II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 307 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish certain rules relating 

to unmanned aircraft systems and operations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 

Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish certain 

rules relating to unmanned aircraft systems and operations, 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 ‘‘Increasing Competi5 tiveness for American Drones Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATIONS FOR 

7 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

8 Chapter 448 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 44811. BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATIONS 

2 FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

4 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

5 of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this section re6 ferred to as the ‘Administrator’) shall issue a notice of 

7 proposed rulemaking establishing a regulatory pathway 

8 for certification or approval of unmanned aircraft systems 

9 to enable commercial beyond visual line of sight (in this 

10 section referred to as ‘BVLOS’) operations. 

11 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

13 in promulgating the rule under subsection (a), the 

14 Administrator shall implement the final report and 

15 recommendations of the Beyond Visual Line of Sight 

16 Aviation Rulemaking Committee which were sub17 mitted to the Administrator on March 10, 2022. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the Administrator deter19 mines not to implement 1 or more of the rec20 ommendations described in paragraph (1), the Ad21 ministrator shall provide to the appropriate commit22 tees of Congress a statement of explanation for such 

23 determination. 

24 ‘‘(c) FINAL RULE.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

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1 ministrator shall issue a final rule establishing a reg2 ulatory pathway for certification or approval of un3 manned aircraft systems to enable commercial 

4 BVLOS operations. 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The final rule described 

6 in paragraph (1) shall, at a minimum, do the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(A) Establish an applicable risk assess9 ment methodology for the authorization of 

10 BVLOS unmanned aircraft system operations 

11 that includes quantified measures of accept12 ability which sufficiently account for the total 

13 air and ground risks associated with such oper14 ations and the means for mitigating such risks, 

15 taking into account an aircraft’s size, weight, 

16 speed, kinetic energy, operational capability, 

17 proximity to airports and populated areas, oper18 ation over people, and operation beyond the vis19 ual line of sight, or operation during the day or 

20 night, including consideration of unmanned air21 craft using an approved or accepted detect and 

22 avoid system appropriate for the class and type 

23 of airspace in which the operation is being con24 ducted. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Establish remote pilot certification 

2 standards for remote pilots for BVLOS oper3 ations, taking into account varying levels of 

4 automated control and management of un5 manned aircraft system flights. 

6 ‘‘(C) Establish an airworthiness process for 

7 small unmanned aircraft systems that requires 

8 a manufacturer’s declaration of compliance to a 

9 Federal Aviation Administration accepted 

10 means of compliance, which shall not require 

11 type or production certification or the issuance 

12 of a special airworthiness certificate. 

13 ‘‘(D) Establish a special airworthiness cer14 tificate to be issued upon a manufacturer’s dec15 laration of compliance to a Federal Aviation 

16 Administration accepted means of compliance, 

17 which— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall not require type or produc19 tion certification; 

20 ‘‘(ii) shall, at least, govern airworthi21 ness of any unmanned aircraft system 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(I) is not— 

24 ‘‘(aa) a small unmanned air25 craft system; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) appropriate for the 

2 process described in subpara3 graph (C), as determined by the 

4 Administrator; 

5 ‘‘(II) has a maximum gross 

6 weight of not more than 1,320 lbs; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(III) has a maximum speed of 

9 100 miles per hour; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) may require unmanned aircraft 

11 systems subject to the certificate to oper12 ate in the national airspace system at alti13 tudes below at least— 

14 ‘‘(I) 400 feet above ground level; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(II) with respect to an un17 manned aircraft system flown within a 

18 400-foot radius of a structure, 400 

19 feet above the structure’s immediate 

20 uppermost limit. 

21 ‘‘(E) Amend the Code of Federal Regula22 tions to establish generally applicable standards 

23 for the type certification of unmanned aircraft 

24 systems that the Administrator determines pose 

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1 manned aircraft systems are not appropriate 

2 for approvals under the processes described in 

3 subparagraph (C) or (D). 

