FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012

Bill: 112-hr-658
Sponsor: Rep. Mica, John L. [R-FL-7]
Introduced: 2011-02-11 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advanced technology and technological innovations
Advisory bodies
Alternative and renewable resources
Aviation and airports
Business records
Congressional oversight
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Consumer affairs
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Department of Transportation
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Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
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Government Operations and Politics
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Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
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Life, casualty, property insurance
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Marshall Islands
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Materials
Members of Congress
Micronesia
Military facilities and property
Military personnel and dependents
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Motor fuels
Music
Noise pollution
Oceania
Palau
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Public contracts and procurement
Railroads
Solid waste and recycling
Space flight and exploration
Terrorism
Transportation employees
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security
User charges and fees
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Virginia
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2011-02-11
text: 
FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014 for: (1) airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning programs, (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air navigation facilities and equipment, (3) FAA operations, and (4) administrative expenses for certain airport programs.
 
Converts to permanent the pilot program for passenger facility charges (PFCs) at nonhub airports.
 
Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish a pilot program to authorize, at up to five airports, a PFC to finance the eligible cost of an intermodal ground access project.
 
Directs the Comptroller General to study an alternative means to collect PFCs without their inclusion in the price of an airline ticket.
 
Revises requirements for establishment and adjustment of user fees for FAA services. Directs the FAA Administrator to p rescribe certain registration, certification, and other specified fees.
 
Revises airport improvement program (AIP) requirements.
 
Allows a general aviation airport sponsor, without federal sanction, to enter into a through-the-fence agreement granting a person owning residential real property adjacent to the airport access to the airfield for the person's aircraft or an aircraft the person has authorized.
 
Repeals the prohibition against approval of any Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority application: (1) for an airport development project grant; or (2) to impose a PFC. 
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to appoint a Chief NextGen Officer to implement all Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) programs.
 
Directs the DOT Inspector General to review the award and oversight of FAA contracts to provide automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services for the national airspace system.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator, after an assessment of leases for critical FAA facility sites located near wind farms or areas suitable for their construction, and following a Comptroller General evaluation of the impact of wind farms on implementation of the NextGen System, to issue guidelines for the construction of such wind farms. 
 
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to monitor the noise impacts of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) develop a strategic runway safety plan, as well as a plan for the installation of systems to alert controllers or flight crew members of potential runway incursions; (2) study flight attendant fatigue; and (3) review off-airport, low-altitude aircraft weather observation technologies. 
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to improve the safety of flight crewmembers, medical personnel, and passengers onboard helicopters providing helicopter air ambulance services.
 
Prohibits flight crewmembers from using a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer while at a duty station on a flight while an aircraft is being operated.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to establish and implement a safety assessment system for foreign repair stations that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft.
 
Requires the Secretary to develop a plan for the safe integration of commercial unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system.
 
Establishes in the FAA an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate rulemaking proceedings regarding duty periods and flight time limitations for flight crew members.
 
Revises requirements and authorizes funding through FY2013 for the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Authorizes funding for FY2014 and each fiscal year thereafter for EAS in Alaska and Hawaii. Repeals the EAS Local Participation Program. Terminates the EAS program (except in Alaska and Hawaii) on October 1, 2013.
 
Increases from 24 to 34 the number of slots exempt from specified requirements and prohibitions concerning operation of an aircraft nonstop between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (Perimeter Rule limit). 
 
Requires certain air carriers and airport operators to submit for the Secretary's approval emergency contingency plans for passenger service during grounded aircraft flight delays.
 
Directs the Secretary to notify the public of the DOT's: (1) consumer complaints hotline telephone number; and (2) Aviation Consumer Protection Division website.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress urging all U.S. commercial air carriers to reduce air fares and eliminate certain fees or charges for members of the Armed Forces.
 
Directs the DOT Inspector General to review air carrier flight delays, cancellations, and associated causes since 2000.
 
Directs the Secretary to develop an expedited and coordinated environmental review process for NextGen environmental efficiency projects.
 
Prohibits operating certain aircraft weighing 75,000 pounds or less that do not comply with stage 3 noise levels. 
 
Directs the Secretary to establish an aircraft departure queue management pilot program.
 
Authorizes the FAA Administrator to implement practices for the incorporation of energy-efficient measures in the construction and renovation of FAA air traffic control facilities.
 
Revises FAA personnel management system requirements with respect to the mediation, alternative resolution, and binding arbitration of disputes between the FAA Administrator and FAA employees about implementation of proposed changes to the system.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to assess: (1) FAA's technical training strategy and improvement plan for airway transportation systems specialists, (2) training programs for FAA air traffic controllers, and (3) conditions of FAA facilities.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to implement a certain staffing model for FAA aviation safety inspectors.
 
Extends the Secretary's authority to provide insurance and reinsurance against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of a domestic or foreign aircraft.
 
Authorizes the FAA Administrator to access the criminal history records or databases systems of specified federal law enforcement agencies.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to provide for the realignment of FAA services and facilities to facilitate NextGen air traffic control modernization.
 
 Establishes the Aviation Facilities and Services Board.
 
Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of increases in aviation fuel prices on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and the aviation industry.
 
Amends the Railway Labor Act to grant the DOT Inspector General the authority to review National Mediation Board operations to determine compliance with federal laws, rules, and regulations.
 
Renames space flight participants in commercial space transportation space flight passengers.

action_date: 2011-03-10
text: 
FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 - 
Title I: Authorizations - Subtitle A: Funding of FAA Programs - 
(Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014 for: (1) airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning programs, (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air navigation facilities and equipment, (3) FAA operations, and (4) administrative expenses for certain airport programs. Authorizes additional appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury for aviation programs through FY2014.
 
 
Prohibits the use of funds to carry out the Airport Cooperative Research Program or the Airports Technology Research Program.
 
(Sec. 103) Authorizes expenditures for FY2011-FY2014 for the Air Traffic Control Collegiate Training Initiative, completion of the 3 dimensional mapping of Alaska's main aviation corridors, and carrying out the Aviation Safety Reporting System.
 
Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), in cases where appropriations are insufficient to meet FAA operations, to reduce nonsafety-related FAA activity expenses to a level to meet such appropriations.
 
(Sec. 105) Requires the FAA Administrator to include in the Airway Capital Investment Plan a list of capital projects that are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
 

Subtitle B: Passenger Facility Charges - 
(Sec. 111) Converts to permanent the pilot program for passenger facility charges (PFCs) at nonhub airports.
 
(Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to authorize, at up to five airports, a PFC to finance the eligible cost of an intermodal ground access project.
 
(Sec. 113) Directs the Comptroller General to study an alternative means to collect PFCs without their inclusion in the price of an airline ticket.
 
(Sec. 114) Expresses the sense of Congress that airports should consider the use of qualifications-based selection in carrying out capital improvement projects funded using PFCs.
 

Subtitle C: Fees for FAA Services - 
(Sec. 121) Revises requirements for establishment and adjustment of user overflight fees for FAA services.
 
(Sec. 122) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe certain registration, certification, and other specified fees.
 

Subtitle D: Airport Improvement Program Modifications - 
(Sec. 131) Revises airport improvement program (AIP) requirements. Directs the Secretary to encourage airport sponsors and state and local officials, in the development of their airport master plans, to consider as additional goals passenger convenience, airport ground access, and access to airport facilities.
 
(Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to encourage the development of aerotropolis transportation systems (i.e., planned and coordinated multimodal freight and passenger transportation networks) that provide efficient, sustainable, and intermodal connectivity to a defined region of economic significance centered around a major airport.
 
(Sec. 133) Extends the meaning of &quot;airport development,&quot; for AIP project grant purposes, to: (1) construction of mobile refueler parking within a fuel farm at a nonprimary airport meeting specified requirements; (2) terminal development; and (3) acquisition and installation of facilities and equipment to provide air conditioning, heating, or electric power from terminal-based, nonexclusive use facilities to aircraft parked at a public use airport.
 
(Sec. 134) Requires an airport's master plan to address issues relating to solid waste recycling at the airport as a condition to the approval of an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 135) Repeals the requirements that competition plans include patterns of air service and airfare levels.
 
(Sec. 136) Revises requirements for written assurances on AIPs for acquiring land for a noise compatibility purpose to allow for reinvestment in another specified kind of AIP of proceeds from disposition of the land proportional to the government's share of the cost of acquiring it.
 
Makes permanent the requirement that large or medium hub airports file competitive access reports with the Secretary before receiving approval for an AIP grant.
 
 
 (Sec. 137) Allows a general aviation airport sponsor, without federal sanction, to enter into a through-the-fence agreement granting a person owning residential real property adjacent to the airport access to the airfield for the person's aircraft or an aircraft the person has authorized.
 
(Sec. 138) Prescribes special rules for the federal share of allowable costs for AIP projects for: (1) transition from a small hub to medium hub airport status (90% share), and (2) economically depressed communities (95% share).
 
(Sec. 139) Revises or adds new justifications for allowable AIP project costs, including costs incurred: (1) before execution of the grant agreement due to climactic conditions affecting the construction season, or (2) on a measure to improve the efficiency of an airport building.
 
Prescribes requirements for allowing the costs of relocating or replacing an airport-owned facility.
 
 
(Sec. 140) Adds Afghanistan-Iraq war and Persian Gulf veterans to veterans preference requirements for contracts involving labor on AIP projects. Requires that preference as well be given to the use of small business concerns owned and controlled by disabled veterans.
 
 
(Sec. 141) Directs the Secretary to establish a mandatory training program to provide streamlined training for airport owners and operators on how to certify a small business airport concession as one owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals under the airport disadvantaged business program.
 
(Sec. 142) Authorizes the Secretary to apportion to an airport sponsor in a fiscal year an amount equal to the minimum amount apportioned to that sponsor in the previous fiscal year if: (1) the airport received scheduled or unscheduled air service from a large certificated air carrier, and (2) the airport had more than 10,000 passenger boardings in the preceding calendar year used to calculate the apportionment.
 
Prescribes a special rule for FY2011-FY2012. Allows an airport sponsor apportionment in FY2011 or FY2012 equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in FY2009 for an airport: (1) that had more than 10,000 passenger boardings and scheduled passenger aircraft service in calendar year 2007; but (2) in either calendar years 2009 or 2010, or both years, the number of passenger boardings at the airport decreased to below 10,000 per year. 
 
(Sec. 143) Decreases from $3.2 billion to $3 billion a threshold trigger used for determining the apportionment of airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning funds to certain airports.
 
(Sec. 144) Extends through FY2014 the eligibility of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau for AIP grants. 
 
 
(Sec. 145) Makes current or former military airports that preserve or enhance minimum airfield infrastructure facilities to support emergency diversionary operations for transoceanic flights eligible for certain discretionary grant funding used to develop current or former such airports.
 
(Sec. 146) Prescribes a special rule that, if the Secretary determines that a contract air traffic control tower already operating under the low activity (Visual Flight Rules) Level I contract program has a benefit-to-cost ratio of less than 1.0, the airport sponsor or state or local government with jurisdiction over the airport shall not be required to pay the portion of the costs that exceeds the benefit for a period of 18 months.
 
Establishes funding levels for FY2011-FY2014 for the air traffic control contract tower program.
 
Increases the federal share of the cost of construction of a nonapproach control tower under the program.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish uniform standards and requirements for safety assessments of air traffic control towers that receive funding under such program.
 
(Sec. 147) Applies requirements for resolution of airport fee disputes to foreign air carriers (under current law, only to domestic air carriers).
 
(Sec. 148) Revises exceptions to the prohibition against use of local taxes on aviation fuel or the revenues generated by an airport for any purpose (revenue diversion) other than the capital or operating costs of the airport, the local airport system, or any other local facility owned or operated by the airport owner or operator that is directly and substantially related to the air transportation of passengers or property.
 
Excepts from such prohibition any proceeds from the sale of a privately owned airport to a public sponsor that meets specified criteria, including repayment by the private owner to the Secretary of the remaining unamortized portion of any AIP grant to that airport.
 
(Sec. 149) Repeals the prohibition against approval of any Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority application: (1) for an airport development project grant; or (2) to impose a PFC. 
 
(Sec. 150) Amends Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to extend through FY2014 the eligibility of Midway Island Airport for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 151) Limits the amount of discretionary funds the Secretary may distribute for terminal development projects at nonhub or small hub airports to $20 million.
 
Revises reporting requirements of the Secretary's annual AIP report to Congress, moving its deadline from April 1 to June 1.
 
(Sec. 152) Extends through FY2014 the authority for grants to state and local governments for compatible land use planning and projects.
 
(Sec. 153) Directs the FAA Administrator, to the extent practicable, to schedule the review as early as possible of construction projects which cannot be carried out in a state before May 1 because of weather during a typical calendar year.
 
(Sec. 154) Directs the Secretary to evaluate the formulation of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.
 
(Sec. 155) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, subject to specified conditions, to carry out a pilot program for the transfer of ownership, operating, and maintenance responsibilities for terminal area air navigation equipment to airport sponsors.
 
(Sec. 156) Revises certain requirements for approval of applications for exemption from the revenue diversion prohibition under the airport privatization pilot program. Increases from 5 to 10 the number of airport exemption applications the Secretary may approve.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to exempt the selling airport sponsor from the revenue diversion prohibition after the Secretary has consulted: (1) each air carrier serving a primary airport, or (2) at least 65% of the owners of aircraft based at a nonprimary airport.
 
Repeals certain terms and conditions for approval of an exemption which require that: (1) the airport fee imposed on an air carrier will not increase more than inflation, (2) the percentage increase in fees imposed on general aviation aircraft at the airport will not exceed the percentage increase in fees imposed on air carriers at the airport, and (3) collective bargaining agreements covering airport employees will not be abrogated by the sale or lease of the airport.
 
Prohibits any fee imposed by an airport on a domestic or foreign air carrier from including any portion for a return on investment or recovery of principal with respect to consideration paid to a public agency for the lease or sale of the airport unless the air carriers approve.
 
Repeals requirements that: (1) at least one of the exempted airports be a general aviation airport, and (2) no more than one large hub airport be exempted.
 

Title II: NextGen Air Transportation System and Air Traffic Control Modernization - 
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to give priority to 17 NextGen activities, including demonstrations and infrastructure, trajectory-based operations, and reduced weather impact.
 
(Sec. 203) Authorizes a federal agency head to transfer non-administrative supplies, personnel, services, and equipment to, or receive them from, the FAA, with or without reimbursement (currently, only without reimbursement).
 
(Sec. 204) Requires the FAA Administrator to appoint a Chief NextGen Officer to implement all Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) programs.
 
(Sec. 205) Extends the meaning of air navigation facility to specify: (1) runway lighting and airport surface visual and other navigation aids; (2) apparatus, equipment, software, or service for distributing aeronautical and meteorological information to air traffic control facilities or aircraft; (3) communication, navigation, or surveillance equipment for air-to-ground or air-to-air applications; and (4) buildings, equipment, and systems dedicated to the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 206) Repeals the restriction on the FAA's authority to use noncompetitive procurement of goods and services that allows such procurement only in the kind of situation when the property or services are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy FAA needs.
 
(Sec. 207) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to bid competitively to provide air traffic services to aviation authorities abroad, both public and private, if it promotes aviation safety and efficiency (currently, only safety). Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept payments for such services in arrears (rather than in advance).
 
 (Sec. 208) Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to make the director of the NextGen Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) the Associate Administrator for NextGen Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination within the FAA, to be appointed by the FAA Administrator.
 
Specifies additional JPDO responsibilities.
 
Requires NextGen partner federal agencies to designate senior officials to carry out NextGen activities at their respective agencies.
 
Requires the JPDO to coordinate NextGen activities with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
 
Requires the integrated NextGen plan to include a multiagency integrated work plan containing certain elements, including an outline of the activities of partner federal agencies required to achieve the end-state architecture.
 
(Sec. 209) Requires the Next Generation Air Transportation Senior Policy Committee to meet at least twice each year. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on progress made by NextGen partner federal agencies in implementing the NextGen integrated work plan. 
 
 
(Sec. 210) Grants the FAA Administrator authority to retain as part of its appropriation any proceeds from the disposal of FAA property.
 
(Sec. 211) Directs the DOT Inspector General to review the award and oversight of FAA contracts to provide automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services for the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 212) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange with the National Research Council to review and report to Congress on the enterprise architecture for the NextGen.
 
(Sec. 213) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) report on navigation performance and area navigation operations and procedures required to maximize the efficiency and capacity of NextGen commercial operations at 35 operational evolution partnership (OEP) airports, (2) establish a plan and schedule for implementing such procedures, and (3) submit to Congress a plan for deploying a nationwide data communications system.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to outline clearly in the NextGen Implementation Plan document the work being performed under the plan to determine: (1) whether utilization of ADS-B, required navigation performance (RNP), and other technologies will display the position of aircraft more accurately and frequently in order to enable a more efficient use of existing airspace and result in reduced consumption of aviation fuel and aircraft engine emissions; and (2) the feasibility of reducing aircraft separation standards in a safe manner as a result of implementing such technologies. Requires the Administrator to reduce such standards, if it is determined that they can be reduced safely, and include in the NextGen Implementation Plan a timetable for implementation of such reduced standards.
 
(Sec. 214) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish, track, and report to Congress on specified National Airspace System performance metrics.
 
(Sec. 215) Requires the FAA Administrator to develop plans to accelerate the process for certification of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 216) Directs the Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization to: (1) evaluate the Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X program for its potential contribution to implementation of the NextGen initiative, (2) evaluate airport surveillance technologies and associated collaborative surface management software for potential contributions to implementation of NextGen surface management, and (3) accelerate implementation of the program.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) consider options for expediting the certification of Ground-Based Augmentation System technology, and (2) develop a plan to utilize such a system at the 35 OEP airports.
 
(Sec. 217) Requires the FAA Administrator to include certain stakeholders to serve in a collaborative capacity in the planning and development of air traffic control modernization projects, including NextGen.
 
(Sec. 218) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) survey and assess leases for critical FAA facility sites; (2) list leases of FAA facilities located in or near areas suitable for the construction and operation of wind farms; and (3) report survey results, including recommendations, to Congress and the Comptroller General.
 
Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on: (1) the current and future impact of wind farms on the National Airspace System, and the extent to which DOD and the FAA have guidance, processes, and procedures in place to evaluate that impact on implementation of the NextGen air traffic control system; and (2) potential mitigation strategies, if necessary, to ensure that wind farms do not have an adverse impact on the implementation of the NextGen air traffic control system, including the installation of associated navigational aides.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to publish guidelines for the construction and operation of wind farms to be located near critical FAA facilities.
 
(Sec. 219) Requires the FAA Administrator, in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Philadelphia International Airport, to monitor the noise impacts of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.
 

Title III: Safety - Subtitle A: General Provisions - 
(Sec. 301) Authorizes a person substantially affected (denied an airman certificate) by an order of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), or the FAA Administrator when an NTSB order will have a significant adverse impact on FAA issuance or renewal of airman certificates, to seek judicial review in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. 
 
(Sec. 302) Prescribes a process under which the FAA may release, without the consent of the aircraft's owner of record, engineering data relating to abandoned aircraft type certificates and supplemental aircraft type certificates for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to a person seeking to maintain the airworthiness of or develop product improvements to such aircraft or equipment.
 
(Sec. 303) Revises requirements for FAA issuance of a design organization certificate to a design organization (as under current law), a production organization, or a design and production organization which authorizes the organization to certify compliance of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances with the pertinent requirements and minimum standards. Calls an organization holding such a certificate a certified design and production organization (CDPO). 
 
(Sec. 304) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the FAA aircraft certification and approval process, and (2) make recommendations to improve and streamline it.
 
(Sec. 305) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an advisory panel to: (1) review the October 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on certification and approval processes (GAO-11-14) and develop related recommendations, (2) determine the causes of inconsistent interpretation of regulations by the FAA Flight Standards Service and Aircraft Certification Service, and (3) develop recommendations to improve the consistency of interpreting such regulations.
 
(Sec. 306) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop: (1) a strategic runway safety plan; (2) a process for tracking and investigating operational errors, losses of standard separation, and runway incursions; and (3) report a plan for installing systems to alert controllers or flight crew members of potential runway incursions. 
 
(Sec. 307) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) issue improved pilot licenses that are tamper-resistant, include a photograph, and are capable of accommodating a digital photograph, a biometric identifier, or other unique identifier; and (2) develop methods to determine whether a license has been tampered with, altered, or counterfeited.
 
(Sec. 308) Directs the FAA Administrator, acting through the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, to study flight attendant fatigue.
 
(Sec. 309) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Flight Standards Evaluation Program to: (1) include periodic and random reviews as part of FAA oversight of air carriers; and (2) prohibit an individual from participating in the review of an office with responsibility for an air carrier if, for five years preceding such review, the individual had responsibility for inspecting that carrier's operations.
 
(Sec. 310) Directs the Comptroller General to study the effectiveness of FAA oversight activities to prevent or mitigate the effects of dense, continuous smoke in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft.
 
(Sec. 311) Requires part 135 certificate holders providing helicopter air ambulance services to comply with certain weather minimum and flight and duty time regulations whenever medical personnel are onboard the aircraft. Exempts a certificate holder who is training under instrument flight rules from the weather reporting requirement until it is determined that accurate ground-based weather measuring and reporting systems are available. 
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) conduct a rulemaking proceeding to improve the safety of flight crewmembers, medical personnel, and passengers onboard helicopters providing helicopter air ambulance services; and (2) require a part 135 certificate holder providing such services to establish a flight risk evaluation program, have an operational control center if 10 or more helicopters are used, and report certain data.
 
(Sec. 312) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review off-airport, low-altitude aircraft weather observation technologies; and (2) study the feasibility of requiring air ambulance helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles during nighttime operations.
 
 (Sec. 314) Makes it unlawful for a flight crewmember of an aircraft used to provide air transportation to use a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer while at his or her duty station on the aircraft's flight deck while the aircraft is being operated, except for operational, emergency safety-related, or employment-related communications, or another purpose directly related to operation of the aircraft. Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate a rulemaking for implementing regulations.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review relevant air carrier data, (2) identify common sources of distraction for flight crewmembers on the flight deck, and (3) determine the safety impacts of such distractions.
 
(Sec. 315) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue regulations requiring covered maintenance work on passenger aircraft to be performed by certain authorized individuals employed by: (1) a part 121 (domestic) air carrier; (2) a part 145 repair station or a person holding a valid Transport Canada Civil Aviation Maintenance Engineer license; or (3) a person providing contract maintenance workers, services, or maintenance functions to a part 145 repair station or part 121 air carrier and meeting related requirements.
 
 (Sec. 316) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish and implement a safety assessment system for foreign part 145 repair stations that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft; and (2) require such stations to be frequently inspected as warranted.
 
Requires the safety assessment system also to: (1) accept consideration of inspection results and findings submitted by foreign civil aviation authorities operating under a maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreement with the United States, and (2) require all maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreements with the United States to provide an opportunity for the FAA to conduct independent inspections of covered part 145 repair stations when safety concerns warrant them.
 
Directs the Secretaries of State and of Transportation jointly to request foreign countries belonging to the International Civil Aviation Organization to establish standards for alcohol and controlled substances testing of persons who perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions on commercial air carrier aircraft.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to promulgate a proposed rule to require alcohol and controlled substances testing of foreign part 145 repair station employees responsible for safety-sensitive maintenance functions on part 121 air carrier aircraft.
 
(Sec. 317) Terminates, one year after the enactment of this Act, the requirement for a biannual line check evaluation of airline pilots over age 60, unless the Secretary certifies such requirement is necessary to ensure safety.
 

Subtitle B: Unmanned Aircraft Systems - 
(Sec. 322) Requires the Secretary to develop a plan for the safe integration of commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system by September 30, 2015.
 
(Sec. 323) Requires the Secretary to determine if certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of the plan.
 
(Sec. 324) Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance regarding the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems to expedite the issuance of a certificate of authorization process, and for other specified reasons; and (2) implement, by December 31, 2015, operational and certification standards for operation of such systems.
 
(Sec. 325) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a program to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system at four test ranges meeting specified criteria.
 

Subtitle C: Safety and Protections - 
(Sec. 331) Prohibits any person holding an air carrier operating certificate from knowingly employing, or contracting with, an individual to act as an agent or representative of the certificate holder in any matter before the FAA if, in the preceding two-year period, the individual: (1) served as, or was responsible for oversight of, a FAA flight standards inspector; and (2) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee inspection of, the operations of the certificate holder.
 
(Sec. 332) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the monthly review of the FAA air transportation oversight system database by regional teams of FAA employees, including at least one employee on each team representing aviation safety inspectors.
 
(Sec. 333) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program to require inspectors to: (1) verify that air carriers implement comprehensive solutions to correct the underlying causes of the violations they have voluntarily disclosed; and (2) confirm, before approving a final report of a disclosed violation, that a violation with the same root causes has not previously been discovered by an inspector or self-disclosed by the air carrier.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the review and approval of voluntary self-disclosures received from air carriers.
 
Requires the DOT Inspector General to study the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program.
 
(Sec. 334) Establishes in the FAA an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office, which shall receive and assess complaints and information relating to possible violations of aviation safety laws and regulations.
 
 
(Sec. 335) Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate rulemaking proceedings regarding duty periods and flight time limitations for flight crew members.
 

Title IV: Air Service Improvements - 

Subtitle A: Essential Air Service - 
(Sec. 401) Revises requirements for the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Requires the Secretary, in selecting an air carrier to provide EAS for compensation to an eligible community, to consider whether an air carrier has a marketing plan.
 
(Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify communities before their termination of eligibility for EAS, and (2) establish procedures by which each community notified of an impending loss of subsidy may work directly with an air carrier to ensure that the carrier is able to submit a proposal to the Secretary for EAS to such community for an amount of compensation not exceeding the subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 403) Revises certain guidelines for compensation for continued EAS to small and rural communities. Requires such guidelines to permit the Secretary to: (1) incorporate financial incentives in EAS contracts based on specified performance goals, and (2) execute long-term EAS contracts when in the public interest to do so.
 
Requires the Secretary to issue revised guidelines governing the rate of compensation paid to an air carrier for EAS.
 
(Sec. 404) Authorizes funding: (1) through FY2013 for the EAS program, and (2) for FY2014 and each succeeding fiscal year for EAS in Alaska and Hawaii.
 
Authorizes additional funding out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY2011-FY2013 for the EAS program.
 
(Sec. 405) Revises certain priorities in the funding of communities under the small community air service development (SCASD) program to give funding priority to multiple communities that cooperate to submit a regional or multistate application to improve air service under the program. Extends the Secretary's authority to make agreements to provide SCASD program assistance.
 
(Sec. 406) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) increase EAS subsidies to air carriers on an expedited basis paid to compensate for increased aviation fuel costs; and (2) waive, on a case-by-case basis, the $200 per passenger subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 407) Repeals the requirement for a pilot EAS Local Participation Program. 
 
(Sec. 408) Terminates the EAS program (except in Alaska and Hawaii) on October 1, 2013.
 

Subtitle B: Passenger Air Service Improvements - 
(Sec. 421) Prohibits an individual from smoking in an aircraft: (1) in scheduled interstate, intrastate, or foreign air passenger transportation; and (2) in nonscheduled intrastate, interstate, or foreign commercial air passenger transportation, if a flight attendant is a required crewmember onboard the aircraft.
 
(Sec. 422) Requires the Secretary to collect, and publish on the DOT website, data regarding canceled and diverted flights of air carriers.
 
 
(Sec. 423) Increases from 24 to 34 the number of slots exempt from specified requirements and prohibitions concerning operation of an aircraft nonstop between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (Perimeter Rule limit). 
 
Increases from three to five the maximum number by which operations at the airport in any one-hour period may be increased under exemptions from the Perimeter Rule and other limits.
 
Requires the Secretary to reduce the hourly air carrier slot quota for such airport by a total of 10 slots that are available for allocation.
 
Declares that operations conducted by new entrant air carriers and limited incumbent air carriers shall be afforded a scheduling priority over operations conducted by other air carriers granted exemptions, with the highest scheduling priority to be afforded to beyond-perimeter operations conducted by new entrant air carriers and limited incumbent air carriers.
 
(Sec. 424) Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry a musical instrument on a passenger aircraft if it can be stowed in accordance with FAA requirements for carry-on baggage or cargo. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.
 
(Sec. 425) Requires certain air carriers and airport operators to submit for the Secretary's approval emergency contingency plans for: (1) how food, potable water, restroom facilities, and access to medical treatment will be provided to passengers who are grounded on aircraft for extended periods without access to the terminal; (2) allowed deplanement of passengers following excessive tarmac delays; (3) the sharing of facilities and gates during an airport emergency; and (4) the provision of a sterile area following excessive tarmac delays for passengers who have not yet cleared U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to establish a consumer complaints toll-free hotline telephone number for use by air passengers; and (2) certain air carriers to include on their websites, and prominently on displayed signs at airport ticket counters and any electronic ticket purchase confirmation issued to a passenger, such hotline number and other air carrier information, including contact information for the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the DOT for service complaints.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to make available to the public a website listing countries that may require an air carrier or foreign air carrier to treat an aircraft passenger cabin with insecticides prior to a flight to the country or to apply an aerosol insecticide when the cabin is occupied with passengers; and (2) an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent selling a ticket in the United States for foreign air transportation to a country on the list to refer a flight ticket purchaser to the website for additional information. 
 
