II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 304

To improve air transportation service available to small communities.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 25, 1999

Mr. FRIST introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To improve air transportation service available to small

communities.

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 ‘‘Small Communities

5 Air Service Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. SLOT EXEMPTIONS FOR NONSTOP REGIONAL JET

7 SERVICE.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of

9 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

10 end thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 41716. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet

2 service

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after receiving

4 an joint application from an air carrier and a community

5 primarily served by a small hub airport or a nonhub air6 port (as such terms are defined in section 41731(a) (3)

7 and (4)), respectively, for an exemption to provide nonstop

8 regional jet air service between—

9 ‘‘(1) that small hub airport or nonhub airport;

10 and

11 ‘‘(2) a high density airport, the Secretary of

12 Transportation shall grant the exemption.

13 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION MAY BE DENIED FOR SAFETY OR

14 ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS.—Notwithstanding subsection

15 (a), the Secretary shall not grant an exemption requested

16 under subsection (a) if—

17 ‘‘(1) granting the exemption would not be in ac18 cordance with established principles of safety; or

19 ‘‘(2) the exemption would violate the National

20 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332).

21 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may grant an ex22 emption to an air carrier under subsection (a)—

23 ‘‘(1) for a period of not less than 12 months;

24 ‘‘(2) for a minimum of 2 daily roundtrip flights;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(3) for a maximum of 4 daily roundtrip

2 flights.

3 ‘‘(d) FOREFEITURE FOR MISUSE.—Any exemption

4 granted under subsection (a) shall be terminated imme5 diately by the Secretary if the air carrier to which it was

6 granted uses the slot for any purpose other than the pur7 pose for which it was granted or in violation of the condi8 tions under which it was granted.

9 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY TO NEW ENTRANTS AND LIMITED IN10 CUMBENT CARRIERS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In granting slot exemptions

12 under this section the Secretary shall give priority

13 consideration to an application from an air carrier

14 that, as of July 1, 1998, operated or held fewer than

15 20 slots or slot exemptions at the high density air16 port for which it filed an exemption application.

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No priority may be given

18 under paragraph (1) to an air carrier that, at the

19 time of application, operates or holds 20 or more

20 slots and slot exemptions at the airport for which

21 the exemption application is filed.

22 ‘‘(3) AFFILIATED CARRIERS.—The Secretary

23 shall treat all commuter air carriers that have coop24 erative agreements including code-share agreements,

25 with other air carriers equally for determining eligi-
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1 bility for exemptions under this section regardless of

2 the form of the corporate relationship between the

3 commuter air carrier and the other air carrier.

4 ‘‘(f) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.— An exemption

5 may not be granted under this section with respect to any

6 aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft (as defined by the

7 Secretary).

8 ‘‘(g) REGIONAL JET DEFINED.—In this section, the

9 term ‘regional jet’ means a passenger, turbofan-powered

10 aircraft carrying not fewer than 30 and not more than

11 50 passengers.

12 ‘‘(h) PREEMPTION.—If the provisions of this section

13 conflict with any other provision of law or regulation pre14 scribed there under which a limitation is imposed on the

15 number of slots available at any airport, then the provi16 sions of this section shall take precedence.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) Section 40102 is amendment by inserting

19 after paragraph (28) the following:

20 ‘‘(28A) LIMITED INCUMBENT AIR CARRIER.—

21 The term ‘limited incumbent air carrier’ has the

22 meaning given that term in subpart S of part 93 of

23 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, except that

24 ‘20’ shall be substituted for ‘12’ in sections
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1 93.213(a)(5), 93.223(c)(32), and 93.226(h) as such

2 sections were in effect on August 1, 1998.’’.

3 (2) The chapter analysis for chapter 417 is

4 amended by striking the item relating to section

5 41716 and inserting the following:

‘‘41716. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet services.’’.

6 SEC. 3. REGIONAL AIR SERVICE INCENTIVE OPTIONS.

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro8 vide the Congress with an analysis of means to improve

9 service by jet aircraft to underserved markets by authoriz10 ing a review of different programs of Federal financial as11 sistance, including loan guarantees like those that would

12 have been provided for by section 2 of S. 1353, 105th Con13 gress, as introduced, to commuter air carriers that would

14 purchase regional jet aircraft for use in serving those mar15 kets.

16 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

17 study the efficacy of a program of Federal loan guarantees

18 for the purchase of regional jets by commuter air carriers.

19 The Secretary shall include in the study a review of op20 tions for funding, including alternatives to Federal fund21 ing. In the study, the Secretary shall analyze—

22 (1) the need for such a program;

23 (2) its potential benefit to small communities;

24 (3) the trade implications of such a program;
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1 (4) market implications of such a program for

2 the sale of regional jets;

3 (5) the types of markets that would benefit the

4 most from such a program;

5 (6) the competitive implications of such a pro6 gram; and

7 (7) the cost of such a program.

