II 

Calendar No. 319 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 571 

To amend the Pilot’s Bill of Rights to facilitate appeals and to apply to 

other certificates issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, to require the revision of the third class medical certification regulations 

issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2015 

Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

DAINES, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WICKER, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. MORAN, Mr. 

TESTER, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. KING, Ms. MURKOWSKI, 

Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. HATCH, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. HELLER, Mr. SULLIVAN, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. PAUL, Ms. WARREN, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BROWN, Mr. COONS, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. RISCH, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. ENZI, Mr. 

BLUNT, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. COTTON, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. 

HOEVEN, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. LEE, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. FLAKE, 

Mr. VITTER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BURR, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. COCHRAN, 

Mrs. ERNST, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. COATS, Mr. WARNER, Mr. ALEXANDER, 

Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. DONNELLY, 

Mr. BENNET, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. CARDIN, 

Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. AYOTTE, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. SASSE) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 9, 2015 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Pilot’s Bill of Rights to facilitate appeals 


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and to apply to other certificates issued by the Federal 

Aviation Administration, to require the revision of the 

third class medical certification regulations issued by the 

Federal Aviation Administration, 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 ‘‘Pilot’s Bill of Rights 

5 2’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL AIR7 CRAFT PILOTS. 

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

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

10 the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue or revise 

11 medical certification regulations to ensure that an indi12 vidual may operate as pilot in command of a covered air13 craft without regard to any medical certification or proof 

14 of health requirement otherwise applicable under Federal 

15 law if— 

16 (1) the individual possesses a valid State driv17 er’s license and complies with any medical require18 ment associated with that license; 

19 (2) the individual is transporting not more than 

20 5 passengers; 

21 (3) the individual is operating under visual 

22 flight rules or instrument flight rules; and 


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1 (4) the relevant flight, including each portion 

2 thereof, is not carried out— 

3 (A) for compensation, including that no 

4 passenger or property on the flight is being car5 ried for compensation; 

6 (B) at an altitude that is more than 

7 14,000 feet above mean sea level; 

8 (C) outside the United States, unless au9 thorized by the country in which the flight is 

10 conducted; or 

11 (D) at an indicated air speed exceeding 

12 250 knots. 

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

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

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

16 more than 6 occupants; and 

17 (2) has a maximum certificated takeoff weight 

18 of not more than 6,000 pounds. 

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

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis21 trator shall submit to Congress a report that describes the 

22 effect of the regulations issued or revised under subsection 

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

24 aircraft activity and safety incidents. 


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1 (d) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—On 

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

3 enactment of this Act, the Administrator may not take 

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

5 medical certificate against a pilot of a covered aircraft for 

6 a flight if the pilot and the flight meet the applicable re7 quirements under paragraphs (1) through (4) of sub8 section (a) unless the Administrator has published final 

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

10 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PILOT’S BILL OF RIGHTS. 

11 (a) APPEALS NOT SUBJECT TO EXHAUSTION OF AD12 MINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(d)(1) of the Pilot’s 

14 Bill of Rights (Public Law 112–153; 126 Stat. 

15 1159; 49 U.S.C. 44703 note) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a decision by the Ad18 ministrator denying a covered certificate, or impos19 ing a punitive civil action or an order of revocation 

20 under section 44709 of title 49, United States Code, 

21 a person substantially affected by the decision may, 

22 at the person’s election, file an appeal with the Na23 tional Transportation Safety Board or, without fur24 ther administrative review, in the United States dis25 trict court in which the person resides or in which 


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1 the action in question occurred, or in the United 

2 States District Court for the District of Columbia.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 2(d)(2) of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘Federal 

5 district court’’ and inserting ‘‘United States district 

6 court’’. 

7 (b) DE NOVO REVIEW BY DISTRICT COURT; BURDEN

8 OF PROOF.—Section 2(e) of such Act is amended— 

9 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In an appeal filed under 

12 subsection (d) in a United States district court with 

13 respect to a denial, suspension, or revocation of a 

14 covered certificate by the Administrator— 

15 ‘‘(A) the district court shall review the de16 nial, suspension, or revocation de novo, includ17 ing by— 

18 ‘‘(i) conducting a full independent re19 view of the complete administrative record 

20 of the denial, suspension, or revocation; 

21 ‘‘(ii) permitting additional discovery 

22 and the taking of additional evidence; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) making the findings of fact and 

24 conclusions of law required by Rule 52 of 

25 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure withVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:26 Dec 09, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S571.RS S571

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1 out being bound to any facts found by the 

2 Administrator or the National Transpor3 tation Safety Board; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Administrator shall bear the bur5 den of proof.’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PRO8 CEDURE ACT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(A) 

9 or subsection (a)(1) of section 554 of title 5, United 

10 States Code, that section applies to adjudications of 

11 the Administrator and the National Transportation 

12 Safety Board to the same extent as that section ap13 plied to such adjudications before the date of the en14 actment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2.’’. 

15 (c) EXPANSION TO ALL CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY

16 FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of such Act is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (a)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘subpart C, D, or F 

21 of’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘an airman certifi23 cate’’ and inserting ‘‘a covered certificate’’; 

24 and 


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1 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘an 

2 airman certificate under chapter 447 of title 49, 

3 United States Code’’ and inserting ‘‘a covered 

4 certificate’’. 

5 (2) COVERED CERTIFICATE DEFINED.—Section 

6 2 of such Act is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(k) COVERED CERTIFICATE DEFINED.—In this sec9 tion, the term ‘covered certificate’ means an airman cer10 tificate, design organization certificate, holder of type cer11 tificate, production certificate, airworthiness certificate, 

12 air carrier operating certificate, airport operating certifi13 cate, air agency certificate, air navigation facility certifi14 cate, medical certificate, or any other authorization issued 

15 by the Administrator under chapter 447 of title 49, United 

16 States Code.’’. 

17 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2 of 

18 such Act, as amended by this subsection, is further 

19 amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (b)(4)(C)— 

21 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘Any indi22 vidual’’ and inserting ‘‘Any person’’; 

23 (ii) in clauses (ii) and (iii), in the 

24 clause headings, by striking ‘‘INDIVIDUAL’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘PERSON’’; and 


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1 (iii) in clause (iii)(II), by striking ‘‘the 

2 requesting individual’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 requesting person’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘the individual’s’’ each 

5 place it appears and inserting ‘‘the person’s’’; 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘the individual’’ each place 

7 it appears and inserting ‘‘the person’’; and 

8 (D) by striking ‘‘an individual’’ each place 

9 it appears and inserting ‘‘a person’’. 

10 (d) NOTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATION.—Section 2 of 

11 such Act is further amended— 

12 (1) by striking subsection (c); 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) of sub14 section (b) as subsection (c), and by moving such 

15 subsection, as so redesignated, two ems to the left; 

16 (3) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘and 

18 the specific incident or incidents on which the 

19 investigation is based’’ after ‘‘nature of the in20 vestigation’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘timely’’; 

22 (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

23 paragraph (5); and 

24 (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.—If 

2 the Administrator does not provide a person with 

3 the notification required by paragraph (1) with re4 spect to an investigation relating to the approval, de5 nial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a cov6 ered certificate, including all of the information re7 quired under paragraph (2), the Administrator may 

8 not— 

9 ‘‘(A) retain records of the investigation; 

10 ‘‘(B) deny, suspend, or revoke the covered 

11 certificate; 

12 ‘‘(C) seek a civil penalty or other punitive 

13 action against the person; or 

14 ‘‘(D) in any way take action, including 

15 issuance of a warning letter or letter of correc16 tion or any other administrative action, with re17 gard to the matter that was the subject of the 

18 investigation.’’; and 

19 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para20 graph (2), by striking ‘‘section 44709(c)(2)’’ and in21 serting ‘‘section 44709(e)(2)’’. 

