and supervision of the operation of space-based re-
mote sensing systems under this chapter; and 
‘‘(5) provide information, advice, and rec-
ommendations on matters related to the authority of 
the Secretary under this chapter or to private sector 
space activities authorized pursuant to this chapter 
that the Committee determines necessary. 
‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Committee shall submit 
to Congress, the President, the Secretary, and the Direc-
tor of the Office of Space Commerce, an annual report 
that includes the information, analysis, findings, and rec-
ommendations described in subsection (e). 
‘‘(g) SUNSET.—The Committee shall terminate on 
the date that is 10 years after the date on which the Com-
mittee is established. 
‘‘§ 80208. Continuation of existing license or pending 
application 
‘‘(a) CONTINUATION OF EXISTING LICENSE.—Any 
United States entity for whom a license for the operation 
of a space-based remote sensing system issued under sub-
chapter III of chapter 601 that is valid on the effective 
date of this section may— 
‘‘(1) elect to be immediately considered per-
mitted for operation under this chapter, in which 
case all terms and conditions of a license issued 
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under such subchapter with respect to the operation 
of such system shall apply for the duration of the li-
cense; or 
‘‘(2) apply for a permit for operation under this 
chapter and may continue to operate pursuant to 
such license until such time as such permit is issued. 
‘‘(b) RESCIND
OR TRANSFER
OF PENDING LI-
CENSE.—An applicant with an application for a remote 
sensing license under subchapter III of chapter 601 that 
is pending on the effective date of this section may be, 
at the election of the applicant— 
‘‘(1) rescinded without prejudice; or 
‘‘(2) transferred to the Office of Space Com-
merce and deemed to be a pending application for a 
permit under this chapter. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef-
fect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment 
of the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act of 
2017. 
‘‘§ 80209. Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Af-
fairs Office 
‘‘On the date that is 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise 
Act of 2017, the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory 
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Affairs Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration is abolished.’’. 
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS RELATED TO CER-
TIFICATION AND PERMITTING. 
Title 51, United States Code, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘CHAPTER 803—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVI-
SIONS RELATED TO CERTIFICATION 
AND PERMITTING 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘80301. Administrative authority. 
‘‘80302. Consultation. 
‘‘80303. Appeal of denial or condition of certification or permit. 
‘‘80304. Exclusive authority for determination of international obligations. 
‘‘80305. Limitation on certain agency supervision. 
‘‘80306. Commercial exploration and use of outer space. 
‘‘80307. Rule of construction on concurrent application submission. 
‘‘80308. Federal jurisdiction. 
‘‘80309. Global commons. 
‘‘80310. Regulatory authority. 
‘‘80311. Consultation with relevant agencies. 
‘‘80312. Authorization of appropriations. 
‘‘§ 80301. Administrative authority 
‘‘(a) FUNCTIONS.—In order to carry out the respon-
sibilities specified in this subtitle, the Secretary may— 
‘‘(1) seek an order of injunction or similar judi-
cial determination from a district court of the 
United States with personal jurisdiction over the 
certification or permit holder to terminate certifi-
cations or permits under this subtitle and to termi-
nate certified or permitted operations on an imme-
diate basis, if the Secretary determines that the cer-
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tification or permit holder has substantially failed to 
comply with any provisions of this subtitle, or with 
any terms of a certification or permit; 
‘‘(2) provide for civil penalties not to exceed 
$10,000 (each day of operation constituting a sepa-
rate violation) and not to exceed $500,000 in total, 
for— 
‘‘(A) noncompliance with the certification 
or permitting requirements or regulations 
issued under this subtitle; or 
‘‘(B) the operation of a space object or 
space-based remote sensing system without the 
applicable certification or permit issued under 
this subtitle; 
‘‘(3) compromise, modify, or remit any such 
civil penalty; 
‘‘(4) seize any object, record, or report, or cop-
ies of materials, documents, or records, pursuant to 
a warrant from a magistrate based on a showing of 
probable cause to believe that such object, record, or 
report was used, is being used, or is likely to be used 
in violation of this subtitle or the requirements of a 
certification or permit or regulation issued there-
under; and 
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‘‘(5) make investigations and inquiries con-
cerning any matter relating to the enforcement of 
this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTION.—Any holder of, 
or applicant for, a certification or a permit who makes 
a timely request for review of an adverse action pursuant 
to paragraph (2) or (4) of subsection (a) shall be entitled 
to adjudication by the Secretary on the record after an 
opportunity for any agency hearing with respect to such 
adverse action. Any final action by the Secretary under 
this subsection shall be subject to judicial review under 
chapter 7 of title 5, as provided in section 80303 of this 
chapter. 