8 (c) REPORT—The Secretary shall submit a report of

9 the results of the study to the Senate Committee on Com10 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep11 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc12 ture not later than 24 months after the date of enactment

13 of this Act.

14 SEC. 4. AIRPORT SECURITY PROGRAM.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 of

16 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

17 end thereof the following new section:

18 ‘‘§ 47135. Airport security program

19 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—To improve security at

20 public airports in the United States, the Secretary of

21 Transportation shall carry out at least 1 project to test

22 and evaluate innovative airport security systems and relat23 ed technology.

24 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this section, the

25 Secretary shall give the highest priority to a request from
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1 an eligible sponsor for a grant to undertake a project

2 that—

3 ‘‘(1) evaluates and tests the benefits of innova4 tive airport security systems or related technology,

5 including explosives detection systems, for the pur6 pose of improving airport and aircraft physical secu7 rity and access control; and

8 ‘‘(2) provides testing and evaluation of airport

9 security systems and technology in an operational,

10 test bed environment.

11 ‘‘(c) MATCHING SHARE.—Notwithstanding section

12 47109, the United States Government’s share of allowable

13 project costs for a project under this section is 100 per14 cent.

15 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may

16 establish such terms and conditions as the Secretary de17 termines appropriate for carrying out a project under this

18 section, including terms and conditions relating to the

19 form and content of a proposal for a project, project assur20 ance, and schedule of payments.

21 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE SPONSOR DEFINED.—In this section,

22 the term ‘eligible sponsor’ means a nonprofit corporation

23 composed of a consortium of public and private persons,

24 including a sponsor of a primary airport, with the nec25 essary engineering and technical expertise to successfully
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1 conduct the testing and evaluation of airport and aircraft

2 related security systems.

3 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

4 amounts made available to the Secretary under section

5 47115 in a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make available

6 not less than $5,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out

7 this section.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy9 sis for such subchapter is amended by inserting after the

10 item relating to section 47134 the following:

‘‘47135. Airport security program.’’.

11 SEC. 5 CONTRACT TOWER PROGRAM.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary of Transportation such sums as may be necessary

14 to carry out the Federal Contract Tower Program under

15 title 49, United States Code.

16 SEC. 6. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CAPACITY

17 ENHANCEMENTS.

18 Within 9 months after the date of enactment of this

19 Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to the

20 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

21 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In22 frastructure of the House of Representatives on efforts by

23 the Federal Aviation Administration to implement capac24 ity enhancements and improvements, such as precision
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1 runway monitoring systems, and the time frame for imple2 mentation of such enhancements and improvements.

3 SEC. 7. COMMUNITY-CARRIER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 417 of

5 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

6 end thereof the following:

7 ‘‘§ 41743. Air service program for small communities

8 ‘‘(a) COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.—Under advisory

9 guidelines prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation,

10 a small community or a consortia of small communities

11 or a State may develop an assessment of its air service

12 requirements and submit the assessment and service pro13 posal to the Secretary.

14 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.—In selecting

15 community programs for participation in the communities

16 program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall apply

17 criteria, including geographical diversity and the presen18 tation of unique circumstances, that will demonstrate the

19 feasibility of the program. For purposes of this subsection,

20 the application of geographical diversity criteria means

21 criteria that—

22 ‘‘(1) will promote the development of a national

23 air transportation system; and

24 ‘‘(2) will involve the participation of commu25 nities in all regions of the country.
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1 ‘‘(c) CARRIERS PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall in2 vite part 121 air carriers and regional/commuter carriers

3 (as such terms are defined in section 41715(d) of this

4 title) to offer service proposals in response to, or in con5 junction with, community aircraft service assessments

6 submitted to the office under subsection (a). A service pro7 posal under this paragraph shall include—

8 ‘‘(1) an assessment of potential daily passenger

9 traffic, revenues, and costs necessary for the carrier

10 to offer the service;

11 ‘‘(2) a forecast of the minimum percentage of

12 that traffic the carrier would require the community

13 to garner in order for the carrier to start up and

14 maintain the service; and

15 ‘‘(3) the costs and benefits of providing jet serv16 ice by regional or other jet aircraft.