22 (e) RELEASE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS.—Section 

23 2 of such Act is amended by inserting after subsection 

24 (e) the following: 

25 ‘‘(f) RELEASE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

2 ‘‘(A) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—In any pro3 ceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, 

4 Code of Federal Regulations, relating to denial, 

5 amendment, modification, suspension, or rev6 ocation of a covered certificate, in which the 

7 Administrator issues an emergency order of rev8 ocation under subsections (d) and (e) of section 

9 44709 of title 49, United States Code, an emer10 gency order under section 46105(c) of such 

11 title, or another order that takes effect imme12 diately, the Administrator shall provide to the 

13 person holding the covered certificate the re14 leasable portion of the investigative report be15 fore issuing the order. 

16 ‘‘(B) OTHER ORDERS.—In any proceeding 

17 conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of 

18 Federal Regulations, relating to denial, amend19 ment, modification, suspension, or revocation of 

20 a covered certificate, in which the Adminis21 trator notifies the holder of the covered certifi22 cate of a proposed action under subsections (b) 

23 and (c) of section 44709 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, the Administrator shall, upon re25 quest of the holder of the covered certificate 


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1 and at any time after that notification, provide 

2 to the holder of the covered certificate the re3 leasable portion of the investigative report. 

4 ‘‘(2) MOTION FOR DISMISSAL.—If the Adminis5 trator does not provide the investigative report to 

6 the person holding the covered certificate subject to 

7 the proceeding referred to in paragraph (1) by the 

8 time required by that paragraph, the person may 

9 move to dismiss the complaint of the Administrator 

10 or for other relief and, unless the Administrator es11 tablishes good cause for the failure to provide the in12 vestigative report, the administrative law judge shall 

13 order such relief as the judge considers appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(3) RELEASABLE PORTION OF REPORT.—For 

15 purposes of paragraph (1), the releasable portion of 

16 an investigative report is all information in the re17 port, except for the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Information that is privileged. 

19 ‘‘(B) Information that constitutes work 

20 product or reflects internal deliberative process. 

21 ‘‘(C) Information that would disclose the 

22 identity of a confidential source. 

23 ‘‘(D) Information the disclosure of which is 

24 prohibited by any other provision of law. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Information that is not relevant to 

2 the subject matter of the proceeding. 

3 ‘‘(F) Information the Administrator can 

4 demonstrate is withheld for good cause. 

5 ‘‘(G) Sensitive security information, as de6 fined in section 15.5 of title 49, Code of Fed7 eral Regulations (or any corresponding similar 

8 ruling or regulation). 

9 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

10 this subsection shall be construed to prevent the Ad11 ministrator from releasing to a person subject to an 

12 investigation described in subsection (b)(1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) information in addition to the infor14 mation included in the releasable portion of the 

15 investigative report; or 

16 ‘‘(B) a copy of the investigative report be17 fore the Administrator issues a complaint.’’. 

18 (f) LIMITATION ON DOCUMENT REQUESTS.—Section 

19 2 of such Act, as amended by subsection (e), is further 

20 amended by inserting after subsection (f) the following: 

21 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON DOCUMENT REQUESTS.—In 

22 any case in which the Administrator initiates an investiga23 tion described in subsection (b)(1) with respect to a per24 son, the Administrator and the investigating officials may 

25 request documents from the person only if the request is 


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1 limited and narrowly tailored to issues in the investiga2 tion.’’. 

3 (g) RESPONSE TO REQUESTS BY REPAIR STATIONS

4 TO SETTLE OR WITHDRAW.—Section 2 of such Act, as 

5 amended by subsections (e) and (f), is further amended 

6 by inserting after subsection (g) the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) RESPONSE TO REQUESTS BY REPAIR STATIONS

8 TO SETTLE OR WITHDRAW.—The Administrator shall re9 spond to a written request by a repair station holding a 

10 certificate under part 145, Code of Federal Regulations, 

11 that is subject to an investigation described in subsection 

12 (b)(1) to withdraw from or settle a proceeding relating to 

13 the investigation not later than 30 calendar days after re14 ceiving the request.’’. 

15 (h) LIMITATION ON RETENTION OF RECORDS.—Sec16 tion 2 of such Act, as amended by subsections (e), (f), 

17 and (g), is further amended by inserting after subsection 

18 (h) the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON RETENTION OF RECORDS.—The 

20 Administrator shall expunge the record of any investiga21 tion described in subsection (b)(1) with respect to a cov22 ered certificate that does not lead to the denial, suspen23 sion, modification, or revocation of the certificate not later 

24 than 90 days after the Administrator determines not to 

25 deny, suspend, modify, or revoke the certificate. 


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1 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON PUBLICIZING PENDING EN2 FORCEMENT ACTIONS.—The Administrator may not indi3 cate in the publicly accessible records of a person holding 

4 a covered certificate who is the subject of an investigation 

5 described in subsection (b)(1) any information that is dif6 ferent from information in such records of an airman who 

7 is not under such an investigation.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON REEXAMINATION OF CERTIFICATE 

9 HOLDERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44709 of title 49, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

14 ‘‘AND REEXAMINATION’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; 

18 (C) by striking ‘‘, or reexamine an airman 

19 holding a certificate issued under section 44703 

20 of this title’’; and 

21 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) REEXAMINATION OF AIRMEN CERTIFI23 CATES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

25 may reexamine an airman holding a certificate 


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1 issued under section 44703 of this title only if 

2 the Administrator has reasonable grounds— 

3 ‘‘(i) to question the airman’s lack of 

4 competence based on acts or omissions 

5 committed while the airman was exercising 

6 the privileges of the certificate; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) to believe the airman obtained 

8 the certificate through fraudulent means. 

9 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Be10 fore taking any action to reexamine an airman 

11 holding a certificate issued under section 44703 

12 of this title, the Administrator shall provide to 

13 the airman— 

14 ‘‘(i) the specific justification for the 

15 reexamination; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) any releasable information gath17 ered by the Federal Aviation Administra18 tion that form the basis for that justifica19 tion.’’. 

20 (b) MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION

21 OF AIRMEN CERTIFICATES AFTER REEXAMINATION.— 

22 Section 44709(b) of such title is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

24 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), and by moving such 

25 clauses, as so redesignated, two ems to the right; 


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B), and by moving such 

3 subparagraphs, as so redesignated, two ems to the 

4 right; 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; and 

8 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCA10 TION OF AIRMEN CERTIFICATES AFTER REEXAMINA11 TION.—The Administrator may not amend, modify, 

12 suspend, or revoke an airman certificate issued 

13 under section 44703 of this title after a reexamina14 tion of the airman holding the certificate unless the 

15 Administrator demonstrates by a preponderance of 

16 the evidence that the airman— 

17 ‘‘(A) lacks the skills and competency, or 

18 care, judgment, and responsibility, necessary to 

19 hold the certificate; or 

20 ‘‘(B) materially contributed to the issuance 

21 of the certificate by fraudulent means.’’. 