(Sec. 426) Expresses the sense of Congress urging all U.S. commercial air carriers to reduce air fares and eliminate certain fees or charges for members of the Armed Forces who are traveling on leave or liberty at their own expense.
 
(Sec. 427) Requires the Inspector General of DOT to review air carrier flight delays, cancellations, and associated causes to update its 2000 report entitled &quot;Audit of Air Carrier Flight Delays and Cancellations.&quot;
 
 
(Sec. 428) Directs the Secretary evaluate the amount provided for denied boarding compensation and issue a regulation to adjust it as necessary.
 
(Sec. 429) Directs the Comptroller General to study checked baggage delivery delays and the options and impact of establishing minimum standards to compensate a passenger for an unreasonable delivery delay.
 
(Sec. 430) Directs the FAA Administrator to convene a meeting of air carriers to reduce, on a voluntary basis, the number of their aircraft operations during any hour at an airport so as not to exceed the maximum departure and arrival rate if: (1) such operations exceed the hourly maximum departure and arrival rate established by the FAA, and (2) such excess operations are likely to have a significant adverse effect on the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace.
 
(Sec. 431) Authorizes the Secretary to investigate consumer complaints regarding: (1) flight cancellations; (2) overbooking compliance; (3) lost, damaged, or delayed baggage; (4) fares; (5) incorrect or incomplete fare information; (6) frequent flyer mile rights; and (7) deceptive or misleading advertising. 
 
(Sec. 432) Directs the FAA Administrator to study: (1) commuter and on demand aircraft operators, and (2) the impact of cell phone use in foreign aircraft during flight.
 

Title V: Environmental Streamlining - 
(Sec. 501) Exempts from air tour management program requirements a national park that has 50 or fewer commercial air tour flights a year, unless the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) determines that an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement is necessary to protect park resources and values or park visitor use and enjoyment.
 
Authorizes the NPS Director and the FAA Administrator, as an alternative to an air tour management plan, to enter into a voluntary agreement with a commercial air tour operator to manage commercial air tour operations over a national park.
 
(Sec. 502) Changes the requirement that the Secretary prescribe regulations for the AIP State Block Grant Program to a requirement that the Secretary issue guidance instead.
 
Requires the Secretary, in selecting a state for an AIP block grant, to find that the state has agreed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, state and local environmental policy acts, executive orders, agency regulations and guidance, and other federal environmental requirements.
 
Requires federal agencies (other than the FAA) that issue approvals, licenses, or permits to states for projects under the AIP State Block Grant Program to: (1) coordinate and consult with the state, and (2) use adequate state environmental review analyses.
 
(Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to develop an expedited and coordinated environmental review process for a NextGen environmental efficiency project at an Operational Evolution Partnership airport or any congested airport.
 
(Sec. 504) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept funds from an airport sponsor to hire additional staff or obtain the services of consultants to conduct: (1) special environmental studies related to an airport project; (2) special studies or reviews to support approved noise compatibility measures; (3) special studies or reviews to support environmental mitigation in an FAA record of decision or finding of no significant FAA impact; and (4) the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with new or amended flight procedures, such as required navigation performance procedures and area navigation procedures.
 
(Sec. 505) Includes among the measures an operator may take under a noise compatibility program comprehensive land use planning, done jointly with neighboring local jurisdictions undertaking community redevelopment in an area in which the operator has acquired land or other property interests, in order to encourage and enhance redevelopment opportunities that reflect zoning and uses that will prevent the introduction of additional incompatible uses and enhance redevelopment potential.
 
(Sec. 506) Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to an airport operator to assist in completing environmental review and assessment activities for proposals to implement flight procedures at an airport that has been approved as part of an airport noise compatibility program.
 
(Sec. 507) Sets forth requirements with respect to the determination of the fair market value of residential properties acquired for soundproofing purposes under an airport development project.
 
(Sec. 508) Prohibits, after December 31, 2014, the operation of any civil subsonic turbojet of 75,000 pounds or less operating out of airports in the continental United States unless the aircraft complies with stage three noise levels, with exceptions for specified temporary operations.
 
(Sec. 509) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program at up to five public-use airports to design, develop, and test new air traffic flow management technology that will allow air traffic controllers to better manage the flow of aircraft on the ground and reduce ground holds and idling times for aircraft. Limits the amount that may be expended at any single public-use airport to $2.5 million. 
 
(Sec. 510) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to implement practices for the incorporation of energy-efficient measures in the construction and renovation of FAA air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 511) Expresses the sense of Congress that the European Union (EU) should work with other contracting states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop a consensual approach to addressing aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through the ICAO.
 
(Sec. 512) Requires an owner or operator of a large hub airport to publish on its website a telephone number to receive aviation noise complaints related to the airport.
 
 

Title VI: FAA Employees and Organization
 - (Sec. 601) Revises requirements for mediation in negotiations over changes to the FAA personnel management system between the FAA Administrator and the exclusive bargaining representatives of FAA employees.
 
 
Authorizes the Administrator and employee bargaining representative by mutual agreement to adopt other procedures for the resolution of negotiation disputes or impasses as an alternative to using the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
 
Requires the negotiating parties, if the services of the FMCS do not lead to an agreement, to submit their controversy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel for binding arbitration. (Currently, the services of the FMCS shall be used and, if their services do not lead to an agreement, the Administrator's proposed change to the personnel management system shall not take effect until 60 days have elapsed after the Administrator has transmitted them to Congress, along with employee objections to the changes, and the reasons for such objections.)
 
(Sec. 602) Allows senior FAA executives and employees to participate in the Presidential Rank Award Program.
 
(Sec. 603) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the adequacy of the FAA technical training strategy and improvement plan for airway transportation systems specialists, and (2) make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study FAA assumptions and methods used to determine FAA systems specialist staffing needs.
 
(Sec. 604) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) implement by October 1, 2011, the staffing model developed by NAS for aviation safety inspectors; and (2) arrange with NAS to study the air traffic controller standards used by the FAA to estimate staffing needs for FAA air traffic controllers.
 
(Sec. 606) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to appoint air traffic control specialist candidates who have received control tower operator certification and satisfied all other applicable qualifications for placement in airport traffic control facilities. Requires the Administrator to increase the number of appointments if it is determined that certified air traffic control specialists are more successful in carrying out their duties than those who are uncertified.
 
(Sec. 607) Directs the FAA Administrator to assess the adequacy of training programs for air traffic controllers.
 
(Sec. 608) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) training options for graduates of the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) program, and (2) conditions of a sampling of FAA facilities.
 
(Sec. 610) Directs the FAA Administrator to study frontline manager staffing requirements in air traffic control facilities.
 

Title VII: Aviation Insurance - 
(Sec. 701) Extends through FY2013, and authorizes extension through December 31, 2013, of, the termination dates for existing policies of insurance and reinsurance against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of a domestic or foreign aircraft. 
 
Establishes a successor aviation insurance program. Requires, after December 31, 2021, that aviation insurance be provided in an airline industry sponsored risk retention or other risk-sharing arrangement. Requires transfer to such a successor program of any premiums collected under the current program. 
 
(Sec. 702) Extends through December 31, 2013, the authority to certify that an air carrier is a victim of an act of terrorism and is liable for damages only as specified (thus extends certain limits on the third-party liability of air carriers).
 
 (Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to use a claims adjuster independent of the underwriting agent to adjust aviation insurance claims.
 

Title VIII: Miscellaneous - 
(Sec. 801) Exempts from Privacy Act requirements regarding government records on individuals any FAA disclosures to any federal law enforcement, intelligence, protective service, immigration, or national security official in order to assist the official receiving the information in the performance of official duties.
 
(Sec. 802) Permits the FAA to have direct access to criminal justice information of the Department of Justice or of a state, but only to carry out FAA civil and administrative responsibilities to protect the safety and security of the national airspace system or to support the missions of the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other law enforcement agencies. Prohibits the FAA Administrator from using direct access to conduct criminal investigations.
 
(Sec. 803) Applies certain civil penalties to violations of specified alcohol and controlled substance testing requirements.
 
(Sec. 804) Directs the FAA Administrator to realign and consolidate FAA services and facilities, according to recommendations of the Aviation Facilities and Services Board, in order to facilitate NextGen air traffic control modernization.
 
 Establishes the Aviation Facilities and Services Board.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014.
 
(Sec. 805) Directs the FAA Administrator to assess the feasibility of developing a physical means, or combination of physical and procedural means, to prohibit unauthorized access to flight decks of all-cargo aircraft.
 
 
(Sec. 806) Directs the FAA Administrator to report biennially to Congress on the costs savings that would result from eliminating or consolidating any required FAA reports to Congress found to be obsolete or redundant. 
 
Prohibits the FAA from publishing any required FAA report in printed format, unless doing so is essential to the FAA mission. Requires the FAA to publish such reports in electronic form on its website, unless publication would violate the Privacy Act or have an adverse impact on aviation safety or security.
 
(Sec. 807) Prohibits the Secretary from using funds to name, rename, designate, or redesignate any project or program under this Act for a serving Member of Congress, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator.
 
(Sec. 808) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of increases in aviation fuel prices on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and the aviation industry in general.
 
(Sec. 809) Directs the FAA Administrator to study wind turbine lighting systems.
 
(Sec. 810) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the existing airline and intercity passenger rail code sharing arrangements; and (2) the feasibility, costs to taxpayers and other parties, and benefits of increasing intermodal connectivity of airline and intercity passenger rail facilities and systems to improve passenger travel. 
 
(Sec. 811) Directs the FAA Administrator to submit to Congress a plan outlining changes to the D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area that will decrease operational impacts and improve general aviation access to National Capital Region airports.
 
(Sec. 812) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review each FAA program and office (including the Air Traffic Organization) to identify duplicative positions, programs, roles, or offices as well as wasteful practices and inefficient policies; and (2) consolidate, phase-out, eliminate, or streamline anything duplicative, wasteful, redundant, obsolete, or ineffectual.
 
(Sec. 813) Exempts the transportation within Alaska of cylinders of compressed oxygen or other oxidizing gases aboard aircraft from compliance with Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration standards requiring that oxidizing gases aboard aircraft be enclosed in flame resistant outer packaging, without regard to their end use. Limits the application of such exemption to situations in which transportation of the cylinders by ground or vessel is unavailable and transportation by aircraft is the only practical means of transporting them to their destination.
 

Title IX: National Mediation Board - 
(Sec. 901) Amends the Railway Labor Act to grant the DOT Inspector General the authority to review National Mediation Board (NMB) operations to determine compliance with federal laws, rules, and regulations.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014.
 
(Sec. 902) Requires the Comptroller General to audit NMB programs and expenditures.
 
(Sec. 903) Repeals a specified NMB rule relating to representation election procedures.
 

Title X: Commercial Space Transportation - 
(Sec. 1001) Renames space flight participants in commercial space transportation space flight passengers.

action_date: 2011-04-01
text: 
FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 - 
Title I: Authorizations - Subtitle A: Funding of FAA Programs
 - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014 for: (1) airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning programs, (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air navigation facilities and equipment, (3) FAA operations, and (4) administrative expenses for certain airport programs. Authorizes additional appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury for aviation programs through FY2014.
 
Prohibits the use of funds to carry out the Airport Cooperative Research Program or the Airports Technology Research Program.
 
(Sec. 103) Authorizes expenditures for FY2011-FY2014 for the Air Traffic Control Collegiate Training Initiative, completion of the 3 dimensional mapping of Alaska's main aviation corridors, and carrying out the Aviation Safety Reporting System.
 
Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), in cases where appropriations are insufficient to meet FAA operations, to reduce nonsafety-related FAA activity expenses to a level to meet such appropriations.
 
(Sec. 105) Requires the FAA Administrator to include in the Airway Capital Investment Plan a list of capital projects that are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
 

Subtitle B: Passenger Facility Charges
 - (Sec. 111) Converts to permanent the pilot program for passenger facility charges (PFCs) at nonhub airports.
 
(Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to authorize, at up to five airports, a PFC to finance the eligible cost of an intermodal ground access project.
 
(Sec. 113) Directs the Comptroller General to study an alternative means to collect PFCs without their inclusion in the price of an airline ticket.
 
(Sec. 114) Expresses the sense of Congress that airports should consider the use of qualifications-based selection in carrying out capital improvement projects funded using PFCs.
 

Subtitle C: Fees for FAA Services
 - (Sec. 121) Revises requirements for establishment and adjustment of user overflight fees for FAA services.
 
(Sec. 122) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe certain registration, certification, and other specified fees.
 

Subtitle D: Airport Improvement Program Modifications
 - (Sec. 131) Revises airport improvement program (AIP) requirements. Directs the Secretary to encourage airport sponsors and state and local officials, in the development of their airport master plans, to consider as additional goals passenger convenience, airport ground access, and access to airport facilities.
 
(Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to encourage the development of aerotropolis transportation systems (i.e., planned and coordinated multimodal freight and passenger transportation networks) that provide efficient, sustainable, and intermodal connectivity to a defined region of economic significance centered around a major airport.
 
(Sec. 133) Extends the meaning of &quot;airport development,&quot; for AIP project grant purposes, to: (1) construction of mobile refueler parking within a fuel farm at a nonprimary airport meeting specified requirements; (2) terminal development; and (3) acquisition and installation of facilities and equipment to provide air conditioning, heating, or electric power from terminal-based, nonexclusive use facilities to aircraft parked at a public use airport.
 
(Sec. 134) Requires an airport's master plan to address issues relating to solid waste recycling at the airport as a condition to the approval of an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 135) Repeals the requirements that competition plans include patterns of air service and airfare levels.
 
(Sec. 136) Revises requirements for written assurances on AIPs for acquiring land for a noise compatibility purpose to allow for reinvestment in another specified kind of AIP of proceeds from disposition of the land proportional to the government's share of the cost of acquiring it.
 
Makes permanent the requirement that large or medium hub airports file competitive access reports with the Secretary before receiving approval for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 137) Allows a general aviation airport sponsor, without federal sanction, to enter into a through-the-fence agreement granting a person owning residential real property adjacent to the airport access to the airfield for the person's aircraft or an aircraft the person has authorized.
 
(Sec. 138) Prescribes special rules for the federal share of allowable costs for AIP projects for: (1) transition from a small hub to medium hub airport status (90% share), and (2) economically depressed communities (95% share).
 
(Sec. 139) Revises or adds new justifications for allowable AIP project costs, including costs incurred: (1) before execution of the grant agreement due to climactic conditions affecting the construction season, or (2) on a measure to improve the efficiency of an airport building.
 
Prescribes requirements for allowing the costs of relocating or replacing an airport-owned facility.
 
(Sec. 140) Adds Afghanistan-Iraq war and Persian Gulf veterans to veterans preference requirements for contracts involving labor on AIP projects. Requires that preference as well be given to the use of small business concerns owned and controlled by disabled veterans.
 
(Sec. 141) Directs the Secretary to establish a mandatory training program to provide streamlined training for airport owners and operators on how to certify a small business airport concession as one owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals under the airport disadvantaged business program.
 
(Sec. 142) Authorizes the Secretary to apportion to an airport sponsor in a fiscal year an amount equal to the minimum amount apportioned to that sponsor in the previous fiscal year if: (1) the airport received scheduled or unscheduled air service from a large certificated air carrier, and (2) the airport had more than 10,000 passenger boardings in the preceding calendar year used to calculate the apportionment.
 
Prescribes a special rule for FY2011-FY2012. Allows an airport sponsor apportionment in FY2011 or FY2012 equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in FY2009 for an airport: (1) that had more than 10,000 passenger boardings and scheduled passenger aircraft service in calendar year 2007; but (2) in either calendar years 2009 or 2010, or both years, the number of passenger boardings at the airport decreased to below 10,000 per year. 
 
(Sec. 143) Requires the Secretary to make minimum supplemental apportionments to Puerto Rico for AIP projects. Declares that nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary from making discretionary fund grants for such projects.
 
(Sec. 144) Decreases from $3.2 billion to $3 billion a threshold trigger used for determining the apportionment of airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning funds to certain airports.
 
(Sec. 145) Revises the formula for reducing the amount apportioned for an AIP in a fiscal year to the sponsor of an airport having at least .25% of the total number of boardings each year in the United States and for which a passenger facility fee is imposed. Prescribes a special formula for such reductions in Hawaii with respect to an airport sponsor's PFC of $3.00 or less and a PFC of more than $3.00.
 
(Sec. 146) Extends through FY2014 the eligibility of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau for AIP grants. 
 
 
(Sec. 147) Makes current or former military airports that preserve or enhance minimum airfield infrastructure facilities to support emergency diversionary operations for transoceanic flights eligible for certain discretionary grant funding used to develop current or former such airports.
 
(Sec. 148) Prescribes a special rule that, if the Secretary determines that a contract air traffic control tower already operating under the low activity (Visual Flight Rules) Level I contract program has a benefit-to-cost ratio of less than 1.0, the airport sponsor or state or local government with jurisdiction over the airport shall not be required to pay the portion of the costs that exceeds the benefit for a period of 18 months.
 
Establishes funding levels for FY2011-FY2014 for the air traffic control contract tower program.
 
Increases the federal share of the cost of construction of a nonapproach control tower under the program.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish uniform standards and requirements for safety assessments of air traffic control towers that receive funding under such program.
 
(Sec. 149) Applies requirements for resolution of airport fee disputes to foreign air carriers (under current law, applies only to domestic air carriers).
 
(Sec. 150) Revises exceptions to the prohibition against use of local taxes on aviation fuel or the revenues generated by an airport for any purpose (revenue diversion) other than the capital or operating costs of the airport, the local airport system, or any other local facility owned or operated by the airport owner or operator that is directly and substantially related to the air transportation of passengers or property.
 
Excepts from such prohibition any proceeds from the sale of a privately owned airport to a public sponsor that meets specified criteria, including repayment by the private owner to the Secretary of the remaining unamortized portion of any AIP grant to that airport.
 
(Sec. 151) Repeals the prohibition against approval of any Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority application: (1) for an airport development project grant; or (2) to impose a PFC. 
 
(Sec. 152) Amends Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to extend through FY2014 the eligibility of Midway Island Airport for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 153) Limits the amount of discretionary funds the Secretary may distribute for terminal development projects at nonhub or small hub airports to $20 million.
 
Revises reporting requirements of the Secretary's annual AIP report to Congress, moving its deadline from April 1 to June 1.
 
(Sec. 154) Extends through FY2014 the authority for grants to state and local governments for compatible land use planning and projects.
 
(Sec. 155) Directs the FAA Administrator, to the extent practicable, to schedule the review as early as possible of construction projects which cannot be carried out in a state before May 1 because of weather during a typical calendar year.
 
(Sec. 156) Directs the Secretary to evaluate the formulation of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.
 
(Sec. 157) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, subject to specified conditions, to carry out a pilot program for the transfer of ownership, operating, and maintenance responsibilities for terminal area air navigation equipment to airport sponsors.
 
(Sec. 158) Revises certain requirements for approval of applications for exemption from the revenue diversion prohibition under the airport privatization pilot program. Increases from 5 to 10 the number of airport exemption applications the Secretary may approve.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to exempt the selling airport sponsor from the revenue diversion prohibition after the Secretary has consulted: (1) each air carrier serving a primary airport, or (2) at least 65% of the owners of aircraft based at a nonprimary airport.
 
Repeals certain terms and conditions for approval of an exemption which require that: (1) the airport fee imposed on an air carrier will not increase more than inflation, (2) the percentage increase in fees imposed on general aviation aircraft at the airport will not exceed the percentage increase in fees imposed on air carriers at the airport, and (3) collective bargaining agreements covering airport employees will not be abrogated by the sale or lease of the airport.
 
Prohibits any fee imposed by an airport on a domestic or foreign air carrier from including any portion for a return on investment or recovery of principal with respect to consideration paid to a public agency for the lease or sale of the airport unless the air carriers approve.
 
Repeals requirements that: (1) at least one of the exempted airports be a general aviation airport, and (2) no more than one large hub airport be exempted.
 

Title II: NextGen Air Transportation System and Air Traffic Control Modernization - 
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to give priority to 17 NextGen activities, including demonstrations and infrastructure, trajectory-based operations, and reduced weather impact.
 
(Sec. 203) Authorizes a federal agency head to transfer non-administrative supplies, personnel, services, and equipment to, or receive them from, the FAA, with or without reimbursement (currently, only without reimbursement).
 
(Sec. 204) Requires the FAA Administrator to appoint a Chief NextGen Officer to implement all Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) programs.
 
(Sec. 205) Extends the meaning of air navigation facility to specify: (1) runway lighting and airport surface visual and other navigation aids; (2) apparatus, equipment, software, or service for distributing aeronautical and meteorological information to air traffic control facilities or aircraft; (3) communication, navigation, or surveillance equipment for air-to-ground or air-to-air applications; and (4) buildings, equipment, and systems dedicated to the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 206) Repeals the restriction on the FAA's authority to use noncompetitive procurement of goods and services that allows such procurement only in the kind of situation when the property or services are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy FAA needs.
 
(Sec. 207) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to bid competitively to provide air traffic services to aviation authorities abroad, both public and private, if it promotes aviation safety and efficiency (currently, only safety). Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept payments for such services in arrears (rather than in advance).
 
(Sec. 208) Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to make the director of the NextGen Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) the Associate Administrator for NextGen Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination within the FAA, to be appointed by the FAA Administrator.
 
Specifies additional JPDO responsibilities.
 
Requires NextGen partner federal agencies to designate senior officials to carry out NextGen activities at their respective agencies.
 
Requires the JPDO to coordinate NextGen activities with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
 
Requires the integrated NextGen plan to include a multiagency integrated work plan containing certain elements, including an outline of the activities of partner federal agencies required to achieve the end-state architecture.
 
(Sec. 209) Requires the Next Generation Air Transportation Senior Policy Committee to meet at least twice each year. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on progress made by NextGen partner federal agencies in implementing the NextGen integrated work plan.
 
(Sec. 210) Grants the FAA Administrator authority to retain as part of its appropriation any proceeds from the disposal of FAA property.
 
(Sec. 211) Directs the DOT Inspector General to review the award and oversight of FAA contracts to provide automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services for the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 212) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange with the National Research Council to review and report to Congress on the enterprise architecture for the NextGen.
 
(Sec. 213) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) report on navigation performance and area navigation operations and procedures required to maximize the efficiency and capacity of NextGen commercial operations at 35 operational evolution partnership (OEP) airports, (2) establish a plan and schedule for implementing such procedures, and (3) submit to Congress a plan for deploying a nationwide data communications system.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to outline clearly in the NextGen Implementation Plan document the work being performed under the plan to determine: (1) whether utilization of ADS-B, required navigation performance (RNP), and other technologies will display the position of aircraft more accurately and frequently in order to enable a more efficient use of existing airspace and result in reduced consumption of aviation fuel and aircraft engine emissions; and (2) the feasibility of reducing aircraft separation standards in a safe manner as a result of implementing such technologies. Requires the Administrator to reduce such standards, if it is determined that they can be reduced safely, and include in the NextGen Implementation Plan a timetable for implementation of such reduced standards.
 
(Sec. 214) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish, track, and report to Congress on specified National Airspace System performance metrics.
 
(Sec. 215) Requires the FAA Administrator to develop plans to accelerate the process for certification of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 216) Directs the Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization to: (1) evaluate the Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X program for its potential contribution to implementation of the NextGen initiative, (2) evaluate airport surveillance technologies and associated collaborative surface management software for potential contributions to implementation of NextGen surface management, and (3) accelerate implementation of the program.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) consider options for expediting the certification of Ground-Based Augmentation System technology, and (2) develop a plan to utilize such a system at the 35 OEP airports.
 
(Sec. 217) Requires the FAA Administrator to include certain stakeholders to serve in a collaborative capacity in the planning and development of air traffic control modernization projects, including NextGen.
 
(Sec. 218) Requires the FAA Administrator, in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Philadelphia International Airport, to monitor the noise impacts of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.
 
(Sec. 219) Requires the FAA Administrator to study the feasibility of developing a public website on the height and latitudinal and longitudinal locations of guy-wire and free-standing tower obstructions.
 
(Sec. 220) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) enter into an agreement, on a competitive basis, to assist the establishment of a center of excellence for the research and development of NextGen technologies; and (2) develop a plan to expedite through public-private partnerships the equipage of general aviation and commercial aircraft with such technologies.
 

Title III: Safety - Subtitle A: General Provisions - 
(Sec. 301) Authorizes a person substantially affected (denied an airman certificate) by an order of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), or the FAA Administrator when an NTSB order will have a significant adverse impact on FAA issuance or renewal of airman certificates, to seek judicial review in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. 
 
(Sec. 302) Prescribes a process under which the FAA may release, without the consent of the aircraft's owner of record, engineering data relating to abandoned aircraft type certificates and supplemental aircraft type certificates for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to a person seeking to maintain the airworthiness of or develop product improvements to such aircraft or equipment.
 
(Sec. 303) Revises requirements for FAA issuance of a design organization certificate to a design organization (as under current law), a production organization, or a design and production organization which authorizes the organization to certify compliance of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances with the pertinent requirements and minimum standards. Calls an organization holding such a certificate a certified design and production organization (CDPO). 
 
(Sec. 304) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the FAA aircraft certification and approval process, and (2) make recommendations to improve and streamline it.
 
(Sec. 305) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an advisory panel to: (1) review the October 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on certification and approval processes (GAO-11-14) and develop related recommendations, (2) determine the causes of inconsistent interpretation of regulations by the FAA Flight Standards Service and Aircraft Certification Service, and (3) develop recommendations to improve the consistency of interpreting such regulations.
 
(Sec. 306) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop: (1) a strategic runway safety plan; (2) a process for tracking and investigating operational errors, losses of standard separation, and runway incursions; and (3) report a plan for installing systems to alert controllers or flight crew members of potential runway incursions. 
 
(Sec. 307) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) issue improved pilot licenses that are tamper-resistant, include a photograph, and are capable of accommodating a digital photograph, a biometric identifier, or other unique identifier; and (2) develop methods to determine whether a license has been tampered with, altered, or counterfeited.
 
(Sec. 308) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Flight Standards Evaluation Program to: (1) include periodic and random reviews as part of FAA's oversight of air carriers; and (2) prohibit an individual from participating in the review of an office with responsibility for an air carrier if, for five-years preceding such review, such individual had responsibility for inspecting that carrier's operations.
 
(Sec. 309) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of FAA oversight activities to prevent or mitigate the effects of dense, continuous smoke in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft.
 
(Sec. 310) Requires part 135 certificate holders providing helicopter air ambulance services to comply with certain weather minimum and flight and duty time regulations whenever medical personnel are onboard the aircraft. Exempts a certificate holder who is training under instrument flight rules from the weather reporting requirement until it is determined that accurate ground-based weather measuring and reporting systems are available. 
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) conduct a rulemaking proceeding to improve the safety of flight crewmembers, medical personnel, and passengers onboard helicopters providing helicopter air ambulance services; and (2) require a part 135 certificate holder providing such services to establish a flight risk evaluation program, have an operational control center if 10 or more helicopters are used, and report certain data.
 
(Sec. 311) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review off-airport, low-altitude aircraft weather observation technologies; and (2) study the feasibility of requiring air ambulance helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles during nighttime operations.
 
(Sec. 313) Makes it unlawful for a flight crewmember of an aircraft used to provide air transportation to use a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer while at his or her duty station on the aircraft's flight deck while the aircraft is being operated, except for operational, emergency safety-related, or employment-related communications, or another purpose directly related to operation of the aircraft. Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate a rulemaking for implementing regulations.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review relevant air carrier data, (2) identify common sources of distraction for flight crewmembers on the flight deck, and (3) determine the safety impacts of such distractions.
 
(Sec. 314) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue regulations requiring covered maintenance work on passenger aircraft to be performed by certain authorized individuals employed by: (1) a part 121 (domestic) air carrier; (2) a part 145 repair station or a person holding a valid Transport Canada Civil Aviation Maintenance Engineer license; or (3) a person providing contract maintenance workers, services, or maintenance functions to a part 145 repair station or part 121 air carrier and meeting related requirements.
 
(Sec. 315) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish and implement a safety assessment system for foreign part 145 repair stations that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft; and (2) require such stations to be frequently inspected as warranted.
 
Requires the safety assessment system also to: (1) accept consideration of inspection results and findings submitted by foreign civil aviation authorities operating under a maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreement with the United States, and (2) require all maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreements with the United States to provide an opportunity for the FAA to conduct independent inspections of covered part 145 repair stations when safety concerns warrant them.
 
Directs the Secretaries of State and of Transportation jointly to request foreign countries belonging to the International Civil Aviation Organization to establish standards for alcohol and controlled substances testing of persons who perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions on commercial air carrier aircraft.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to promulgate a proposed rule to require alcohol and controlled substances testing of foreign part 145 repair station employees responsible for safety-sensitive maintenance functions on part 121 air carrier aircraft.
 
(Sec. 316) Terminates, one year after the enactment of this Act, the requirement for a biannual line check evaluation of airline pilots over age 60, unless the Secretary certifies such requirement is necessary to ensure safety.
 

