[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1335 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1335
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide rights for pilots,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 6, 2011
Mr. Inhofe (for himself, Mr. Begich, Mr. Johanns, Mr. Boozman, Ms.
Snowe, Mr. Moran, Mr. Pryor, Ms. Collins, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Thune, Mr.
Cornyn, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Burr, Mr. Barrasso,
Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Coats, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johnson of
Wisconsin, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Risch, and Mr.
Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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. FAA ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS AND ELIMINATION OF DEFERENCE.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
proceeding conducted under subpart C or D and 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 in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
and Federal Rules of Evidence, to the extent practicable.
(b) Access to Information.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall advise (in a timely manner and in writing)
an individual who is the subject of an investigation relating
to approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of
an airman certificate under chapter 447 of title 49, United
States Code, of the following:
(A) The nature of the investigation.
(B) An oral or written response to a Letter of
Investigation from the Administrator is not required.
(C) No action or adverse inference can be taken
against the individual for declining to respond to a
Letter of Investigation from the Administrator.
(D) 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) The releasable portions of the Administrator's
investigative report will be available to the
individual.
(2) Access to air traffic data.--The Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration shall provide (in a timely
manner) an individual who is the subject of an investigation
relating to approval, denial, suspension, modification, or
revocation of an airman certificate under chapter 447 of title
49, United States Code, any air traffic data that would
facilitate the individual's ability to productively participate
in the investigation, including the following:
(A) Relevant air traffic communication tapes.
(B) Radar information.
(C) Air traffic controller statements.
(D) Flight data.
(E) Investigative reports.
(F) Any other air traffic or flight data that would
facilitate the individual's ability to productively
participate in the investigation.
(3) Timing.--The Administrator shall not proceed against an
individual that is the subject of an investigation described in
paragraph (1) for at least 30 days after the air traffic data
required under paragraph (2) 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 the second sentence
and inserting the following: ``The Board is not bound by the
findings of fact of the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration or the interpretation of laws or regulations the
Administrator carries out, but may consider the interpretation
and guidance of the Administrator in its review in accordance
with the general administrative law principles of deference.''.
(2) Amendments, modifications, suspensions, and revocations
of certificates.--Section 44709(d)(3) of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``is not bound'' and all
that follows through the end period and inserting the
following: ``is not bound by the findings of fact of the
Administrator or the interpretation of laws or regulations the
Administrator carries out, but may consider the interpretation
and guidance of the Administrator in its review in accordance
with the general administrative law principles of deference.''.
(3) Revocation of airman certificates for controlled
substance violations.--The third sentence of section
44710(d)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended in the
third sentence, by striking ``is not bound'' and all that
follows through the end period, and inserting the following:
``is not bound by findings of fact of the Administrator or the
interpretation of laws or regulations the Administrator carries
out, but may consider the interpretation and guidance of the
Administrator in its review in accordance with the general
administrative law principles of deference.''.
(d) Appeal From Certificate Actions.--Upon an order or final
decision by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
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 section 44709 (d) and (e) of title 49, United
States Code, the individual adversely affected by the Administrator's
action may, at the individual's election, file an appeal in the United
States district court in which the individual resides, in which the
action in question occurred, or in the district court for the District
of Columbia. If the individual adversely affected by the
Administrator's action elects not to file an appeal in a Federal
district court, the individual may file an appeal with the National
Transportation Safety Board.
(e) Standard of Review.--In an appeal filed under subsection (d),
the district court or the National Transportation Safety Board, as the
case may be, 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 the order effective immediately.
SEC. 3. NOTAMS PROVIDED 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'') to--
(A) 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
notices to airmen, 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) 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 to--
(1) 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) provide both a full set of NOTAM results in addition to
specific information requested by airmen;
(4) provide a document that is easily searchable; and
(5) 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, consisting of relevant nonprofit
and not-for-profit general aviation pilot groups, to advise the
Administrator in carrying out the goals of the 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. FLIGHT SERVICE STATION BRIEFINGS.
The Flight Service Station briefings and other air traffic services
performed by Lockheed Martin or any other government contractor shall
be available to airmen under the section 522 of title 5, United States
Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
SEC. 5. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall begin a review of the Administration's medical
certification standards and forms in order to--
(1) revise the medical application form to provide greater
clarity and guidance to applicants; and
(2) align medical qualification policies with present-day
qualified medical judgment and practices as they may apply to
an individual's medically relevant circumstances; and
(3) publish objective medical standards so that the public
is fairly advised of the criteria that determines an airman's
medical certificate eligibility.
(b) Goals of Program.--The goals of the review are to--
(1) 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) 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) give medical standards greater meaning by ensuring the
information requested aligns with present-day medical judgment
and practices; and
(4) provide that the application of those standards ensures
an appropriate and fair evaluation of an individual's
qualifications, and that the individual understands the basis
for determining medical qualifications.
(c) Advice From Private Sector Groups.--The Administrator shall
establish a panel, consisting 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 review required by this section.
(d) Phase-In and Completion.--The actions to revise the medical
application form, to align the medical qualification policies, and to
publish objective medical standards 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.
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