22 (c) APPEALS.—Section 44709(f) of such title is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘A person’’ and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person’’; and 

2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) APPEALS RELATING TO REEXAMINATION

4 OF AIRMEN CERTIFICATES.—If the Administrator 

5 amends, modifies, suspends, or revokes an airman 

6 certificate after reexamination of the airman holding 

7 the certificate in violation of subsection (a)(2), the 

8 airman may elect to file an appeal in the United 

9 States district court in which the airman resides or 

10 in which the action in question occurred, or in the 

11 United States District Court for the District of Co12 lumbia, instead of filing an appeal with the Board 

13 under subsection (d).’’. 

14 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

15 44709(d)(1) of such title is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub17 section (b)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

18 (b)(1)(A)(i)’’; and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub20 section (b)(1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

21 (b)(1)(A)(ii)’’. 

22 SEC. 5. EXPEDITING UPDATES TO NOTAM PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

24 Aviation Administration may not take any enforcement ac25 tion, on or after the date that is 180 days after the date 


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1 of the enactment of this Act, against any individual for 

2 a violation of a NOTAM (as defined in section 3 of the 

3 Pilot’s Bill of Rights (49 U.S.C. 44701 note)) until the 

4 Administrator certifies that the Administrator has com5 plied with the requirements of section 3 of the Pilot’s Bill 

6 of Rights, as amended by this section, to— 

7 (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation of the Senate; and 

10 (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

11 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

12 the House of Representatives. 

13 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Pilot’s Bill of 

14 Rights (Public Law 112–153; 126 Stat. 1162; 49 U.S.C. 

15 44701 note) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘begin’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘complete the implementation of’’; 

23 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

24 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(B) to establish a repository, in a public 

2 central location, to maintain and archive all 

3 NOTAMs, including the original content and 

4 form of the notices, the original date of publica5 tion, and any amendments to such notices with 

6 the date of each amendment, in a manner that 

7 is Internet-accessible, machine-readable, and 

8 searchable;’’; 

9 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

10 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

11 and 

12 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(D) to establish a rating system to 

14 prioritize each NOTAM by the urgency and im15 portance of the NOTAM; and 

16 ‘‘(E) to specify the times during which 

17 temporary flight restrictions are in effect and 

18 the duration of a designation of special use air19 space in a specific area.’’; and 

20 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION OF REPOSITORY AS SOLE

23 SOURCE FOR NOTAMS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall consider the repository for 

2 NOTAMs established under subsection 

3 (a)(2)(B) to be the sole location for airmen to 

4 check for NOTAMs; and 

5 ‘‘(B) may not consider a NOTAM to be 

6 announced and published until the NOTAM is 

7 included in the repository. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON TAKING ACTION FOR VIO9 LATIONS OF NOTAMS NOT IN REPOSITORY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

11 subparagraph (A), on and after the date on 

12 which the repository established under sub13 section (a)(2)(B) is final and published, the Ad14 ministrator may not take any enforcement ac15 tion against an airman for a violation of a 

16 NOTAM during a flight if that NOTAM is not 

17 available through the repository before the com18 mencement of the flight and reasonably acces19 sible and identifiable to the airman. 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR NATIONAL SECU21 RITY.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the 

22 case of an enforcement action for a violation of 

23 a NOTAM that directly relates to national se24 curity.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. ACCESSIBILITY OF CERTAIN FLIGHT DATA. 

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

3 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

4 section 47124 the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 47124a. Accessibility of certain flight data 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT TOWER.—The term ‘contract 

8 tower’ means an air traffic control tower providing 

9 air traffic control services pursuant to a contract 

10 with the Federal Aviation Administration under the 

11 Contract Tower Program under section 47124(b)(3). 

12 ‘‘(2) COVERED FLIGHT RECORD.—The term 

13 ‘covered flight record’ means any flight data, includ14 ing air traffic data (as defined in section 2(b)(4)(B) 

15 of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (49 U.S.C. 44703 

16 note)), created, maintained, or controlled by any 

17 program of the Federal Aviation Administration, 

18 whether carried out by employees or contractors of 

19 the Federal Aviation Administration, including con20 tract towers, flight service stations, and controller 

21 training programs. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF COVERED FLIGHT DATA TO

23 FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) REQUEST FROM FEDERAL AVIATION AD25 MINISTRATION.—When the Federal Aviation Admin26 istration receives a request, pursuant to section 552 


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1 of title 5, United States Code, for a covered flight 

2 record that is not in the possession of the Federal 

3 Aviation Administration, the Administrator of the 

4 Federal Aviation Administration shall request the 

5 record from the contract tower or other contractor 

6 of the Federal Aviation Administration that pos7 sesses the record. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF RECORDS TO FEDERAL

9 AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.—Any covered flight 

10 record created, maintained, or controlled by a con11 tract tower or another contractor of the Federal 

12 Aviation Administration that maintains covered 

13 flight records shall be provided to the Federal Avia14 tion Administration if the Federal Aviation Adminis15 tration requests the record pursuant to paragraph 

16 (1). 

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY OF FOIA.—After the Federal 

18 Aviation Administration receives a covered flight record 

19 under subsection (b), that record shall be— 

20 ‘‘(1) considered an agency record of the Federal 

21 Aviation Administration for purposes of section 

22 552(f)(2) of title 5, United States Code; and 

23 ‘‘(2) subject to section 552 of title 5, United 

24 States Code (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of 

25 Information Act’), to the same extent as if the 


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1 record was created, maintained, and controlled by 

2 the Federal Aviation Administration. 

3 ‘‘(d) WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION.—The Admin4 istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may with5 hold information that would otherwise be required to be 

6 made available under this section only if— 

7 ‘‘(1) the Administrator determines, based on in8 formation in the possession of the Administrator, 

9 that the Administrator may withhold the informa10 tion in accordance with section 552(b) of title 5, 

11 United States Code; or 

12 ‘‘(2) the information is voluntarily provided 

13 safety- or security-related information covered by 

14 section 40123. 

15 ‘‘(e) FORMAT OF RECORDS.—Each contract tower or 

16 other contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration 

17 that maintains covered flight records shall maintain 

18 records relating to covered flight records in formats that 

19 are readily reproducible and reasonably searchable by the 

20 Federal Aviation Administration. 

21 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of 

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1 tion by the Federal Aviation Administration, con2 tract towers, and other contractors of the Federal 

3 Aviation Administration that maintain covered flight 

4 records. 

5 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE BY APPLICABLE ENTITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Compliance with this 

7 section by a contract tower or other contractor 

8 of the Federal Aviation Administration that 

9 maintains covered flight records shall be in10 cluded as a material term in any contract be11 tween the Federal Aviation Administration and 

12 the contract tower or contractor entered into or 

13 renewed on or after the date of the enactment 

14 of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2. 