Subtitle B: Unmanned Aircraft Systems - 
(Sec. 322) Requires the Secretary to develop a plan for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, or drones) into the national airspace system by September 30, 2015.
 
(Sec. 323) Requires the Secretary to determine if certain drones may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of the plan.
 
(Sec. 324) Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance regarding the operation of public drones to expedite the issuance of a certificate of authorization process, and for other specified reasons; (2) implement, by December 31, 2015, operational and certification requirements for operational procedures for such systems in the national airspace system; and (3) enter into agreements with appropriate government agencies to simplify the process for issuing certificates of waiver or authorization to operate public drones in such system.
 
(Sec. 325) Directs the FAA Administrator to carry out all safety studies necessary to support the integration of drones into the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 326) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a program to integrate drones into the national airspace system in at least four test sites meeting specified criteria.
 

Subtitle C: Safety and Protections - 
(Sec. 331) Prohibits any person holding an air carrier operating certificate from knowingly employing, or contracting with, an individual to act as an agent or representative of the certificate holder in any matter before the FAA if, in the preceding two-year period, the individual: (1) served as, or was responsible for oversight of, a FAA flight standards inspector; and (2) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee inspection of, the operations of the certificate holder.
 
(Sec. 332) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the monthly review of the FAA air transportation oversight system database by regional teams of FAA employees, including at least one employee on each team representing aviation safety inspectors.
 
(Sec. 333) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program to require inspectors to: (1) verify that air carriers implement comprehensive solutions to correct the underlying causes of the violations they have voluntarily disclosed; and (2) confirm, before approving a final report of a disclosed violation, that a violation with the same root causes has not previously been discovered by an inspector or self-disclosed by the air carrier.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the review and approval of voluntary self-disclosures received from air carriers.
 
Requires the DOT Inspector General to study the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program.
 
(Sec. 334) Establishes in the FAA an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office, which shall receive and assess complaints and information relating to possible violations of aviation safety laws and regulations.
 
(Sec. 335) Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate rulemaking proceedings regarding duty periods and flight time limitations for flight crew members.
 
(Sec. 336) Requires certain existing flight time and rest period regulations for part 135 certificate holders providing air ambulance services and pilots and flight crewmembers of all-cargo aircraft to remain in effect as they were on January 1, 2011. Prohibits the FAA Administrator from issuing, finalizing, or implementing a rule regarding such regulations, as proposed in docket No. FAA-2010-1259, Interpretations of Rest Requirements, published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2010, or any similar rule with respect to such holders and pilots and crewmembers.
 
(Sec. 337) Prohibits certain FAA reports and data, with specified exceptions, from being subject to discovery or subpoena or disclosed or admitted into evidence in a federal or state court proceeding.
 
(Sec. 338) Shields any persons required by the FAA to implement a safety management system from liability for compensatory, punitive, contributory, or indemnity damages with respect to any claim filed in state or federal court relating to preparation or implementation of the system or to an event or occurrence contemplated by the system. Declares, however, that no person shall be relieved from liability for damages resulting from the person's own willful or reckless acts or omissions as demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence.
 

Title IV: Air Service Improvements - 

Subtitle A: Essential Air Service - 
(Sec. 401) Revises requirements for the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Requires the Secretary, in selecting an air carrier to provide EAS for compensation to an eligible community, to consider whether an air carrier has a marketing plan.
 
(Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify communities before their termination of eligibility for EAS, and (2) establish procedures by which each community notified of an impending loss of subsidy may work directly with an air carrier to ensure that the carrier is able to submit a proposal to the Secretary for EAS to such community for an amount of compensation not exceeding the subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 403) Revises certain guidelines for compensation for continued EAS to small and rural communities. Requires such guidelines to permit the Secretary to: (1) incorporate financial incentives in EAS contracts based on specified performance goals, and (2) execute long-term EAS contracts when in the public interest to do so.
 
Requires the Secretary to issue revised guidelines governing the rate of compensation paid to an air carrier for EAS.
 
(Sec. 404) Authorizes funding: (1) through FY2013 for the EAS program, and (2) for FY2014 and each succeeding fiscal year for EAS in Alaska and Hawaii.
 
Authorizes additional funding out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY2011-FY2013 for the EAS program.
 
(Sec. 405) Revises certain priorities in the funding of communities under the small community air service development (SCASD) program to give funding priority to multiple communities that cooperate to submit a regional or multistate application to improve air service under the program. Extends the Secretary's authority to make agreements to provide SCASD program assistance.
 
(Sec. 406) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) increase EAS subsidies to air carriers on an expedited basis paid to compensate for increased aviation fuel costs; and (2) waive, on a case-by-case basis, the $200 per passenger subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 407) Repeals the requirement for a pilot EAS Local Participation Program. 
 
(Sec. 408) Terminates the EAS program (except in Alaska and Hawaii) on October 1, 2013.
 

Subtitle B: Passenger Air Service Improvements
 - (Sec. 421) Prohibits an individual from smoking in an aircraft: (1) in scheduled interstate, intrastate, or foreign air passenger transportation; and (2) in nonscheduled intrastate, interstate, or foreign commercial air passenger transportation, if a flight attendant is a required crewmember onboard the aircraft.
 
(Sec. 422) Requires the Secretary to collect, and publish on the DOT website, data regarding canceled and diverted flights of air carriers.
 
(Sec. 423) Increases from 24 to 34 the number of slots exempt from specified requirements and prohibitions concerning operation of an aircraft nonstop between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (Perimeter Rule limit). 
 
Increases from three to five the maximum number by which operations at the airport in any one-hour period may be increased under exemptions from the Perimeter Rule and other limits.
 
Requires the Secretary to reduce the hourly air carrier slot quota for such airport by a total of 10 slots that are available for allocation.
 
Declares that operations conducted by new entrant air carriers and limited incumbent air carriers shall be afforded a scheduling priority over operations conducted by other air carriers granted exemptions, with the highest scheduling priority to be afforded to beyond-perimeter operations conducted by new entrant air carriers and limited incumbent air carriers.
 
(Sec. 424) Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument on a passenger aircraft if it can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment or under a passenger seat in accordance with FAA requirements for carry-on baggage or cargo. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.
 
(Sec. 425) Requires certain air carriers and airport operators to submit for the Secretary's approval emergency contingency plans for: (1) how food, potable water, restroom facilities, and access to medical treatment will be provided to passengers who are grounded on aircraft for extended periods without access to the terminal; (2) allowed deplanement of passengers following excessive tarmac delays; (3) the sharing of facilities and gates during an airport emergency; and (4) the provision of a sterile area following excessive tarmac delays for passengers who have not yet cleared U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to establish a consumer complaints toll-free hotline telephone number for use by air passengers; and (2) certain air carriers to include on their websites, and prominently on displayed signs at airport ticket counters and any electronic ticket purchase confirmation issued to a passenger, such hotline number and other air carrier information, including contact information for the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the DOT for service complaints.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to make available to the public a website listing countries that may require an air carrier or foreign air carrier to treat an aircraft passenger cabin with insecticides prior to a flight to the country or to apply an aerosol insecticide when the cabin is occupied with passengers; and (2) an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent selling a ticket in the United States for foreign air transportation to a country on the list to refer a flight ticket purchaser to the website for additional information. 
 
(Sec. 426) Expresses the sense of Congress urging all U.S. commercial air carriers to reduce air fares and eliminate certain fees or charges for members of the Armed Forces who are traveling on leave or liberty at their own expense.
 
(Sec. 427) Requires the Inspector General of DOT to review air carrier flight delays, cancellations, and associated causes to update its 2000 report entitled &quot;Audit of Air Carrier Flight Delays and Cancellations.&quot;
 
(Sec. 428) Directs the Secretary evaluate the amount provided for denied boarding compensation and issue a regulation to adjust it as necessary.
 
(Sec. 429) Directs the Comptroller General to study checked baggage delivery delays and the options and impact of establishing minimum standards to compensate a passenger for an unreasonable delivery delay.
 
(Sec. 430) Directs the FAA Administrator to convene a meeting of air carriers to reduce, on a voluntary basis, the number of their aircraft operations during any hour at an airport so as not to exceed the maximum departure and arrival rate if: (1) such operations exceed the hourly maximum departure and arrival rate established by the FAA, and (2) such excess operations are likely to have a significant adverse effect on the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace.
 
(Sec. 431) Authorizes the Secretary to investigate consumer complaints regarding: (1) flight cancellations; (2) overbooking compliance; (3) lost, damaged, or delayed baggage; (4) fares; (5) incorrect or incomplete fare information; (6) frequent flyer mile rights; and (7) deceptive or misleading advertising. 
 
(Sec. 432) Directs the FAA Administrator to study: (1) commuter and on demand aircraft operators, and (2) the impact of cell phone use in foreign aircraft during flight.
 

Title V: Environmental Streamlining - 
(Sec. 501) Exempts from air tour management program requirements a national park that has 50 or fewer commercial air tour flights a year, unless the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) determines that an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement is necessary to protect park resources and values or park visitor use and enjoyment.
 
Authorizes the NPS Director and the FAA Administrator, as an alternative to an air tour management plan, to enter into a voluntary agreement with a commercial air tour operator to manage commercial air tour operations over a national park.
 
(Sec. 502) Changes the requirement that the Secretary prescribe regulations for the AIP State Block Grant Program to a requirement that the Secretary issue guidance instead.
 
Requires the Secretary, in selecting a state for an AIP block grant, to find that the state has agreed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, state and local environmental policy acts, executive orders, agency regulations and guidance, and other federal environmental requirements.
 
Requires federal agencies (other than the FAA) that issue approvals, licenses, or permits to states for projects under the AIP State Block Grant Program to: (1) coordinate and consult with the state, and (2) use adequate state environmental review analyses.
 
(Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to develop an expedited and coordinated environmental review process for a NextGen environmental efficiency project at an Operational Evolution Partnership airport or any congested airport.
 
(Sec. 504) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept funds from an airport sponsor to hire additional staff or obtain the services of consultants to conduct: (1) special environmental studies related to an airport project; (2) special studies or reviews to support approved noise compatibility measures; (3) special studies or reviews to support environmental mitigation in an FAA record of decision or finding of no significant FAA impact; and (4) the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with new or amended flight procedures, such as required navigation performance procedures and area navigation procedures.
 
(Sec. 505) Includes among the measures an operator may take under a noise compatibility program comprehensive land use planning, done jointly with neighboring local jurisdictions undertaking community redevelopment in an area in which the operator has acquired land or other property interests, in order to encourage and enhance redevelopment opportunities that reflect zoning and uses that will prevent the introduction of additional incompatible uses and enhance redevelopment potential.
 
(Sec. 506) Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to an airport operator to assist in completing environmental review and assessment activities for proposals to implement flight procedures at an airport that has been approved as part of an airport noise compatibility program.
 
(Sec. 507) Sets forth requirements with respect to the determination of the fair market value of residential properties acquired for soundproofing purposes under an airport development project.
 
(Sec. 508) Prohibits, after December 31, 2014, the operation of any civil subsonic turbojet of 75,000 pounds or less operating out of airports in the continental United States unless the aircraft complies with stage three noise levels, with exceptions for specified temporary operations.
 
(Sec. 509) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program at up to five public-use airports to design, develop, and test new air traffic flow management technology that will allow air traffic controllers to better manage the flow of aircraft on the ground and reduce ground holds and idling times for aircraft. Limits the amount that may be expended at any single public-use airport to $2.5 million. 
 
(Sec. 510) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to implement practices for the incorporation of energy-efficient measures in the construction and renovation of FAA air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 511) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the European Union (EU) should work with other contracting states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop a consensual approach to addressing aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through the ICAO; and (2) U.S. Government officials, particularly the Secretary and the FAA Administrator, should use all political, diplomatic, and legal tools to ensure that the EU's emissions trading scheme is not applied to U.S. Aircraft or the operators of such aircraft, including the mandates that U.S. air carriers provide emissions data to and purchase emissions allowances from or surrender emissions allowances to EU member states.
 
(Sec. 512) Requires an owner or operator of a large hub airport to publish on its website a telephone number to receive aviation noise complaints related to the airport.
 
 

Title VI: FAA Employees and Organization
 - (Sec. 601) Revises requirements for mediation in negotiations over changes to the FAA personnel management system between the FAA Administrator and the exclusive bargaining representatives of FAA employees.
 
Authorizes the Administrator and employee bargaining representative by mutual agreement to adopt other procedures for the resolution of negotiation disputes or impasses as an alternative to using the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
 
Requires the negotiating parties, if the services of the FMCS do not lead to an agreement, to submit their controversy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel for binding arbitration. (Currently, the services of the FMCS shall be used and, if their services do not lead to an agreement, the Administrator's proposed change to the personnel management system shall not take effect until 60 days have elapsed after the Administrator has transmitted them to Congress, along with employee objections to the changes, and the reasons for such objections.)
 
(Sec. 602) Allows senior FAA executives and employees to participate in the Presidential Rank Award Program.
 
(Sec. 603) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the adequacy of the FAA technical training strategy and improvement plan for airway transportation systems specialists, and (2) make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study FAA assumptions and methods used to determine FAA systems specialist staffing needs.
 
(Sec. 604) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) implement by October 1, 2011, the staffing model developed by NAS for aviation safety inspectors; and (2) arrange with NAS to study the air traffic controller standards used by the FAA to estimate staffing needs for FAA air traffic controllers.
 
(Sec. 606) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to appoint air traffic control specialist candidates who have received control tower operator certification and satisfied all other applicable qualifications for placement in airport traffic control facilities. Requires the Administrator to increase the number of appointments if it is determined that certified air traffic control specialists are more successful in carrying out their duties than those who are uncertified.
 
(Sec. 607) Directs the FAA Administrator to assess the adequacy of training programs for air traffic controllers.
 
(Sec. 608) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) training options for graduates of the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) program, and (2) conditions of a sampling of FAA facilities.
 
(Sec. 610) Directs the FAA Administrator to study frontline manager staffing requirements in air traffic control facilities.
 

Title VII: Aviation Insurance
 - (Sec. 701) Extends through FY2013, and authorizes extension through December 31, 2013, of, the termination dates for existing policies of insurance and reinsurance against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of a domestic or foreign aircraft. 
 
Establishes a successor aviation insurance program. Requires, after December 31, 2021, that aviation insurance be provided in an airline industry sponsored risk retention or other risk-sharing arrangement. Requires transfer to such a successor program of any premiums collected under the current program. 
 
(Sec. 702) Extends through December 31, 2013, the authority to certify that an air carrier is a victim of an act of terrorism and is liable for damages only as specified (thus extends certain limits on the third-party liability of air carriers).
 
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to use a claims adjuster independent of the underwriting agent to adjust aviation insurance claims.
 

Title VIII: Miscellaneous - 
(Sec. 801) Exempts from Privacy Act requirements regarding government records on individuals any FAA disclosures to any federal law enforcement, intelligence, protective service, immigration, or national security official in order to assist the official receiving the information in the performance of official duties.
 
(Sec. 802) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, for certification purposes only, to conduct criminal history background checks of airmen by submitting positive identification to fingerprint-based criminal repositories of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or states. Prohibits the FAA Administrator from using such authority to conduct criminal investigations. 
 
(Sec. 803) Applies certain civil penalties to violations of specified alcohol and controlled substance testing requirements.
 
(Sec. 804) Directs the FAA Administrator to realign and consolidate FAA services and facilities, according to recommendations of the Aviation Facilities and Services Board, in order to facilitate NextGen air traffic control modernization.
 
Establishes the Aviation Facilities and Services Board.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014.
 
(Sec. 805) Directs the FAA Administrator to assess the feasibility of developing a physical means, or combination of physical and procedural means, to prohibit unauthorized access to flight decks of all-cargo aircraft.
 
(Sec. 806) Directs the FAA Administrator to report biennially to Congress on the costs savings that would result from eliminating or consolidating any required FAA reports to Congress found to be obsolete or redundant. 
 
Prohibits the FAA from publishing any required FAA report in printed format, unless doing so is essential to the FAA mission. Requires the FAA to publish such reports in electronic form on its website, unless publication would violate the Privacy Act or have an adverse impact on aviation safety or security.
 
(Sec. 807) Prohibits the Secretary from using funds to name, rename, designate, or redesignate any project or program under this Act for a serving Member of Congress, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator.
 
(Sec. 808) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of increases in aviation fuel prices on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and the aviation industry in general.
 
(Sec. 809) Directs the FAA Administrator to study wind turbine lighting systems.
 
(Sec. 810) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the existing airline and intercity passenger rail code sharing arrangements; and (2) the feasibility, costs to taxpayers and other parties, and benefits of increasing intermodal connectivity of airline and intercity passenger rail facilities and systems to improve passenger travel. 
 
(Sec. 811) Directs the FAA Administrator to submit to Congress a plan outlining changes to the D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area that will decrease operational impacts and improve general aviation access to National Capital Region airports.
 
(Sec. 812) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review each FAA program and office (including the Air Traffic Organization) to identify duplicative positions, programs, roles, or offices as well as wasteful practices and inefficient policies; and (2) consolidate, phase-out, eliminate, or streamline anything duplicative, wasteful, redundant, obsolete, or ineffectual.
 
(Sec. 813) Exempts the transportation within Alaska of cylinders of compressed oxygen or other oxidizing gases aboard aircraft from compliance with Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration standards requiring that oxidizing gases aboard aircraft be enclosed in flame resistant outer packaging, without regard to their end use. Limits the application of such exemption to situations in which transportation of the cylinders by ground or vessel is unavailable and transportation by aircraft is the only practical means of transporting them to their destination.
 
(Sec. 814) Prohibits the FAA Administrator, with a specified exception, from issuing or enforcing regulations for the transportation of lithium metal or ion cells or batteries by aircraft that are more stringent than the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, 2009-2010 edition.
 
(Sec. 815) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to declare certain revenue derived from or generated by the mining of minerals at a general aviation airport to be revenue greater than the airport's long-term project, operation, maintenance, planning, and capacity needs. 
 
Allows an airport sponsor who complies with specified conditions to allocate such revenues to itself (or to a local governing body) for use in carrying out federal, state, or local transportation infrastructure projects.
 
(Sec. 816) Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to shield from liability a volunteer pilot that flies for a volunteer pilot nonprofit organization for public benefit an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured. Shields also from such liability the staff, mission coordinators, officers, and directors of the nonprofit organization, provided certain conditions are met.
 
(Sec. 817) Directs the FAA Administrator, upon the request of a private aircraft owner or operator, to block, with respect to noncommercial flights of that owner or operator, the display of the owner's or operator's registration number in aircraft situational display data provided by the FAA to any entity other than a government agency.
 
(Sec. 818) Directs the FAA Administrator to review: (1) how the FAA weighs the economic vitality of a region when considering contract proposals for training facilities, and (2) the state of preparedness and response capability for airports located in flood plains to respond to and seek assistance in rebuilding after a catastrophic flood.
 
(Sec. 820) Prohibits the FAA Administrator from imposing airspace restrictions on air shows that occur at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, due to an event occurring at the same time at a stadium or other venue. Allows the Administrator, however, to prohibit aircraft from flying directly over the stadium or other venue.
 
(Sec. 821) Expresses the sense of Congress that the FAA Administrator should enter into good faith discussions with the city of Santa Monica, California, to achieve runway safety area solutions to safety concerns at Santa Monica Airport that are consistent with FAA design guidelines.
 
(Sec. 822) Directs the DOT Inspector General, for FY2011-FY2014, to report to Congress on the number of new small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (including those owned by veterans) that participated in FAA programs funded under this Act.
 
(Sec. 823) Requires the FAA Administrator to take necessary actions to preserve original FAA aircraft type certificate engineering and technical data related to: (1) approved aircraft type certificate numbers ATC 1 through ATC 713; and (2) Group-2 approved aircraft type certificate numbers 2-1 through 2-554.
 
(Sec. 824) Authorizes the Secretary, subject to certain conditions, to release specified restrictions on the use of property conveyed to an airport, city, or county for airport purposes.
 
(Sec. 825) Expresses the sense of Congress that Los Angeles World Airports, operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), should consult regularly with representatives of the surrounding community regarding LAX operations and plans to expand.
 
(Sec. 826) Requires the FAA Administrator to perform certain analyses before proposing or issuing FAA regulations. 
 

Title IX: National Mediation Board - 
(Sec. 901) Amends the Railway Labor Act to grant the DOT Inspector General the authority to review National Mediation Board (NMB) operations to determine compliance with federal laws, rules, and regulations.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014.
 
(Sec. 902) Requires the Comptroller General to audit NMB programs and expenditures.
 
(Sec. 903) Repeals a specified NMB rule relating to representation election procedures.
 

 Title X: Federal Aviation Research and Development Reauthorization Act of 2011 - 
Federal Aviation Research and Development Reauthorization Act of 2011 - (Sec. 1003) Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2014 for civil aviation research and development, including specified research, engineering, and development projects.
 
(Sec. 1004) Requires the FAA Administrator to conduct or supervise specified research to develop technologies and methods to assess the risk of and prevent defects, failures, and malfunctions in all classes of drones.
 
(Sec. 1005) Directs the FAA Administrator to conduct research on: (1) improved runway surfaces as well as engineered material restraining systems for such runways at both general aviation and commercial airports, and (2) methods and procedures to improve certification of new technologies for introduction into the national airspace system.
 
 
(Sec. 1007) Converts the airport cooperative research program from a four-year pilot into a permanent program.
 
(Sec. 1008) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to increase the federal share of costs of operating regional centers of air transportation excellence and related research activities from a maximum of 50% to a maximum of 75% for any fiscal year if a center is unable to carry out authorized activities without additional funding.
 
(Sec. 1009) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to establish a center of excellence for aviation human resource research on: (1) human performance in the air transportation environment, including air traffic controllers, pilots, and technicians; and (2) any other aviation human resource issues pertinent to developing and maintaining a safe and efficient air transportation system.
 
(Sec. 1010) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, in coordination with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to: (1) maintain a research program to assess the potential effect of aviation on the environment and, if warranted, to evaluate approaches to address such effect; and (2) continue research and development into the qualification of and safe transition to the use of unleaded aviation fuel by the fleet of piston engine aircraft.
 
(Sec. 1012) Directs the Secretary to establish a research grant program to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from alternative sources (such as coal, natural gas, biomass, ethanol, butanol, and hydrogen).
 
(Sec. 1013) Directs the FAA Administrator to review FAA energy-, environment-, and aviation safety-related research programs.
 

Title XI: Airport and Airway Trust Fund Financing - 
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Financing Reauthorization Act of 2011 - (Sec. 1102) Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to excise taxes dedicated to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to extend through FY2014 the Trust Fund's expenditure authority.
 
(Sec. 1103) Extends through FY2014: (1) the 19.3 cents per gallon excise tax on aviation gasoline and the 21.8 cents per gallon excise tax on kerosene removed directly into the fuel tank of an aircraft for use in certain aviation, and (2) the excise taxes on air transportation of persons and property.
 

Title XII: Compliance With Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 - 
 (Sec. 1201) Requires determination of the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, by reference to the latest statement titled &quot;Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation&quot; for this Act.
 

Title XIII: Commercial Space - 
(Sec. 1301) Postpones until eight years after the first licensed commercial launch of a space flight participant (currently, 8 years after the enactment of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 on December 23, 2004) the Secretary's authority to propose, without regard to specified constraints, regulations governing the design or operation of a launch vehicle to protect the health and safety of crew and space flight participants.

action_date: 2011-04-07
text: 
FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act - 
Title I: Authorizations - 
(Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for FY2010 and FY2011 for operations.
 
(Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY2010-FY2011 for: (1) air navigation facilities and equipment, (2) civil aviation research and development (R&D), (3) grants for airport planning and development and for noise compatibility planning programs, and (4) administrative expenses for certain airport programs.
 
(Sec. 103) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a program to utilize undergraduate and technical colleges, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions in research on subjects of relevance to the FAA.
 
(Sec. 105) Authorizes additional appropriations from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the FAA Operations account for other aviation programs.
 
(Sec. 106) Requires the Airway Capital Investment Plan published by the FAA Administrator to include a list of the Next Generation (NextGen) Air Transportation System projects that do not have as a primary purpose to operate or maintain the current air traffic control system.
 
(Sec. 107) Makes certain funds available for FY2010-FY2011 for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) administrative expenses.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) report to Congress and the Secretary on every U.S. airport that reported between 10,000 and 15,000 passenger enplanements during each of the two most recent years; and (2) document methods used by each airport to reach the 10,000 passenger enplanement threshold, including whether they subsidize commercial flights to reach such threshold.
 

Title II: Airport Improvements - 
(Sec. 201) Revises procedural requirements for imposition of aircraft passenger facility charges (PFCs). 
 
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to establish an alternative PFC collection pilot program at up to six airports which does not involve collection by a domestic or foreign air carrier for the flight segment. 
 
Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on alternative means of collecting PFCs without their being included in the airline ticket price.
 
(Sec. 203) Revises requirements for written assurances to allow: (1) as an AIP project cost the cost of relocating or replacing an airport due to a change in design standards beyond the control of an airport owner or operator; and (2) for reinvestment in specified other kinds of AIP projects, or transfer to another airport, of proceeds, in an AIP project for acquiring land, from disposition of the land proportional to the government's share of the cost of acquiring it.
 
Declares that a lease of land acquired for a noise compatibility purpose using an AIP grant shall not be considered a disposal of such land at fair market value in the event the land is no longer needed for a noise compatibility purpose. Authorizes such owners or operators to use lease revenues for airport capital projects.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to coordinate with airport owners or operators to ensure that such leases are consistent with noise buffering purposes.
 
 
(Sec. 204) Prescribes a special rule for the federal share of up to 95% of allowable costs for AIP projects for two years following transition of an airport's status from small hub to medium hub airport.
 
(Sec. 205) Replaces requirements for allowing as an AIP project cost the cost of terminal development in a nonrevenue-producing public-use area of a commercial service airport with requirements for allowing the cost of relocating or replacing an airport-owned facility as an AIP project cost.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to analyze the conclusions of ongoing studies of commercially-available bird radar systems and, if they have no negative impact on existing navigational aids, permit their purchase as an allowable AIP project cost.
 
(Sec. 206) Revises exceptions to the prohibition against use of local taxes on aviation fuel or the revenues generated by an airport that is the subject of federal assistance. Excepts from such prohibition any proceeds from the sale of a private airport to a public sponsor that meets specified criteria, including repayment to the Secretary of the remaining unamortized portion of the AIP grant.
 
 
(Sec. 207) Increases from 90% to 95% the federal share of costs for a grant made in FY2008, FY2009, FY2010, or FY2011 for certain AIP projects.
 
(Sec. 207[b]) Revises eligibility requirements for airport-related projects to exclude projects for the construction of bicycle storage facilities.
 
(Sec. 208) Adds Afghanistan-Iraq war veterans to veterans preference requirements for contracts involving labor on AIP projects. Requires that preference as well be given to the use of small business concerns owned and controlled by disabled veterans
 
Revises reporting requirements of the Secretary's annual AIP report to Congress, moving its deadline from April 1 to June 1.
 
Sunsets the airport security program as of September 30, 2008.
 
 
Revises requirements for special apportionments for airport noise compatibility planning and program grants to replace the 35% apportionment with a flat $300 million. Applies the same apportionment, also, to water quality mitigation projects approved in an environmental record of decision for an AIP project.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to apportion to an airport sponsor in a fiscal year an amount equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in the previous fiscal year if: (1) the airport received scheduled or unscheduled air service from a large certified air carrier, and (2) the airport had more than 10,000 passenger boardings in the preceding calendar year.
 
Extends to FY2008-FY2011 the special rule for apportioning $500,000 to an airport sponsor if the average annual passenger boardings at the airport for calendar years 2004 through 2006 were below 10,000 per year, and other requirements apply.
 
Prescribes a special rule for FY2010-FY2011. Allows an airport sponsor apportionment in FY2010 or FY2011 equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in FY2009 for an airport: (1) that had more than 10,000 passenger boardings and scheduled passenger aircraft service in calendar year 2007; but (2) in either calendar years 2008 or 2009, or both years, the number of passenger boardings at the airport decreased to below 10,000 per year.
 
Extends the meaning of &quot;airport development,&quot; for AIP project grant purposes, to construction of mobile refueler parking within a fuel farm at a nonprimary airport meeting specified requirements.
 
Revises the minimum amount to be credited to the AIP discretionary fund from amounts made available for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning and programs. Replaces the current formula for such minimum amount with a flat $520 million. States that such amount does not include any amounts apportioned in a prior fiscal year that remain available for obligation.
 
 (Sec. 209) Requires any federal agency that must approve, license, or permit a proposed action by a participating state to coordinate and consult with that state.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program for up to three states to participate in the AIP state block grant program.
 
(Sec. 210) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept funds from an airport sponsor to conduct special environmental studies related to a federally funded airport project or for special studies or reviews to support approved noise compatibility measures in a Part 150 program or environmental mitigation in an FAA Record of Decision or Finding of No Significant Impact.
 
(Sec. 211) Authorizes the Secretary to make AIP grants to airport operators to assist in completing environmental review and assessment activities for implementation of proposed flight procedures under the airport noise compatibility planning program.
 