‘‘(c) NO COST FOR CERTIFICATION OR PERMIT.— 
The Secretary may not impose a fee or other cost on a 
holder of, or applicant for— 
‘‘(1) a certification under chapter 801; or 
‘‘(2) a permit under chapter 802. 
‘‘(d) NO AUTHORITY TO SET CONDITIONS.—The 
Secretary may not impose a substantive condition on, or 
any other requirement for, the issuance of a certification 
or permit except as specifically provided in this subtitle. 
‘‘(e) FOIA EXEMPTION.—Paragraph (3) of section 
552(b) of title 5 shall apply with respect to any filing re-
lating to a certification or a permit under this subtitle. 
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‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON EXCEPTIONS TO ADMINISTRA-
TIVE
PROCEDURES.—The 
exceptions 
under 
section 
553(a)(1), section 553(b)(B), or section 554(a)(4) of title 
5 shall not apply with respect to a certification or permit 
under this subtitle. 
‘‘§ 80302. Consultation 
‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the Sense of the 
Congress that— 
‘‘(1) the United States Government has assets 
in Earth orbit critical to national security, scientific 
research, economic growth, and exploration; 
‘‘(2) such assets represent a considerable in-
vestment of United States taxpayers; and 
‘‘(3) it is in the national interest of the United 
States to facilitate opportunities to provide for the 
protection of such assets. 
‘‘(b) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after the Sec-
retary issues a certification under chapter 801, the Sec-
retary shall review the operations of any space objects cov-
ered by the certification to determine whether the inter-
action between such operations and the operations of a 
Federal Government space object present a substantial 
risk to the physical safety of a space object operated by 
either party. 
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‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN CONSULTA-
TION.—If the Secretary makes a determination that a sub-
stantial risk identified under subsection (b) exists, the 
Secretary may require that the certification holder partici-
pate in a consultation under this section. 
‘‘(d) PARTIES TO A CONSULTATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consultation under this 
section may be held, with respect to a substantial 
safety risk identified under subsection (b), be-
tween— 
‘‘(A) a certification holder responsible for 
the certified space object operations; and 
‘‘(B) any entity of the Federal Government 
operating a potentially affected space object. 
‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary may not 
impose any requirement on a party pursuant to par-
ticipation in the consultation. 
‘‘(e) MITIGATION OF SAFETY RISK.—In carrying out 
a consultation, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) facilitate a discussion among the parties to 
the consultation; 
‘‘(2) encourage a mutual understanding of the 
safety risk; and 
‘‘(3) encourage, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, voluntary agreements between the parties to 
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the consultation to improve the physical safety of af-
fected space object operations or mitigate the phys-
ical safety risk. 
‘‘(f) DURATION OF CONSULTATION; NOTICE.—Not 
later than 90 days after the Secretary requires a consulta-
tion under this section, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) complete all activities related to the con-
sultation; and 
‘‘(2) submit to Congress a written notification 
with respect to such consultation, that includes— 
‘‘(A) the names of each party to the con-
sultation; 
‘‘(B) a description of the physical safety 
risk at issue; 
‘‘(C) whether any voluntary agreement was 
made by the parties; and 
‘‘(D) the content of any such agreement. 
‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to grant any additional authority 
to the Secretary to regulate, or place conditions on, any 
activity for which a certification or permit is required 
under this title. 