4 ‘‘(F) Establish operating rules for— 

5 ‘‘(i) the operation of the unmanned 

6 aircraft systems described in subparagraph 

7 (C), (D), or (E); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) certain unmanned aircraft sys9 tems to enable lower-risk BVLOS oper10 ations without airworthiness requirements 

11 in a manner consistent with the final re12 port and recommendations of the Beyond 

13 Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking 

14 Committee described in subsection (b)(1). 

15 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

16 this section shall prohibit the use of the manufac17 turer declarations of compliance required under 

18 paragraph (2)(C) for other unmanned aircraft sys19 tems.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR 

21 OF UAS INTEGRATION. 

22 Section 106 of title 49, United States Code, is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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1 ‘‘(u) OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR OF

2 UAS INTEGRATION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

4 the Federal Aviation Administration the Office of 

5 Associate Administrator of UAS Integration (in this 

6 subsection referred to as the ‘Office’). 

7 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Office 

8 shall be headed by an Associate Administrator, who 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Administrator, in 

11 consultation with the Secretary of Transpor12 tation; and 

13 ‘‘(B) report directly to the Administrator. 

14 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office 

15 are to— 

16 ‘‘(A) ensure and oversee the safe integra17 tion of UASs into the national airspace system; 

18 ‘‘(B) encourage and facilitate a commer19 cially viable UAS industry and the leadership of 

20 the United States in UAS; 

21 ‘‘(C) increase overall safety of the trans22 portation system on a mode-neutral basis; 

23 ‘‘(D) promote the global leadership of the 

24 United States in advanced aviation; and 

25 ‘‘(E) manage the UAS Integration Office. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Associate Administrator 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) conduct rulemaking proceedings with 

4 respect to UASs; 

5 ‘‘(B) review submissions under the proc6 esses established in subparagraphs (C) through 

7 (E) of section 44811(c)(2) and, as appropriate, 

8 grant certifications and other operational ap9 provals; 

10 ‘‘(C) review, modify, accept, or approve in11 dustry-developed standards, means of compli12 ance, and declarations of compliance; 

13 ‘‘(D) consult and coordinate with subject 

14 matter experts from all relevant lines of busi15 ness and staff offices in carrying out the duties 

16 described in this paragraph in a timely and effi17 cient manner; 

18 ‘‘(E) hire full time equivalent employees, 

19 as appropriate, to build expertise within the Of20 fice in assessing new technologies and novel risk 

21 mitigations; 

22 ‘‘(F) manage the UAS Certification Unit 

23 (as described in subsection (v)); and 

24 ‘‘(G) engage in any other activities deemed 

25 necessary by the Associate Administrator to 


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1 carry out the purposes described in paragraph 

2 (3). 

3 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT; 

5 BVLOS.—The terms ‘beyond visual line of sight’ 

6 or ‘BVLOS’ mean the operation of a UAS be7 yond the capability of the flightcrew members 

8 to see the UAS with vision unaided by any de9 vice other than corrective lenses (such as spec10 tacles or contact lenses). 

11 ‘‘(B) UAS.—The term ‘UAS’ has the 

12 meaning given the term ‘unmanned aircraft sys13 tem’ in section 44801.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF UAS CERTIFICATION UNIT. 

15 Section 106 of title 49, United States Code, as 

16 amended by section 3, is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(v) UAS CERTIFICATION UNIT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

20 the Office of Associate Administrator of UAS Inte21 gration (as established in subsection (u)) the UAS 

22 Certification Unit (in this subsection referred to as 

23 the ‘Unit’). 

24 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) EMPLOYEES.—The Unit shall include 

2 not less than 1 employee from each relevant 

3 line of business of the Federal Aviation Admin4 istration, including the UAS Integration Office, 

5 the Aircraft Certification Service, the Flight 

6 Standards Service, Air Traffic Control, the Of7 fice of Chief Counsel, the Office of Environment 

8 and Energy, and any other office deemed ap9 propriate by the Associate Administrator. 

10 ‘‘(B) LEADERSHIP.—Out of the employees 

11 described in subparagraph (A), the Associate 

12 Administrator of the Office of Associate Admin13 istrator of UAS Integration may designate a di14 rector and steering committee to lead the Unit, 

15 which shall consist of not less than 1 employee 

16 from each line of business participating in the 

17 Unit. 

18 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Unit shall develop and im19 plement the unmanned aircraft system certification 

20 or approval processes described in section 44811 

21 by— 

22 ‘‘(A) reviewing and accepting industry23 based airworthiness standards and means of 

24 compliance; 


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1 ‘‘(B) engaging with applicants on the cer2 tification or approval process; 

3 ‘‘(C) providing clear and consistent guid4 ance to industry standards organizations, in5 cluding setting either a target level of safety or 

6 an acceptable level of risk; 

7 ‘‘(D) promptly responding to questions 

8 from any person seeking an approval described 

9 in subparagraphs (C) through (D) of section 

10 44811(c)(2); and 

11 ‘‘(E) taking all necessary steps to move the 

12 unmanned aircraft system certification and ac13 ceptance processes forward without avoidable 

14 delay. 