(Sec. 212) Makes current or former military airports that are found to be critical to the safety of transoceanic air traffic eligible for certain discretionary grant funding used to develop current or former such airports.
 
(Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to carry out up to six environmental mitigation demonstration projects at public-use airports that will measurably reduce or mitigate aviation impacts on noise, air quality, or water quality in the airport vicinity. 
 
(Sec. 214) Allows AIP project costs if for airport development and: (1) is incurred before execution of the grant agreement (but in the same fiscal year) due to the short construction season in the airport's vicinity; (2) accords with an approved airport layout plan; and (3) the airport sponsor notifies the Secretary before commencing work on the project, has an alternative funding source, and any decision to proceed with the project in advance of execution of the agreement does not affect the priority assigned to the project for the allocation of discretionary funds. 
 
(Sec. 215) Makes the acquisition of glycol recovery vehicles by an airport owner or operator an allowable AIP project cost.
 
(Sec. 216) Directs the FAA Administrator to conduct research to support programs that reduce aircraft emission of gases and particulates.
 
(Sec. 217) Establishes pursuant to a specified formula a minimum guaranteed apportionment of AIP grants to airports in the U.S. territories.
 
(Sec. 218) Releases certain Merrill Field Airport land, without monetary consideration, to the municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, for conveyance to or use by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities of the state of Alaska for construction or reconstruction of a federally subsidized highway project. 
 
(Sec. 219) Authorizes the Secretary, subject to specified conditions, to release specified restrictions on the use of certain property conveyed to the city of St. George, Utah, for airport purposes.
 
(Sec. 220) Increases from one to three the number of general aviation airports that were closed or realigned former military installations that may be eligible for AIP grants as designated current or former military airports.
 
(Sec. 221) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an airport sustainability working group to assist in the development of consensus-based best practices and metrics for the sustainable design, construction, planning, and operation of airports.
 
Directs the Working Group to submit to the FAA Administrator a report containing the best practices and standards.
 
Prohibits the authorization of funds for the Working Group.
 
(Sec. 222) Declares it is U.S. policy that measures to improve the efficiency of airport buildings should be included in AIP projects, such as measures designed to meet criteria for a high-performance green building, if increased upfront project costs from such measures are justified by expected savings over the lifecycle of the project.
 
(Sec. 223) Directs the FAA Administrator to study and report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of apportioning AIP funds to primary airports in proportion to the number of passenger boardings at such an airport during the prior year bears to the aggregate of all passenger boardings at all primary airports during that year.
 
(Sec. 224) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to declare certain revenue derived from the mining of minerals at a general aviation airport to be revenue greater than that needed by the airport to carry out a five-year capital improvement program to comply with FAA design and safety standards. 
 
Allows an airport sponsor who complies with specified conditions to allocate such revenues for federal, state, or local transportation infrastructure projects carried out by the airport sponsor.
 
 

Title III: Air Traffic Control Modernization and FAA Reform - 
(Sec. 301) Establishes an Air Traffic Control Modernization Oversight Board, to be appointed by the Secretary, to provide specific oversight of FAA's modernization activities. (Effectively replaces the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council, appointed by the FAA Administrator, and its Air Traffic Services Subcommittee).
 
 
(Sec. 302) Requires the FAA Administrator to appoint a Chief NextGen Officer, who shall implement all NextGen programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT).
 
(Sec. 303) Requires the FAA Administrator to consider whether the provision of NextGen air traffic services by nongovernment providers would promote safety and improve efficiency of the National Airspace System.
 
(Sec. 304) Revises the authority of an federal agency head to transfer to or to receive from the FAA non-administrative supplies, personnel, services, and equipment. Allows such a transfer with or (as under current law) without reimbursement
 
(Sec. 305) Repeals the restriction on the FAA's authority to use noncompetitive procurement of goods and services solely to the kind of situation when such property or services are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the FAA.
 
 
(Sec. 306) Revises the FAA Administrator's authority to provide safety-related (air traffic) training and operational services to foreign aviation authorities to specify that such foreign authorities may be public or private. Allows such training and services to promote aviation efficiency or (as under current law) safety. Authorizes the FAA Administrator to bid competitively to provide such services.
 
(Sec. 307) Allows senior FAA executives and employees to participate in the Presidential Rank Award Program.
 
 
(Sec. 308) Requires: (1) the FAA Administrator to make recommendations for the realignment of FAA services and facilities to assist in the transition to NextGen facilities, and (2) the Air Traffic Control Modernization Oversight Board to study the Administrator's recommendations and make its independent recommendations to the President and Congress for realignment of aviation services or facilities.
 
(Sec. 309) Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to require the head of a participating department or federal agency to designate an office to coordinate its NextGen Air Transportation System activities with other departments or federal agencies.
 
(Sec. 310) Extends the meaning of air navigation facility to specify: (1) runway lighting and airport surface visual and other navigation aids; (2) aeronautical and meteorological information to air traffic control facilities or aircraft, supplying communication, navigation or surveillance equipment for air-to-ground or air-to-air applications; and (3) buildings, equipment, and systems dedicated to the National Airspace System.
 
(Sec. 311) Grants the FAA Administrator authority to retain as part of its appropriation any proceeds from the disposal of FAA property.
 
(Sec. 312) Directs the FAA Administrator to make payments to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the education of dependent children of those FAA employees in Puerto Rico and Guam as they are subject to transfer by policy and practice and meet specified eligibility requirements.
 
 
(Sec. 313) Revises requirements for dispute resolution between the FAA Administrator and its employees on implementation of proposed changes to the FAA personnel management system.
 
Allows the Administrator and employees by mutual agreement to adopt procedures for the resolution of disputes or impasses arising in the negotiation of a collective-bargaining agreement.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator and employee bargaining representatives, if their own negotiations and the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) have failed to lead to an agreement, to submit their controversy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, subject to specified procedures, for binding arbitration. Subjects any voluntary agreement or binding arbitration decision to ratification by the exclusive bargaining representative, if the representative so requests, and approval of the agency head. (Under current law, if the services of the FMCS do not lead to an agreement, the Administrator's proposed change to the personnel management system shall not take effect until 60 days have elapsed after the Administrator has transmitted to Congress the proposed changes, along with the objections and reasoning of the exclusive bargaining employee representatives to the changes.)
 
 (Sec. 314) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) report on navigation performance procedures and air traffic control operational changes required to maximize the efficiency and capacity of NextGen commercial operations at 137 Operational Evolution Partnership (OEP) airports, (2) establish a plan and schedule for implementing such procedures, and (3) submit to specified congressional committees a plan for deploying a nationwide data communications system.
 
(Sec. 315) Requires the FAA Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on the program and schedule for integrating automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology into the National Airspace System.
 
(Sec. 316) Directs the FAA Administrator to report on incentive options to encourage the equipage of aircraft with NextGen technologies, including ADS-B technology.
 
(Sec. 317) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish, track, and report to specified congressional committees on National Airspace System performance metrics.
 
(Sec. 318) Requires the FAA Administrator to develop plans to accelerate the process for certification of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 319) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on funding for NextGen technology.
 
(Sec. 320) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) develop plans to accelerate the integration of unmanned aerial systems into the National Airspace System, and (2) report to Congress on progress made in establishing special use airspace for the DOD to develop detection techniques for small unmanned aerial vehicles and to validate sensor integration and operation of unmanned aerial systems.
 
Directs the DOD Secretary to establish a process to develop certification and flight standards for military unmanned aerial systems at specified test sites. 
 
(Sec. 321) Requires the Air Traffic Organization to: (1) evaluate the Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X program for its potential contribution to implementation of the NextGen initiative, (2) evaluate airport surveillance technologies and associated collaborative surface management software for potential contributions to implementation of NextGen surface management, and (3) accelerate implementation of the program.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) consider options for expediting the certification of Ground Based Augmentation System technology, and (2) develop a plan to utilize such a system at the 35 OEP airports.
 
 
(Sec. 322) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a process for including qualified employees selected by each exclusive collective bargaining representative of FAA employees who are likely to be impacted by the planning, development, and deployment of air traffic control modernization projects (including the NextGen) in, and collaborating with, such employees in such planning, development, and deployment.
 
 
(Sec. 323) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an FAA Task Force on Air Traffic Control Facility Conditions to study, and make recommendations with respect to, the conditions of all air traffic control facilities in the United States.
 
(Sec. 324) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with up to five states to establish state ADS-B equipage banks to provide loans to public entities to equip aircraft with ADS-B and related avionics. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
 
(Sec. 325) Directs the FAA Administrator to implement certain DOT Inspector General air traffic control recommendations, including to provide the Los Angeles International Air Traffic Control Tower facility, the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, and the Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control facility with a sufficient number of contract instructors, classroom space, and simulators for a surge in the number of new air traffic controllers at such facilities.
 
(Sec. 326) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on the FAA strategy for implementing, on an accelerated basis, the NextGen operational capabilities produced by the Greener Skies project (reducing environmental impacts of aviation).
 
(Sec. 328) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to enter into agreements to fund, through grants or other instruments, the costs of equipping aircraft with NextGen communications, surveillance, navigation, and other avionics.
 

Title IV: Airline Service and Small Community Air Service Improvements - Subtitle A: Consumer Protection - 
(Sec. 401) Requires each air carrier and airport operator to submit for the Secretary's approval a proposed contingency plan for long onboard tarmac delays meeting minimum standards established by the Secretary.
 
Requires an air carrier to provide passengers on a departure- or arrival-delayed grounded aircraft with: (1) adequate food, water, restrooms, ventilation, and medical services; as well as (2) a time frame under which passengers may deplane a delayed aircraft after three hours, except in specified circumstances.
 
Requires an airport operator plan to describe: (1) how passengers will be deplaned following a long tarmac delay, and (2) how facilities will be shared and gates made available to aircraft that experience such delays.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to assess a civil penalty against air carriers and airport operators that fail to submit, obtain approval of, or adhere to a contingency plan. Requires public access to such plans.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a consumer hotline telephone number for air passenger complaints.
 
Authorizes appropriations.
 
(Sec. 402) Requires each air carrier conducting scheduled passenger air transportation to publish and update monthly on its website a list of chronically delayed and canceled flights and share it with booking agencies. Requires such air carriers and booking agencies to disclose such information to a customer before he or she purchases an airline ticket.
 
(Sec. 403) Expands the kinds of circumstances for mandatory DOT airline consumer complaint investigations.
 
 
(Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee for aviation consumer protection.
 
(Sec. 405) Directs the Secretary to complete a rulemaking that requires each air carrier operating in the United States to make a list of passenger fees and other charges (except airfare) available to the public and to the Secretary.
 
(Sec. 406) Treats as an unfair or deceptive trade practice for any ticket agent, air carrier, foreign air carrier, or other person to sell tickets for a flight on an air carrier without disclosing, before the purchase of the ticket, the name of the air carrier providing each flight segment.
 
(Sec. 407) Directs the DOT Office of Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement to establish rules to ensure that all consumers are able to compare airfares and charges, including taxes and fees, when purchasing airline tickets.
 
Treats as an unfair or deceptive trade practice for a domestic or foreign air carrier or ticket agent to sell an airline ticket on the Internet without displaying all applicable ticket taxes, fees, charges, and surcharges in reasonable proximity to the price of the ticket.
 
(Sec. 408) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe regulations to require each commercial air carrier to post on its website the maximum dimensions of a child safety seat that can be used on its aircraft.
 
 

Subtitle B: Essential Air Service; Small Communities - 
(Sec. 411) Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to require that, under the code-sharing pilot program, the Secretary (who is currently authorized to do so) require air carriers providing small community essential air service (EAS) and major air carriers serving large hub airports to participate in multiple code-share arrangements consistent with normal industry practice whenever and wherever the Secretary determines that such multiple code-sharing arrangements would improve air transportation services.
 
 (Sec. 412) Extends through FY2013 the effective period of final orders of the Secretary determining the eligibility of small communities for EAS subsidies after a requested review following elimination or termination of such a subsidy.
 
 
(Sec. 413) Revises requirements for certain guidelines for compensation for continued Essential Air Service (EAS) to small and rural communities. Requires such guidelines to permit the Secretary to: (1) incorporate financial incentives in EAS contracts based on specified performance goals, and (2) execute long-term EAS contracts when in the public interest to do so.
 
 (Sec. 414) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide general aviation conversion funding grants for airports that serve places no longer eligible for a subsidy under the EAS program.
 
(Sec. 415) Increases additional funding for each fiscal year for the EAS program. Requires that any amount exceeding $50 million credited for any fiscal year to the FAA account be obligated for the code-sharing pilot program and the alternate essential air service pilot program.
 
 (Sec. 416) Revises certain priorities in the funding of communities under the small community air service development program to give funding priority to multiple communities that cooperate to submit a region or multistate application to improve air service under such program. 
 
Extends the small community air service development program through FY2011.
 
 
(Sec. 417) Requires air carriers applying to provide EAS to submit a marketing plan.
 
(Sec. 418) Authorizes a state or local government to submit a proposal to the Secretary to: (1) compensate an air carrier for EAS to an eligible community above the $200 per passenger subsidy cap, (2) compensate a preferred air carrier for providing such service (i.e., an air carrier preferred by the affected community although it is not the lowest bidder), and (3) restore the eligibility of a community to receive subsidized EAS.
 
Establishes within the Office of the Secretary the Office of Rural Aviation to develop: (1) a uniform four-year contract for air carriers providing EAS, and (2) a mechanism for comparing air carrier applications to provide EAS to eligible communities. 
 
Extends the Secretary's authority to make agreements with air carriers to provide EAS to underserved airports through FY2011.
 
(Sec. 419) Repeals the Essential Air Service Local Participation Program.
 
(Sec. 420) Revises EAS program eligibility requirements to limit such service to airports (except those in Alaska) that: (1) are located not less than 90 miles from the nearest medium or large hub airport, and (2) had an average of ten enplanements per day or more. Authorizes the Secretary and FAA Administrator to waive such requirements provided certain conditions are met.
 
 

Subtitle C: Miscellaneous - 
(Sec. 431) Applies requirements for resolution of airport fee disputes to foreign air carriers (under current law, applies only to domestic air carriers).
 
(Sec. 432) Prescribes a special rule that, if the Secretary determines that a contract air traffic control tower already operating has a benefit to cost ratio of less than 1.0, the airport sponsor or state or local government having jurisdiction over the airport shall not be required to pay the portion of the costs that exceeds the benefit for a period of 18 months.
 
Establishes funding levels for FY2010-FY2011 for the air traffic control contract tower program.
 
 Increases the federal share of the cost of construction of a nonapproach control tower under the program.
 
 Directs the Secretary to establish uniform standards and requirements for safety assessments of air traffic control towers that receive funding under such program.
 
(Sec. 433) Expresses the sense of Congress that each U.S. air carrier should: (1) establish reduced air fares for all members of the Armed Forces on active duty; and (2) offer flexible terms that allow such members to purchase, modify, or cancel air tickets without time restrictions, fees (including baggage fees), ancillary costs, or penalties.
 
(Sec. 434) Authorizes Clark County, Nevada, to use certain lands in the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport Environs Overlay District for transient lodging and associated facilities, provided such structures do not pose a hazard to air navigation, result in an increase to minimum flight altitudes, or otherwise pose a significant adverse impact on airport or airport operations.
 

Title V: Safety - Subtitle A: Aviation Safety - 
(Sec. 501) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue a plan to develop an installation and deployment schedule for systems that alert air traffic controllers and flights crews to potential runway incursions. Requires such plan to be integrated into the annual FAA NextGen Implementation Plan.
 
(Sec. 502) Authorizes a person who has been substantially affected by denial of an airman certificate by an order of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), or the FAA Administrator when a NTSB order will have a significant adverse impact on FAA operations, to seek judicial review in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. 
 
 
(Sec. 503) Sets forth a process under which the FAA may release, without the consent of the aircraft owner of record, engineering data relating to abandoned aircraft type certificates and supplemental aircraft type certificates for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to a person seeking to maintain the airworthiness of such aircraft.
 
(Sec. 504) Extends by one year the authority of the FAA to issue a design organization certificate to authorize such an organization to certify compliance with certain requirements and minimum standards for the type certification of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, or appliances.
 
 
(Sec. 505) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to access criminal history records or data bases systems with regard to FAA employees.
 
(Sec. 506) Requires the FAA Administrator to issue regulations to: (1) limit the number of flight and duty time hours allowed for pilots to address pilot fatigue problems, as well as (2) require commercial air carriers to develop for FAA approval fatigue risk management plans. Requires such plans be updated and approved biennially.
 
Requires each commercial air carrier to submit a fatigue risk management plan to the FAA Administrator for review and approval.
 
Provides civil penalties for violations of such regulations.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to enter into appropriate arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study the effects of commuting on pilot fatigue.
 
(Sec. 507) Requires helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft certificate holders providing emergency medical services, if there is a medical crew on board, without regard to whether there are also patients on board, to comply with federal safety operating requirements governing commuter and on demand operations as well as persons on board aircraft. Prescribes other requirements for such certificate holders when operating under instrument flight rules or carrying out training.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to initiate a rulemaking to: (1) create a standardized checklist of risk evaluation factors for use by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft emergency medical service operators to determine whether a mission should be accepted, (2) require such operators to implement and comply with performance-based flight dispatch and flight-following procedures, and (3) develop a method to assess and ensure that such operators comply with the latter requirements.
 
Requires helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service to have on board a terrain awareness and warning system device, and a means of displaying its information, that meet FAA requirements.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) require certificate holders for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service operations to report annually on the number of such aircraft used, the number of flights and hours flown, and the number of accidents involving helicopters while providing air ambulance services; (2) issue a report on the availability, survivability, and costs of devices that record voice communications and flight data information on existing and new helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service operations; and (3) issue regulations to require such devices on board such aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 508) Prohibits an air carrier from using a person as a flight attendant, except one serving solely between points outside the United States, unless such person has the ability to read, speak, and write English.
 
(Sec. 509) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish milestones and a policy statement for the completion of certain work with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under a specified August 2000 memorandum regarding application of OSHA requirements to crewmembers while working in an aircraft.
 
 
(Sec. 510) Requires the FAA to set a target of achieving a minimum of 200 Required Navigation Performance approach procedures per fiscal year through FY2012, with 25% of that target number meeting the low visibility approach criteria consistent with the NextGen Implementation Plan.
 
Directs the DOT Inspector General to review and report to Congress on the effectiveness of the FAA's oversight of third party development of operational and flight approach procedures, including public use procedures, for the National Airspace System.
 
(Sec. 511) Requires the FAA Administrator to issue a final rule in docket No. FAA-2008-0188, Re-registration and Renewal of Aircraft Registration.
 
(Sec. 512) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) take appropriate action to ensure that the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting (VDR) Process requires inspectors to evaluate corrective action proposed by an air carrier to problems voluntarily disclosed by the air carrier and to verify that such action adequately corrects the problem within the proposed timeframe; and (2) establish a second level supervisory review of disclosures under the VDR Process before proposed disclosures are accepted and closed that will ensure that a matter disclosed by an air carrier has not been previously identified by an FAA inspector, or previously disclosed by the carrier within the preceding five years.
 
Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the VDR Program.
 
(Sec. 513) Prohibits any person holding an air carrier operating certificate from knowingly employing, or contracting with, an individual to act as an agent or representative in any matter before the FAA if, in the preceding three-year period, the individual: (1) served as, or was responsible for oversight of, an FAA flight standards inspector; and (2) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee inspection of, the operations of the certificate holder.
 
(Sec. 514) Directs the Comptroller General to review, investigate, and report to specified congressional committees on air safety issues identified and reported to the FAA Administrator by FAA employees.
 
(Sec. 515) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish within the FAA a national review team to conduct periodic, random reviews of FAA oversight of air carriers; (2) review and evaluate the FAA Academy and facility training programs; and (3) develop a plan for the reduction of runway incursions.
 
(Sec. 518) Establishes in the FAA an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office to receive and assess complaints and information relating to possible violations of aviation safety laws and regulations.
 
(Sec. 519) Directs the FAA Administrator to modify the FAA customer service initiative, mission and vision, and other policy statements to: (1) remove any reference to air carriers and other entities regulated by the FAA as &quot;customers&quot;, (2) state that in regulating safety the only FAA customers are members of the traveling public, and (3) state that air carriers and other entities regulated by the FAA do not have the right to select the FAA employees who will inspect their operations.
 
(Sec. 520) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish and report quarterly to specified congressional committees on a process for the monthly review of the FAA air transportation oversight system database by FAA employees.
 
(Sec. 521) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish and implement a safety assessment system for foreign repair stations that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft, and (2) require such stations to be inspected biannually by FAA inspectors.
 
Directs the Secretaries of State and of Transportation jointly to request foreign countries that are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization to establish standards for testing persons who perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions at their repair stations for use of alcohol and controlled substances.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to promulgate a proposed rule to require testing of foreign repair station employees for use of alcohol and controlled substances.
 
(Sec. 522) Requires the FAA Administrator to issue regulations requiring maintenance work on passenger aircraft to be performed by authorized individuals meeting specified requirements.
 
(Sec. 523) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on the use of explosive pest control devices in mitigating bird strikes in flight operations in the United States.
 

 Subtitle B: Flight Safety - 
(Sec. 551) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an electronic pilot records database of pertinent information in FAA, air carrier, and other records (including the National Driver Register) that an air carrier shall access and evaluate before allowing an individual to begin service as a pilot. Prescribes requirements for: (1) records updating; (2) pilot access to records, and the right to review and correct inaccuracies found in them; (3) protection of, and electronic access to, records; and (4) air carrier refusal to hire if the pilot does not give consent to an air carrier to receive a record.
 
(Sec. 552) Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate a rulemaking to require air carriers to implement as part of their safety management systems: (1) an Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), (2) a Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program, (3) a Line Operational Safety Audit (LOSA) Program, and (4) a Flight Crew Fatigue Risk Management (FCFRM) Program. Declares that implementation of such programs neither limits nor invalidates the FAA's advanced qualification program. 
 
Directs the FAA Administrator, acting in collaboration with the aviation industry, to consider the viability of incorporating cockpit voice recorder data in safety oversight practices.
 
(Sec. 553) Requires the Secretary to report annually to Congress and the NTSB on NTSB air carrier safety recommendations made to and adopted or refused by the Secretary.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) require an annual inspection of each emergency locator transmitter (ELT) installed in general aviation aircraft operating in the United States to ensure that it is mounted and retained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications, (2) determine if the ELT mounting requirements and retention tests specified by Technical Standard Orders C91a and C126 are adequate, and (3) make any revisions to the requirements and tests based on the determination's results.
 
(Sec. 554) Prescribes requirements limiting the disclosure and use of ASAP, FOQA, or LOSA data in a judicial proceeding.
 
(Sec. 555) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) develop and implement a plan for reevaluation of flight crew training, testing, and certification regulations; and (2) conduct a rulemaking proceeding to require air carriers to establish remedial training programs for flight crewmembers who have demonstrated performance deficiencies or experienced failures in the training environment.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) convene a multidisciplinary panel of specialists to study and report on methods to increase the familiarity of flight crewmembers with stick pusher systems, icing conditions, and microburst and windshear weather events; and (2) report panel findings to specified congressional committees, as well as implement panel recommendations with respect to stick pusher systems.
 
(Sec. 556) Directs the FAA Administrator to conduct rulemaking proceedings to develop procedures for commercial air carriers to: (1) establish flight crewmember mentoring programs and professional development committees, and (2) establish or modify training programs for newly employed flightcrew members and for second-in-command flightcrew members trying to qualify as pilot-in-command flightcrew members.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to develop and implement means and methods for ensuring that flight crewmembers have proper qualifications and experience.
 
(Sec. 558) Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking for regulations prohibiting commercial flight crew members from using personal wireless communications devices or laptop computers while on duty on the flight deck of an aircraft in operation, except for operational, emergency safety-related, or employment-related communications. Makes such practices unlawful.
 
Subjects persons to certain penalties for violations of the requirements of this Act.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to review relevant air carrier data and to study and report to Congress on: (1) common sources of distraction for cockpit commercial flight crew members, and (2) the safety impacts of such distractions.
 
(Sec. 559) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) perform, at least annually, random, unannounced, onsite inspections of air carriers to ensure their compliance with FAA safety standards; (2) issue a final rule to establish safety standards for training programs for flight crew members and aircraft dispatchers; and (3) convene a multidisciplinary expert panel to assess and make recommendations to Congress on the best methods and optimal time needed for flight crewmembers of commercial and of commuter or on-demand air carriers to master aircraft systems and certain air maneuvers as well as length of time between training courses.
 
(Sec. 561) Requires the FAA Administrator to submit to Congress a plan for overseeing federally-certified pilot training schools.
 
Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on flight schools, flight education, and academic training requirements for certification of an individual as a pilot.
 
(Sec. 562) Requires air carriers to provide initial and annually recurring training for flight attendants and gate agents they employ or contract with regarding the serving of alcohol to passengers, as well as recognizing and dealing with intoxicated passengers.
 
(Sec. 564) Requires the FAA Administrator to initiate a study of air quality in aircraft cabins.
 

Title VI: Aviation Research - 
(Sec. 601) Makes the airport cooperative research program permanent. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2011, earmarking an amount for certain research activities related to the airport environment, including reduction of community exposure to civil aircraft noise, reduction of civil aviation emissions, or addressing water quality issues.
 
(Sec. 602) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a research grant program that accomplishes by January 1, 2016, certain performance objectives to reduce civilian aircraft energy use, emissions, and source noise.
 
Directs the Administrator to designate, using a competitive process, one or more educational and research institutions or private sector entities meeting certain criteria as a Consortium for Continuous Low Energy, Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) to perform such research.
 
(Sec. 603) Directs the Secretary to establish a research grant program that includes participation of Centers of Excellence for Alternative Jet-Fuel Research in Civil Aircraft to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from natural gas, biomass, and other renewable sources. 
 
(Sec. 604) Directs the Secretary to establish a research program that includes participation of Centers of Excellence for Coal-to-Jet-Fuel Research to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from clean coal. 
 
(Sec. 605) Directs the FAA Administrator to continue the program to consider awards to nonprofit concrete and asphalt pavement research foundations to improve the design, construction, rehabilitation, and repair of airfield pavements to aid in the development of safer, more cost effective, and more durable airfield pavements.
 
(Sec. 606) Requires the FAA Administrator to conduct aviation safety research to reduce the dangers of wake turbulence, volcanic ash, and weather on aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 607) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to: (1) arrange with the NAS to assess unmanned aircraft systems; and (2) establish three two-year cost-shared pilot projects in sparsely populated, low-density Class G air traffic airspace new test sites to conduct developmental work and service testing to improve unmanned aircraft for safe integration into the National Airspace System. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2011.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to make available on the FAA's website a five-year &quot;roadmap&quot; for introduction of unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System.
 
Prohibits the FAA Administrator from promulgating rules or regulations on model aircraft flown strictly for recreational, sport, competition, or academic purposes, and meeting certain other criteria.
 
(Sec. 608) Amends the Vision 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to reauthorize through FY2012 the FAA Center for Excellence for Applied Research and Training in the Use of Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft.
 
(Sec. 609) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program for the acquisition and use of zero emission vehicles, including the construction of infrastructure to deliver fuel and services to such vehicles, at public-use airports.
 
(Sec. 610) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to award grants to airport operators to assess airports energy needs and identify opportunities and take specified action to reduce harmful emissions and increase energy efficiency at the airports.
 
(Sec. 611) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) survey and assess leases for critical FAA facility sites; (2) list leases of FAA facilities located in or near areas suitable for the construction and operation of wind farms; and (3) report survey results, including recommendations, to specified congressional committees and the Comptroller General.
 
Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on: (1) the impact wind farms have on the National Airspace System and the extent to which DOD and the FAA have guidance, processes, and procedures in place to evaluate that impact on implementation of the NextGen air traffic control system; and (2) potential mitigation strategies, if necessary, to ensure that wind farms do not have an adverse impact on the implementation of the NextGen air traffic control system, including the installation of associated navigational aides.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to publish guidelines for the construction and operation of wind farms to be located near critical FAA facilities.
 
(Sec. 612) Directs the FAA Administrator to implement a research program for the development of air cleaning technology and sensor technology for the engine and auxiliary power unit (APU) bleed air supplied to passenger cabin and flight deck of all pressurized aircraft.
 
Authorizes appropriations.
 

Title VII: Miscellaneous - 
(Sec. 701) Extends through December 31, 2012, limited air carrier liability for third party claims arising out of acts of terrorism.
 
Extends through FY2017 the program for war risk insurance and reinsurance against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of a domestic or foreign aircraft.
 
Requires the Secretary to extend through FY2011 (currently, through FY2009), and allows the Secretary to extend through calendar year 2011 (currently, through calendar year 2009), the termination dates for existing war risk insurance and reinsurance policies.
 
 
(Sec. 702) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop a Human Intervention Management Study program for cabin crews employed by U.S. commercial air carriers.
 
(Sec. 703) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a formal, structured certification training program for the airport concessions disadvantaged business enterprise program. Permits the appointment of three additional staff to implement the programs of the airport concessions disadvantaged business enterprise initiative.
 
(Sec. 704) Extends through FY2011 the eligibility for an AIP grant of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and Midway Island Airport.
 