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‘‘§ 80303. Appeal of denial or condition of certifi-
cation or permit 
‘‘An applicant who is denied a certification under sec-
tion 80103(b)(2)(B), an applicant who is denied a permit 
under section 80202(b)(2)(B), or an applicant whose cer-
tification or permit is conditioned pursuant to section 
80103(c) or section 80202(c), respectively, may appeal the 
denial or placement of a condition to the Secretary. The 
Secretary shall affirm or reverse the denial or placement 
of a condition after providing the applicant notice and an 
opportunity to be heard. The Secretary shall dispose of 
the appeal not later than 60 days after the appeal is sub-
mitted. If the Secretary denies the appeal, the applicant 
may seek review in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the District of Columbia Circuit or in the court of ap-
peals of the United States for the circuit in which the per-
son resides or has its principal place of business. 
‘‘§ 80304. Exclusive authority for determination of 
international obligations 
‘‘Except for the Secretary as authorized by this sub-
title, no agency may impose a requirement or make a find-
ing with regard to an international obligation of the 
United States pertaining to a nongovernmental entity of 
the United States under the Outer Space Treaty relating 
to— 
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‘‘(1) the operation of a space object certified 
under chapter 801; and 
‘‘(2) the carrying out of a space debris mitiga-
tion plan of a space object for which a certification 
was issued under chapter 801. 
‘‘§ 80305. Limitation on certain agency supervision 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of the American Space Commerce Free 
Enterprise Act of 2017, no other agency shall have the 
authority to authorize, place conditions on, or supervise 
the operation of space objects required to be certified 
under chapter 801 or space-based remote sensing systems 
required to be permitted under chapter 802 except— 
‘‘(1) the Department of Transportation with re-
spect to launch or reentry vehicle operations licensed 
under chapter 509; and 
‘‘(2) the Federal Communications Commission 
with respect to space stations licensed under the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(b) AGREEMENT LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to prevent an agency from in-
cluding additional terms, conditions, limitations, or re-
quirements beyond those required in this subtitle in a con-
tract or other agreement with— 
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‘‘(1) the holder of a certification under chapter 
801 for the operation of the applicable space object; 
or 
‘‘(2) the holder of a permit under chapter 802 
for the operation of the applicable space-based re-
mote sensing system. 
‘‘§ 80306. Commercial exploration and use of outer 
space 
‘‘To the maximum extent practicable, the President, 
acting through appropriate Federal agencies, shall inter-
pret and fulfill international obligations, including under 
the covered treaties on outer space, to minimize regula-
tions and limitations on the freedom of United States non-
governmental entities to explore and use space. 
‘‘§ 80307. Rule of construction on concurrent applica-
tion submission 
‘‘Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to pre-
vent an applicant from submitting to the Secretary con-
current applications for a certification under chapter 801 
and a permit under chapter 802. The Secretary shall pro-
vide for applications under Chapter 801 and Chapter 802 
to be filed concurrently or at different times, at the discre-
tion of the applicant. To the maximum extent practicable, 
the Secretary shall avoid duplication of information re-
quired in concurrently filed applications. 
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‘‘§ 80308. Federal jurisdiction 
‘‘The district courts shall have original jurisdiction, 
exclusive of the courts of the States, of any civil action 
resulting from the operation of a space object for which 
a certification or permit is required under this subtitle. 
‘‘§ 80309. Global commons 
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, outer 
space shall not be considered a global commons. 
‘‘§ 80310. Regulatory authority 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) REDUCING REGULATORY BURDEN.—In issuing 
regulations to carry out this subtitle, the Secretary shall 
avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, the placement 
of inconsistent, duplicative, or otherwise burdensome re-
quirements on the operations of United States nongovern-
mental entities in outer space. 
‘‘§ 80311. Consultation with relevant agencies 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 
Secretary may, as the Secretary considers necessary, con-
sult with the heads of other relevant agencies in carrying 
out this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.— 
The consultation authority provided by subsection (a) 
shall not be interpreted to alter the exclusive authority of 
the Secretary to authorize, place conditions on, and super-
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