15 ‘‘(B) MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT OR

16 AGREEMENT.—Not later than one year after 

17 the date of the enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of 

18 Rights 2, the Administrator shall secure a 

19 modification to include compliance with this 

20 section by each contract tower and other con21 tractor of the Federal Aviation Administration 

22 that maintains covered flight records as a mate23 rial term in any contract between the Federal 

24 Aviation Administration and the contract tower 

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1 tiated, renewed, or modified before the date 

2 that is one year after such date of enactment.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amend5 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 47124 

6 the following: 

‘‘47124a. Accessibility of certain flight data.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN INDIVID8 UALS DESIGNATED AS REPRESENTATIVES OF 

9 THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any individual designated by the 

11 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

12 under subpart C of part 183 of title 14, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations, to act as a representative of the Adminis14 trator, including an aviation medical examiner, pilot exam15 iner, or designated airworthiness representative, shall, 

16 when carrying out duties pursuant to that designation and 

17 without regard to the individual’s employer— 

18 (1) be considered to be performing an activity 

19 necessary to safeguard a uniquely Federal interest; 

20 and 

21 (2) not be liable in a civil action for actions per22 formed with reasonable care in connection with those 

23 duties. 

24 (b) FRAUDULENT MISCONDUCT.—This section does 

25 not relieve an individual described in subsection (a) that 


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1 causes harm to any person through intentional or fraudu2 lent misconduct while carrying out duties pursuant to that 

3 subsection from any penalty applicable under any provi4 sion of law for that misconduct. 

5 SEC. 8. AUTHORITY FOR LEGAL COUNSEL TO ISSUE CER6 TAIN NOTICES. 

7 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Avia9 tion Administration shall revise section 13.11 of title 14, 

10 Code of Federal Regulations, to authorize legal counsel to 

11 close enforcement actions covered by that section with a 

12 warning notice, letter of correction, or other administra13 tive action. 

14 SEC. 9. LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR VOLUNTEER PILOTS 

15 THAT FLY FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT. 

16 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

17 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

18 (A) Many volunteer pilot nonprofit organi19 zations fly for public benefit and provide valu20 able services to communities and individuals. 

21 (B) In each calendar year, volunteer pilot 

22 nonprofit organizations provide long-distance, 

23 no-cost transportation for tens of thousands of 

24 people during times of special need. 


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1 (C) Such nonprofit organizations are no 

2 longer able to purchase liability insurance for 

3 aircraft they do not own to provide liability pro4 tection at a reasonable price, and therefore face 

5 a highly detrimental liability risk. 

6 (D) Such nonprofit organizations have 

7 supported the homeland security of the United 

8 States by providing volunteer pilot services dur9 ing times of national emergency. 

10 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 

11 to promote the activities of volunteer pilot nonprofit 

12 organizations that fly for public benefit and to sus13 tain the availability of the services that such non14 profit organizations provide, including the following: 

15 (A) Transportation at no cost to finan16 cially needy medical patients for medical treat17 ment, evaluation, and diagnosis. 

18 (B) Flights for humanitarian and chari19 table purposes. 

20 (C) Other flights of compassion. 

21 (b) LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR VOLUNTEER PILOT

22 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT FLY FOR PUBLIC

23 BENEFIT AND TO PILOTS AND STAFF OF SUCH NON24 PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 4 of the Volunteer Pro25 tection Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 14503) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(4)— 

2 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

3 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘the harm’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘(A) except in the case of subparagraph (B), 

6 the harm’’; 

7 (C) in subparagraph (A)(ii), as redesig8 nated by this paragraph, by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) the volunteer— 

12 ‘‘(i) was operating an aircraft in fur13 therance of the purpose of a volunteer pilot 

14 nonprofit organization that flies for public 

15 benefit; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) was properly licensed and in17 sured for the operation of such aircraft.’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘Nothing in this section’’ 

21 and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), nothing in this section’’; and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—A volunteer pilot nonprofit 

2 organization that flies for public benefit, the staff, 

3 mission coordinators, officers, and directors (whether 

4 volunteer or otherwise) of that nonprofit organiza5 tion, and a referring agency of that nonprofit orga6 nization shall not be liable for harm caused to any 

7 person by a volunteer of the nonprofit organization 

8 while the volunteer— 

9 ‘‘(A) is operating an aircraft in further10 ance of the purpose of the nonprofit organiza11 tion; 

12 ‘‘(B) is properly licensed for the operation 

13 of the aircraft; and 

14 ‘‘(C) has certified to the nonprofit organi15 zation that the volunteer has insurance covering 

16 the volunteer’s operation of the aircraft.’’. 

17 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2’’. 

19 SEC. 2. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL AIR20 CRAFT PILOTS. 

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

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Fed23 eral Aviation Administration shall issue or revise regula24 tions to ensure that an individual may operate as pilot in 

25 command of a covered aircraft if— 


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1 (1) the individual possesses a valid driver’s li2 cense issued by a State, territory, or possession of the 

3 United States and complies with all medical require4 ments or restrictions associated with that license; 

5 (2) the individual holds a medical certificate 

6 issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, held such a certificate 

8 at any point during the 10-year period preceding 

9 such date of enactment, or obtains such a certificate 

10 after such date of enactment; 

11 (3) the most recent medical certificate issued by 

12 the Federal Aviation Administration to the indi13 vidual— 

14 (A) indicates whether the certificate is first, 

15 second, or third class; 

16 (B) may include authorization for special 

17 issuance; 

18 (C) may be expired; 

19 (D) cannot have been revoked or suspended; 

20 and 

21 (E) cannot have been withdrawn; 

22 (4) the most recent application for airman med23 ical certification submitted to the Federal Aviation 

24 Administration by the individual cannot have been 

25 completed and denied; 


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1 (5) the individual has completed a medical edu2 cation course described in subsection (c) during the 24 

3 calendar months before acting as pilot in command of 

4 a covered aircraft and demonstrates proof of comple5 tion of the course; 

6 (6) the individual, when serving as a pilot in 

7 command, is under the care and treatment of a physi8 cian if the individual has been diagnosed with any 

9 medical condition that may impact the ability of the 

10 individual to fly; 

11 (7) the individual has received a comprehensive 

12 medical examination from a State-licensed physician 

13 during the previous 48 months and— 

14 (A) prior to the examination, the indi15 vidual— 

16 (i) completed the individual’s section of 

17 the checklist described in subsection (b); and 

18 (ii) provided the completed checklist to 

19 the physician performing the examination; 

20 and 

21 (B) the physician conducted the comprehen22 sive medical examination in accordance with the 

23 checklist described in subsection (b), checking 

24 each item specified during the examination and 

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1 ical condition listed, and any medications the 

2 individual is taking; and 

3 (8) the individual is operating in accordance 

4 with the following conditions: 

5 (A) The covered aircraft is carrying not 

6 more than 5 passengers. 

7 (B) The individual is operating the covered 

8 aircraft under visual flight rules or instrument 

9 flight rules. 

10 (C) The flight, including each portion of 

11 that flight, is not carried out— 

12 (i) for compensation or hire, including 

13 that no passenger or property on the flight 

14 is being carried for compensation or hire; 

15 (ii) at an altitude that is more than 

16 18,000 feet above mean sea level; 

17 (iii) outside the United States, unless 

18 authorized by the country in which the 

19 flight is conducted; or 

20 (iv) at an indicated air speed exceed21 ing 250 knots. 