(Sec. 705) Makes permanent the requirement that large or medium hub airports file competitive access reports with the Secretary before receiving approval for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 706) Revises requirements for overflight fees for: (1) air traffic control and related services, and (2) other services provided to a foreign government or to any entity obtaining services outside the United States. Requires the FAA to adjust such fees, by expedited rulemaking, to make them reasonably related to the FAA costs for operation, maintenance, debt service, and overhead expenses of the services provided and the facilities and equipment used.
 
(Sec. 708) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on the training of FAA airway transportation systems specialists.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) contract with the NAS to study FAA assumptions and methods used to estimate its staffing needs for air traffic controllers, system specialists, and engineers; and (2) develop a staffing model for aviation safety inspectors.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator, in conjunction with flight service station personnel, to analyze and report to Congress on the future of Alaska flight service stations.
 
(Sec. 709) Shifts from the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) to the Secretary of the Interior specified responsibilities regarding the overflight of national parks by commercial air tour operators.
 
Requires approval of air tour management plans by the FAA Administrator and the NPS Director. Permits the NPS Director, however, to deny an application to begin commercial air tour operations at Crater Lake National Park (Oregon) without the establishment of an air tour management plan if the Director determines that such operations would unacceptably impact park resources or visitor experiences.
 
Authorizes commercial air tour operations over a national park or tribal lands in cases where there is a voluntary agreement allowing such operations over such park or lands.
 
Allows modifications of interim operating authority without further environmental process if certain requirements are met.
 
Sets forth certain reporting requirements for commercial air tour operators.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to assess fees on commercial air tour operators conducting operations over national parks. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to use such fees to develop air tour management plans for the parks.
 
Allows a commercial air tour operator to transfer to another commercial air tour operator at any time its authority to operate over a national park. 
 
(Sec. 710) Prohibits the operation of any civil subsonic turbojet of 75,000 pounds or less operating out of airports in the continental United States unless it complies with stage 3 noise levels. Allows an opt-out of such requirement for any airport operator at an airport notifying the Secretary of intent to continue the operation of noncompliant aircraft. Requires notices of such opt-outs to be made accessible to the public.
 
(Sec. 711) Prohibits the FAA Administrator, except in an emergency, from eliminating weight restrictions or prior permission rules at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey.
 
(Sec. 712) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a pilot program for redevelopment of airport property at up to four public-use airports with an approved noise compatibility program. Makes the federal share of allowable project costs 80%.
 
 
(Sec. 713) Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument on a passenger aircraft without charge if it can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment in the aircraft or under a passenger seat. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.
 
(Sec. 714) Requires an airport's master plan to address the feasibility of solid waste recycling and minimization of solid waste generation as a condition to the approval of an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 715) Directs the Secretary to establish a mandatory training program for airport owners and operators on how to certify a small business airport concession as one owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals under the airport disadvantaged business program. Authorizes appropriations.
 
Requires the Secretary to issue final regulations to adjust the personal net worth cap used in determining whether an individual is economically disadvantaged. 
 
(Sec. 716) Directs the FAA Administrator to study and report to specified congressional committees on front line manager staffing requirements in air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 717) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Secretary and appropriate congressional committees on the helicopter and fixed-wing air ambulance industry.
 
 
(Sec. 718) Repeals the March 31, 2010, sunset of the Secretary's authority to approve an application of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) for AIP grants and PFC imposition. 
 
 
(Sec. 719) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on: (1) the anticipated need over the next 10 years for aeronautical mobile telemetry services by civil aviation, and (2) the potential impact to the aerospace industry of the introduction of a new radio service operating in the same spectrum as aeronautical mobile telemetry service.
 
(Sec. 720) Directs the FAA Administrator to study and report to Congress on aviation industry best practices for flightcrew member pairing, crew resource management techniques, and pilot commuting.
 
(Sec. 721) Directs the FAA Administrator to report biennially to Congress on the costs savings that would result from eliminating or consolidating any required FAA reports to Congress that are found to be obsolete or redundant. 
 
Prohibits the FAA, with specified exceptions, from publishing any required FAA report in printed format. Requires the FAA to publish such reports in electronic form on its website.
 
(Sec. 722) Repeals a requirement that air carriers evaluate the performance of their pilots who have attained 60 years of age through a line check.
 
(Sec. 723) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on the FAA's negotiated staffing plan for the Newark Liberty Airport (New Jersey) air traffic control tower.
 
(Sec. 724) Directs the FAA Administrator, to the maximum extent practicable, to schedule the review as early as possible of construction projects which cannot be carried out in a state before May 1 because of weather during a typical calendar year.
 
(Sec. 725) Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report to Congress on: (1) the current airline and intercity passenger rail codeshare arrangements, and (2) the feasibility and costs to taxpayers and passengers of increasing intermodal connectivity of airline and intercity passenger rail facilities and systems to improve passenger travel. 
 
(Sec. 726) Requires the FAA Administrator, in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Philadelphia International Airport, before completion of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign, to monitor and report to Congress on the air noise impacts of the redesign.
 
(Sec. 727) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of aviation fuel price increases on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and on the aviation industry. 
 
(Sec. 728) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain public lands to Clark County, Nevada, for the development of flood mitigation infrastructure for the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport.
 
(Sec. 729) Directs the FAA Administrator, in administering federal aviation safety regulations, to allow an aircraft owner or operator who has volunteered for the transportation of an individual for medical purposes to accept reimbursement of operational fuel costs from a volunteer pilot organization.
 
(Sec. 730) Exempts the transportation within Alaska of cylinders of compressed oxygen, nitrous oxide, or other oxidizing gases aboard aircraft from compliance with FAA and Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) standards requiring that oxidizing gases aboard aircraft be enclosed in flame resistant outer packaging, without regard to their end use, if: (1) there is no other practical means of transporting the cylinders to their destination and ground or vessel transportation is unavailable; and (2) the transportation meets certain packaging, storage, and aircraft requirements. 
 
(Sec. 731) Amends title I of division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, to require certain Amtrak guidance and procedures permitting Amtrak ticketed passengers for a specific Amtrak route to place unloaded firearms or starter pistols in checked bags on such route to include: (1) requiring the inspection of packages containing a firearm or ammunition, and (2) the temporary suspension of firearm carriage service if credible intelligence information indicates a threat to the national rail system or specific routes or trains.
 
(Sec. 732) Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce, for the purpose of taking measurements to improve weather forecasting, to develop a plan to allow federal agencies to fly scientific instruments on commercial flights with airlines which volunteer to do so.
 
(Sec. 733) Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the aiming of the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft or in its flight path. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to five years.
 
Exempts from such prohibition: (1) individuals conducting research and development or flight test operations for an aircraft manufacturer or the FAA; (2) DOD or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel conducting research, development, operations, testing or training; or (3) an individual using a laser emergency signaling device to send a distress signal.
 
(Sec. 734) Establishes a fine and/or prison term of up to one year for: (1) photographing or otherwise recording an image produced using advanced imaging technology during the screening of an individual at an airport or upon entry into any building owned or operated by the federal government without express authorization pursuant to a federal law or regulation, or (2) knowingly distributing such image to any individual who is not so authorized to receive it. 
 
Exempts from this prohibition individuals who, while engaged in the performance of official duties, distribute, photograph, or record an image during the course of authorized intelligence activities, a criminal federal, state, or local investigation or prosecution, or for training for intelligence or law enforcement purposes.
 
(Sec. 735) Authorizes the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security (Department of Transportation [DOT]) to approve within 30 days after receipt an application of an airport operator to have the screening of passengers and property at an airport be carried out by the screening personnel of a qualified private screening company (security screening opt-out program). 
 
Requires the Under Secretary to: (1) reconsider and approve applications that are pending between January 1-February 3, 2011, and that demonstrate the level of screening of passengers and property by private personnel is equal to or greater than that provided by federal personnel; and (2) report to Congress the reasons for the denial of an application.
 
 (Sec. 736) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, to convey to the city of Mesquite, Nevada, a certain parcel of land for airport purposes.
 
(Sec. 737) Requires the Secretary, within 95 days after enactment of this Act, to grant certain air carriers an additional 24 slot exemptions from specified requirements and prohibitions concerning operation of an aircraft nonstop between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (Perimeter Rule limit), or an airport located within such perimeter, provided the exemptions will achieve certain goals. Directs the Secretary to make 10 such exemptions available to limited incumbent air carriers or new entrant air carriers and 14 available to other incumbent air carriers.
 
Requires an incumbent air carrier (other than a limited incumbent air carrier) to discontinue use of a slot for within-perimeter service between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and a large hub airport located within the perimeter rule limit upon receiving the additional slot exemption for service between that Airport and another airport located beyond the perimeter rule limit.
 
Prohibits an air carrier using such an exemption for beyond-perimeter flight operations from: (1) operating a multi-aisle or widebody aircraft in conducting such operations; or (2) selling, trading, leasing, or otherwise transferring the rights to its beyond-perimeter exemptions, except through an air carrier merger or acquisition.
 
Directs the Secretary to study the direct effects of the additional exemptions, including whether they have: (1) caused congestion problems at the airport; (2) had a negative effect on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's financial condition; (3) affected the environment around the airport; (4) resulted in a loss of service to small and medium markets within the perimeter rule limit; and (5) had a substantial negative effect on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, or Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.
 
Authorizes the Secretary, beginning six months after the study is concluded, to grant up to 8 additional slot exemptions if all additional exemptions have not had a negative effect on those airports.
 
Increases from 3 to 4 the maximum number of additional per-hour operations for slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.
 
 (Sec. 738) Orphan Earmarks Act - Rescinds any earmark of funds provided for any federal agency with more than 90% of the appropriated amount remaining available for obligation at the end of the 9th fiscal year after it was first made available. Permits the agency head to delay any such rescission if an additional obligation of the earmark is likely to occur during the following 12-month period.
 
Requires each agency head to identify and report every project that is an earmark with an unobligated balance at the end of each fiscal year to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who shall report a listing and accounting for such earmarks to Congress and to the public via the OMB website.
 
(Sec. 739) Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to ensure, beginning January 1, 2012, that all advanced imaging technology used as a primary screening method for air passengers be equipped with automatic target recognition software (software that produces a generic image of the screened individual).
 
(Sec. 740) Requires the FAA Administrator to prescribe: (1) standards to measure helicopter noise, and (2) regulations to control helicopter noise pollution in residential areas.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe regulations to: (1) reduce helicopter noise pollution in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, New York; and (2) penalize failure to comply with such regulations. Authorizes the FAA Administrator to make exceptions to such requirements for emergency, law enforcement, and military helicopters.
 
 

Title VIII: Airport and Airway Trust Fund Provisions and Related Taxes - 
(Sec. 801) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2013: (1) excise taxes on aviation fuels and air transportation of persons and property, and (2) authority for expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
 
(Sec. 803) Revises the excise tax on kerosene used in aviation to specify 35.9 cents per gallon for aviation-grade kerosene (4.3 cents per gallon if removed directly into the fuel tank of an airplane used in commercial aviation). Repeals the 21.8 cents per gallon excise tax for fuel removed directly into the fuel tank of an airplane used in noncommercial aviation.
 
Specifies aviation-grade kerosene with respect to the exemption from such excise taxes in certain cases of kerosene removed into an aircraft.
 
Imposes a floor stocks tax on any person that holds title to more than 2,000 gallons of aviation-grade kerosene fuel on April 1, 2011.
 
(Sec. 804) Establishes within the Airport and Airway Trust Fund a separate Air Traffic Control System Modernization Account, with deposits derived from taxes on aviation-grade kerosene, which shall be available for expenditures relating to the modernization of the air traffic control system.
 
(Sec. 805) Imposes through FY2013 a surtax of 14.1 cents per gallon on fuel used in aircraft which is part of a fractional ownership program. 
 
(Sec. 806) Terminates the exemption from air transportation excise taxes for turbine engine powered aircraft (small jet aircraft) operated on nonestablished lines. 
 
 
(Sec. 807) Prohibits inclusion in mandatory disclosures of passenger excise taxes on airline tickets of any amounts not attributable to such taxes.
 
(Sec. 808) Allows tax-exempt private activity bond financing for fixed-wing aircraft equipped for, and exclusively dedicated to providing, acute care emergency medical services.
 
(Sec. 809) Limits expenditures from the the Airport and Airway Trust Fund in FY2012 or FY2013 to 90% of Fund receipts plus interest credited to such Fund for such fiscal year.
 
(Sec. 810) Allows commercial airline employees who had participated in a commercial airline's tax-exempt defined benefit pension plan that was terminated or otherwise restricted to transfer to a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) any amount received from the airline (including a qualified rollover to a Roth IRA) resulting from a bankruptcy proceeding filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007. Allows exclusion from the gross income of such employees any such amount (including a qualified rollover to a Roth IRA) received from an airline that has been transferred under this Act to a traditional IRA.
 
(Sec. 811) Extends the continuous tax levy on up to 100% of payments to vendors for goods and services sold or leased to the federal government to include payments as well to vendors of property sold or leased to the federal government.
 
(Sec. 812) Revises the prohibition against allowing an income deduction to the issuing corporation for any premium paid upon the repurchase of a bond, debenture, note, or other evidence of indebtedness which is convertible into the stock of a corporation in control of, or controlled by, the issuing corporation, to the extent the repurchase price exceeds an amount equal to the adjusted issue price plus a normal call premium on bonds or other evidences of indebtedness which are not convertible. Replaces the specification of a corporation in control of, or controlled by, the issuing corporation with that of a corporation in the same parent-subsidiary controlled group as the issuing corporation.
 

Title IX: Budgetary Effects - 
(Sec. 901) Requires determination of the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, by reference to the latest statement titled &quot;Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation&quot; for this Act.
 

Title X: Rescission of Unused Transportation Earmarks and General Reporting Requirement - 
(Sec. 1002) Rescinds DOT earmarks in cases where 90% of the earmark remains available for obligation at the end of the ninth fiscal year after the earmark was made available. Permits the Secretary to delay such rescission if an additional obligation of the earmark is likely to occur in the next 12-month period.
 
(Sec. 1003) Requires each federal agency to identify and report to the OMB Director every project that is an earmark with an unobligated balance. Requires the Director to report annually to Congress and publicly post on the OMB website: (1) a listing of earmarks with unobligated balances of every agency; and (2) the number of rescissions under this title, as well as DOT earmarks scheduled for rescission.
 

Title XI: Repeal of Expansion of Information Reporting Requirements - 
(Sec. 1101) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act extending to corporations that are not tax-exempt the requirement to report payments of $600 or more to persons engaged in a trade or business.
 
Rescinds $44 billion of appropriated but unobligated discretionary funds. Exempts unobligated funds of DOD, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or the Social Security Administration. Requires the OMB Director to determine and identify from which appropriation accounts such rescissions shall apply.
 

Title XII: Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection and Liability Protection for Certain Volunteer Pilots - Subtitle A: Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection - 
 Dale Long Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act - (Sec. 1201) Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1986 to include within the definitions of &quot;member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew&quot; and &quot;public safety officer&quot; for purposes of eligibility for public safety officers' benefits an officially recognized or designated employee or volunteer member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew that is: (1) a public agency; or (2) a nonprofit entity serving the public that is officially authorized or licensed to engage in rescue activity or to provide emergency medical services and that is officially designated as a prehospital emergency medical response agency. 
 
Cancels $13 million of unobligated balances available under the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund.
 
Makes this Act applicable to injuries sustained on or after June 1, 2009.
 

Subtitle B: Liability Protection - 
Volunteer Pilot Protection Act of 2011 - (Sec. 1212) Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to exempt from liability a volunteer pilot that flies for public benefit an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured.

action_date: 2012-02-01
text: 
FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 - 
Title I: Authorizations - Subtitle A: Funding of FAA Programs - 
(Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY2012-FY2015 for: (1) airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning programs, (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air navigation facilities and equipment, and (3) FAA operations.
 
(Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary, in cases where appropriations are insufficient to meet FAA operations, to reduce nonsafety-related FAA activity expenses to a level to meet such appropriations.
 
(Sec. 104) Authorizes additional appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury for aviation programs through FY2015.
 
(Sec. 105) Requires the FAA Administrator to include in the Airway Capital Investment Plan a list of capital projects that are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
 

Subtitle B: Passenger Facility Charges - 
(Sec. 111) Converts to permanent the pilot program for passenger facility charges (PFCs) at nonhub airports.
 
(Sec. 112) Requires the Comptroller General to study alternative means of collecting PFCs without their being included in the airline ticket price.
 
(Sec. 113) Expresses the sense of Congress that airports should consider the use of qualifications-based selection in carrying out capital improvement projects funded using PFCs.
 

Subtitle C: Fees for FAA Services - 
(Sec. 121) Revises requirements for establishment and adjustment of user overflight fees for FAA services.
 
(Sec. 122) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe certain registration, certification, and other specified fees.
 

Subtitle D: Airport Improvement Program Modifications - 
(Sec. 131) Revises airport improvement program (AIP) requirements. Directs the Secretary to encourage airport sponsors and state and local officials, in the development of their airport master plans, to consider as additional goals passenger convenience, airport ground access, and access to airport facilities.
 
(Sec. 132) Extends the meaning of "airport development," for AIP project grant purposes, to: (1) construction of mobile refueler parking within a fuel farm at a nonprimary airport meeting specified requirements; (2) terminal development; and (3) acquisition and installation of facilities and equipment to provide air conditioning, heating, or electric power from terminal-based, nonexclusive use facilities to aircraft parked at a public use airport.
 
(Sec. 133) Requires an airport's master plan to address issues relating to solid waste recycling at the airport as a condition to the approval of an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 134) Repeals the requirements that competition plans include patterns of air service and airfare levels.
 
(Sec. 135) Revises requirements for written assurances on AIPs for acquiring land for a noise compatibility or airport purpose to allow for reinvestment in another specified kind of AIP of proceeds from disposition of the land proportional to the government's share of the cost of acquiring it.
 
(Sec. 136) Allows a general aviation airport sponsor, without federal sanction, to enter into a through-the-fence agreement granting a person owning residential real property adjacent to the airport access to the airfield for the person's aircraft or an aircraft the person has authorized.
 
(Sec. 137) Prescribes special rules for the federal share of allowable costs for AIP projects for: (1) transition from a small hub to medium hub airport status (90% share), and (2) economically distressed communities (95% share).
 
(Sec. 138) Revises or adds new justifications for allowable AIP project costs, including costs incurred: (1) before execution of the grant agreement because the airport has a shortened construction season due to climactic conditions in the airport vicinity, or (2) on a measure to improve the efficiency of an airport building.
 
Prescribes requirements for allowing the costs of relocating or replacing an airport-owned facility.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator, upon the conclusion of all planned research regarding avian (bird) radar systems, to: (1) update Advisory Circular No. 150/5220-25 to specify which systems have been studied, and (2) issue a final report on their use in the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 139) Adds Afghanistan-Iraq war and Persian Gulf veterans to veterans preference requirements for contracts involving labor on AIP projects. Requires that preference as well be given to the use of small business concerns owned and controlled by disabled veterans.
 
(Sec. 140) Directs the Secretary to establish a mandatory training program to provide streamlined training for airport owners and operators on how to certify a small business airport concession as one owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals under the airport disadvantaged business program.
 
Requires DOT's Inspector General to report to Congress for FY2013-FY2015 on the number of new small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (including those owned by veterans) that participated in FAA programs.
 
(Sec. 141) Authorizes the Secretary to apportion to an airport sponsor in a fiscal year an amount equal to the minimum amount apportioned to that sponsor in the previous fiscal year if: (1) the airport received scheduled or unscheduled air service from a large certificated air carrier, and (2) the airport had more than 10,000 passenger boardings in the preceding calendar year used to calculate the apportionment.
 
Prescribes a special rule for FY2012-FY2013. Allows an airport sponsor apportionment in FY2012 or FY2013 equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in FY2009 for an airport: (1) that had more than 10,000 passenger boardings and scheduled passenger aircraft service in calendar year 2007; but (2) in either calendar years 2009 or 2010, or both years, the number of passenger boardings at the airport decreased to below 10,000 per year. 
 
(Sec. 142) Requires the Secretary to make minimum supplemental apportionments to Puerto Rico and all other U.S. territories for AIP projects. Declares that nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary from making discretionary fund grants for such projects.
 
(Sec. 143) Revises the formula for reducing the amount apportioned for an AIP in a fiscal year to the sponsor of an airport having at least .25% of the total number of boardings each year in the United States and for which a passenger facility fee is imposed. Prescribes a special formula for such reductions in Hawaii with respect to an airport sponsor's PFC of $3.00 or less and a PFC of more than $3.00.
 
(Sec. 144) Extends through FY2015 the eligibility of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau for AIP grants. 
 
(Sec. 145) Revises requirements for special apportionments for airport noise compatibility planning and program grants to limit the dollar amount of the minimum 35% apportionment to a maximum of $300 million. Applies the same apportionment, also, to water quality mitigation projects approved in an environmental record of decision for an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 146) Makes current or former military airports that preserve or enhance minimum airfield infrastructure facilities to support emergency diversionary operations for transoceanic flights eligible for certain discretionary grant funding used to develop current or former such airports.
 
(Sec. 147) Prescribes a special rule that, if the Secretary determines that a contract air traffic control tower already operating under the low activity (Visual Flight Rules) Level I contract program has a benefit-to-cost ratio of less than 1.0, the airport sponsor or state or local government with jurisdiction over the airport shall not be required to pay the portion of the costs that exceeds the benefit for a period of 18 months.
 
Establishes funding levels for FY2012-FY2015 for the air traffic control contract tower program.
 
Increases the federal share of the cost of construction of a nonapproach control tower under the program.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish uniform standards and requirements for safety assessments of air traffic control towers that receive funding under such program.
 
 (Sec. 148) Applies to foreign air carriers (under current law, applies only to domestic air carriers) requirements for resolution of airport fee disputes.
 
(Sec. 149) Revises exceptions to the prohibition against use of local taxes on aviation fuel or the revenues generated by an airport for any purpose (revenue diversion) other than the capital or operating costs of the airport, the local airport system, or any other local facility owned or operated by the airport owner or operator that is directly and substantially related to the air transportation of passengers or property.
 
Excepts from such prohibition any proceeds from the sale of a privately owned airport to a public sponsor that meets specified criteria, including repayment by the private owner to the Secretary of the remaining unamortized portion of any AIP grant to that airport.
 
(Sec. 150) Repeals the prohibition against approval of any Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority application: (1) for an airport development project grant; or (2) to impose a PFC. 
 
(Sec. 151) Amends Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to extend for FY2012- FY2015 the eligibility of Midway Island Airport for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 152) Limits the amount of discretionary funds the Secretary may distribute for terminal development projects at nonhub or small hub airports to $20 million.
 
Revises reporting requirements of the Secretary's annual AIP report to Congress, moving its deadline from April 1 to June 1.
 
(Sec. 153) Extends through FY2015 the authority for grants to state and local governments for compatible land use planning and projects.
 
(Sec. 154) Directs the FAA Administrator, to the extent practicable, to schedule the review as early as possible of construction projects which cannot be carried out in a state before May 1 because of weather during a typical calendar year.
 
(Sec. 155) Directs the Secretary to evaluate the formulation of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.
 
(Sec. 156) Revises certain requirements for approval of applications for exemption from the revenue diversion prohibition under the airport privatization pilot program. Increases from 5 to 10 the number of airport exemption applications the Secretary may approve.
 

Title II: NextGen Air Transportation System and Air Traffic Control Modernization - 
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to give priority to 18 Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) activities, including demonstrations and infrastructure, trajectory-based operations, and reduced weather impact.
 
(Sec. 203) Authorizes a federal agency head to transfer non-administrative supplies, personnel, services, and equipment to, or receive them from, the FAA, with or without reimbursement (currently, only without reimbursement).
 
(Sec. 204) Requires the FAA Administrator to appoint a Chief NextGen Officer to implement all NextGen programs.
 
(Sec. 205) Extends the meaning of air navigation facility to specify: (1) runway lighting and airport surface visual and other navigation aids; (2) apparatus, equipment, software, or service for distributing aeronautical and meteorological information to air traffic control facilities or aircraft; (3) communication, navigation, or surveillance equipment for air-to-ground or air-to-air applications; and (4) buildings, equipment, and systems dedicated to the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 206) Repeals the restriction on the FAA's authority to use noncompetitive procurement of goods and services that allows such procurement only in the kind of situation when the property or services are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy FAA needs.
 
(Sec. 207) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to bid competitively to provide air traffic services to aviation authorities abroad, both public and private, if it promotes aviation safety and efficiency (currently, only safety). Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept payments for such services in arrears (rather than in advance).
 
(Sec. 208) Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to make the director of the NextGen Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) the Associate Administrator for NextGen Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination within the FAA, to be appointed by the FAA Administrator, with the approval of the Secretary.
 
Specifies additional JPDO responsibilities.
 
Requires NextGen partner federal agencies to designate senior officials to carry out NextGen activities at their respective agencies.
 
Requires the JPDO to coordinate NextGen activities with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
 
Requires the integrated NextGen plan to include a multiagency integrated work plan containing certain elements, including an outline of the activities of partner federal agencies required to achieve the end-state architecture.
 
(Sec. 209) Requires the Next Generation Air Transportation Senior Policy Committee to meet at least twice each year. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on progress made by NextGen partner federal agencies in implementing the NextGen integrated work plan.
 
(Sec. 210) Grants the FAA Administrator authority to retain as part of its appropriation any proceeds from the disposal of FAA property.
 
(Sec. 211) Directs the DOT Inspector General to review the award and oversight of FAA contracts to provide automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services for the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 212) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange with the National Research Council to review and report to Congress on the enterprise architecture for the NextGen.
 
(Sec. 213) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) report on navigation performance and area navigation operations and procedures required to maximize the efficiency and capacity of NextGen commercial operations at 35 operational evolution partnership (OEP) airports and 35 non-OEP airports, including any medium or small hub airports within the same metroplex area; (2) establish a plan and schedule for implementing such procedures; and (3) submit to Congress a plan for deploying a nationwide data communications system.
 
(Sec. 214) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish, track, and report to Congress on specified National Airspace System performance metrics.
 
(Sec. 215) Requires the FAA Administrator to develop plans to accelerate the process for certification of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 216) Directs the Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization to: (1) evaluate the Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X program for its potential contribution to implementation of the NextGen initiative, (2) evaluate airport surveillance technologies and associated collaborative surface management software for potential contributions to implementation of NextGen surface management, and (3) accelerate implementation of the program.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) consider options for expediting the certification of Ground-Based Augmentation System technology, and (2) develop a plan to utilize such a system at the 35 OEP airports.
 
(Sec. 217) Requires the FAA Administrator to include certain stakeholders to serve in a collaborative capacity in the planning and development of air traffic control modernization projects, including NextGen.
 
(Sec. 218) Requires the FAA Administrator, in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Philadelphia International Airport, to monitor the noise impacts of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.
 
(Sec. 219) Requires the FAA Administrator to study the feasibility of developing a public website on the height and latitudinal and longitudinal locations of guy-wire and free-standing tower obstructions.
 
(Sec. 220) Directs the FAA Administrator to enter into an agreement, on a competitive basis, to assist the establishment of a center of excellence for the research and development of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 221) Authorizes the Secretary to establish an avionics equipage incentive program to equip through public-private partnerships general aviation and commercial aircraft with communications, surveillance, navigation, and other avionics equipment to achieve NextGen capabilities.
 
(Sec. 222) Requires the FAA Administrator to issue a report that identifies incentive options to encourage the equipage of aircraft with NextGen technologies, including ADS-B technology.
 
(Sec. 223) Directs the FAA Administrator to make payments to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the education of dependent children of those FAA employees in Puerto Rico and Guam as they are subject to transfer by policy and practice and meet specified eligibility requirements. 
(Sec. 224) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) ensure a sufficient number of contract instructors, classroom space, and simulators to allow for an increase in the number of air traffic controllers at air traffic control facilities, and (2) initiate an analysis of scheduling processes and practices at those facilities as well as training programs with below-average success rates. 
(Sec. 225) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on the FAA strategy for implementing, on an accelerated basis, the NextGen operational capabilities produced by the Greener Skies project (for reducing environmental impacts of aviation). 

Title III: Safety - Subtitle A: General Provisions - 
(Sec. 301) Authorizes a person substantially affected (denied an airman certificate) by an order of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), or the FAA Administrator when an NTSB order will have a significant adverse impact on FAA issuance or renewal of airman certificates, to seek judicial review in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. 
(Sec. 302) Prescribes a process under which the FAA may release, without the consent of the aircraft's owner of record, engineering data relating to abandoned aircraft type certificates and supplemental aircraft type certificates for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to a person seeking to maintain the airworthiness of or develop product improvements to such aircraft or equipment. 
(Sec. 303) Revises requirements for FAA issuance of a design organization certificate to a design organization (as under current law), a production organization, or a design and production organization which authorizes the organization to certify compliance of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances with the pertinent requirements and minimum standards. Calls an organization holding such a certificate a certified design and production organization (CDPO). 
 
(Sec. 304) Prohibits anyone from serving as a flight attendant, except solely between points outside the United States, unless he or she has the ability to read, speak, and write English.
 
