H. R. 2440

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four

An Act

To amend the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations

for fiscal years 1994, 1995, and 1996, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Independent Safety Board Act

Amendments of 1994’’.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 1118(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended

to read as follows:

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated for

the purposes of this chapter $37,580,000 for fiscal year 1994,

$44,000,000 for fiscal year 1995, and $45,100,000 for fiscal year

1996. Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’.

SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS TO THE OPERATION OF PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.

(a) DEFINITION OF PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.—Section 40102(a)(37) of

title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph

(B) and inserting the following:

‘‘(B) does not include a government-owned aircraft—

‘‘(i) transporting property for commercial purposes;

or

‘‘(ii) transporting passengers other than—

‘‘(I) transporting (for other than commercial

purposes) crewmembers or other persons aboard

the aircraft whose presence is required to perform,

or is associated with the performance of, a governmental function such as firefighting, search and

rescue, law enforcement, aeronautical research, or

biological or geological resource management; or

‘‘(II) transporting (for other than commercial

purposes) persons aboard the aircraft if the aircraft

is operated by the Armed Forces or an intelligence

agency of the United States.

An aircraft described in the preceding sentence shall, notwithstanding any limitation relating to use of the aircraft

for commercial purposes, be considered to be a public aircraft for the purposes of this part without regard to whether

the aircraft is operated by a unit of government on behalf

of another unit of government, pursuant to a cost

reimbursement agreement between such units of govern-
H. R. 2440—2

ment, if the unit of government on whose behalf the operation is conducted certifies to the Administrator of the

Federal Aviation Administration that the operation was

necessary to respond to a significant and imminent threat

to life or property (including natural resources) and that

no service by a private operator was reasonably available

to meet the threat.’’.

(b) AUTHORITY TO GRANT EXEMPTIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may grant an exemption to any unit of

Federal, State, or local government from any requirement of

part A of subtitle VII of title 49, United States Code, that

would otherwise be applicable to current or future aircraft

of such unit of government as a result of the amendment

made by subsection (a) of this section.

(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator may grant an

exemption under paragraph (1) only if—

(A) the Administrator finds that granting the exemption is necessary to prevent an undue economic burden

on the unit of government; and

(B) the Administrator certifies that the aviation safety

program of the unit of government is effective and appropriate to ensure safe operations of the type of aircraft

operated by the unit of government.

(c) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY OF BOARD.—

(1) ACCIDENTS INVOLVING PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.—Section

1131(a)(1)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by

inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘or

an aircraft accident involving a public aircraft as defined by

section 40102(a)(37) of this title other than an aircraft operated

by the Armed Forces or by an intelligence agency of the United

States’’.

(2) DUTIES AND POWERS.—Section 1131 of title 49, United

States Code, is amended—

(A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);

and

(B) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: ‘‘(d) ACCIDENTS INVOLVING PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.—The Board, in

furtherance of its investigative duties with respect to public aircraft

accidents under subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section, shall have the

same duties and powers as are specified for civil aircraft accidents

under sections 1132(a), 1132(b), and 1134(b)(2) of this title.’’.

(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by subsections (a) and (c) shall take effect on the 180th day following the date

of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. RELEASE OF RESERVATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN

PROPERTY LOCATED IN RAPIDES PARISH, LOUISIANA.

(a) RELEASE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and

except as provided in subsections (b) and (d), the United States

releases without consideration all reservations, restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, or conveyance of

certain real property (together with any improvements thereon

and easements appurtenant thereto) consisting of approximately

1,991.53 acres of land and located in Rapides Parish, Louisiana,

the location of Esler Field, as identified in the deed of conveyance

from the United States to the Parish of Rapides, Louisiana, dated
H. R. 2440—3

January 23, 1958, to the extent such reservations, restrictions,

conditions, and limitations are enforceable by the United States.

(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The United States reserves the right of

reentry upon or use of the property described in subsection (a)

for national defense purposes in time of war or other national

emergency without charge. The release provided by subsection (a)

does not apply to any conditions or assurances associated with

(1) the continued nonexclusive use without charge of the airport

and use of space at the airport, without charge, by the Louisiana

National Guard, (2) the nonexclusive use of the airport by transient

military aircraft without charge, or (3) the nonexclusive use of

the airport by transient military aircraft without charge during

periods of maneuvers.

(c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

section shall be construed to affect the disposition or ownership

of oil, gas, or other mineral resources either in or under the surface

of the real property described in subsection (a).

(d) FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.—

(1) NONAPPLICABILITY OF RELEASE TO GRANT AGREEMENTS.—The release described in subsection (a) does not apply

to any conditions and assurances associated with existing airport grant agreements between the Rapides Parish Airport

Authority/Esler Field and the Federal Aviation Administration.

(2) AGREEMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provisions of

law, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

shall enter into an agreement with the Airport Authority of

Rapides Parish, Louisiana, to provide for the terms and conditions under which the real property described in subsection

(a) may be used, leased, sold, or otherwise disposed. The agreement shall be concluded not later than 180 days after the

date of the enactment of this Act.

(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect on the

180th day following the date of the enactment of this Act.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.