15 ‘‘(4) UAS SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFI16 CATE APPROVALS.—The Associate Administrator 

17 shall have the authority to grant or deny an applica18 tion for any approval described in section 44811, 

19 upon review of the recommendations of the Unit and 

20 after consultation with the managers of the Aircraft 

21 Certification Service and Flight Standards Service, 

22 if either manager requests consultation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. USE OF MODELING AND SIMULATION TOOLS IN UN2 MANNED AIRCRAFT TEST RANGES; PROGRAM 

3 EXTENSION. 

4 (a) USE OF MODELING AND SIMULATION TOOLS.— 

5 Section 44803(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(12) use modeling and simulation tools to as12 sist in the testing, evaluation, verification, and vali13 dation of unmanned aircraft systems.’’. 

14 (b) PROGRAM EXTENSION.—Section 44803(h) of title 

15 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Sep16 tember 30, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2028’’. 

17 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF SPECIAL AUTHORITY FOR UN18 MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) the lack of appropriate certification stand22 ards, rules, and processes set by the Federal Avia23 tion Administration for airworthiness determinations 

24 and operational approvals of unmanned aircraft sys25 tems (as defined in section 44801 of title 49, United 

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1 tage in global competitiveness and delays the inte2 gration of promising new technology into commu3 nities in the United States; 

4 (2) this lack of progress on a standardized air5 worthiness and operational approvals approach com6 pels the extension of authority to issue exemptions 

7 under section 44807 of such title 49; and 

8 (3) such section 44807— 

9 (A) should continue to use a risk-based ap10 proach to authorize operations that do not fit 

11 within part 107 of title 14, Code of Federal 

12 Regulations; and 

13 (B) should not be limited to type certifi14 cate applicants. 

15 (b) EXTENSION.—Section 44807(d) of title 49, 

16 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘September 

17 30, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘on the date the rules described 

18 in section 44811 take effect’’. 

19 (c) CLARIFICATION.—Section 44807(a) of title 49, 

20 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or chapter 

21 447’’ after ‘‘Notwithstanding any other requirement of 

22 this chapter’’. 

23 (d) EXPEDITED EXEMPTIONS.—In exercising author24 ity under section 44807 of title 49, United States Code 

25 (as amended by subsection (b)), the Administrator of the 


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1 Federal Aviation Administration shall, taking into account 

2 the statutory mandate to ensure safe and efficient use of 

3 the national airspace system and without requiring a rule4 making or imposing the requirements of part 11 of title 

5 14, Code of Federal Regulations, grant exemptions to en6 able— 

7 (1) low-risk beyond visual line of sight oper8 ations, such as certain package delivery operations 

9 or shielded operations within 100 feet of the ground 

10 or a structure; or 

11 (2) extended visual line of sight operations that 

12 rely on visual observers to keep the aircraft or air13 space within view. 

14 (e) CLARIFICATION OF STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY

15 ISSUED RULEMAKINGS AND EXEMPTIONS.— 

16 (1) RULEMAKINGS.—Any rulemaking published 

17 prior to the date of enactment of this Act under the 

18 authority described in section 44807 of title 49, 

19 United States Code, shall continue to be in effect 

20 following the expiration of such authority. 

21 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—Any exemption granted 

22 under the authority described in section 44807 of 

23 title 49, United States Code, and in effect as of Sep24 tember 30, 2023, shall continue to be in effect until 


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1 the date that is 3 years after the date of termination 

2 described in such exemption. 

3 (3) DELEGATION.—The authority granted to 

4 the Secretary of Transportation in such section 

5 44807 may continue to be delegated to the Adminis6 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration in 

7 whole or in part. 

8 (4) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

9 this section shall be construed to interfere with the 

10 Secretary of Transportation’s— 

11 (A) authority to rescind or amend the 

12 granting of an exemption for reasons such as 

13 unsafe conditions or operator oversight; or 

14 (B) ability to grant an exemption based on 

15 a determination made pursuant to such section 

16 44807 before the expiration of that provision. 

Æ 


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