(Sec. 305) Repeals the requirement that air carriers evaluate biannually through a line check the performance of their pilots who have attained age 60.
 
(Sec. 306) Requires part 135 certificate holders providing helicopter air ambulance services to comply with certain weather minimums and flight and duty time regulations whenever medical personnel are onboard the aircraft. Exempts a certificate holder who is training under instrument flight rules from the weather reporting requirement if authorized by the FAA Administrator.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) issue a final rule to improve the safety of flight crewmembers, medical personnel, and passengers onboard helicopters providing helicopter air ambulance services; and (2) ensure that a part 135 certificate holder providing such services to establish a flight risk evaluation program, have an operational control center if 10 or more helicopters are used, and report certain data.
 
(Sec. 307) Makes it unlawful for a flight crewmember of an aircraft used to provide air transportation to use a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer while at his or her duty station on the aircraft's flight deck while the aircraft is being operated, except for operational, emergency safety-related, or employment-related communications, or another purpose directly related to operation of the aircraft. Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate a rulemaking for implementing regulations.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review relevant air carrier data, (2) identify common sources of distraction for flight crewmembers on the flight deck, and (3) determine the safety impacts of such distractions.
 
(Sec. 308) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish and implement a safety assessment system for all part 145 repair stations located outside the United States that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft; and (2) require such stations to be inspected as safety concerns warrant.
 
Requires the safety assessment system also to: (1) consider inspection results and findings submitted by foreign civil aviation authorities operating under a maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreement with the United States, and (2) require all maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreements with the United States to provide an opportunity for the FAA to conduct independent inspections of covered part 145 repair stations when safety concerns warrant them.
 
Directs the Secretaries of State and of Transportation jointly to request foreign countries belonging to the International Civil Aviation Organization to establish standards for alcohol and controlled substances testing of persons who perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions on commercial air carrier aircraft.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to promulgate a proposed rule to require alcohol and controlled substances testing of foreign part 145 repair station employees responsible for safety-sensitive maintenance functions on part 121 air carrier aircraft.
 
(Sec. 309) Requires air carriers to provide initial and annually recurring training for flight attendants they employ or contract with regarding the serving of alcohol to passengers, as well as recognizing and dealing with disruptive passengers.
 
(Sec. 310) Prohibits the public disclosure of certain safety information (except de-identified information) voluntarily submitted to the FAA.
 
(Sec. 311) Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the aiming of the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft or in its flight path. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to five years.
 
Exempts from such prohibition: (1) individuals conducting research and development or flight test operations for an aircraft manufacturer or the FAA; (2) DOD or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel conducting research, development, operations, testing or training; or (3) an individual using a laser emergency signaling device to send a distress signal. 
(Sec. 312) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the FAA aircraft certification and approval process, and (2) make recommendations to improve and streamline it. 
(Sec. 313) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an advisory panel to: (1) review the October 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on certification and approval processes (GAO-11-14) and develop related recommendations, (2) determine the causes of inconsistent interpretation of regulations by the FAA Flight Standards Service and Aircraft Certification Service, and (3) develop recommendations to improve the consistency of interpreting such regulations. 
(Sec. 314) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop: (1) a strategic runway safety plan; (2) a process for tracking and investigating operational errors, losses of standard separation, and runway incursions; and (3) report a plan for installing systems to alert controllers or flight crew members of potential runway incursions. 
(Sec. 315) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Flight Standards Evaluation Program to: (1) include periodic and random reviews as part of FAA's oversight of air carriers; and (2) prohibit an individual from participating in the review of an office with responsibility for an air carrier if, for five-years preceding such review, such individual had responsibility for inspecting that carrier's operations. 
(Sec. 316) Directs the Comptroller General to study the effectiveness of FAA oversight activities to prevent or mitigate the effects of dense, continuous smoke in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft. 
(Sec. 317) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review off-airport, low-altitude aircraft weather observation technologies; and (2) study the feasibility of requiring air ambulance helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles during nighttime operations. 
(Sec. 319) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue regulations requiring covered maintenance work on passenger aircraft to be performed by certain authorized individuals employed by: (1) a part 121 (domestic) air carrier; (2) a part 145 repair station or a person holding a valid Transport Canada Civil Aviation Maintenance Engineer license; or (3) a person providing contract maintenance workers, services, or maintenance functions to a part 145 repair station or part 121 air carrier and meeting related requirements. 
(Sec. 320) Requires the FAA Administrator to study air quality in aircraft cabins.
 
(Sec. 321) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) issue improved pilot licenses that are tamper-resistant, include a photograph, and are smart cards capable of accommodating iris and fingerprint biometric identifiers; and (2) develop methods to determine whether a license has been tampered with, altered, or counterfeited. 
 

Subtitle B: Unmanned Aircraft Systems - 
(Sec. 332) Requires the Secretary to develop a plan to accelerate safely the integration by September 30, 2015, of civil unmanned aircraft systems (UASes, or drones) into the national airspace system.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a pilot program to integrate drones into the national airspace system at six test ranges meeting specified criteria.
 
Directs the Secretary to develop a plan to designate permanent areas in the Arctic where small drones may operate 24 hours per day for research and commercial purposes. 
(Sec. 333) Requires the Secretary to determine if certain drones may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of the plan. 
(Sec. 334) Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance regarding the operation of public drones to expedite the issuance of a certificate of authorization process, and for other specified reasons; and (2) enter into agreements with appropriate government agencies to simplify the process for issuing certificates of waiver or authorization to operate public drones in such system.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to develop and implement, by December 31, 2015, operational and certification requirements for the operation of public drones in the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 335) Directs the FAA Administrator to carry out all safety studies necessary to support the integration of drones into the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 336) Prohibits the FAA Administrator from promulgating rules or regulations on model aircraft flown strictly for hobby or recreational purposes and meeting certain other criteria.
 

Subtitle C: Safety and Protections
 - (Sec. 341) Establishes in the FAA an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office, which shall receive and assess complaints and information relating to possible violations of aviation safety laws and regulations.
 
(Sec. 342) Prohibits any person holding an air carrier operating certificate from knowingly employing, or contracting with, an individual to act as an agent or representative of the certificate holder in any matter before the FAA if, in the preceding two-year period, the individual: (1) served as, or was responsible for oversight of, a FAA flight standards inspector; and (2) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee inspection of, the operations of the certificate holder.
 
(Sec. 343) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the monthly review of the FAA air transportation oversight system database by regional teams of FAA employees, including at least one employee on each team representing aviation safety inspectors.
 
(Sec. 344) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program to require inspectors to: (1) verify that air carriers implement comprehensive solutions to correct the underlying causes of the violations they have voluntarily disclosed; and (2) confirm, before approving a final report of a disclosed violation, that a violation with the same root causes has not previously been discovered by an inspector or self-disclosed by the air carrier.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the review and approval of voluntary self-disclosures received from air carriers.
 
Requires the DOT Inspector General to study the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program.
 
(Sec. 345) Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate rulemaking proceedings regarding duty periods and flight time limitations for flight crew members.
 
(Sec. 346) Prohibits the FAA Administrator from finalizing a rule regarding flight time and rest period regulations for part 135 certificate holders providing air ambulance services and pilots and flight crewmembers of all-cargo aircraft, as proposed in docket No. FAA-2010-1259, Interpretations of Rest Requirements, published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2010.
 
(Sec. 347) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) require an annual inspection of each emergency locator transmitter (ELT) installed in general aviation aircraft operating in the United States to ensure that it is mounted and retained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications, (2) determine if the ELT mounting requirements and retention tests specified by Technical Standard Orders C91a and C126 are adequate, and (3) make any revisions to the requirements and tests based on the determination's results.
 

Title IV: Air Service Improvements - Subtitle A: Passenger Air Service Improvements - 
(Sec. 401) Prohibits an individual from smoking in an aircraft: (1) in scheduled interstate, intrastate, or foreign air passenger transportation; and (2) in nonscheduled intrastate, interstate, or foreign commercial air passenger transportation, if a flight attendant is a required crewmember onboard the aircraft.
 
(Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to collect, and publish on the DOT website, data regarding canceled and diverted flights of air carriers.
 
(Sec. 403) Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry, without charge, a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument on a passenger aircraft if it can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment or under a passenger seat in accordance with FAA requirements for carry-on baggage or cargo. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.
 
(Sec. 404) Extends, through FY2014, the requirement that large or medium hub airports file competitive access reports with the Secretary before receiving approval for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 405) Expresses the sense of Congress urging all U.S. commercial air carriers to reduce air fares and eliminate certain fees or charges for members of the Armed Forces who are traveling on leave or liberty at their own expense.
 
(Sec. 406) Requires the DOT Inspector General to review air carrier flight delays, cancellations, and associated causes to update its 2000 report entitled "Audit of Air Carrier Flight Delays and Cancellations."
 
(Sec. 407) Directs the Comptroller General to study checked baggage delivery delays and the options and impact of establishing minimum standards to compensate a passenger for an unreasonable delivery delay.
 
(Sec. 408) Authorizes the Secretary to investigate consumer complaints regarding: (1) flight cancellations; (2) overbooking compliance; (3) lost, damaged, or delayed baggage; (4) fares; (5) incorrect or incomplete fare information; (6) frequent flyer mile rights; and (7) deceptive or misleading advertising.
 
(Sec. 409) Directs the FAA Administrator to study: (1) commuter and on demand aircraft operators, and (2) the impact of cell phone use in foreign aircraft during flight.
 
(Sec. 411) Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee for aviation consumer protection.
 
(Sec. 412) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe regulations to require each commercial air carrier to post on its website the maximum dimensions of a child safety seat that can be used on its aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 413) Directs the FAA Administrator to convene a meeting of air carriers to reduce, on a voluntary basis, the number of their aircraft operations during any hour at an airport so as not to exceed the maximum departure and arrival rate if: (1) such operations exceed the hourly maximum departure and arrival rate established by the FAA, and (2) such excess operations are likely to have a significant adverse effect on the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace.
 
(Sec. 414) Requires the Secretary to grant certain air carriers an additional 16 slot exemptions from specified requirements and prohibitions concerning operation of an aircraft nonstop between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (Perimeter Rule limit), or an airport located within such perimeter. Directs the Secretary to make 8 such exemptions available to limited incumbent air carriers or new entrant air carriers and 8 available to other non-limited incumbent air carriers.
 
Prohibits an air carrier using such an exemption for beyond-perimeter flight operations from: (1) operating a multi-aisle or widebody aircraft in conducting such operations, or (2) transferring the rights to its beyond-perimeter exemptions.
 
Prohibits such exemptions: (1) for operations between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and (2) from increasing the number of operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in any 1-hour period between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m. by more than 5 operations.
 
(Sec. 415) Requires certain air carriers and airport operators to submit for the Secretary's approval emergency contingency plans for: (1) how adequate food, potable water, restroom facilities, comfortable cabin temperatures, and access to medical treatment will be provided to passengers who are onboard an aircraft at the airport when departure of the flight or disembarkation of passengers is delayed; (2) sharing of facilities and gates during an airport emergency; (3) allowed deplanement of passengers following excessive tarmac delays; (4) a passenger option to deplane and return to the airport terminal when there is an excessive tarmac delay; and (5) the provision of a sterile area following excessive tarmac delays for passengers who have not yet cleared U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to establish a consumer complaints toll-free hotline telephone number for use by air passengers; and (2) certain air carriers to include on their websites, and prominently on displayed signs at airport ticket counters and any electronic ticket purchase confirmation issued to a passenger, such hotline number and other air carrier information, including contact information for the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division for service complaints.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to make available to the public a website listing countries that may require an air carrier or foreign air carrier to treat an aircraft passenger cabin with insecticides before a flight to the country or to apply an aerosol insecticide when the cabin is occupied with passengers; and (2) an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent selling a ticket in the United States for foreign air transportation to a country on the list to refer a flight ticket purchaser to the website for additional information. 
 

Subtitle B: Essential Air Service - 
(Sec. 421) Revises Essential Air Service (EAS) program eligibility requirements to limit such service to airports (except those in Alaska or Hawaii and those located more than 175 driving miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport) that had an average of 10 enplanements per service day or more. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements provided certain conditions are met.
 
(Sec. 422) Makes eligible for EAS communities that, between September 30, 2010, and September 30, 2011, received: (1) EAS for which compensation was provided to an air carrier, or (2) a 90-day notice of intent to terminate EAS but the air carrier was required to continue to provide such service.
 
(Sec. 423) Requires the Secretary, in selecting an air carrier to provide EAS for compensation to an eligible community, to consider whether an air carrier has a marketing plan.
 
(Sec. 424) Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify communities before their termination of eligibility for EAS, and (2) establish procedures by which each community notified of an impending loss of subsidy may work directly with an air carrier to ensure that the carrier is able to submit a proposal to the Secretary for EAS to such community for an amount of compensation not exceeding the subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 425) Authorizes a state or local government to submit to the Secretary a proposal for restoring EAS subsidies to an air carrier terminated from providing EAS to a small community.
 
Requires the Secretary to restore eligibility for EAS with compensation to such a community if certain conditions are met.
 
 (Sec. 426) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) increase EAS subsidies to air carriers on an expedited basis paid to compensate for increased aviation fuel costs; and (2) waive, on a case-by-case basis, the $200 per passenger subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 427) Revises certain guidelines for compensation for continued EAS to small and rural communities. Requires such guidelines to permit the Secretary to: (1) incorporate financial incentives in EAS contracts based on specified performance goals, and (2) execute long-term EAS contracts when in the public interest to do so.
 
Requires the Secretary to issue revised guidelines governing the rate of compensation paid to an air carrier for EAS.
 
(Sec. 428) Authorizes appropriations out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the EAS program for FY2012-FY2015.
 
(Sec. 429) Revises certain priorities in the funding of communities under the small community air service development (SCASD) program to give funding priority to multiple communities that cooperate to submit a regional or multistate application to improve air service under the program. 
 
Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY2012-FY2015 to make agreements to provide SCASD program assistance.
 
(Sec. 430) Repeals the requirement for a pilot EAS Local Participation Program. 
 
(Sec. 431) Extends through FY2015 the effective period of final orders of the Secretary regarding the eligibility of small communities for EAS subsidies based on the highway mileage of a community from the nearest hub airport.
 

Title V: Environmental Streamlining -
 (Sec. 501) Exempts from air tour management program requirements a national park that has 50 or fewer commercial air tour flights a year, unless the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) determines that an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement is necessary to protect park resources and values or park visitor use and enjoyment.
 
 Authorizes the NPS Director to deny an application to begin commercial air tour operations at Crater Lake National Park (Oregon) without the establishment of an air tour management plan if the Director determines that such operations would adversely affect park resources or visitor experiences.
 
Authorizes the NPS Director and the FAA Administrator, as an alternative to an air tour management plan, to enter into a voluntary agreement with a commercial air tour operator to manage commercial air tour operations over a national park.
 
(Sec. 502) Changes the requirement that the Secretary prescribe regulations for the AIP State Block Grant Program to a requirement that the Secretary issue guidance instead.
 
Requires the Secretary, in selecting a state for an AIP block grant, to find that the state has agreed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, state and local environmental policy Acts, executive orders, agency regulations and guidance, and other federal environmental requirements.
 
Requires federal agencies (other than the FAA) that issue approvals, licenses, or permits to states for projects under the AIP State Block Grant Program to: (1) coordinate and consult with the state, and (2) use adequate state environmental review analyses.
 
(Sec. 503) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept funds from an airport sponsor to hire additional staff or obtain the services of consultants to conduct: (1) special environmental studies related to an airport project; (2) special studies or reviews to support approved noise compatibility measures; (3) special studies or reviews to support environmental mitigation in an FAA record of decision or finding of no significant FAA impact; and (4) the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with new or amended flight procedures, such as required navigation performance procedures and area navigation procedures.
 
(Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to an airport operator to assist in completing environmental review and assessment activities for proposals to implement flight procedures at an airport that has been approved as part of an airport noise compatibility program.
 
(Sec. 505) Sets forth requirements with respect to the determination of the fair market value of residential properties acquired for soundproofing purposes under an airport development project.
 
(Sec. 506) Prohibits, after December 31, 2015, the operation of any civil subsonic turbojet of 75,000 pounds or less operating out of airports in the continental United States unless the aircraft complies with stage three noise levels, with exceptions for specified temporary operations.
 
(Sec. 507) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program at up to five public-use airports to design, develop, and test new air traffic flow management technology that will allow air traffic controllers to better manage the flow of aircraft on the ground and reduce ground holds and idling times for aircraft. Limits the amount that may be expended at any single public-use airport to $2.5 million. 
 
(Sec. 508) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to implement practices for the incorporation of energy-efficient measures in the construction and renovation of FAA air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 509) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the European Union (EU) should work with other contracting states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop a consensual approach to addressing aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through the ICAO; and (2) U.S. Government officials, particularly the Secretary and the FAA Administrator, should use all political, diplomatic, and legal tools to ensure that the EU's emissions trading scheme is not applied to U.S. aircraft or the operators of such aircraft, including the mandates that U.S. air carriers provide emissions data to and purchase emissions allowances from or surrender emissions allowances to EU member states.
 
(Sec. 510) Requires an owner or operator of a large hub airport to publish on its website a telephone number to receive aviation noise complaints related to the airport.
 
(Sec. 511) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program for the acquisition and use of zero-emission vehicles, including the construction of infrastructure to deliver fuel and services to such vehicles, at public-use airports.
 
(Sec. 512) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to award grants to public-use airport operators to assess airports energy needs and identify opportunities and take specified action to reduce harmful emissions and increase energy efficiency at the airports.
 

Title VI: FAA Employees and Organization - 
(Sec. 601) Revises requirements for mediation in negotiations over changes to the FAA personnel management system between the FAA Administrator and the exclusive bargaining representatives of FAA employees.
 
Authorizes the Administrator and employee bargaining representative by mutual agreement to adopt other procedures for the resolution of negotiation disputes or impasses as an alternative to using the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
 
Requires the negotiating parties, if the services of the FMCS do not lead to an agreement, to submit their controversy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel for binding arbitration. (Currently, the services of the FMCS shall be used and, if their services do not lead to an agreement, the Administrator's proposed change to the personnel management system shall not take effect until 60 days have elapsed after the Administrator has transmitted them to Congress, along with employee objections to the changes, and the reasons for such objections.)
 
Sec. 602) Allows senior FAA executives and employees to participate in the Presidential Rank Award Program.
 
(Sec. 603) Directs the Comptroller General to study training options for graduates of the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) program.
 
(Sec. 604) Directs the FAA Administrator to study frontline manager staffing requirements in air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 605) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the adequacy of the FAA technical training strategy and improvement plan for airway transportation systems specialists, and (2) make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study FAA assumptions and methods used to determine FAA systems specialist staffing needs.
 
(Sec. 606) Requires the FAA Administrator to implement by October 1, 2012, the staffing model developed by NAS for aviation safety inspectors.
 
(Sec. 607) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to appoint air traffic control specialist candidates who have received control tower operator certification and satisfied all other applicable qualifications (including successful completion of orientation training at the FAA Academy) for placement in airport traffic control facilities. Requires the Administrator to increase the number of appointments if it is determined that certified air traffic control specialists are more successful in carrying out their duties than those who are uncertified.
 
(Sec. 608) Requires the FAA Administrator to arrange with NAS to study the air traffic controller standards used by the FAA to estimate staffing needs for FAA air traffic controllers.
 
(Sec. 609) Directs the FAA Administrator to study the adequacy of training programs and improvement plan for air traffic controllers.
 
Directs the DOT Inspector General to assess FAA's air traffic controller scheduling practices. 
 
 (Sec. 610) Directs the Comptroller General to study conditions of a sampling of FAA facilities.
 
(Sec. 611) Declares that, retroactive to April 1, 1996, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) shall have the same remedial authority over FAA employee appeals under the FAA personnel management system that the MSPB had as of March 31, 1996.
 

 Title VII: Aviation Insurance -
 (Sec. 701) Extends through FY2013, and authorizes extension through December 31, 2013, existing policies of insurance and reinsurance against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of a domestic or foreign aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 702) Extends through December 31, 2013, the authority to certify that an air carrier is a victim of an act of terrorism and is liable for damages only as specified (thus extends certain limits on the third-party liability of air carriers).
 
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to use a claims adjuster independent of the underwriting agent to adjust aviation insurance claims.
 

Title VIII: Miscellaneous - 
(Sec. 801) Exempts from Privacy Act requirements regarding government records on individuals any FAA disclosures to any federal law enforcement, intelligence, protective service, immigration, or national security official in order to assist the official receiving the information in the performance of official duties.
 
(Sec. 802) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, for certification purposes only, to conduct criminal history background checks of airmen by submitting positive identification to fingerprint-based criminal repositories of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or states. Prohibits the FAA Administrator from using such authority to conduct criminal investigations. 
 
(Sec. 803) Applies certain civil penalties to violations of specified alcohol and controlled substance testing requirements.
 
(Sec. 804) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop the National Facilities Realignment and Consolidation Report to support the transition to the NextGen System.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) submit the Report to Congress with recommendations on realignment and consolidation of FAA services and facilities, and (2) realign and consolidate such services and facilities in accordance with such recommendations upon congressional approval.
 
(Sec. 805) Directs the FAA Administrator to assess the feasibility of developing a physical means, or combination of physical and procedural means, to prohibit unauthorized access to flight decks of all-cargo aircraft.
 
(Sec. 806) Directs the FAA Administrator to report biennially to Congress on the costs savings that would result from eliminating or consolidating any required FAA reports to Congress found to be obsolete or redundant. 
 
Prohibits the FAA from publishing any required FAA report in printed format unless doing so is essential to the FAA mission. Requires the FAA to publish such reports in electronic form on its website, unless publication would violate the Privacy Act or have an adverse impact on aviation safety or security.
 
(Sec. 807) Prohibits the Secretary from using funds to name, rename, designate, or redesignate any project or program under this Act for a serving Member of Congress, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator.
 
(Sec. 808) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of increases in aviation fuel prices on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and the aviation industry in general.
 
(Sec. 809) Directs the FAA Administrator to study wind turbine lighting systems. 
(Sec. 810) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the existing airline and intercity passenger rail code sharing arrangements; and (2) the feasibility, costs to taxpayers and other parties, and benefits of increasing intermodal connectivity of airline and intercity passenger rail facilities and systems to improve passenger travel. 
(Sec. 811) Directs the FAA Administrator to submit to Congress a plan outlining changes to the D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area that will decrease operational impacts and improve general aviation access to National Capital Region airports.
 
(Sec. 812) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review each FAA program and office (including the Air Traffic Organization) to identify duplicative positions, programs, roles, or offices as well as wasteful practices and inefficient policies; and (2) consolidate, phase-out, eliminate, or streamline anything duplicative, wasteful, redundant, obsolete, or ineffectual.
 
(Sec. 813) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to declare certain revenue derived from or generated by the mining of minerals at a general aviation airport to be greater than the revenue needed to carry out the airport's five-year projected maintenance needs in order to comply with FAA design and safety standards. 
 
Allows an airport sponsor in compliance with specified conditions to allocate such revenues for federal, state, or local transportation infrastructure projects carried out by the airport sponsor or by a local governing body.
 
(Sec. 814) Directs the FAA Administrator when drafting FAA contract proposals for training facilities to ensure: (1) a proposal is drafted so that all parties can fairly compete; and (2) the proposal takes into consideration the most cost-effective location, accessibility, and services options.
 
(Sec. 815) Directs the FAA Administrator to review the state of preparedness and response capability for airports located in flood plains to respond to and seek assistance in rebuilding after a catastrophic flood.
 
Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to consider as eligible for mitigation assistance the demolition and rebuilding of properties to at least base flood levels or higher, if required either by FEMA or by any state or local ordinance.
 
(Sec. 816) Requires the FAA Administrator to take necessary actions to preserve original FAA aircraft type certificate engineering and technical data related to: (1) approved aircraft type certificate numbers ATC 1 through ATC 713; and (2) Group-2 approved aircraft type certificate numbers 2-1 through 2-554.
 
(Sec. 817) Authorizes the Secretary, subject to certain conditions, to release specified restrictions on the use of property conveyed to an airport, city, or county for airport purposes.
 
(Sec. 818) Expresses the sense of Congress that Los Angeles World Airports, operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), should consult regularly with representatives of the surrounding community regarding LAX operations and plans to expand.
 
(Sec. 819) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop a Human Intervention Management Study program for cabin crews employed by U.S. commercial air carriers.
 
(Sec. 820) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on aeronautical mobile telemetry services.
 
(Sec. 821) Directs the FAA Administrator, in administering federal aviation safety regulations, to allow an aircraft owner or operator who has volunteered for the transportation of an individual for medical purposes to accept reimbursement of operational fuel costs from a volunteer pilot organization.
 
(Sec. 822) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a pilot program for redevelopment of airport property at up to four public-use airports with an approved noise compatibility program. Makes the federal share of allowable project costs 80%.
 
(Sec. 823) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on FAA's staffing and scheduling plans for New York and Newark Region air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 824) Exempts the transportation within Alaska of cylinders of compressed oxygen or other oxidizing gases aboard aircraft from compliance with FAA and Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) standards requiring that oxidizing gases aboard aircraft be enclosed in flame resistant outer packaging, without regard to their end use, if: (1) transportation by ground or water vessel transportation is unavailable and transportation by aircraft is the only practical means of transporting the cylinders to their destination, (2) the cylinders are secured and covered with a fire-resistant blanket, and (3) the aircraft operator complies with certain federal notification procedures. 
 
(Sec. 825) Rescinds any FAA earmark of funds with more than 90% of the appropriated amount remaining available for obligation at the end of the 9th fiscal year after it was first made available. Permits the FAA Administrator to delay any such rescission if an additional obligation of the earmark is likely to occur during the following 12-month period.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to identify and report every FAA earmark with an unobligated balance to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who shall report a listing for such earmarks to Congress and to the public via the OMB website. 
(Sec. 826) Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to ensure, beginning June 1, 2012, that any advanced imaging technology used for the screening of air passengers be equipped with automatic target recognition software (software that produces a generic image of the screened individual).
 
(Sec. 827) Postpones until FY2016 the Secretary's authority to propose, without regard to specified constraints, any regulations governing the design or operation of a commercial space launch vehicle to protect the health and safety of crew and space flight participants.
 
(Sec. 828) Prohibits the Secretary, with a specified exceptions, from issuing or enforcing regulations for the transportation of lithium metal or ion cells or batteries by aircraft that are more stringent than the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, as amended.
 
(Sec. 829) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish milestones and a policy statement for the completion of certain work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under a specified August 2000 memorandum of understanding regarding application of OSHA requirements to crewmembers while working in an aircraft.
 
(Sec. 830) Authorizes the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security (Department of Transportation [DOT]) to approve or deny within 120 days after receipt the application of an airport operator to have the airport screening of passengers and property be carried out by the screening personnel of a qualified private screening company (security screening opt-out program). 
 
Requires the Under Secretary to: (1) reconsider and approve applications pending between January 1, 2011, and February 3, 2011, that demonstrate the level of screening of passengers and property by private personnel is equal to or greater than that provided by federal personnel; and (2) report to the airport operator and Congress the reasons for the denial of an application. 

 Title IX: Federal Aviation Research and Development - 
(Sec. 901) Authorizes appropriations for FY2012-FY2015 for civil aviation research and development, including specified research, engineering, and development projects. 
(Sec. 903) Requires the FAA Administrator to conduct or supervise specified research to develop technologies and methods to assess the risk of and prevent defects, failures, and malfunctions in all classes of drones. 
(Sec. 904) Directs the FAA Administrator to continue to conduct, through grants and cooperative agreements, research on: (1) the design, construction, rehabilitation, and repair of airfield pavements as well as engineered material restraining systems for such runways at both general aviation and commercial airports, and (2) methods and procedures to improve certification of new technologies for introduction into the national airspace system. 
(Sec. 906) Converts the airport cooperative research program from a four-year pilot into a permanent program. 
(Sec. 907) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to increase the federal share of costs of operating regional centers of air transportation excellence and related research activities from a maximum of 50% to a maximum of 75% for any fiscal year if a center is unable to carry out authorized activities without additional funding. 
(Sec. 908) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to establish a center of excellence for aviation human resource research on: (1) human performance in the air transportation environment, including air traffic controllers, pilots, and technicians; and (2) any other aviation human resource issues pertinent to developing and maintaining a safe and efficient air transportation system. 
(Sec. 909) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, in coordination with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to: (1) maintain a research program to assess the potential effect of aviation on the environment and, if warranted, to evaluate approaches to address such effect; and (2) continue research and development into the qualification of and safe transition to the use of unleaded aviation fuel by the fleet of piston engine aircraft. 
(Sec. 911) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a research grant program that includes participation of Centers of Excellence for Alternative Jet-Fuel Research in Civil Aircraft to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from alternative sources such as natural gas, biomass, ethanol, butanol, hydrogen and other renewable sources. 
(Sec. 912) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange for an independent external review of FAA energy-, environment-, and aviation safety-related research programs. 
(Sec. 914) Directs the the FAA Administrator to establish a research program that includes participation of Centers of Excellence for Coal-to-Jet-Fuel Research to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from clean coal. 
 