22 (b) COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL EXAMINATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

25 shall develop a checklist for an individual to complete 


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1 and provide to the physician performing the com2 prehensive medical examination required in sub3 section (a)(7). 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The checklist shall con5 tain— 

6 (A) a section, for the individual to complete 

7 that contains— 

8 (i) boxes 3 through 13 and boxes 16 

9 through 19 of the Federal Aviation Admin10 istration Form 8500-8 (3-99); 

11 (ii) a signature line for the individual 

12 to affirm that— 

13 (I) the answers provided by the 

14 individual on that checklist, including 

15 the individual’s answers regarding 

16 medical history, are true and complete; 

17 (II) the individual understands 

18 that he or she is prohibited under Fed19 eral Aviation Administration regula20 tions from acting as pilot in command, 

21 or any other capacity as a required 

22 flight crew member, if he or she knows 

23 or has reason to know of any medical 

24 deficiency or medically disqualifying 

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1 vidual unable to operate the aircraft in 

2 a safe manner; and 

3 (III) the individual is aware of 

4 the regulations pertaining to the prohi5 bition on operations during medical 

6 deficiency and has no medically dis7 qualifying conditions in accordance 

8 with applicable law; 

9 (B) a section with instructions for the indi10 vidual to provide the completed checklist to the 

11 physician performing the comprehensive medical 

12 examination required in subsection (a)(7); and 

13 (C) a section, for the physician to complete, 

14 that instructs the physician— 

15 (i) to perform a clinical examination 

16 of— 

17 (I) head, face, neck, and scalp; 

18 (II) nose, sinuses, mouth, and 

19 throat; 

20 (III) ears, general (internal and 

21 external canals), and eardrums (per22 foration); 

23 (IV) eyes (general), 

24 ophthalmoscopic, pupils (equality and 


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1 reaction), and ocular motility (associ2 ated parallel movement, nystagmus); 

3 (V) lungs and chest (not including 

4 breast examination); 

5 (VI) heart (precordial activity, 

6 rhythm, sounds, and murmurs); 

7 (VII) vascular system (pulse, am8 plitude, and character, and arms, legs, 

9 and others); 

10 (VIII) abdomen and viscera (in11 cluding hernia); 

12 (IX) anus (not including digital 

13 examination); 

14 (X) skin; 

15 (XI) G-U system (not including 

16 pelvic examination); 

17 (XII) upper and lower extremities 

18 (strength and range of motion); 

19 (XIII) spine and other musculo20 skeletal; 

21 (XIV) identifying body marks, 

22 scars, and tattoos (size and location); 

23 (XV) lymphatics; 


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1 (XVI) neurologic (tendon reflexes, 

2 equilibrium, senses, cranial nerves, and 

3 coordination, etc.); 

4 (XVII) psychiatric (appearance, 

5 behavior, mood, communication, and 

6 memory); 

7 (XVIII) general systemic; 

8 (XIX) hearing; 

9 (XX) vision (distant, near, and 

10 intermediate vision, field of vision, 

11 color vision, and ocular alignment); 

12 (XXI) blood pressure and pulse; 

13 and 

14 (XXII) anything else the physi15 cian, in his or her medical judgment, 

16 considers necessary; 

17 (ii) to exercise medical discretion to 

18 address, as medically appropriate, any 

19 medical conditions identified, and to exer20 cise medical discretion in determining 

21 whether any medical tests are warranted as 

22 part of the comprehensive medical examina23 tion; 

24 (iii) to discuss all drugs the individual 

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1 prescription) and their potential to interfere 

2 with the safe operation of an aircraft or 

3 motor vehicle; 

4 (iv) to sign the checklist, stating: ‘‘I 

5 certify that I discussed all items on this 

6 checklist with the individual during my ex7 amination, discussed any medications the 

8 individual is taking that could interfere 

9 with their ability to safely operate an air10 craft or motor vehicle, and performed an ex11 amination that included all of the items on 

12 this checklist.’’; and 

13 (v) to provide the date the comprehen14 sive medical examination was completed, 

15 and the physician’s full name, address, tele16 phone number, and State medical license 

17 number. 

18 (3) LOGBOOK.—The completed checklist shall be 

19 retained in the individual’s logbook and made avail20 able on request. 

21 (c) MEDICAL EDUCATION COURSE REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 The medical education course described in this subsection 

23 shall— 

24 (1) be available on the Internet free of charge; 


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1 (2) be developed and periodically updated in co2 ordination with representatives of relevant nonprofit 

3 and not-for-profit general aviation stakeholder groups; 

4 (3) educate pilots on conducting medical self-as5 sessments; 

6 (4) advise pilots on identifying warning signs of 

7 potential serious medical conditions; 

8 (5) identify risk mitigation strategies for med9 ical conditions; 

10 (6) increase awareness of the impacts of poten11 tially impairing over-the-counter and prescription 

12 drug medications; 

13 (7) encourage regular medical examinations and 

14 consultations with primary care physicians; 

15 (8) inform pilots of the regulations pertaining to 

16 the prohibition on operations during medical defi17 ciency and medically disqualifying conditions; 

18 (9) provide the checklist developed by the Federal 

19 Aviation Administration in accordance with sub20 section (b); and 

21 (10) upon successful completion of the course, 

22 electronically provide to the individual and transmit 

23 to the Federal Aviation Administration— 

24 (A) a certification of completion of the med25 ical education course, which shall be printed and 


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1 retained in the individual’s logbook and made 

2 available upon request, and shall contain the in3 dividual’s name, address, and airman certificate 

4 number; 

5 (B) subject to subsection (d), a release au6 thorizing the National Driver Register through a 

7 designated State Department of Motor Vehicles to 

8 furnish to the Federal Aviation Administration 

9 information pertaining to the individual’s driv10 ing record; 

11 (C) a certification by the individual that 

12 the individual is under the care and treatment 

13 of a physician if the individual has been diag14 nosed with any medical condition that may im15 pact the ability of the individual to fly, as re16 quired under (a)(6); 

17 (D) a form that includes— 

18 (i) the name, address, telephone num19 ber, and airman certificate number of the 

20 individual; 

21 (ii) the name, address, telephone num22 ber, and State medical license number of the 

23 physician performing the comprehensive 

24 medical examination required in subsection 

25 (a)(7); 


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1 (iii) the date of the comprehensive 

2 medical examination required in subsection 

3 (a)(7); and 

4 (iv) a certification by the individual 

5 that the checklist described in subsection (b) 

6 was followed in the comprehensive medical 

7 examination required in subsection (a)(7); 

8 and 

9 (E) a statement, which shall be printed, 

10 and signed by the individual certifying that the 

11 individual understands the existing prohibition 

12 on operations during medical deficiency by stat13 ing: ‘‘I understand that I cannot act as pilot in 

14 command, or any other capacity as a required 

15 flight crew member, if I know or have reason to 

16 know of any medical condition that would make 

17 me unable to operate the aircraft in a safe man18 ner.’’. 

