[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1335 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1335

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

            Passed the Senate June 29, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
112th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1335

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

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