(Sec. 915) Requires the FAA Administrator to conduct aviation safety research to reduce the dangers of wake turbulence, volcanic ash, and weather on aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 916) Amends the Vision 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to reauthorize through FY2015 the FAA Center for Excellence for Applied Research and Training in the Use of Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft.
 
(Sec. 917) Directs the FAA Administrator to implement a research program for the development of air cleaning technology and sensor technology for the engine and auxiliary power unit (APU) bleed air supplied to passenger cabin and flight deck of all pressurized aircraft.
 
(Sec. 918) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange for an independent external review of the enterprise architecture for the NextGen System.
 
(Sec. 919) Directs the FAA Administrator to prepare and submit a problem statement to the Transportation Research Board for the purpose of initiating a study under the Airport Cooperative Research Program of the best sustainability practices for the design, construction, planning, and operation of an airport.
 

Title X: National Mediation Board - 
(Sec. 1001) Amends the Railway Labor Act to grant the National Mediation Board (NMB) the authority to make, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of that Act.
 
(Sec. 1002) Revises requirements for a secret ballot to ascertain rail carrier employee choice of authorized representatives without interference, influence, or coercion by the carrier. Requires the NMB, in cases where there are three or more options (including the option of not being represented by any labor organization) on the ballot that do not receive a majority of the valid votes cast, to arrange for a second (runoff) election between those options receiving the largest and the second largest number of votes.
 
(Sec. 1003) Prohibits the NMB from directing an election or using any other method to determine the representative of a craft or class unless the application for representative certification is supported by a showing of interest from at least 50% of the employees in the craft or class.
 
(Sec. 1004) Requires the Comptroller General to evaluate and audit NMB programs and expenditures.
 

Title XI: Airport and Airway Trust Fund Provisions and Related Taxes - 
(Sec. 1101) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2015: (1) excise taxes on aviation fuels and air transportation of persons and property, and (2) authority for expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
 
(Sec. 1103) Imposes through FY2015 a surtax of 14.1 cents per gallon on fuel used in aircraft which is part of a fractional ownership program.
 
(Sec. 1104) Prohibits inclusion in mandatory disclosures of passenger excise taxes on airline tickets of any amounts not attributable to such taxes (non-tax charges).
 
(Sec. 1105) Allows tax-exempt private activity bond financing for fixed-wing aircraft equipped for, and exclusively dedicated to providing, acute care emergency medical services.
 
(Sec. 1106) Allows commercial airline employees who had participated in a commercial airline's tax-exempt defined benefit pension plan, that was terminated or otherwise restricted, to transfer to a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) any amount received from the airline resulting from a bankruptcy proceeding filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007. Permits also a rollover of such an amount from a Roth IRA to a traditional IRA. Allows exclusion from the gross income of such employees of any such amount received from an airline that has been transferred under this Act to a traditional IRA.
 
(Sec. 1107) Terminates the exemption from air transportation excise taxes for turbine engine powered aircraft (small jet aircraft) operated on nonestablished lines. 
 
(Sec. 1108) Revises the denial of an income deduction to the issuing corporation for any premium paid upon the repurchase of a bond, debenture, note, or other evidence of indebtedness which is convertible into the stock of a corporation in control of, or controlled by, the issuing corporation, to the extent the repurchase price exceeds the adjusted issue price plus a normal call premium on bonds or other evidences of indebtedness which are not convertible. Replaces the specification of a corporation in control of, or controlled by, the issuing corporation with that of a corporation in the same parent-subsidiary controlled group as the issuing corporation.
 

Title XII: Compliance With Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 - 
(Sec. 1201) Requires determination of the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, by reference to the latest statement entitled "Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation" for this Act.

action_date: 2012-02-14
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on February 1, 2012. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

 
FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 - 
Title I: Authorizations - Subtitle A: Funding of FAA Programs - 
(Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY2012-FY2015 for: (1) airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning programs, (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air navigation facilities and equipment, and (3) FAA operations.
 
(Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary, in cases where appropriations are insufficient to meet FAA operations, to reduce nonsafety-related FAA activity expenses to a level to meet such appropriations.
 
(Sec. 104) Authorizes additional appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury for aviation programs through FY2015.
 
(Sec. 105) Requires the FAA Administrator to include in the Airway Capital Investment Plan a list of capital projects that are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
 

Subtitle B: Passenger Facility Charges - 
(Sec. 111) Converts to permanent the pilot program for passenger facility charges (PFCs) at nonhub airports.
 
(Sec. 112) Requires the Comptroller General to study alternative means of collecting PFCs without their being included in the airline ticket price.
 
(Sec. 113) Expresses the sense of Congress that airports should consider the use of qualifications-based selection in carrying out capital improvement projects funded using PFCs.
 

Subtitle C: Fees for FAA Services - 
(Sec. 121) Revises requirements for establishment and adjustment of user overflight fees for FAA services.
 
(Sec. 122) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe certain registration, certification, and other specified fees.
 

Subtitle D: Airport Improvement Program Modifications - 
(Sec. 131) Revises airport improvement program (AIP) requirements. Directs the Secretary to encourage airport sponsors and state and local officials, in the development of their airport master plans, to consider as additional goals passenger convenience, airport ground access, and access to airport facilities.
 
(Sec. 132) Extends the meaning of "airport development," for AIP project grant purposes, to: (1) construction of mobile refueler parking within a fuel farm at a nonprimary airport meeting specified requirements; (2) terminal development; and (3) acquisition and installation of facilities and equipment to provide air conditioning, heating, or electric power from terminal-based, nonexclusive use facilities to aircraft parked at a public use airport.
 
(Sec. 133) Requires an airport's master plan to address issues relating to solid waste recycling at the airport as a condition to the approval of an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 134) Repeals the requirements that competition plans include patterns of air service and airfare levels.
 
(Sec. 135) Revises requirements for written assurances on AIPs for acquiring land for a noise compatibility or airport purpose to allow for reinvestment in another specified kind of AIP of proceeds from disposition of the land proportional to the government's share of the cost of acquiring it.
 
(Sec. 136) Allows a general aviation airport sponsor, without federal sanction, to enter into a through-the-fence agreement granting a person owning residential real property adjacent to the airport access to the airfield for the person's aircraft or an aircraft the person has authorized.
 
(Sec. 137) Prescribes special rules for the federal share of allowable costs for AIP projects for: (1) transition from a small hub to medium hub airport status (90% share), and (2) economically distressed communities (95% share).
 
(Sec. 138) Revises or adds new justifications for allowable AIP project costs, including costs incurred: (1) before execution of the grant agreement because the airport has a shortened construction season due to climactic conditions in the airport vicinity, or (2) on a measure to improve the efficiency of an airport building.
 
Prescribes requirements for allowing the costs of relocating or replacing an airport-owned facility.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator, upon the conclusion of all planned research regarding avian (bird) radar systems, to: (1) update Advisory Circular No. 150/5220-25 to specify which systems have been studied, and (2) issue a final report on their use in the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 139) Adds Afghanistan-Iraq war and Persian Gulf veterans to veterans preference requirements for contracts involving labor on AIP projects. Requires that preference as well be given to the use of small business concerns owned and controlled by disabled veterans.
 
(Sec. 140) Directs the Secretary to establish a mandatory training program to provide streamlined training for airport owners and operators on how to certify a small business airport concession as one owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals under the airport disadvantaged business program.
 
Requires DOT's Inspector General to report to Congress for FY2013-FY2015 on the number of new small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (including those owned by veterans) that participated in FAA programs.
 
(Sec. 141) Authorizes the Secretary to apportion to an airport sponsor in a fiscal year an amount equal to the minimum amount apportioned to that sponsor in the previous fiscal year if: (1) the airport received scheduled or unscheduled air service from a large certificated air carrier, and (2) the airport had more than 10,000 passenger boardings in the preceding calendar year used to calculate the apportionment.
 
Prescribes a special rule for FY2012-FY2013. Allows an airport sponsor apportionment in FY2012 or FY2013 equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in FY2009 for an airport: (1) that had more than 10,000 passenger boardings and scheduled passenger aircraft service in calendar year 2007; but (2) in either calendar years 2009 or 2010, or both years, the number of passenger boardings at the airport decreased to below 10,000 per year. 
 
(Sec. 142) Requires the Secretary to make minimum supplemental apportionments to Puerto Rico and all other U.S. territories for AIP projects. Declares that nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary from making discretionary fund grants for such projects.
 
(Sec. 143) Revises the formula for reducing the amount apportioned for an AIP in a fiscal year to the sponsor of an airport having at least .25% of the total number of boardings each year in the United States and for which a passenger facility fee is imposed. Prescribes a special formula for such reductions in Hawaii with respect to an airport sponsor's PFC of $3.00 or less and a PFC of more than $3.00.
 
(Sec. 144) Extends through FY2015 the eligibility of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau for AIP grants. 
 
(Sec. 145) Revises requirements for special apportionments for airport noise compatibility planning and program grants to limit the dollar amount of the minimum 35% apportionment to a maximum of $300 million. Applies the same apportionment, also, to water quality mitigation projects approved in an environmental record of decision for an AIP project.
 
(Sec. 146) Makes current or former military airports that preserve or enhance minimum airfield infrastructure facilities to support emergency diversionary operations for transoceanic flights eligible for certain discretionary grant funding used to develop current or former such airports.
 
(Sec. 147) Prescribes a special rule that, if the Secretary determines that a contract air traffic control tower already operating under the low activity (Visual Flight Rules) Level I contract program has a benefit-to-cost ratio of less than 1.0, the airport sponsor or state or local government with jurisdiction over the airport shall not be required to pay the portion of the costs that exceeds the benefit for a period of 18 months.
 
Establishes funding levels for FY2012-FY2015 for the air traffic control contract tower program.
 
Increases the federal share of the cost of construction of a nonapproach control tower under the program.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish uniform standards and requirements for safety assessments of air traffic control towers that receive funding under such program.
 
 (Sec. 148) Applies to foreign air carriers (under current law, applies only to domestic air carriers) requirements for resolution of airport fee disputes.
 
(Sec. 149) Revises exceptions to the prohibition against use of local taxes on aviation fuel or the revenues generated by an airport for any purpose (revenue diversion) other than the capital or operating costs of the airport, the local airport system, or any other local facility owned or operated by the airport owner or operator that is directly and substantially related to the air transportation of passengers or property.
 
Excepts from such prohibition any proceeds from the sale of a privately owned airport to a public sponsor that meets specified criteria, including repayment by the private owner to the Secretary of the remaining unamortized portion of any AIP grant to that airport.
 
(Sec. 150) Repeals the prohibition against approval of any Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority application: (1) for an airport development project grant; or (2) to impose a PFC. 
 
(Sec. 151) Amends Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to extend for FY2012- FY2015 the eligibility of Midway Island Airport for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 152) Limits the amount of discretionary funds the Secretary may distribute for terminal development projects at nonhub or small hub airports to $20 million.
 
Revises reporting requirements of the Secretary's annual AIP report to Congress, moving its deadline from April 1 to June 1.
 
(Sec. 153) Extends through FY2015 the authority for grants to state and local governments for compatible land use planning and projects.
 
(Sec. 154) Directs the FAA Administrator, to the extent practicable, to schedule the review as early as possible of construction projects which cannot be carried out in a state before May 1 because of weather during a typical calendar year.
 
(Sec. 155) Directs the Secretary to evaluate the formulation of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.
 
(Sec. 156) Revises certain requirements for approval of applications for exemption from the revenue diversion prohibition under the airport privatization pilot program. Increases from 5 to 10 the number of airport exemption applications the Secretary may approve.
 

Title II: NextGen Air Transportation System and Air Traffic Control Modernization - 
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to give priority to 18 Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) activities, including demonstrations and infrastructure, trajectory-based operations, and reduced weather impact.
 
(Sec. 203) Authorizes a federal agency head to transfer non-administrative supplies, personnel, services, and equipment to, or receive them from, the FAA, with or without reimbursement (currently, only without reimbursement).
 
(Sec. 204) Requires the FAA Administrator to appoint a Chief NextGen Officer to implement all NextGen programs.
 
(Sec. 205) Extends the meaning of air navigation facility to specify: (1) runway lighting and airport surface visual and other navigation aids; (2) apparatus, equipment, software, or service for distributing aeronautical and meteorological information to air traffic control facilities or aircraft; (3) communication, navigation, or surveillance equipment for air-to-ground or air-to-air applications; and (4) buildings, equipment, and systems dedicated to the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 206) Repeals the restriction on the FAA's authority to use noncompetitive procurement of goods and services that allows such procurement only in the kind of situation when the property or services are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy FAA needs.
 
(Sec. 207) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to bid competitively to provide air traffic services to aviation authorities abroad, both public and private, if it promotes aviation safety and efficiency (currently, only safety). Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept payments for such services in arrears (rather than in advance).
 
(Sec. 208) Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to make the director of the NextGen Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) the Associate Administrator for NextGen Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination within the FAA, to be appointed by the FAA Administrator, with the approval of the Secretary.
 
Specifies additional JPDO responsibilities.
 
Requires NextGen partner federal agencies to designate senior officials to carry out NextGen activities at their respective agencies.
 
Requires the JPDO to coordinate NextGen activities with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
 
Requires the integrated NextGen plan to include a multiagency integrated work plan containing certain elements, including an outline of the activities of partner federal agencies required to achieve the end-state architecture.
 
(Sec. 209) Requires the Next Generation Air Transportation Senior Policy Committee to meet at least twice each year. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on progress made by NextGen partner federal agencies in implementing the NextGen integrated work plan.
 
(Sec. 210) Grants the FAA Administrator authority to retain as part of its appropriation any proceeds from the disposal of FAA property.
 
(Sec. 211) Directs the DOT Inspector General to review the award and oversight of FAA contracts to provide automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services for the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 212) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange with the National Research Council to review and report to Congress on the enterprise architecture for the NextGen.
 
(Sec. 213) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) report on navigation performance and area navigation operations and procedures required to maximize the efficiency and capacity of NextGen commercial operations at 35 operational evolution partnership (OEP) airports and 35 non-OEP airports, including any medium or small hub airports within the same metroplex area; (2) establish a plan and schedule for implementing such procedures; and (3) submit to Congress a plan for deploying a nationwide data communications system.
 
(Sec. 214) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish, track, and report to Congress on specified National Airspace System performance metrics.
 
(Sec. 215) Requires the FAA Administrator to develop plans to accelerate the process for certification of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 216) Directs the Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization to: (1) evaluate the Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X program for its potential contribution to implementation of the NextGen initiative, (2) evaluate airport surveillance technologies and associated collaborative surface management software for potential contributions to implementation of NextGen surface management, and (3) accelerate implementation of the program.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) consider options for expediting the certification of Ground-Based Augmentation System technology, and (2) develop a plan to utilize such a system at the 35 OEP airports.
 
(Sec. 217) Requires the FAA Administrator to include certain stakeholders to serve in a collaborative capacity in the planning and development of air traffic control modernization projects, including NextGen.
 
(Sec. 218) Requires the FAA Administrator, in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Philadelphia International Airport, to monitor the noise impacts of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.
 
(Sec. 219) Requires the FAA Administrator to study the feasibility of developing a public website on the height and latitudinal and longitudinal locations of guy-wire and free-standing tower obstructions.
 
(Sec. 220) Directs the FAA Administrator to enter into an agreement, on a competitive basis, to assist the establishment of a center of excellence for the research and development of NextGen technologies.
 
(Sec. 221) Authorizes the Secretary to establish an avionics equipage incentive program to equip through public-private partnerships general aviation and commercial aircraft with communications, surveillance, navigation, and other avionics equipment to achieve NextGen capabilities.
 
(Sec. 222) Requires the FAA Administrator to issue a report that identifies incentive options to encourage the equipage of aircraft with NextGen technologies, including ADS-B technology.
 
(Sec. 223) Directs the FAA Administrator to make payments to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the education of dependent children of those FAA employees in Puerto Rico and Guam as they are subject to transfer by policy and practice and meet specified eligibility requirements. 
(Sec. 224) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) ensure a sufficient number of contract instructors, classroom space, and simulators to allow for an increase in the number of air traffic controllers at air traffic control facilities, and (2) initiate an analysis of scheduling processes and practices at those facilities as well as training programs with below-average success rates. 
(Sec. 225) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on the FAA strategy for implementing, on an accelerated basis, the NextGen operational capabilities produced by the Greener Skies project (for reducing environmental impacts of aviation). 

Title III: Safety - Subtitle A: General Provisions - 
(Sec. 301) Authorizes a person substantially affected (denied an airman certificate) by an order of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), or the FAA Administrator when an NTSB order will have a significant adverse impact on FAA issuance or renewal of airman certificates, to seek judicial review in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. 
(Sec. 302) Prescribes a process under which the FAA may release, without the consent of the aircraft's owner of record, engineering data relating to abandoned aircraft type certificates and supplemental aircraft type certificates for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to a person seeking to maintain the airworthiness of or develop product improvements to such aircraft or equipment. 
(Sec. 303) Revises requirements for FAA issuance of a design organization certificate to a design organization (as under current law), a production organization, or a design and production organization which authorizes the organization to certify compliance of aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances with the pertinent requirements and minimum standards. Calls an organization holding such a certificate a certified design and production organization (CDPO). 
 
(Sec. 304) Prohibits anyone from serving as a flight attendant, except solely between points outside the United States, unless he or she has the ability to read, speak, and write English.
 
(Sec. 305) Repeals the requirement that air carriers evaluate biannually through a line check the performance of their pilots who have attained age 60.
 
(Sec. 306) Requires part 135 certificate holders providing helicopter air ambulance services to comply with certain weather minimums and flight and duty time regulations whenever medical personnel are onboard the aircraft. Exempts a certificate holder who is training under instrument flight rules from the weather reporting requirement if authorized by the FAA Administrator.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) issue a final rule to improve the safety of flight crewmembers, medical personnel, and passengers onboard helicopters providing helicopter air ambulance services; and (2) ensure that a part 135 certificate holder providing such services to establish a flight risk evaluation program, have an operational control center if 10 or more helicopters are used, and report certain data.
 
(Sec. 307) Makes it unlawful for a flight crewmember of an aircraft used to provide air transportation to use a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer while at his or her duty station on the aircraft's flight deck while the aircraft is being operated, except for operational, emergency safety-related, or employment-related communications, or another purpose directly related to operation of the aircraft. Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate a rulemaking for implementing regulations.
 
Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review relevant air carrier data, (2) identify common sources of distraction for flight crewmembers on the flight deck, and (3) determine the safety impacts of such distractions.
 
(Sec. 308) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish and implement a safety assessment system for all part 145 repair stations located outside the United States that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft; and (2) require such stations to be inspected as safety concerns warrant.
 
Requires the safety assessment system also to: (1) consider inspection results and findings submitted by foreign civil aviation authorities operating under a maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreement with the United States, and (2) require all maintenance safety or maintenance implementation agreements with the United States to provide an opportunity for the FAA to conduct independent inspections of covered part 145 repair stations when safety concerns warrant them.
 
Directs the Secretaries of State and of Transportation jointly to request foreign countries belonging to the International Civil Aviation Organization to establish standards for alcohol and controlled substances testing of persons who perform safety-sensitive maintenance functions on commercial air carrier aircraft.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to promulgate a proposed rule to require alcohol and controlled substances testing of foreign part 145 repair station employees responsible for safety-sensitive maintenance functions on part 121 air carrier aircraft.
 
(Sec. 309) Requires air carriers to provide initial and annually recurring training for flight attendants they employ or contract with regarding the serving of alcohol to passengers, as well as recognizing and dealing with disruptive passengers.
 
(Sec. 310) Prohibits the public disclosure of certain safety information (except de-identified information) voluntarily submitted to the FAA.
 
(Sec. 311) Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the aiming of the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft or in its flight path. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to five years.
 
Exempts from such prohibition: (1) individuals conducting research and development or flight test operations for an aircraft manufacturer or the FAA; (2) DOD or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel conducting research, development, operations, testing or training; or (3) an individual using a laser emergency signaling device to send a distress signal. 
(Sec. 312) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the FAA aircraft certification and approval process, and (2) make recommendations to improve and streamline it. 
(Sec. 313) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish an advisory panel to: (1) review the October 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on certification and approval processes (GAO-11-14) and develop related recommendations, (2) determine the causes of inconsistent interpretation of regulations by the FAA Flight Standards Service and Aircraft Certification Service, and (3) develop recommendations to improve the consistency of interpreting such regulations. 
(Sec. 314) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop: (1) a strategic runway safety plan; (2) a process for tracking and investigating operational errors, losses of standard separation, and runway incursions; and (3) report a plan for installing systems to alert controllers or flight crew members of potential runway incursions. 
(Sec. 315) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Flight Standards Evaluation Program to: (1) include periodic and random reviews as part of FAA's oversight of air carriers; and (2) prohibit an individual from participating in the review of an office with responsibility for an air carrier if, for five-years preceding such review, such individual had responsibility for inspecting that carrier's operations. 
(Sec. 316) Directs the Comptroller General to study the effectiveness of FAA oversight activities to prevent or mitigate the effects of dense, continuous smoke in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft. 
(Sec. 317) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review off-airport, low-altitude aircraft weather observation technologies; and (2) study the feasibility of requiring air ambulance helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles during nighttime operations. 
(Sec. 319) Directs the FAA Administrator to issue regulations requiring covered maintenance work on passenger aircraft to be performed by certain authorized individuals employed by: (1) a part 121 (domestic) air carrier; (2) a part 145 repair station or a person holding a valid Transport Canada Civil Aviation Maintenance Engineer license; or (3) a person providing contract maintenance workers, services, or maintenance functions to a part 145 repair station or part 121 air carrier and meeting related requirements. 
(Sec. 320) Requires the FAA Administrator to study air quality in aircraft cabins.
 
(Sec. 321) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) issue improved pilot licenses that are tamper-resistant, include a photograph, and are smart cards capable of accommodating iris and fingerprint biometric identifiers; and (2) develop methods to determine whether a license has been tampered with, altered, or counterfeited. 
 

Subtitle B: Unmanned Aircraft Systems - 
(Sec. 332) Requires the Secretary to develop a plan to accelerate safely the integration by September 30, 2015, of civil unmanned aircraft systems (UASes, or drones) into the national airspace system.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a pilot program to integrate drones into the national airspace system at six test ranges meeting specified criteria.
 
Directs the Secretary to develop a plan to designate permanent areas in the Arctic where small drones may operate 24 hours per day for research and commercial purposes. 
(Sec. 333) Requires the Secretary to determine if certain drones may operate safely in the national airspace system before completion of the plan. 
(Sec. 334) Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue guidance regarding the operation of public drones to expedite the issuance of a certificate of authorization process, and for other specified reasons; and (2) enter into agreements with appropriate government agencies to simplify the process for issuing certificates of waiver or authorization to operate public drones in such system.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to develop and implement, by December 31, 2015, operational and certification requirements for the operation of public drones in the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 335) Directs the FAA Administrator to carry out all safety studies necessary to support the integration of drones into the national airspace system.
 
(Sec. 336) Prohibits the FAA Administrator from promulgating rules or regulations on model aircraft flown strictly for hobby or recreational purposes and meeting certain other criteria.
 

Subtitle C: Safety and Protections
 - (Sec. 341) Establishes in the FAA an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office, which shall receive and assess complaints and information relating to possible violations of aviation safety laws and regulations.
 
(Sec. 342) Prohibits any person holding an air carrier operating certificate from knowingly employing, or contracting with, an individual to act as an agent or representative of the certificate holder in any matter before the FAA if, in the preceding two-year period, the individual: (1) served as, or was responsible for oversight of, a FAA flight standards inspector; and (2) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee inspection of, the operations of the certificate holder.
 
(Sec. 343) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the monthly review of the FAA air transportation oversight system database by regional teams of FAA employees, including at least one employee on each team representing aviation safety inspectors.
 
(Sec. 344) Requires the FAA Administrator to modify the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program to require inspectors to: (1) verify that air carriers implement comprehensive solutions to correct the underlying causes of the violations they have voluntarily disclosed; and (2) confirm, before approving a final report of a disclosed violation, that a violation with the same root causes has not previously been discovered by an inspector or self-disclosed by the air carrier.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to establish a process for the review and approval of voluntary self-disclosures received from air carriers.
 
Requires the DOT Inspector General to study the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program.
 
(Sec. 345) Directs the FAA Administrator to initiate rulemaking proceedings regarding duty periods and flight time limitations for flight crew members.
 
(Sec. 346) Prohibits the FAA Administrator from finalizing a rule regarding flight time and rest period regulations for part 135 certificate holders providing air ambulance services and pilots and flight crewmembers of all-cargo aircraft, as proposed in docket No. FAA-2010-1259, Interpretations of Rest Requirements, published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2010.
 
(Sec. 347) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) require an annual inspection of each emergency locator transmitter (ELT) installed in general aviation aircraft operating in the United States to ensure that it is mounted and retained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications, (2) determine if the ELT mounting requirements and retention tests specified by Technical Standard Orders C91a and C126 are adequate, and (3) make any revisions to the requirements and tests based on the determination's results.
 

Title IV: Air Service Improvements - Subtitle A: Passenger Air Service Improvements - 
(Sec. 401) Prohibits an individual from smoking in an aircraft: (1) in scheduled interstate, intrastate, or foreign air passenger transportation; and (2) in nonscheduled intrastate, interstate, or foreign commercial air passenger transportation, if a flight attendant is a required crewmember onboard the aircraft.
 
(Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to collect, and publish on the DOT website, data regarding canceled and diverted flights of air carriers.
 
(Sec. 403) Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry, without charge, a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument on a passenger aircraft if it can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment or under a passenger seat in accordance with FAA requirements for carry-on baggage or cargo. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.
 
(Sec. 404) Extends, through FY2014, the requirement that large or medium hub airports file competitive access reports with the Secretary before receiving approval for an AIP grant.
 
(Sec. 405) Expresses the sense of Congress urging all U.S. commercial air carriers to reduce air fares and eliminate certain fees or charges for members of the Armed Forces who are traveling on leave or liberty at their own expense.
 
(Sec. 406) Requires the DOT Inspector General to review air carrier flight delays, cancellations, and associated causes to update its 2000 report entitled "Audit of Air Carrier Flight Delays and Cancellations."
 
(Sec. 407) Directs the Comptroller General to study checked baggage delivery delays and the options and impact of establishing minimum standards to compensate a passenger for an unreasonable delivery delay.
 
(Sec. 408) Authorizes the Secretary to investigate consumer complaints regarding: (1) flight cancellations; (2) overbooking compliance; (3) lost, damaged, or delayed baggage; (4) fares; (5) incorrect or incomplete fare information; (6) frequent flyer mile rights; and (7) deceptive or misleading advertising.
 
(Sec. 409) Directs the FAA Administrator to study: (1) commuter and on demand aircraft operators, and (2) the impact of cell phone use in foreign aircraft during flight.
 
(Sec. 411) Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee for aviation consumer protection.
 
(Sec. 412) Directs the FAA Administrator to prescribe regulations to require each commercial air carrier to post on its website the maximum dimensions of a child safety seat that can be used on its aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 413) Directs the FAA Administrator to convene a meeting of air carriers to reduce, on a voluntary basis, the number of their aircraft operations during any hour at an airport so as not to exceed the maximum departure and arrival rate if: (1) such operations exceed the hourly maximum departure and arrival rate established by the FAA, and (2) such excess operations are likely to have a significant adverse effect on the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace.
 
(Sec. 414) Requires the Secretary to grant certain air carriers an additional 16 slot exemptions from specified requirements and prohibitions concerning operation of an aircraft nonstop between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (Perimeter Rule limit), or an airport located within such perimeter. Directs the Secretary to make 8 such exemptions available to limited incumbent air carriers or new entrant air carriers and 8 available to other non-limited incumbent air carriers.
 
Prohibits an air carrier using such an exemption for beyond-perimeter flight operations from: (1) operating a multi-aisle or widebody aircraft in conducting such operations, or (2) transferring the rights to its beyond-perimeter exemptions.
 
Prohibits such exemptions: (1) for operations between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and (2) from increasing the number of operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in any 1-hour period between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m. by more than 5 operations.
 
(Sec. 415) Requires certain air carriers and airport operators to submit for the Secretary's approval emergency contingency plans for: (1) how adequate food, potable water, restroom facilities, comfortable cabin temperatures, and access to medical treatment will be provided to passengers who are onboard an aircraft at the airport when departure of the flight or disembarkation of passengers is delayed; (2) sharing of facilities and gates during an airport emergency; (3) allowed deplanement of passengers following excessive tarmac delays; (4) a passenger option to deplane and return to the airport terminal when there is an excessive tarmac delay; and (5) the provision of a sterile area following excessive tarmac delays for passengers who have not yet cleared U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to establish a consumer complaints toll-free hotline telephone number for use by air passengers; and (2) certain air carriers to include on their websites, and prominently on displayed signs at airport ticket counters and any electronic ticket purchase confirmation issued to a passenger, such hotline number and other air carrier information, including contact information for the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division for service complaints.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to make available to the public a website listing countries that may require an air carrier or foreign air carrier to treat an aircraft passenger cabin with insecticides before a flight to the country or to apply an aerosol insecticide when the cabin is occupied with passengers; and (2) an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent selling a ticket in the United States for foreign air transportation to a country on the list to refer a flight ticket purchaser to the website for additional information. 
 