19 (d) NATIONAL DRIVER REGISTER.—The authorization 

20 under subsection (c)(10)(B) shall be an authorization for 

21 a single access to the information contained in the National 

22 Driver Register. 

23 (e) SPECIAL ISSUANCE PROCESS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who has quali25 fied for the third-class medical certificate exemption 


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1 under subsection (a) and is seeking to serve as a pilot 

2 in command of a covered aircraft shall be required to 

3 have completed the process for obtaining an Author4 ization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate 

5 for each of the following: 

6 (A) A mental health disorder, limited to an 

7 established medical history or clinical diagnosis 

8 of— 

9 (i) personality disorder that is severe 

10 enough to have repeatedly manifested itself 

11 by overt acts; 

12 (ii) psychosis, defined as a case in 

13 which an individual— 

14 (I) has manifested delusions, hal15 lucinations, grossly bizarre or disorga16 nized behavior, or other commonly ac17 cepted symptoms of psychosis; or 

18 (II) may reasonably be expected to 

19 manifest delusions, hallucinations, 

20 grossly bizarre or disorganized behav21 ior, or other commonly accepted symp22 toms of psychosis; 

23 (iii) bipolar disorder; or 

24 (iv) substance dependence within the 

25 previous 2 years, as defined in section 


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1 67.307(a)(4) of title 14, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations. 

3 (B) A neurological disorder, limited to an 

4 established medical history or clinical diagnosis 

5 of any of the following: 

6 (i) Epilepsy. 

7 (ii) Disturbance of consciousness with8 out satisfactory medical explanation of the 

9 cause. 

10 (iii) A transient loss of control of nerv11 ous system functions without satisfactory 

12 medical explanation of the cause. 

13 (C) A cardiovascular condition, limited to a 

14 one-time special issuance for each diagnosis of 

15 the following: 

16 (i) Myocardial infraction. 

17 (ii) Coronary heart disease that has re18 quired treatment. 

19 (iii) Cardiac valve replacement. 

20 (iv) Heart replacement. 

21 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CARDIOVASCULAR CONDI22 TIONS.—In the case of an individual with a cardio23 vascular condition, the process for obtaining an Au24 thorization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certifi25 cate shall be satisfied with the successful completion 


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1 of an appropriate clinical evaluation without a man2 datory wait period. 

3 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR MENTAL HEALTH CONDI4 TIONS.— 

5 (A) In the case of an individual with a 

6 clinically diagnosed mental health condition, the 

7 third-class medical certificate exemption under 

8 subsection (a) shall not apply if— 

9 (i) in the judgment of the individual’s 

10 State-licensed medical specialist, the condi11 tion— 

12 (I) renders the individual unable 

13 to safely perform the duties or exercise 

14 the airman privileges described in sub15 section (a)(8); or 

16 (II) may reasonably be expected to 

17 make the individual unable to perform 

18 the duties or exercise the privileges de19 scribed in subsection (a)(8); or 

20 (ii) the individual’s driver’s license is 

21 revoked by the issuing agency as a result of 

22 a clinically diagnosed mental health condi23 tion. 

24 (B) Subject to subparagraph (A), an indi25 vidual clinically diagnosed with a mental health 


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1 condition shall certify every 2 years, in conjunc2 tion with the certification under subsection 

3 (c)(10)(C), that the individual is under the care 

4 of a State-licensed medical specialist for that 

5 mental health condition. 

6 (4) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEUROLOGICAL CONDI7 TIONS.— 

8 (A) In the case of an individual with a 

9 clinically diagnosed neurological condition, the 

10 third-class medical certificate exemption under 

11 subsection (a) shall not apply if— 

12 (i) in the judgment of the individual’s 

13 State-licensed medical specialist, the condi14 tion— 

15 (I) renders the individual unable 

16 to safely perform the duties or exercise 

17 the airman privileges described in sub18 section (a)(8); or 

19 (II) may reasonably be expected to 

20 make the individual unable to perform 

21 the duties or exercise the privileges de22 scribed in subsection (a)(8); or 

23 (ii) the individual’s driver’s license is 

24 revoked by the issuing agency as a result of 


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1 a clinically diagnosed neurological condi2 tion. 

3 (B) Subject to subparagraph (A), an indi4 vidual clinically diagnosed with a neurological 

5 condition shall certify every 2 years, in conjunc6 tion with the certification under subsection 

7 (c)(10)(C), that the individual is under the care 

8 of a State-licensed medical specialist for that 

9 neurological condition. 

10 (f) IDENTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL MEDICAL CONDI11 TIONS FOR THE CACI PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

14 shall review and identify additional medical condi15 tions that could be added to the program known as 

16 the Conditions AMEs Can Issue (CACI) program. 

17 (2) CONSULTATIONS.—In carrying out para18 graph (1), the Administrator shall consult with avia19 tion, medical, and union stakeholders. 

20 (3) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

21 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad22 ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

24 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

25 of the House of Representatives a report listing the 


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1 medical conditions that have been added to the CACI 

2 program under paragraph (1). 

3 (g) EXPEDITED AUTHORIZATION FOR SPECIAL

4 ISSUANCE OF A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall im6 plement procedures to expedite the process for obtain7 ing an Authorization for Special Issuance of a Med8 ical Certificate under section 67.401 of title 14, Code 

9 of Federal Regulations. 

10 (2) CONSULTATIONS.—In carrying out para11 graph (1), the Administrator shall consult with avia12 tion, medical, and union stakeholders. 

13 (3) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis15 trator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

17 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

18 the House of Representatives a report describing how 

19 the procedures implemented under paragraph (1) will 

20 streamline the process for obtaining an Authorization 

21 for Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate and re22 duce the amount of time needed to review and decide 

23 special issuance cases. 

24 (h) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 5 years after 

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1 ordination with the National Transportation Safety Board, 

2 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

3 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans4 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa5 tives a report that describes the effect of the regulations 

6 issued or revised under subsection (a) and includes statis7 tics with respect to changes in small aircraft activity and 

8 safety incidents. 

9 (i) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—Begin10 ning on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Administrator may not take an enforcement 

12 action for not holding a valid third-class medical certificate 

13 against a pilot of a covered aircraft for a flight, through 

14 a good faith effort, if the pilot and the flight meet the appli15 cable requirements under subsection (a), except paragraph 

16 (5), unless the Administrator has published final regula17 tions in the Federal Register under that subsection. 

18 (j) COVERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this section, the 

19 term ‘‘covered aircraft’’ means an aircraft that— 

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

21 more than 6 occupants; and 

22 (2) has a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 

23 not more than 6,000 pounds. 

24 (k) OPERATIONS COVERED.—The provisions and re25 quirements covered in this section do not apply to pilots 


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1 who elect to operate under the medical requirements under 

2 subsection (b) or subsection (c) of section 61.23 of title 14, 

3 Code of Federal Regulations. 

4 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PILOT’S BILL OF RIGHTS. 

5 (a) APPEALS OF SUSPENDED AND REVOKED AIRMAN

6 CERTIFICATES.—Section 2(d)(1) of the Pilot’s Bill of 

7 Rights (Public Law 112–153; 126 Stat. 1159; 49 U.S.C. 

8 44703 note) is amended by striking ‘‘or imposing a punitive 

9 civil action or an emergency order of revocation under sub10 sections (d) and (e) of section 44709 of such title’’ and in11 serting ‘‘suspending or revoking an airman certificate 

12 under section 44709(d) of such title, or imposing an emer13 gency order of revocation under subsections (d) and (e) of 

14 section 44709 of such title’’. 

