II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 573 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue 

or revise regulations with respect to the medical certification of certain 

small aircraft pilots, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2015 

Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. ROBERTS, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. 

MORAN, and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue or revise regulations with respect to 

the medical certification of certain small aircraft pilots, 

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 ‘‘General Aviation Pilot 

5 Protection Act of 2015’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 573 IS

1 SEC. 2. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL AIR2 CRAFT PILOTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

5 the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue or revise 

6 medical certification regulations to ensure that an indi7 vidual may operate as pilot in command of a covered air8 craft without regard to any medical certification or proof 

9 of health requirement otherwise applicable under Federal 

10 law if— 

11 (1) the individual possesses a valid State driv12 er’s license and complies with any medical require13 ment associated with that license; 

14 (2) the individual is transporting not more than 

15 5 passengers; 

16 (3) the individual is operating under visual 

17 flight rules or instrument flight rules; and 

18 (4) the relevant flight, including each portion 

19 thereof, is not carried out— 

20 (A) for compensation, including that no 

21 passenger or property on the flight is being car22 ried for compensation; 

23 (B) at an altitude that is more than 

24 14,000 feet above mean sea level; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 573 IS

1 (C) outside the United States, unless au2 thorized by the country in which the flight is 

3 conducted; or 

4 (D) at an indicated air speed exceeding 

5 250 knots. 

6 (b) COVERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this section, 

7 the term ‘‘covered aircraft’’ means an aircraft that— 

8 (1) is not authorized under Federal law to carry 

9 more than 6 occupants; and 

10 (2) has a maximum certificated takeoff weight 

11 of not more than 6,000 pounds. 

12 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 5 years 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis14 trator shall submit to Congress a report that describes the 

15 effect of the regulations issued or revised under subsection 

16 (a) and includes statistics with respect to changes in small 

17 aircraft activity and safety incidents. 

18 (d) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—On 

19 and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act, the Administrator may not take 

21 an enforcement action for not holding a valid third-class 

22 medical certificate against a pilot of a covered aircraft for 

23 a flight if the pilot and the flight meet the applicable re24 quirements under paragraphs (1) through (4) of subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Mar 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S573.IS S573

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 573 IS

1 section (a) unless the Administrator has published final 

2 regulations in the Federal Register under subsection (a). 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS