[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1335 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1335

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve


                                 An Act


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide rights for pilots, and 
                           for other purposes.

    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 ``Pilot's Bill of Rights''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS AND 
ELIMINATION OF DEFERENCE.
    (a) In General.--Any proceeding conducted under subpart C, D, or F 
of part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to 
denial, amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman 
certificate, shall be conducted, to the extent practicable, in 
accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal 
Rules of Evidence.
    (b) Access to Information.--
        (1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (3), the 
    Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (referred to 
    in this section as the ``Administrator'') shall provide timely, 
    written notification to an individual who is the subject of an 
    investigation relating to the approval, denial, suspension, 
    modification, or revocation of an airman certificate under chapter 
    447 of title 49, United States Code.
        (2) Information required.--The notification required under 
    paragraph (1) shall inform the individual--
            (A) of the nature of the investigation;
            (B) that an oral or written response to a Letter of 
        Investigation from the Administrator is not required;
            (C) that no action or adverse inference can be taken 
        against the individual for declining to respond to a Letter of 
        Investigation from the Administrator;
            (D) that any response to a Letter of Investigation from the 
        Administrator or to an inquiry made by a representative of the 
        Administrator by the individual may be used as evidence against 
        the individual;
            (E) that the releasable portions of the Administrator's 
        investigative report will be available to the individual; and
            (F) that the individual is entitled to access or otherwise 
        obtain air traffic data described in paragraph (4).
        (3) Exception.--The Administrator may delay timely notification 
    under paragraph (1) if the Administrator determines that such 
    notification may threaten the integrity of the investigation.
        (4) Access to air traffic data.--
            (A) FAA air traffic data.--The Administrator shall provide 
        an individual described in paragraph (1) with timely access to 
        any air traffic data in the possession of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration that would facilitate the individual's ability 
        to productively participate in a proceeding relating to an 
        investigation described in such paragraph.
            (B) Air traffic data defined.--As used in subparagraph (A), 
        the term ``air traffic data'' includes--
                (i) relevant air traffic communication tapes;
                (ii) radar information;
                (iii) air traffic controller statements;
                (iv) flight data;
                (v) investigative reports; and
                (vi) any other air traffic or flight data in the 
            Federal Aviation Administration's possession that would 
            facilitate the individual's ability to productively 
            participate in the proceeding.
            (C) Government contractor air traffic data.--
                (i) In general.--Any individual described in paragraph 
            (1) is entitled to obtain any air traffic data that would 
            facilitate the individual's ability to productively 
            participate in a proceeding relating to an investigation 
            described in such paragraph from a government contractor 
            that provides operational services to the Federal Aviation 
            Administration, including control towers and flight service 
            stations.
                (ii) Required information from individual.--The 
            individual may obtain the information described in clause 
            (i) by submitting a request to the Administrator that--

                    (I) describes the facility at which such 
                information is located; and
                    (II) identifies the date on which such information 
                was generated.

                (iii) Provision of information to individual.--If the 
            Administrator receives a request under this subparagraph, 
            the Administrator shall--

                    (I) request the contractor to provide the requested 
                information; and
                    (II) upon receiving such information, transmitting 
                the information to the requesting individual in a 
                timely manner.