15 (b) DE NOVO REVIEW BY DISTRICT COURT; BURDEN

16 OF PROOF .—Section 2(e) of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (Pub17 lic Law 112–153; 126 Stat. 1159; 49 U.S.C. 44703 note) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In an appeal filed under 

22 subsection (d) in a United States district court with 

23 respect to a denial, suspension, or revocation of an 

24 airman certificate by the Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the district court shall review the de2 nial, suspension, or revocation de novo, includ3 ing by— 

4 ‘‘(i) conducting a full independent re5 view of the complete administrative record 

6 of the denial, suspension, or revocation; 

7 ‘‘(ii) permitting additional discovery 

8 and the taking of additional evidence; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) making the findings of fact and 

10 conclusions of law required by Rule 52 of 

11 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with12 out being bound to any findings of fact of 

13 the Administrator or the National Trans14 portation Safety Board.’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para16 graph (3); and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In an appeal filed 

20 under subsection (d) in a United States district court 

21 after an exhaustion of administrative remedies, the 

22 burden of proof shall be as follows: 

23 ‘‘(A) In an appeal of the denial of an appli24 cation for the issuance or renewal of an airman 

25 certificate under section 44703 of title 49, United 


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1 States Code, the burden of proof shall be upon 

2 the applicant denied an airman certificate by 

3 the Administrator. 

4 ‘‘(B) In an appeal of an order issued by the 

5 Administrator under section 44709 of title 49, 

6 United States Code, the burden of proof shall be 

7 upon the Administrator.’’; and 

8 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCE10 DURE ACT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(A) of 

11 this subsection or subsection (a)(1) of section 554 of 

12 title 5, United States Code, section 554 of such title 

13 shall apply to adjudications of the Administrator and 

14 the National Transportation Safety Board to the 

15 same extent as that section applied to such adjudica16 tions before the date of enactment of the Pilot’s Bill 

17 of Rights 2.’’. 

18 (c) NOTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATION.—Subsection (b) 

19 of section 2 of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (Public Law 112– 

20 153; 126 Stat. 1159; 49 U.S.C. 44703 note) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘and the 

22 specific activity on which the investigation is based’’ 

23 after ‘‘nature of the investigation’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘timely’’; and 


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1 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘section 

2 44709(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 44709(e)(2)’’. 

3 (d) RELEASE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS.—Section 

4 2 of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (Public Law 112–153; 126 

5 Stat. 1159; 49 U.S.C. 44703 note) is further amended by 

6 inserting after subsection (e) the following: 

7 ‘‘(f) RELEASE OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(A) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—In any pro10 ceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, 

11 Code of Federal Regulations, relating to the 

12 amendment, modification, suspension, or revoca13 tion of an airman certificate, in which the Ad14 ministrator issues an emergency order under 

15 subsections (d) and (e) of section 44709, section 

16 44710, or section 46105(c) of title 49, United 

17 States Code, or another order that takes effect 

18 immediately, the Administrator shall provide to 

19 the individual holding the airman certificate the 

20 releasable portion of the investigative report at 

21 the time the Administrator issues the order. If 

22 the complete Report of Investigation is not avail23 able at the time the Emergency Order is issued, 

24 the Administrator shall issue all portions of the 

25 report that are available at the time and shall 


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1 provide the full report within 5 days of its com2 pletion. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER ORDERS.—In any non-emer4 gency proceeding conducted under part 821 of 

5 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to 

6 the amendment, modification, suspension, or rev7 ocation of an airman certificate, in which the 

8 Administrator notifies the certificate holder of a 

9 proposed certificate action under subsections (b) 

10 and (c) of section 44709 or section 44710 of title 

11 49, United States Code, the Administrator shall, 

12 upon the written request of the covered certificate 

13 holder and at any time after that notification, 

14 provide to the covered certificate holder the re15 leasable portion of the investigative report. 

16 ‘‘(2) MOTION FOR DISMISSAL.—If the Adminis17 trator does not provide the releasable portions of the 

18 investigative report to the individual holding the air19 man certificate subject to the proceeding referred to in 

20 paragraph (1) by the time required by that para21 graph, the individual may move to dismiss the com22 plaint of the Administrator or for other relief and, 

23 unless the Administrator establishes good cause for the 

24 failure to provide the investigative report or for a lack 


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1 of timeliness, the administrative law judge shall order 

2 such relief as the judge considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) RELEASABLE PORTION OF INVESTIGATIVE

4 REPORT.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the releas5 able portion of an investigative report is all informa6 tion in the report, except for the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Information that is privileged. 

8 ‘‘(B) Information that constitutes work 

9 product or reflects internal deliberative process. 

10 ‘‘(C) Information that would disclose the 

11 identity of a confidential source. 

12 ‘‘(D) Information the disclosure of which is 

13 prohibited by any other provision of law. 

14 ‘‘(E) Information that is not relevant to the 

15 subject matter of the proceeding. 

16 ‘‘(F) Information the Administrator can 

17 demonstrate is withheld for good cause. 

18 ‘‘(G) Sensitive security information, as de19 fined in section 15.5 of title 49, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations (or any corresponding similar rul21 ing or regulation). 

22 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

23 subsection shall be construed to prevent the Adminis24 trator from releasing to an individual subject to an 

25 investigation described in subsection (b)(1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) information in addition to the infor2 mation included in the releasable portion of the 

3 investigative report; or 

4 ‘‘(B) a copy of the investigative report be5 fore the Administrator issues a complaint.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON REEXAMINATION OF CERTIFICATE 

7 HOLDERS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44709(a) of title 49, United 

9 States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘reexamine’’ and inserting ‘‘, ex14 cept as provided in paragraph (2), reexamine’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON THE REEXAMINATION OF

17 AIRMAN CERTIFICATES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

19 may not reexamine an airman holding a stu20 dent, sport, recreational, or private pilot certifi21 cate issued under section 44703 of this title if the 

22 reexamination is ordered as a result of an event 

23 involving the fault of the Federal Aviation Ad24 ministration or its designee, unless the Adminis25 trator has reasonable grounds— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to establish that the airman may 

2 not be qualified to exercise the privileges of 

3 a particular certificate or rating, based 

4 upon an act or omission committed by the 

5 airman while exercising those privileges, 

6 after the certificate or rating was issued by 

7 the Federal Aviation Administration or its 

8 designee; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to demonstrate that the airman 

10 obtained the certificate or the rating 

11 through fraudulent means or through an ex12 amination that was substantially and de13 monstrably inadequate to establish the air14 man’s qualifications. 

15 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Be16 fore taking any action to reexamine an airman 

17 under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall 

18 provide to the airman— 

19 ‘‘(i) a reasonable basis, described in de20 tail, for requesting the reexamination; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) any information gathered by the 

22 Federal Aviation Administration, that the 

23 Administrator determines is appropriate to 

24 provide, such as the scope and nature of the 


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1 requested reexamination, that formed the 

2 basis for that justification.’’. 