17 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM SUPPORT FUNCTION.—The Secretary

18 shall work with small communities and air carriers, taking

19 into account their proposals and needs, to facilitate the

20 initiation of service. The Secretary—

21 ‘‘(1) may work with communities to develop in22 novative means and incentives for the initiation of

23 service;
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1 ‘‘(2) may obligate funds authorized by the

2 Small Communities Air Service Act of 1999 to carry

3 out this section;

4 ‘‘(3) shall continue to work with both the car5 riers and the communities to develop a combination

6 of community incentives and carrier service levels

7 that—

8 ‘‘(A) are acceptable to communities and

9 carriers; and

10 ‘‘(B) do not conflict with other Federal or

11 State programs to facilitate air transportation

12 to the communities;

13 ‘‘(4) designate an airport in the program as an

14 Air Service Development Zone and work with the

15 community on means to attract business to the area

16 surrounding the airport, to develop land use options

17 for the area, and provide data, working with the De18 partment of Commerce and other agencies; and

19 ‘‘(5) take such other action under this chapter

20 as may be appropriate.

21 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY SUPPORT.—The Secretary

23 may not provide financial assistance under sub24 section (c)(2) to any community unless the Secretary

25 determines that—
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1 ‘‘(A) a public-private partnership exists at

2 the community level to carry out the commu3 nity’s proposal;

4 ‘‘(B) the community will make a substan5 tial financial contribution that is appropriate

6 for that community’s resources, but of not less

7 than 25 percent of the cost of the project in

8 any event;

9 ‘‘(C) the community has established an

10 open process for soliciting air service proposals;

11 and

12 ‘‘(D) the community will accord similar

13 benefits to air carriers that are similarly situ14 ated.

15 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The Secretary may not obligate

16 more than $30,000,000 of the amounts authorized

17 the Small Communities Air Service Act of 1999 over

18 the 4 years of the program.

19 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS.—The pro20 gram established under subsection (a) shall not in21 volve more than 40 communities or consortia of

22 communities.

23 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report through

24 the Secretary to the Congress annually on the progress

25 made under this section during the preceding year in ex-
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1 panding commercial aviation service to smaller commu2 nities.

3 ‘‘§ 41744. Pilot program project authority

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

5 under section 102(g)(1) shall establish a 4-year pilot

6 program—

7 ‘‘(1) to assist communities and States with in8 adequate access to the national transportation sys9 tem to improve their access to that system; and

10 ‘‘(2) to facilitate better air service link-ups to

11 support the improved access.

12 ‘‘(b) PROJECT AUTHORITY.—Under the pilot pro13 gram established pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary

14 may—

15 ‘‘(1) out of amounts authorized by the Small

16 Communities Air Service Act of 1999, provide finan17 cial assistance by way of grants to small commu18 nities or consortia of small communities under sec19 tion 41743 of up to $500,000 per year; and

20 ‘‘(2) take such other action as may be appro21 priate.

22 ‘‘(c) OTHER ACTION.—Under the pilot program es23 tablished pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary may

24 facilitate service by—
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1 ‘‘(1) working with airports and air carriers to

2 ensure that appropriate facilities are made available

3 at essential airports;

4 ‘‘(2) collecting data on air carrier service to

5 small communities; and

6 ‘‘(3) stimulating air service and competition to

7 small communities.

8 ‘‘§ 41745. Assistance to communities for service

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Financial assistance provided

10 under section 41743 during any fiscal year as part of the

11 pilot program established under section 41744(a) shall be

12 implemented for not more than—

13 ‘‘(1) 4 communities within any State at any

14 given time; and

15 ‘‘(2) 40 communities in the entire program at

16 any time.

17 For purposes of this subsection, a consortium of commu18 nities shall be treated as a single community.

19 ‘‘(b) ELIBIGILITY.—In order to participate in a pilot

20 project under this subchapter, a State, community, or

21 group of communities shall apply to the Secretary in such

22 form and at such time, and shall supply such information,

23 as the Secretary may require, and shall demonstrate to

24 the satisfaction of the Secretary that—
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1 ‘‘(1) the applicant has an identifiable need for

2 access, or improved access, to the national air trans3 portation system that would benefit the public;

4 ‘‘(2) the pilot project will provide material bene5 fits to a broad section of the travelling public, busi6 nesses, educational institutions, and other enter7 prises whose access to the national air transpor8 tation system is limited;

9 ‘‘(3) the pilot project will not impede competi10 tion; and

11 ‘‘(4) the applicant has established, or will estab12 lish, public-private partnerships in connection with

13 the pilot project to facilitate service to the public.

14 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS OF

15 SUBCHAPTER.—The Secretary shall carry out the 4-year

16 pilot program authorized by this subchapter in such a

17 manner as to complement action taken under the other

18 provisions of this subchapter. To the extent the Secretary

19 determines to be appropriate, the Secretary may adopt cri20 teria for implementation of the 4-year pilot program that

21 are the same as, or similar to, the criteria developed under

22 the preceding sections of this subchapter for determining

23 which airports are eligible under those sections. The Sec24 retary shall also, to the extent possible, provide incentives

25 where no direct, viable, and feasible alternative service ex-
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1 ists, taking into account geographical diversity and appro2 priate market definitions.

