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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2732 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2732

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
    promulgate regulations to prohibit the use of certain portable 
electronic devices in the cockpit of commercial aircraft during flight 
   and to conduct a study of the safety impact of distracted pilots.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 5, 2009

 Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
    promulgate regulations to prohibit the use of certain portable 
electronic devices in the cockpit of commercial aircraft during flight 
   and to conduct a study of the safety impact of distracted pilots.

    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 ``Focused Flying Act''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES.

    (a) In General.--Flight crew members on a commercial aircraft are 
prohibited from using any portable electronic device while in the 
cockpit of such aircraft during flight except for--
            (1) uses that are directly related to flight operations or 
        safety;
            (2) the collection of data in connection with safety; or
            (3) other purposes approved by the Federal Aviation 
        Administration.
    (b) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``during flight'' 
means the period beginning at the time a commercial aircraft leaves the 
gate at the airport of origin and ending at the time the aircraft 
arrives at the gate at the destination airport.
    (c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration, exercising the authority provided under section 
44701(a)(5) of title 49, United States Code, shall promulgate 
regulations to enforce the restriction set forth in subsection (a).
    (d) Effective Date.--The restriction set forth in subsection (a) 
shall take effect on the date on which the regulations are issued 
pursuant to subsection (c).

SEC. 3. STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall review relevant air carrier data and carry out a 
study--
            (1) to identify common sources of distraction for the 
        cockpit flight crew on commercial aircraft; and
            (2) to determine the safety impacts of such distractions.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives that contains--
            (1) the findings of the study conducted under subsection 
        (a); and
            (2) recommendations about ways to reduce distractions for 
        cockpit flight crews.
                                 <all>
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