I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5323
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to require
automatic external defibrillators in terminals at certain airports, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, and Mr. COSTELLO) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration to require automatic external defibrillators in ter-
minals at certain airports, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airport Medical Assist-
ance Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS IN AIR-
PORT TERMINALS.
(a) WITHDRAWAL OF NOTICE.—Not later than 30
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall with-
draw the notice of decision of the Administration pub-
lished in the Federal Register on June 6, 2000 (65 Fed.
Reg. 35971), relating to automatic external defibrillators
at airports.
(b) PUBLICATION OF REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall
issue regulations to require automatic external
defibrillators in terminals at airports with 100,000
or more annual enplanements.
(2) 
DEADLINES.—The 
Administrator 
shall
issue—
(A) proposed regulations under paragraph
(1) not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(B) final regulations under paragraph (1)
not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 3. GUIDELINES.
(a) GUIDELINES.—The Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall establish guidelines with re-
spect to the provision and use of automated external
defibrillators in terminals at airports.
(b) INFORMATION.—The guidelines shall contain in-
formation concerning the following:
(1) The extent to which automated external
defibrillators may be operated by lay persons.
(2) The number of defibrillators required for
airports of different sizes.
(3) The appropriate placement of defibrillators
at airports, taking into account the security needs of
airports and response time for victims.
(4) Such other factors as the Administrator de-
termines appropriate.
(c) RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES.—The guidelines
shall contain recommended procedures for the following:
(1) Implementing training programs, in coordi-
nation with appropriate licensed professionals, on
the role of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the
use of automated external defibrillators.
(2) Proper maintenance and testing of auto-
mated external defibrillators.
(3) Ensuring coordination with local emergency
medical systems regarding placement, use, and type
of automated external defibrillators.
(4) Such other areas as the Administrator de-
termines appropriate.
(d) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
publish the guidelines in the Federal Register.
SEC. 4. GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS REGARDING
EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS AT AIRPORTS.
(a) PERSONS USING AEDS.—Except as provided by
subsection (c), any person who uses an automated external
defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived medical
emergency at an airport is immune from civil liability for
any harm resulting from the use of the device.
(b) PERSONS ACQUIRING AEDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by sub-
section (c), in addition to a person who uses an
automated external defibrillator device on a victim of
a perceived medical emergency at an airport, any
person who acquired the device is immune from civil
liability for any harm resulting from the use of the
device, if the harm was not due to the failure of the
person who acquired the device—
(A) to notify local emergency response per-
sonnel or other appropriate entities of the most
recent placement of the device within a reason-
able period of time after the device was placed;
(B) to properly maintain and test the de-
vice; or
(C) except as provided by paragraph (2),
to provide appropriate training in the use of the
device to an employee or agent of the acquirer
when the employee or agent was the person who
used the device on the victim.
(2) 
EXCEPTIONS
TO
TRAINING
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The requirement of paragraph (1)(C) shall
not apply if—
(A) the employee or agent who used the
device was not an employee or agent who would
have been reasonably expected to use the device;
or
(B) the period of time elapsing between
the engagement of the person as an employee or
agent and the occurrence of the harm (or be-
tween the acquisition of the device and the oc-
currence of the harm, in any case in which the
device was acquired after such engagement of
the person) was not a reasonably sufficient pe-
riod in which to provide the training.
(c) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
IMMUNITY.—Immunity
under subsection (a) or (b) does not apply to a person
if the harm involved was caused by willful or criminal mis-
conduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a con-
scious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the
victim who was harmed.
(d) APPLICABILITY OF STATE LAWS.—With respect
to a class of persons for which this section provides immu-
nity from civil liability, this section supersedes the law of
a State only to the extent that the State has no law or
regulation that provides persons in such class with immu-
nity for civil liability arising from the use by such persons
of automated external defibrillator devices in emergency
situations (within the meaning of the State law or regula-
tion involved).
SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR AIP FUNDING.
Section 47102(3)(B) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (viii);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(ix) and inserting ‘‘; and’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(x) automatic external defibrillators,
as defined in section 6 of the Airport Med-
ical Assistance Act of 2000.’’.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘airport’’ has the
meaning given such term in section 40102 of title
49, United States Code.
(2) AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR.—
The term ‘‘automated external defibrillator’’ means
a defibrillator that—
(A) is commercially distributed in accord-
ance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos-
metic Act;
(B) is capable of recognizing the presence
or absence of ventricular fibrillation, and is ca-
pable of determining without intervention by
the 
user 
of 
the 
defibrillator 
whether
defibrillation should be performed;
(C) upon determining that defibrillation
should be performed, is able to deliver an elec-
trical shock to an individual; and
(D) in the case of a defibrillator that may
be operated in either an automated or a manual
mode, is set to operate in the automated mode.
(3) PERCEIVED
MEDICAL
EMERGENCY.—The
term ‘‘perceived medical emergency’’ means cir-
cumstances in which the behavior of an individual
leads a reasonable person to believe that the indi-
vidual is experiencing a life-threatening medical con-
dition that requires an immediate medical response
regarding the heart or other cardiopulmonary func-
tioning of the individual.
(4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes a
governmental entity.
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