        (5) Timing.--Except when the Administrator determines that an 
    emergency exists under section 44709(c)(2) or 46105(c), the 
    Administrator may not proceed against an individual that is the 
    subject of an investigation described in paragraph (1) during the 
    30-day period beginning on the date on which the air traffic data 
    required under paragraph (4) is made available to the individual.
    (c) Amendments to Title 49.--
        (1) Airman certificates.--Section 44703(d)(2) of title 49, 
    United States Code, is amended by striking ``but is bound by all 
    validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the 
    Administrator carries out unless the Board finds an interpretation 
    is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law''.
        (2) Amendments, modifications, suspensions, and revocations of 
    certificates.--Section 44709(d)(3) of such title is amended by 
    striking ``but is bound by all validly adopted interpretations of 
    laws and regulations the Administrator carries out and of written 
    agency policy guidance available to the public related to sanctions 
    to be imposed under this section unless the Board finds an 
    interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according 
    to law''.
        (3) Revocation of airman certificates for controlled substance 
    violations.--Section 44710(d)(1) of such title is amended by 
    striking ``but shall be bound by all validly adopted 
    interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries 
    out and of written agency policy guidance available to the public 
    related to sanctions to be imposed under this section unless the 
    Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or 
    otherwise not according to law''.
    (d) Appeal From Certificate Actions.--
        (1) In general.--Upon a decision by the National Transportation 
    Safety Board upholding an order or a final decision by the 
    Administrator denying an airman certificate under section 44703(d) 
    of title 49, United States Code, or imposing a punitive civil 
    action or an emergency order of revocation under subsections (d) 
    and (e) of section 44709 of such title, an individual substantially 
    affected by an order of the Board may, at the individual's 
    election, file an appeal in the United States district court in 
    which the individual resides or in which the action in question 
    occurred, or in the United States District Court for the District 
    of Columbia. If the individual substantially affected by an order 
    of the Board elects not to file an appeal in a United States 
    district court, the individual may file an appeal in an appropriate 
    United States court of appeals.
        (2) Emergency order pending judicial review.--Subsequent to a 
    decision by the Board to uphold an Administrator's emergency order 
    under section 44709(e)(2) of title 49, United States Code, and 
    absent a stay of the enforcement of that order by the Board, the 
    emergency order of amendment, modification, suspension, or 
    revocation of a certificate shall remain in effect, pending the 
    exhaustion of an appeal to a Federal district court as provided in 
    this Act.
    (e) Standard of Review.--
        (1) In general.--In an appeal filed under subsection (d) in a 
    United States district court, the district court shall give full 
    independent review of a denial, suspension, or revocation ordered 
    by the Administrator, including substantive independent and 
    expedited review of any decision by the Administrator to make such 
    order effective immediately.
        (2) Evidence.--A United States district court's review under 
    paragraph (1) shall include in evidence any record of the 
    proceeding before the Administrator and any record of the 
    proceeding before the National Transportation Safety Board, 
    including hearing testimony, transcripts, exhibits, decisions, and 
    briefs submitted by the parties.
SEC. 3. NOTICES TO AIRMEN.
    (a) In General.--
        (1) Definition.--In this section, the term ``NOTAM'' means 
    Notices to Airmen.
        (2) Improvements.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
    the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
    Aviation Administration shall begin a Notice to Airmen Improvement 
    Program (in this section referred to as the ``NOTAM Improvement 
    Program'')--
            (A) to improve the system of providing airmen with 
        pertinent and timely information regarding the national 
        airspace system;
            (B) to archive, in a public central location, all NOTAMs, 
        including the original content and form of the notices, the 
        original date of publication, and any amendments to such 
        notices with the date of each amendment; and
            (C) to apply filters so that pilots can prioritize critical 
        flight safety information from other airspace system 
        information.
    (b) Goals of Program.--The goals of the NOTAM Improvement Program 
are--
        (1) to decrease the overwhelming volume of NOTAMs an airman 
    receives when retrieving airman information prior to a flight in 
    the national airspace system;
        (2) make the NOTAMs more specific and relevant to the airman's 
    route and in a format that is more useable to the airman;
        (3) to provide a full set of NOTAM results in addition to 
    specific information requested by airmen;
        (4) to provide a document that is easily searchable; and
        (5) to provide a filtering mechanism similar to that provided 
    by the Department of Defense Notices to Airmen.
    (c) Advice From Private Sector Groups.--The Administrator shall 
establish a NOTAM Improvement Panel, which shall be comprised of 
representatives of relevant nonprofit and not-for-profit general 
aviation pilot groups, to advise the Administrator in carrying out the 
goals of the NOTAM Improvement Program under this section.
    (d) Phase-in and Completion.--The improvements required by this 
section shall be phased in as quickly as practicable and shall be 
completed not later than the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION.
    (a) Assessment.--
        (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
    enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
    shall initiate an assessment of the Federal Aviation 
    Administration's medical certification process and the associated 
    medical standards and forms.
        (2) Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit a report to 
    Congress based on the assessment required under paragraph (1) that 
    examines--
            (A) revisions to the medical application form that would 
        provide greater clarity and guidance to applicants;
            (B) the alignment of medical qualification policies with 
        present-day qualified medical judgment and practices, as 
        applied to an individual's medically relevant circumstances; 
        and
            (C) steps that could be taken to promote the public's 
        understanding of the medical requirements that determine an 
        airman's medical certificate eligibility.
    (b) Goals of the Federal Aviation Administration's Medical 
Certification Process.--The goals of the Federal Aviation 
Administration's medical certification process are--
        (1) to provide questions in the medical application form that--
            (A) are appropriate without being overly broad;
            (B) are subject to a minimum amount of misinterpretation 
        and mistaken responses;
            (C) allow for consistent treatment and responses during the 
        medical application process; and
            (D) avoid unnecessary allegations that an individual has 
        intentionally falsified answers on the form;
        (2) to provide questions that elicit information that is 
    relevant to making a determination of an individual's medical 
    qualifications within the standards identified in the 
    Administrator's regulations;
        (3) to give medical standards greater meaning by ensuring the 
    information requested aligns with present-day medical judgment and 
    practices; and
        (4) to ensure that--
            (A) the application of such medical standards provides an 
        appropriate and fair evaluation of an individual's 
        qualifications; and
            (B) the individual understands the basis for determining 
        medical qualifications.
    (c) Advice From Private Sector Groups.--The Administrator shall 
establish a panel, which shall be comprised of representatives of 
relevant nonprofit and not-for-profit general aviation pilot groups, 
aviation medical examiners, and other qualified medical experts, to 
advise the Administrator in carrying out the goals of the assessment 
required under this section.
    (d) Federal Aviation Administration Response.--Not later than 1 
year after the issuance of the report by the Comptroller General 
pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall take appropriate 
actions to respond to such report.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.