3 ‘‘(d) MAXIMIZATION OF PARTICIPATION.—The Sec4 retary shall structure the program established pursuant

5 to section 41744(a) in a way designed to—

6 ‘‘(1) permit the participation of the maximum

7 feasible number of communities and States over a 4-

8 year period by limiting the number of years of par9 ticipation or otherwise; and

10 ‘‘(2) obtain the greatest possible leverage from

11 the financial resources available to the Secretary and

12 the applicant by—

13 ‘‘(A) progressively decreasing, on a project14 by-project basis, any Federal financial incen15 tives provided under this chapter over the 4-

16 year period; and

17 ‘‘(B) terminating as early as feasible Fed18 eral financial incentives for any project deter19 mined by the Secretary after its implementation

20 to be—

21 ‘‘(i) viable without further support

22 under this subchapter; or

23 ‘‘(ii) failing to meet the purposes of

24 this chapter or criteria established by the

25 Secretary under the pilot program.
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1 ‘‘(e) SUCCESS BONUS.—If Federal financial incen2 tives to a community are terminated under subsection

3 (d)(2)(B) because of the success of the program in that

4 community, then that community may receive a one-time

5 incentive grant to ensure the continued success of that

6 program.

7 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM TO TERMINATE IN 4 YEARS.—No new

8 financial assistance may be provided under this sub9 chapter for any fiscal year beginning more than 4 years

10 after the date of enactment of the Small Communities Air

11 Service Act of 1999.

12 ‘‘§ 41746. Additional authority

13 ‘‘In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary—

14 ‘‘(1) may provide assistance to States and com15 munities in the design and application phase of any

16 project under this chapter, and oversee the imple17 mentation of any such project;

18 ‘‘(2) may assist States and communities in put19 ting together projects under this chapter to utilize

20 private sector resources, other Federal resources, or

21 a combination of public and private resources;

22 ‘‘(3) may accord priority to service by jet air23 craft;

24 ‘‘(4) take such action as may be necessary to

25 ensure that financial resources, facilities, and admin-
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1 istrative arrangements made under this chapter are

2 used to carry out the Small Communities Air Service

3 Act of 1999; and

4 ‘‘(5) shall work with the Federal Aviation Ad5 ministration on airport and air traffic control needs

6 of communities in the program.

7 § 41747. Air traffic control services pilot program

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To further facilitate the use of,

9 and improve the safety at, small airports, the Adminis10 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall estab11 lish a pilot program to contract for Level I air traffic con12 trol services at 20 facilities not eligible for participation

13 in the Federal Contract Tower Program.

14 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the

15 pilot program established under subsection (a), the Ad16 ministrator may—

17 ‘‘(1) utilize current, actual, site-specific, data,

18 forecast estimates, or airport system plan data pro19 vided by a facility owner or operator;

20 ‘‘(2) take into consideration unique aviation

21 safety, weather, strategic national interest, disaster

22 relief, medical and other emergency management re23 lief services, status of regional airline service, and

24 related factors at the facility;
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1 ‘‘(3) approve for participation any facility will2 ing to fund a pro rata share of the operating costs

3 used by the Federal Aviation Administration to cal4 culate, and, as necessary, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio,

5 as required for eligibility under the Federal Contract

6 Tower Program; and

7 ‘‘(4) approve for participation no more than 3

8 facilities willing to fund a pro rata share of con9 struction costs for an air traffic control tower so as

10 to achieve, at a minimum, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio,

11 as required for eligibility under the Federal Contract

12 Tower Program, and for each of such facilities the

13 Federal share of construction costs does not exceed

14 $1,000,000.

15 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—One year before the pilot program es16 tablished under subsection (a) terminates, the Adminis17 trator shall report to the Congress on the effectiveness of

18 the program, with particular emphasis on the safety and

19 economic benefits provided to program participants and

20 the national air transportation system.’’.

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy22 sis for subchapter II of chapter 417 of such title is amend23 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 41742

24 the following:

‘‘41743. Air service program for small communities.

‘‘41744. Pilot program project authority.

‘‘41745. Assistance to communities for service.
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‘‘41746. Additional authority.

‘‘41747. Air traffic control services pilot program.’’.

1 (c) WAIVER OF LOCAL CONTRIBUTION.—Section

2 41736(b) is amended by inserting after paragraph (4) the

3 following:

4 ‘‘Paragraph (4) does not apply to any community ap5 proved for service under this section during the period be6 ginning October 1, 1991, and ending December 31,

7 1997.’’.

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary of Transportation such sums as may be necessary

11 to carry out the provisions of this Act and the amend12 ments made by this Act.

Æ