[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3661 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3661

To help ensure general aviation aircraft access to Federal land and to 
                      the airspace over that land.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2000

     Mr. Hansen (for himself, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Peterson of 
Minnesota, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Hefley, Mrs. Cubin, 
 Mr. McInnis, Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Jones 
    of North Carolina, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Radanovich, and Mr. Cannon) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To help ensure general aviation aircraft access to Federal land and to 
                      the airspace over that land.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``General Aviation Access Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, in consultation with the Administrator of the 
        Federal Aviation Administration, should adopt a nationwide 
        policy for governing general aviation issues related to the 
        management of Federal land under the jurisdiction of those 
        Secretaries and should require regional managers to adhere to 
        that policy.
            (2) Backcountry aircraft landing strips serve an essential 
        safety role as emergency landing areas.
            (3) General aviation provides access to people who would 
        otherwise be physically unable to enjoy national parks, 
        national forests, and other Federal lands and serves an 
        essential purpose in search and rescue, firefighting, forest, 
        and ecological management, research, and aerial mapping.

SEC. 3. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ACTIONS AFFECTING AIRCRAFT 
              LANDING STRIPS.

    (a) In General.--Neither the Secretary of the Interior nor the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall take any action or inaction, including 
neglect, which would permanently close or render or declare as 
unserviceable any aircraft landing strip unless--
            (1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration and the head of the aviation department of each 
        State in which the aircraft landing strip is located have 
        approved the action;
            (2) notice of the proposed action and the fact that the 
        action would permanently close or render or declare as 
        unserviceable the aircraft landing strip has been published in 
        the Federal Register, with a cross reference under the Federal 
        Aviation Administration heading;
            (3) a 90-day public comment period on the action has been 
        provided after the publication under paragraph (2); and
            (4) any comments received during the comment period 
        provided under paragraph (3) have been taken into consideration 
        by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, as the case may be, the Administrator of the 
        Federal Aviation Administration, and the head of the aviation 
        department of each State in which the affected aircraft landing 
        strip is located.
    (b) National Policy.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Agriculture, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration, shall--
            (1) adopt a nationwide policy that is in accordance with 
        this Act for governing general aviation issues related to the 
        management of Federal land under the jurisdiction of those 
        Secretaries; and
            (2) require regional managers to adhere to that policy.
    (c) Requirements for Policies.--A policy affecting access to an 
aircraft landing strip located on Federal land under the jurisdiction 
of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, 
including the policy required by subsection (b), shall not take effect 
unless the policy--
            (1) is approved by the Administrator of the Federal 
        Aviation Administration;
            (2) states that the Federal Aviation Administration has the 
        sole authority to control aviation and airspace over the United 
        States; and
            (3) seeks and considers comments from State governments and 
        the public.
    (d) Maintenance of Airstrips.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult with--
            (1) the head of the aviation department of each State in 
        which an aircraft landing strip on Federal land under the 
        jurisdiction of that Secretary is located; and
            (2) other interested parties,
to ensure that such aircraft landing strips are maintained in a manner 
that is consistent with the resource values of the adjacent area.
    (e) Exchanges or Acquisitions.--Closure or purposeful neglect of 
any aircraft landing strip, or any other action which would render any 
aircraft landing strip unserviceable, shall not be a condition of any 
Federal acquisition of or exchange involving private property upon 
which the aircraft landing strip is located.
    (f) Permanent Closure.--For the purposes of this Act, the term 
``permanent closure'' means any closure the duration of which is more 
than 180 days in any calendar year.
    (g) Applicability.--Subsections (a), (c), and (e) shall apply to 
any action, policy, or exchange, respectively, that is not final on the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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