assess certain penalties against 

air carriers or aircraft operators, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2019 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. CASE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. SUOZZI, 

Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SMITH of Washington, and Mr. SHERMAN) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to allow airports 

to impose an access restriction for certain hours, to 

assess certain penalties against air carriers or aircraft 

operators, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Everyone’s 

5 Sleep Tonight Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘REST Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AIRPORT ACCESS RESTRICTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law and except as provided in subsection (b), an 

4 airport may impose an access restriction between the 

5 hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. for aircrafts. 

6 (b) ACCOMMODATIONS FOR CERTAIN FLIGHTS.— 

7 (1) TYPES OF FLIGHTS.—In imposing an access 

8 restriction under subsection (a), an airport shall per9 mit, within the hours of such access restriction, the 

10 operation of military, law enforcement, and Coast 

11 Guard flights. 

12 (2) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—In impos13 ing an access restriction under subsection (a), an 

14 airport may not prohibit access for— 

15 (A) a flight that is scheduled to arrive or 

16 depart during hours not covered by the access 

17 restriction imposed under subsection (a) and 

18 which arrives or departs during such access re19 striction due solely to weather or the safe oper20 ation of the aircraft, including compliance with 

21 any safety-related requirements; 

22 (B) emergency flights; 

23 (C) flights to evacuate natural disasters; 

24 and 

25 (D) flights for the purpose of the preserva26 tion of life, health, or safety. 


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1 (c) PENALTIES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—An airport may impose a 

3 noise deterrence penalty on an air carrier or aircraft 

4 operator for a violation of the access restriction im5 posed under subsection (a). 

6 (2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—An airport apply7 ing penalties under this subsection shall set a base 

8 level for a noise deterrence penalty under paragraph 

9 (1) at an amount sufficient to deter future violations 

10 of the access restriction imposed under subsection 

11 (a). 

12 (3) INCREASE IN PENALTY.—The airport apply13 ing penalties under this subsection may increase a 

14 penalty for a violation of the access restriction im15 posed under subsection (a) above the base amount 

16 set under paragraph (2) if an aircraft takeoff or 

17 landing resulted in noise to residents of any unit of 

18 local government exceeding 80 dBA, as evidenced by 

19 a noise monitoring device recognized as authoritative 

20 by the airport. 

21 (4) CONSIDERATIONS FOR A PENALTY IN22 CREASE.—In determining whether to increase the 

23 penalty above the base amount set under paragraph 

24 (2), an airport may consider the following: 


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1 (A) The certified noise level and engine 

2 model of the aircraft. 

3 (B) The time of violation. 

4 (C) Repeat violations by the air carrier or 

5 aircraft operator. 

6 (D) Any other criteria that the airport de7 termines reflects the noise impacts to residents 

8 of the unit of local government impacted by the 

9 violation of subsection (a). 

10 (5) USE OF PENALTY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

12 subparagraph (C), penalties collected for a vio13 lation of the access restriction imposed under 

14 subsection (a) shall be remitted to the unit of 

15 local government that experienced the impact of 

16 the noise deterrence violation. 

17 (B) MULTIPLE UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERN18 MENT.—If multiple units of local government 

19 are impacted by a violation of the access re20 striction imposed under subsection (a), an air21 port shall remit the penalty to the jurisdictions 

22 impacted in equal parts. 

23 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An airport 

24 may deduct reasonable costs of administering a 

25 noise deterrence penalty from a penalty colVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Nov 25, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5106.IH H5106

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1 lected under this paragraph before remitting 

2 the penalty under subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

3 (d) LIMITATION.—With respect to any action taken 

4 in carrying out this section, the airport is not required 

5 to seek the approval or comment of the Federal Aviation 

6 Administration or the Secretary of Transportation, any air 

7 carrier or aircraft operator or any other entity. 

8 (e) DEFINITION OF WEATHER.—In this section, the 

9 term ‘‘weather’’ is defined as the state of the atmosphere 

10 at a location or along a route over the short-term. 

11 (f) DEFINITION OF ACCESS RESTRICTION.—For pur12 poses of this Act, an access restriction is a prohibition on 

13 the landing or takeoff of aircraft. 

Æ 


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