H. R. 302—207 
‘‘(IV) at the highest point of the structure is 
not more than 200 feet above ground level; 
‘‘(V) has accessory facilities on which an 
antenna, 
sensor, 
camera, 
meteorological 
instrument, or other equipment is mounted; and 
‘‘(VI) is located on land that is— 
‘‘(aa) in a rural area; and 
‘‘(bb) used for agricultural purposes or 
immediately adjacent to such land. 
‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered tower’ does 
not include any structure that— 
‘‘(I) is adjacent to a house, barn, electric utility 
station, or other building; 
‘‘(II) is within the curtilage of a farmstead 
or adjacent to another building or visible structure; 
‘‘(III) supports electric utility transmission or 
distribution lines; 
‘‘(IV) is a wind-powered electrical generator 
with a rotor blade radius that exceeds 6 feet; 
‘‘(V) is a street light erected or maintained 
by a Federal, State, local, or tribal entity; 
‘‘(VI) is designed and constructed to resemble 
a tree or visible structure other than a tower; 
‘‘(VII) is an advertising billboard; 
‘‘(VIII) is located within the right-of-way of 
a rail carrier, including within the boundaries of 
a rail yard, and is used for a railroad purpose; 
‘‘(IX)(aa) is registered with the Federal 
Communications Commission under the Antenna 
Structure Registration program set forth under 
part 17 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations; 
and 
‘‘(bb) is determined by the Administrator to 
pose no hazard to air navigation; or 
‘‘(X) has already mitigated any hazard to avia-
tion safety in accordance with Federal Aviation 
Administration guidance or as otherwise approved 
by the Administrator. 
‘‘(B) RURAL
AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 609(a)(5) of the Public 
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a)(5)). 
‘‘(C) AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.—The term ‘agricultural 
purposes’ means farming in all its branches and the cultiva-
tion and tillage of the soil, the production, cultivation, 
growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural 
commodities performed by a farmer or on a farm, or on 
pasture land or rangeland. 
‘‘(2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—The Administrator shall define 
such other terms as may be necessary to carry out this section. 
‘‘(c) DATABASE.—The Administrator shall— 
‘‘(1) develop a new database, or if appropriate use an 
existing database that meets the requirements under this sec-
tion, that contains the location and height of each covered 
tower that, pursuant to subsection (a), the owner or operator 
of such tower elects not to mark (unless the Administrator 
has determined that there is a significant safety risk requiring
H. R. 302—208 
that the tower be marked), except that meteorological evalua-
tion towers shall be marked and contained in the database; 
‘‘(2) keep the database current to the extent practicable; 
‘‘(3) ensure that any proprietary information in the data-
base is protected from disclosure in accordance with law; 
‘‘(4) ensure that, by virtue of accessing the database, users 
agree and acknowledge that information in the database— 
‘‘(A) may only be used for aviation safety purposes; 
and 
‘‘(B) may not be disclosed for purposes other than avia-
tion safety, regardless of whether or not the information 
is marked or labeled as proprietary or with a similar des-
ignation; 
‘‘(5) ensure that the tower information in the database 
is de-identified and that the information only includes the 
location and height of covered towers and whether the tower 
has guy wires; 
‘‘(6) ensure that information in the dataset is encrypted 
at rest and in transit and is protected from unauthorized access 
and acquisition; 
‘‘(7) ensure that towers excluded from the definition of 
covered tower under subsection (d)(1)(B)(ii)(VIII) must be reg-
istered by its owner in the database; 
‘‘(8) ensure that a tower to be included in the database 
pursuant to subsection (c)(1) and constructed after the date 
on which the database is fully operational is submitted by 
its owner to the FAA for inclusion in the database before 
its construction; 
‘‘(9) ensure that pilots who intend to conduct low-altitude 
operations in locations described in subsection (b)(1)(A)(i)(VI) 
consult the relevant parts of the database before conducting 
such operations; and 
‘‘(10) make the database available for use not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization 
Act of 2018. 
‘‘(d) EXCLUSION AND WAIVER AUTHORITIES.—As part of a rule-
making conducted pursuant to this section, the Administrator— 
‘‘(1) may exclude a class, category, or type of tower that 
is determined by the Administrator, after public notice and 
comment, to not pose a hazard to aviation safety; 
‘‘(2) shall establish a process to waive specific covered 
towers from the marking requirements under this section as 
required under the rulemaking if the Administrator later deter-
mines such tower or towers do not pose a hazard to aviation 
safety; 
‘‘(3) shall consider, in establishing exclusions and granting 
waivers under this subsection, factors that may sufficiently 
mitigate risks to aviation safety, such as the length of time 
the tower has been in existence or alternative marking methods 
or technologies that maintains a tower’s level of conspicuous-
ness to a degree which adequately maintains the safety of 
the airspace; and 
‘‘(4) shall consider excluding towers located in a State that 
has enacted tower marking requirements according to the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration’s recommended guidance for the 
voluntary marking of meteorological evaluation towers erected 
in remote and rural areas that are less than 200 feet above
H. R. 302—209 
ground level to enhance the conspicuity of the towers for low 
level agricultural operations in the vicinity of those towers. 