3 (b) AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, OR

4 REVOCATION OF AIRMAN CERTIFICATES AFTER REEXAM5 INATION.—Section 44709(b) of title 49, United States Code, 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by redesignating subpara8 graphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec9 tively, and indenting appropriately; 

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indent12 ing appropriately; 

13 (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as 

14 redesignated, by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the Administrator’’; and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS, MODIFICATIONS, SUSPEN20 SIONS, AND REVOCATIONS OF AIRMAN CERTIFICATES

21 AFTER REEXAMINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

23 may not issue an order to amend, modify, sus24 pend, or revoke an airman certificate held by a 

25 student, sport, recreational, or private pilot and 


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1 issued under section 44703 of this title after a 

2 reexamination of the airman holding the certifi3 cate unless the Administrator determines that the 

4 airman— 

5 ‘‘(i) lacks the technical skills and com6 petency, or care, judgment, and responsi7 bility, necessary to hold and safely exercise 

8 the privileges of the certificate; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) materially contributed to the 

10 issuance of the certificate by fraudulent 

11 means. 

12 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—Any order of 

13 the Administrator under this paragraph shall be 

14 subject to the standard of review provided for 

15 under section 2 of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (49 

16 U.S.C. 44703 note).’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 44709(d)(1) 

18 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subsection 

20 (b)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(1)(A)(i)’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘subsection 

23 (b)(1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii)’’. 

24 SEC. 5. EXPEDITING UPDATES TO NOTAM PROGRAM. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) Beginning on the date that is 180 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

3 of the Federal Aviation Administration may not take 

4 any enforcement action against any individual for a 

5 violation of a NOTAM (as defined in section 3 of the 

6 Pilot’s Bill of Rights (49 U.S.C. 44701 note)) until 

7 the Administrator certifies to the appropriate congres8 sional committees that the Administrator has com9 plied with the requirements of section 3 of the Pilot’s 

10 Bill of Rights, as amended by this section. 

11 (2) In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

12 congressional committees’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

14 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Transportation and 

16 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

17 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Pilot’s Bill of 

18 Rights (Public Law 112–153; 126 Stat. 1162; 49 U.S.C. 

19 44701 note) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘begin’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘complete the implementation of’’; 

3 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(B) to continue developing and modern6 izing the NOTAM repository, in a public central 

7 location, to maintain and archive all NOTAMs, 

8 including the original content and form of the 

9 notices, the original date of publication, and any 

10 amendments to such notices with the date of each 

11 amendment, in a manner that is Internet-acces12 sible, machine-readable, and searchable;’’; 

13 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

14 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

15 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(D) to specify the times during which tem17 porary flight restrictions are in effect and the 

18 duration of a designation of special use airspace 

19 in a specific area.’’; and 

20 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION OF REPOSITORY AS SOLE SOURCE

23 FOR NOTAMS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall consider the repository for 

2 NOTAMs under subsection (a)(2)(B) to be the 

3 sole location for airmen to check for NOTAMs; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) may not consider a NOTAM to be an6 nounced or published until the NOTAM is in7 cluded in the repository for NOTAMs under sub8 section (a)(2)(B). 

9 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON TAKING ACTION FOR VIO10 LATIONS OF NOTAMS NOT IN REPOSITORY.— 

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

12 subparagraph (B), beginning on the date that 

13 the repository under subsection (a)(2)(B) is final 

14 and published, the Administrator may not take 

15 any enforcement action against an airman for a 

16 violation of a NOTAM during a flight if— 

17 ‘‘(i) that NOTAM is not available 

18 through the repository before the commence19 ment of the flight; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) that NOTAM is not reasonably 

21 accessible and identifiable to the airman. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR NATIONAL SECU23 RITY.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the 

24 case of an enforcement action for a violation of 


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1 a NOTAM that directly relates to national secu2 rity.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. ACCESSIBILITY OF CERTAIN FLIGHT DATA. 

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

5 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec6 tion 47124 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 47124a. Accessibility of certain flight data 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘Administra10 tion’ means the Federal Aviation Administration. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis12 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia13 tion Administration. 

14 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘appli15 cable individual’ means an individual who is the sub16 ject of an investigation initiated by the Administrator 

17 related to a covered flight record. 

18 ‘‘(4) CONTRACT TOWER.—The term ‘contract 

19 tower’ means an air traffic control tower providing 

20 air traffic control services pursuant to a contract 

21 with the Administration under the contract air traffic 

22 control tower program under section 47124(b)(3). 

23 ‘‘(5) COVERED FLIGHT RECORD.—The term ‘cov24 ered flight record’ means any air traffic data (as de25 fined in section 2(b)(4)(B) of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 


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1 (49 U.S.C. 44703 note)), created, maintained, or con2 trolled by any program of the Administration, includ3 ing any program of the Administration carried out 

4 by employees or contractors of the Administration, 

5 such as contract towers, flight service stations, and 

6 controller training programs. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF COVERED FLIGHT RECORD TO AD8 MINISTRATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) REQUESTS.—Whenever the Administration 

10 receives a written request for a covered flight record 

11 from an applicable individual and the covered flight 

12 record is not in the possession of the Administration, 

13 the Administrator shall request the covered flight 

14 record from the contract tower or other contractor of 

15 the Administration in possession of the covered flight 

16 record. 

17 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF RECORDS.—Any covered 

18 flight record created, maintained, or controlled by a 

19 contract tower or another contractor of the Adminis20 tration that maintains covered flight records shall be 

21 provided to the Administration if the Administration 

22 requests the record pursuant to paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF PROPOSED CERTIFICATE AC24 TION.—If the Administrator has issued, or subse25 quently issues, a Notice of Proposed Certificate Action 


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1 relying on evidence contained in the covered flight 

2 record and the individual who is the subject of an in3 vestigation has requested the record, the Adminis4 trator shall promptly produce the record and extend 

5 the time the individual has to respond to the Notice 

6 of Proposed Certificate Action until the covered flight 

7 record is provided. 

8 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of 

11 Rights 2, the Administrator shall promulgate regula12 tions or guidance to ensure compliance with this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE BY CONTRACTORS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) Compliance with this section by a con16 tract tower or other contractor of the Adminis17 tration that maintains covered flight records 

18 shall be included as a material term in any con19 tract between the Administration and the con20 tract tower or contractor entered into or renewed 

21 on or after the date of enactment of the Pilot’s 

22 Bill of Rights 2. 

23 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 

24 any contract or agreement in effect on the date 

25 of enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 unless 


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1 the contract or agreement is renegotiated, re2 newed, or modified after that date.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 The table of contents for chapter 471 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

6 to section 47124 the following: 

‘‘47124a. Accessibility of certain flight data.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY FOR LEGAL COUNSEL TO ISSUE CER8 TAIN NOTICES. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad11 ministration shall revise section 13.11 of title 14, Code of 

12 Federal Regulations, to authorize legal counsel of the Fed13 eral Aviation Administration to close enforcement actions 

14 covered by that section with a warning notice, letter of cor15 rection, or other administrative action. 


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Calendar No. 319 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 571 

A BILL 

To amend the Pilot’s Bill of Rights to facilitate apAdministration, and for other purposes. cation regulations issued by the Federal Aviation the revision of the third class medical certifi- the Federal Aviation Administration, to require peals and to apply to other certificates issued by 

DECEMBER 9, 2015 

Reported with an amendment 


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