Subtitle B: Essential Air Service - 
(Sec. 421) Revises Essential Air Service (EAS) program eligibility requirements to limit such service to airports (except those in Alaska or Hawaii and those located more than 175 driving miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport) that had an average of 10 enplanements per service day or more. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements provided certain conditions are met.
 
(Sec. 422) Makes eligible for EAS communities that, between September 30, 2010, and September 30, 2011, received: (1) EAS for which compensation was provided to an air carrier, or (2) a 90-day notice of intent to terminate EAS but the air carrier was required to continue to provide such service.
 
(Sec. 423) Requires the Secretary, in selecting an air carrier to provide EAS for compensation to an eligible community, to consider whether an air carrier has a marketing plan.
 
(Sec. 424) Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify communities before their termination of eligibility for EAS, and (2) establish procedures by which each community notified of an impending loss of subsidy may work directly with an air carrier to ensure that the carrier is able to submit a proposal to the Secretary for EAS to such community for an amount of compensation not exceeding the subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 425) Authorizes a state or local government to submit to the Secretary a proposal for restoring EAS subsidies to an air carrier terminated from providing EAS to a small community.
 
Requires the Secretary to restore eligibility for EAS with compensation to such a community if certain conditions are met.
 
 (Sec. 426) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) increase EAS subsidies to air carriers on an expedited basis paid to compensate for increased aviation fuel costs; and (2) waive, on a case-by-case basis, the $200 per passenger subsidy cap.
 
(Sec. 427) Revises certain guidelines for compensation for continued EAS to small and rural communities. Requires such guidelines to permit the Secretary to: (1) incorporate financial incentives in EAS contracts based on specified performance goals, and (2) execute long-term EAS contracts when in the public interest to do so.
 
Requires the Secretary to issue revised guidelines governing the rate of compensation paid to an air carrier for EAS.
 
(Sec. 428) Authorizes appropriations out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the EAS program for FY2012-FY2015.
 
(Sec. 429) Revises certain priorities in the funding of communities under the small community air service development (SCASD) program to give funding priority to multiple communities that cooperate to submit a regional or multistate application to improve air service under the program. 
 
Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY2012-FY2015 to make agreements to provide SCASD program assistance.
 
(Sec. 430) Repeals the requirement for a pilot EAS Local Participation Program. 
 
(Sec. 431) Extends through FY2015 the effective period of final orders of the Secretary regarding the eligibility of small communities for EAS subsidies based on the highway mileage of a community from the nearest hub airport.
 

Title V: Environmental Streamlining -
 (Sec. 501) Exempts from air tour management program requirements a national park that has 50 or fewer commercial air tour flights a year, unless the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) determines that an air tour management plan or voluntary agreement is necessary to protect park resources and values or park visitor use and enjoyment.
 
 Authorizes the NPS Director to deny an application to begin commercial air tour operations at Crater Lake National Park (Oregon) without the establishment of an air tour management plan if the Director determines that such operations would adversely affect park resources or visitor experiences.
 
Authorizes the NPS Director and the FAA Administrator, as an alternative to an air tour management plan, to enter into a voluntary agreement with a commercial air tour operator to manage commercial air tour operations over a national park.
 
(Sec. 502) Changes the requirement that the Secretary prescribe regulations for the AIP State Block Grant Program to a requirement that the Secretary issue guidance instead.
 
Requires the Secretary, in selecting a state for an AIP block grant, to find that the state has agreed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, state and local environmental policy Acts, executive orders, agency regulations and guidance, and other federal environmental requirements.
 
Requires federal agencies (other than the FAA) that issue approvals, licenses, or permits to states for projects under the AIP State Block Grant Program to: (1) coordinate and consult with the state, and (2) use adequate state environmental review analyses.
 
(Sec. 503) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to accept funds from an airport sponsor to hire additional staff or obtain the services of consultants to conduct: (1) special environmental studies related to an airport project; (2) special studies or reviews to support approved noise compatibility measures; (3) special studies or reviews to support environmental mitigation in an FAA record of decision or finding of no significant FAA impact; and (4) the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with new or amended flight procedures, such as required navigation performance procedures and area navigation procedures.
 
(Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to an airport operator to assist in completing environmental review and assessment activities for proposals to implement flight procedures at an airport that has been approved as part of an airport noise compatibility program.
 
(Sec. 505) Sets forth requirements with respect to the determination of the fair market value of residential properties acquired for soundproofing purposes under an airport development project.
 
(Sec. 506) Prohibits, after December 31, 2015, the operation of any civil subsonic turbojet of 75,000 pounds or less operating out of airports in the continental United States unless the aircraft complies with stage three noise levels, with exceptions for specified temporary operations.
 
(Sec. 507) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program at up to five public-use airports to design, develop, and test new air traffic flow management technology that will allow air traffic controllers to better manage the flow of aircraft on the ground and reduce ground holds and idling times for aircraft. Limits the amount that may be expended at any single public-use airport to $2.5 million. 
 
(Sec. 508) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to implement practices for the incorporation of energy-efficient measures in the construction and renovation of FAA air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 509) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the European Union (EU) should work with other contracting states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop a consensual approach to addressing aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through the ICAO; and (2) U.S. Government officials, particularly the Secretary and the FAA Administrator, should use all political, diplomatic, and legal tools to ensure that the EU's emissions trading scheme is not applied to U.S. aircraft or the operators of such aircraft, including the mandates that U.S. air carriers provide emissions data to and purchase emissions allowances from or surrender emissions allowances to EU member states.
 
(Sec. 510) Requires an owner or operator of a large hub airport to publish on its website a telephone number to receive aviation noise complaints related to the airport.
 
(Sec. 511) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program for the acquisition and use of zero-emission vehicles, including the construction of infrastructure to deliver fuel and services to such vehicles, at public-use airports.
 
(Sec. 512) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to award grants to public-use airport operators to assess airports energy needs and identify opportunities and take specified action to reduce harmful emissions and increase energy efficiency at the airports.
 

Title VI: FAA Employees and Organization - 
(Sec. 601) Revises requirements for mediation in negotiations over changes to the FAA personnel management system between the FAA Administrator and the exclusive bargaining representatives of FAA employees.
 
Authorizes the Administrator and employee bargaining representative by mutual agreement to adopt other procedures for the resolution of negotiation disputes or impasses as an alternative to using the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
 
Requires the negotiating parties, if the services of the FMCS do not lead to an agreement, to submit their controversy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel for binding arbitration. (Currently, the services of the FMCS shall be used and, if their services do not lead to an agreement, the Administrator's proposed change to the personnel management system shall not take effect until 60 days have elapsed after the Administrator has transmitted them to Congress, along with employee objections to the changes, and the reasons for such objections.)
 
Sec. 602) Allows senior FAA executives and employees to participate in the Presidential Rank Award Program.
 
(Sec. 603) Directs the Comptroller General to study training options for graduates of the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) program.
 
(Sec. 604) Directs the FAA Administrator to study frontline manager staffing requirements in air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 605) Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) assess the adequacy of the FAA technical training strategy and improvement plan for airway transportation systems specialists, and (2) make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study FAA assumptions and methods used to determine FAA systems specialist staffing needs.
 
(Sec. 606) Requires the FAA Administrator to implement by October 1, 2012, the staffing model developed by NAS for aviation safety inspectors.
 
(Sec. 607) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to appoint air traffic control specialist candidates who have received control tower operator certification and satisfied all other applicable qualifications (including successful completion of orientation training at the FAA Academy) for placement in airport traffic control facilities. Requires the Administrator to increase the number of appointments if it is determined that certified air traffic control specialists are more successful in carrying out their duties than those who are uncertified.
 
(Sec. 608) Requires the FAA Administrator to arrange with NAS to study the air traffic controller standards used by the FAA to estimate staffing needs for FAA air traffic controllers.
 
(Sec. 609) Directs the FAA Administrator to study the adequacy of training programs and improvement plan for air traffic controllers.
 
Directs the DOT Inspector General to assess FAA's air traffic controller scheduling practices. 
 
 (Sec. 610) Directs the Comptroller General to study conditions of a sampling of FAA facilities.
 
(Sec. 611) Declares that, retroactive to April 1, 1996, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) shall have the same remedial authority over FAA employee appeals under the FAA personnel management system that the MSPB had as of March 31, 1996.
 

 Title VII: Aviation Insurance -
 (Sec. 701) Extends through FY2013, and authorizes extension through December 31, 2013, existing policies of insurance and reinsurance against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of a domestic or foreign aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 702) Extends through December 31, 2013, the authority to certify that an air carrier is a victim of an act of terrorism and is liable for damages only as specified (thus extends certain limits on the third-party liability of air carriers).
 
(Sec. 704) Authorizes the Secretary to use a claims adjuster independent of the underwriting agent to adjust aviation insurance claims.
 

Title VIII: Miscellaneous - 
(Sec. 801) Exempts from Privacy Act requirements regarding government records on individuals any FAA disclosures to any federal law enforcement, intelligence, protective service, immigration, or national security official in order to assist the official receiving the information in the performance of official duties.
 
(Sec. 802) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, for certification purposes only, to conduct criminal history background checks of airmen by submitting positive identification to fingerprint-based criminal repositories of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or states. Prohibits the FAA Administrator from using such authority to conduct criminal investigations. 
 
(Sec. 803) Applies certain civil penalties to violations of specified alcohol and controlled substance testing requirements.
 
(Sec. 804) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop the National Facilities Realignment and Consolidation Report to support the transition to the NextGen System.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) submit the Report to Congress with recommendations on realignment and consolidation of FAA services and facilities, and (2) realign and consolidate such services and facilities in accordance with such recommendations upon congressional approval.
 
(Sec. 805) Directs the FAA Administrator to assess the feasibility of developing a physical means, or combination of physical and procedural means, to prohibit unauthorized access to flight decks of all-cargo aircraft.
 
(Sec. 806) Directs the FAA Administrator to report biennially to Congress on the costs savings that would result from eliminating or consolidating any required FAA reports to Congress found to be obsolete or redundant. 
 
Prohibits the FAA from publishing any required FAA report in printed format unless doing so is essential to the FAA mission. Requires the FAA to publish such reports in electronic form on its website, unless publication would violate the Privacy Act or have an adverse impact on aviation safety or security.
 
(Sec. 807) Prohibits the Secretary from using funds to name, rename, designate, or redesignate any project or program under this Act for a serving Member of Congress, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator.
 
(Sec. 808) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of increases in aviation fuel prices on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and the aviation industry in general.
 
(Sec. 809) Directs the FAA Administrator to study wind turbine lighting systems. 
(Sec. 810) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the existing airline and intercity passenger rail code sharing arrangements; and (2) the feasibility, costs to taxpayers and other parties, and benefits of increasing intermodal connectivity of airline and intercity passenger rail facilities and systems to improve passenger travel. 
(Sec. 811) Directs the FAA Administrator to submit to Congress a plan outlining changes to the D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area that will decrease operational impacts and improve general aviation access to National Capital Region airports.
 
(Sec. 812) Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) review each FAA program and office (including the Air Traffic Organization) to identify duplicative positions, programs, roles, or offices as well as wasteful practices and inefficient policies; and (2) consolidate, phase-out, eliminate, or streamline anything duplicative, wasteful, redundant, obsolete, or ineffectual.
 
(Sec. 813) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to declare certain revenue derived from or generated by the mining of minerals at a general aviation airport to be greater than the revenue needed to carry out the airport's five-year projected maintenance needs in order to comply with FAA design and safety standards. 
 
Allows an airport sponsor in compliance with specified conditions to allocate such revenues for federal, state, or local transportation infrastructure projects carried out by the airport sponsor or by a local governing body.
 
(Sec. 814) Directs the FAA Administrator when drafting FAA contract proposals for training facilities to ensure: (1) a proposal is drafted so that all parties can fairly compete; and (2) the proposal takes into consideration the most cost-effective location, accessibility, and services options.
 
(Sec. 815) Directs the FAA Administrator to review the state of preparedness and response capability for airports located in flood plains to respond to and seek assistance in rebuilding after a catastrophic flood.
 
Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to consider as eligible for mitigation assistance the demolition and rebuilding of properties to at least base flood levels or higher, if required either by FEMA or by any state or local ordinance.
 
(Sec. 816) Requires the FAA Administrator to take necessary actions to preserve original FAA aircraft type certificate engineering and technical data related to: (1) approved aircraft type certificate numbers ATC 1 through ATC 713; and (2) Group-2 approved aircraft type certificate numbers 2-1 through 2-554.
 
(Sec. 817) Authorizes the Secretary, subject to certain conditions, to release specified restrictions on the use of property conveyed to an airport, city, or county for airport purposes.
 
(Sec. 818) Expresses the sense of Congress that Los Angeles World Airports, operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), should consult regularly with representatives of the surrounding community regarding LAX operations and plans to expand.
 
(Sec. 819) Directs the FAA Administrator to develop a Human Intervention Management Study program for cabin crews employed by U.S. commercial air carriers.
 
(Sec. 820) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on aeronautical mobile telemetry services.
 
(Sec. 821) Directs the FAA Administrator, in administering federal aviation safety regulations, to allow an aircraft owner or operator who has volunteered for the transportation of an individual for medical purposes to accept reimbursement of operational fuel costs from a volunteer pilot organization.
 
(Sec. 822) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a pilot program for redevelopment of airport property at up to four public-use airports with an approved noise compatibility program. Makes the federal share of allowable project costs 80%.
 
(Sec. 823) Directs the FAA Administrator to report to Congress on FAA's staffing and scheduling plans for New York and Newark Region air traffic control facilities.
 
(Sec. 824) Exempts the transportation within Alaska of cylinders of compressed oxygen or other oxidizing gases aboard aircraft from compliance with FAA and Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) standards requiring that oxidizing gases aboard aircraft be enclosed in flame resistant outer packaging, without regard to their end use, if: (1) transportation by ground or water vessel transportation is unavailable and transportation by aircraft is the only practical means of transporting the cylinders to their destination, (2) the cylinders are secured and covered with a fire-resistant blanket, and (3) the aircraft operator complies with certain federal notification procedures. 
 
(Sec. 825) Rescinds any FAA earmark of funds with more than 90% of the appropriated amount remaining available for obligation at the end of the 9th fiscal year after it was first made available. Permits the FAA Administrator to delay any such rescission if an additional obligation of the earmark is likely to occur during the following 12-month period.
 
Requires the FAA Administrator to identify and report every FAA earmark with an unobligated balance to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who shall report a listing for such earmarks to Congress and to the public via the OMB website. 
(Sec. 826) Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to ensure, beginning June 1, 2012, that any advanced imaging technology used for the screening of air passengers be equipped with automatic target recognition software (software that produces a generic image of the screened individual).
 
(Sec. 827) Postpones until FY2016 the Secretary's authority to propose, without regard to specified constraints, any regulations governing the design or operation of a commercial space launch vehicle to protect the health and safety of crew and space flight participants.
 
(Sec. 828) Prohibits the Secretary, with a specified exceptions, from issuing or enforcing regulations for the transportation of lithium metal or ion cells or batteries by aircraft that are more stringent than the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, as amended.
 
(Sec. 829) Requires the FAA Administrator to establish milestones and a policy statement for the completion of certain work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under a specified August 2000 memorandum of understanding regarding application of OSHA requirements to crewmembers while working in an aircraft.
 
(Sec. 830) Authorizes the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security (Department of Transportation [DOT]) to approve or deny within 120 days after receipt the application of an airport operator to have the airport screening of passengers and property be carried out by the screening personnel of a qualified private screening company (security screening opt-out program). 
 
Requires the Under Secretary to: (1) reconsider and approve applications pending between January 1, 2011, and February 3, 2011, that demonstrate the level of screening of passengers and property by private personnel is equal to or greater than that provided by federal personnel; and (2) report to the airport operator and Congress the reasons for the denial of an application. 

 Title IX: Federal Aviation Research and Development - 
(Sec. 901) Authorizes appropriations for FY2012-FY2015 for civil aviation research and development, including specified research, engineering, and development projects. 
(Sec. 903) Requires the FAA Administrator to conduct or supervise specified research to develop technologies and methods to assess the risk of and prevent defects, failures, and malfunctions in all classes of drones. 
(Sec. 904) Directs the FAA Administrator to continue to conduct, through grants and cooperative agreements, research on: (1) the design, construction, rehabilitation, and repair of airfield pavements as well as engineered material restraining systems for such runways at both general aviation and commercial airports, and (2) methods and procedures to improve certification of new technologies for introduction into the national airspace system. 
(Sec. 906) Converts the airport cooperative research program from a four-year pilot into a permanent program. 
(Sec. 907) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to increase the federal share of costs of operating regional centers of air transportation excellence and related research activities from a maximum of 50% to a maximum of 75% for any fiscal year if a center is unable to carry out authorized activities without additional funding. 
(Sec. 908) Authorizes the FAA Administrator to establish a center of excellence for aviation human resource research on: (1) human performance in the air transportation environment, including air traffic controllers, pilots, and technicians; and (2) any other aviation human resource issues pertinent to developing and maintaining a safe and efficient air transportation system. 
(Sec. 909) Authorizes the FAA Administrator, in coordination with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to: (1) maintain a research program to assess the potential effect of aviation on the environment and, if warranted, to evaluate approaches to address such effect; and (2) continue research and development into the qualification of and safe transition to the use of unleaded aviation fuel by the fleet of piston engine aircraft. 
(Sec. 911) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a research grant program that includes participation of Centers of Excellence for Alternative Jet-Fuel Research in Civil Aircraft to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from alternative sources such as natural gas, biomass, ethanol, butanol, hydrogen and other renewable sources. 
(Sec. 912) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange for an independent external review of FAA energy-, environment-, and aviation safety-related research programs. 
(Sec. 914) Directs the the FAA Administrator to establish a research program that includes participation of Centers of Excellence for Coal-to-Jet-Fuel Research to develop technologies that produce jet fuel from clean coal. 
 
(Sec. 915) Requires the FAA Administrator to conduct aviation safety research to reduce the dangers of wake turbulence, volcanic ash, and weather on aircraft. 
 
(Sec. 916) Amends the Vision 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to reauthorize through FY2015 the FAA Center for Excellence for Applied Research and Training in the Use of Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft.
 
(Sec. 917) Directs the FAA Administrator to implement a research program for the development of air cleaning technology and sensor technology for the engine and auxiliary power unit (APU) bleed air supplied to passenger cabin and flight deck of all pressurized aircraft.
 
(Sec. 918) Directs the FAA Administrator to arrange for an independent external review of the enterprise architecture for the NextGen System.
 
(Sec. 919) Directs the FAA Administrator to prepare and submit a problem statement to the Transportation Research Board for the purpose of initiating a study under the Airport Cooperative Research Program of the best sustainability practices for the design, construction, planning, and operation of an airport.
 

Title X: National Mediation Board - 
(Sec. 1001) Amends the Railway Labor Act to grant the National Mediation Board (NMB) the authority to make, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of that Act.
 
(Sec. 1002) Revises requirements for a secret ballot to ascertain rail carrier employee choice of authorized representatives without interference, influence, or coercion by the carrier. Requires the NMB, in cases where there are three or more options (including the option of not being represented by any labor organization) on the ballot that do not receive a majority of the valid votes cast, to arrange for a second (runoff) election between those options receiving the largest and the second largest number of votes.
 
(Sec. 1003) Prohibits the NMB from directing an election or using any other method to determine the representative of a craft or class unless the application for representative certification is supported by a showing of interest from at least 50% of the employees in the craft or class.
 
(Sec. 1004) Requires the Comptroller General to evaluate and audit NMB programs and expenditures.
 

Title XI: Airport and Airway Trust Fund Provisions and Related Taxes - 
(Sec. 1101) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2015: (1) excise taxes on aviation fuels and air transportation of persons and property, and (2) authority for expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
 
(Sec. 1103) Imposes through FY2015 a surtax of 14.1 cents per gallon on fuel used in aircraft which is part of a fractional ownership program.
 
(Sec. 1104) Prohibits inclusion in mandatory disclosures of passenger excise taxes on airline tickets of any amounts not attributable to such taxes (non-tax charges).
 
(Sec. 1105) Allows tax-exempt private activity bond financing for fixed-wing aircraft equipped for, and exclusively dedicated to providing, acute care emergency medical services.
 
(Sec. 1106) Allows commercial airline employees who had participated in a commercial airline's tax-exempt defined benefit pension plan, that was terminated or otherwise restricted, to transfer to a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) any amount received from the airline resulting from a bankruptcy proceeding filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007. Permits also a rollover of such an amount from a Roth IRA to a traditional IRA. Allows exclusion from the gross income of such employees of any such amount received from an airline that has been transferred under this Act to a traditional IRA.
 
(Sec. 1107) Terminates the exemption from air transportation excise taxes for turbine engine powered aircraft (small jet aircraft) operated on nonestablished lines. 
 
(Sec. 1108) Revises the denial of an income deduction to the issuing corporation for any premium paid upon the repurchase of a bond, debenture, note, or other evidence of indebtedness which is convertible into the stock of a corporation in control of, or controlled by, the issuing corporation, to the extent the repurchase price exceeds the adjusted issue price plus a normal call premium on bonds or other evidences of indebtedness which are not convertible. Replaces the specification of a corporation in control of, or controlled by, the issuing corporation with that of a corporation in the same parent-subsidiary controlled group as the issuing corporation.
 

Title XII: Compliance With Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 - 
(Sec. 1201) Requires determination of the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, by reference to the latest statement entitled "Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation" for this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-02-14
text: Became Public Law No: 112-95.
action_date: 2012-02-14
text: Became Public Law No: 112-95.
action_date: 2012-02-14
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2012-02-14
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2012-02-08
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2012-02-08
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2012-02-06
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2012-02-06
text: Having achieved 60 votes in the affirmative, the conference report was agreed to.
action_date: 2012-02-06
text: Senate agreed to conference report by Yea-Nay Vote. 75 - 20. Record Vote Number: 15. (consideration: CR S343-344)
action_date: 2012-02-06
text: Conference report agreed to in Senate: Senate agreed to conference report by Yea-Nay Vote. 75 - 20. Record Vote Number: 15.(consideration: CR S343-344)
action_date: 2012-02-06
text: Conference report considered in Senate. (consideration: CR S333-344)
action_date: 2012-02-06
text: Conference papers: Senate report and manager's statement and message on House action held at the desk in Senate.
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: On agreeing to the conference report Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 248 - 169 (Roll no. 33).
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: Motions to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: Conference report agreed to in House: On agreeing to the conference report Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 248 - 169 (Roll no. 33).
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: The House proceeded to consider the conference report H.Rept. 112-381 as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H459)
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the conference report to H.R. 658, the Chair put the question on agreeing to the conference report and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Petri demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of agreeing to the conference report until later in the legislative day.
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. (consideration: CR H456)
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on the conference report to accompany H.R. 658.
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: Mr. Mica brought up conference report H. Rept. 112-381 for consideration under the provisions of H. Res. 533. (consideration: CR H447-456)
action_date: 2012-02-03
text: Rule H. Res. 533 passed House.
action_date: 2012-02-01
text: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 533 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of the conference report to H.R. 658. The resolution waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration. The conference report shall be considered as read and shall be debatable for not to exceed one hour.
action_date: 2012-02-01
text: Conference report H. Rept. 112-381 filed. (text of conference report: CR H230-304)
action_date: 2012-02-01
text: Conference report filed: Conference report H. Rept. 112-381 filed.(text of conference report: CR H230-304)
action_date: 2012-02-01
text: Conferees agreed to file conference report.
action_date: 2012-02-01
text: Conference committee actions: Conferees agreed to file conference report.
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: The Speaker appointed conferees - from the Committee on Ways and Means for consideration of title XI of the House bill and titles VIII and XI of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Camp, Tiberi, and Levin. (consideration: CR H192)
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: The Speaker appointed conferees - from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology for consideration of secs. 102, 105, 201, 202, 204, 208, 209, 212, 220, 321, 324, 326, 812, title X and title XIII of the House bill and secs. 102, 103, 106, 216, 301, 302, 309, 320, 327, title VI, and sec. 732 of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Hall, Palazzo, and Johnson, E. B. (consideration: CR H192)
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: The Speaker appointed conferees - from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for consideration of the House bill and the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Mica, Petri, Duncan (TN), Graves (MO), Shuster, Schmidt, Cravaack, Rahall, DeFazio, Costello, Boswell, and Carnahan. (consideration: CR H192)
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: On motion that the House disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to a conference. Agreed to without objection. (consideration: CR H192)
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: Mr. Cravaack asked unanimous consent that the House disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to a conference. (consideration: CR H192)
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: Conference held.
action_date: 2012-01-31
text: Conference committee actions: Conference held.
action_date: 2011-05-09
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2011-05-05
text: Senate appointed conferee(s) Isakson.
action_date: 2011-05-03
text: Senator(s) Ensign removed as conferee(s).
action_date: 2011-04-08
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: See also S. 223.
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: Senate requests a conference. Appoints conferees. Baucus; Hatch. from the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: Senate insists on its amendment, asks for a conference, appoints conferees Rockefeller; Boxer; Nelson FL; Cantwell; Hutchison; Ensign; DeMint. (consideration: CR S2285)
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: Senate struck all after the Enacting Clause and substituted the language of S. 223 amended, pursuant to the order of 2/17/2011.
action_date: 2011-04-07
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S2285)
action_date: 2011-04-04
text: Received in the Senate.
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 223 - 196 (Roll no. 220).
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 223 - 196 (Roll no. 220).
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 184 - 235 (Roll no. 219).
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection. (consideration: CR H2236)
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Loretta Sanchez motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment adding Title XIII- Security of Highest-Risk Airline Passenger Flights. A point of order was reserved, but was subsequently removed.
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: Ms. Sanchez, Loretta moved to recommit with instructions to Transportation. (consideration: CR H2235-2237; text: CR H2235)
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. (consideration: CR H2235)
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 658.
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.
action_date: 2011-04-01
text: Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2232-2237)
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 658 as unfinished business.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: On motion that the Committee rise Agreed to by voice vote.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Mr. Mica moved that the Committee rise.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Moore (WI) amendment no. 32.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Schiff amendment no. 31.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Matheson amendment no. 30.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Schiff amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Schiff demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Schiff amendment no. 29.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Pearce amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Rahall demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Pearce amendment no. 27.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Graves (MO) amendment no. 26.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Moore (WI) amendment no. 25.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Shuster amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Rahall demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of the adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Shuster amendment no. 24.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Waxman amendment no. 23.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Graves (MO) amendment no. 22.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the LaTorette amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Mica demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the LaTourette amendment no. 21.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED POSTPONED - At the conclusion of debate on the Sessions amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Sessions demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Sessions amendment no. 20.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Graves (MO) amendment no. 19.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2198-2212)
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 658 as unfinished business.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: On motion that the Committee now rise Agreed to by voice vote.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Mr. Woodall moved that the Committee now rise.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: UNFINIHSED BUSINESS - The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on adoption of amendments which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Gingrey amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Costello demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Gingrey amendment no. 18.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Capuano amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Capuano demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Capuano amendment no. 17.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Richardson amendment no. 16.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Schweikert amendment no. 15.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Pierluisi amendment no. 14.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Woodall amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Miller (MI) amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Jackson Lee amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Hirono amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Ms. Hirono demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hirono amendment no.10.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the DeFazio amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. DeFazio demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the DeFazio amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Garrett (NJ) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Garrett (NJ) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Garrett (NJ) amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the LoBiondo amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Neugebauer amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hirono amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Pierluisi amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Waters amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Mica amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Rahall demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 189, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Mica amendment.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 658.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: The Speaker designated the Honorable Jo Ann Emerson to act as Chairwoman of the Committee.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 189 and Rule XVIII.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 658 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of the Rules Committee Print dated March 22, 2011.
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 189. (consideration: CR H2130-2198, H2198-2212; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H2141-2170)
action_date: 2011-03-31
text: Rule H. Res. 189 passed House.
action_date: 2011-03-30
text: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 189 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 658 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of the Rules Committee Print dated March 22, 2011.
action_date: 2011-03-23
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 19.
action_date: 2011-03-23
text: Committee on Judiciary discharged.
action_date: 2011-03-23
text: Committee on Judiciary discharged.
action_date: 2011-03-23
text: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged.
action_date: 2011-03-23
text: Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged.
action_date: 2011-03-16
text: Supplemental report filed by the Committee on Transportation, H. Rept. 112-29, Part II.
action_date: 2011-03-16
text: Supplemental report filed by the Committee on Transportation, H. Rept. 112-29, Part II.
action_date: 2011-03-10
text: Referred jointly and sequentially to the House Committee on the Judiciary for a period ending not later than March 23, 2011 for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(l), rule X.
action_date: 2011-03-10
text: Referred jointly and sequentially to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology for a period ending not later than March 23, 2011 for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(p), rule X.
action_date: 2011-03-10
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on 112-29, Part I.
action_date: 2011-03-10
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on 112-29, Part I.
action_date: 2011-02-16
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 34 - 25.
action_date: 2011-02-16
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2011-02-11
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2011-02-11
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2011-02-11
text: Introduced in House

Enacted as: number: 112-95