‘‘(e) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Administrator shall, in consulta-
tion with the Federal Communications Commission, periodically 
review any regulations or guidance regarding the marking of cov-
ered towers issued pursuant to this section and update them as 
necessary, consistent with this section, and in the interest of safety 
of low-altitude aircraft operations. 
‘‘(f) FCC REGULATIONS.—The Federal Communications Commis-
sion shall amend section 17.7 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, to require a notification to the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion for any construction or alteration of an antenna structure, 
as defined in section 17.2(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
that is a covered tower as defined by this section.’’. 
SEC. 577. MINIMUM DIMENSIONS FOR PASSENGER SEATS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, and after providing notice and an opportunity 
for comment, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion shall issue regulations that establish minimum dimensions 
for passenger seats on aircraft operated by air carriers in interstate 
air transportation or intrastate air transportation, including mini-
mums for seat pitch, width, and length, and that are necessary 
for the safety of passengers. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions contained in section 40102(a) 
of title 49, United States Code, apply to this section. 
SEC. 578. JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE ENVIRON-
MENTAL REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES. 
Section 330 of title 23, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘5 States’’ and inserting 
‘‘2 States’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and 
inserting ‘‘150 days as set forth in section 139(l)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and 
inserting ‘‘150 days as set forth in section 139(l)’’. 
SEC. 579. REGULATORY STREAMLINING. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall 
issue a final regulation revising section 121.333(c)(3) of title 14, 
Code of Federal Regulations, to apply only to flight altitudes above 
flight level 410. 
SEC. 580. SPACEPORTS. 
(a) SENSE
OF CONGRESS
ON STATE SPACEPORT CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—It is the Sense of Congress that— 
(1) State and local government-owned or -operated space-
ports have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in infra-
structure improvements to the national space launch infrastruc-
ture, providing the United States Government and commercial 
customers with world-class space launch and processing infra-
structure that is necessary to support continued American 
leadership in space; 
(2) State and local government-owned or –operated space-
ports play a critical role in providing resiliency and redundancy
H. R. 302—210 
in the national launch infrastructure to support national secu-
rity and civil government capabilities, and should be recognized 
as a critical infrastructure in Federal strategy and planning; 
(3) continued State and local government investments at 
launch and reentry facilities should be encouraged and to the 
maximum extent practicable supported in Federal policies, 
planning 
and 
infrastructure 
investment 
considerations, 
including through Federal, State, and local partnerships; 
(4) Federal investments in space infrastructure should 
enable partnerships between Federal agencies and state and 
local spaceports to modernize and enable expanded 21st century 
space transportation infrastructure, especially multi-modal net-
works needed for robust space transportation that support 
national security, civil, and commercial launch customers; and 
(5) States and local governments that have made invest-
ments to build, maintain, operate, and improve capabilities 
for national security, civil, and commercial customers should 
be commended for their infrastructure contributions to launch 
and reentry sites, and encouraged through a variety of pro-
grams and policies to continue these investments in the national 
interest. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF SPACEPORTS.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF SPACEPORTS.—Title 51, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of subtitle 
V the following: 
‘‘CHAPTER 515—OFFICE OF SPACEPORTS 
‘‘§ 51501. Establishment of Office of Spaceports 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall identify, within the Office of Commercial Space 
Transportation, a centralized policy office to be known as the Office 
of Spaceports. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Spaceports shall— 
‘‘(1) support licensing activities for operation of launch and 
reentry sites; 
‘‘(2) develop policies that promote infrastructure improve-
ments at spaceports; 
‘‘(3) provide technical assistance and guidance to space-
ports; 
‘‘(4) promote United States spaceports within the Depart-
ment; and 
‘‘(5) strengthen the Nation’s competitiveness in commercial 
space transportation infrastructure and increase resilience for 
the Federal Government and commercial customers. 
‘‘(c) RECOGNITION.—In carrying out the functions assigned in 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall recognize the unique needs and 
distinctions of spaceports that host— 
‘‘(1) launches to or reentries from orbit; and 
‘‘(2) are involved in suborbital launch activities. 
‘‘(d) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Office of the Associate 
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation shall designate 
a Director of the Office of Spaceports. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section the term ‘spaceport’ means 
a launch or reentry site that is operated by an entity licensed 
by the Secretary of Transportation.’’.