[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1848 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.1848
One Hundred Thirteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and thirteen
An Act
To ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration advances the safety
of small airplanes, and the continued development of the general
aviation industry, 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 ``Small Airplane Revitalization Act of
2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) A healthy small aircraft industry is integral to economic
growth and to maintaining an effective transportation
infrastructure for communities and countries around the world.
(2) Small airplanes comprise nearly 90 percent of general
aviation aircraft certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
(3) General aviation provides for the cultivation of a
workforce of engineers, manufacturing and maintenance
professionals, and pilots who secure the economic success and
defense of the United States.
(4) General aviation contributes to well-paying jobs in the
manufacturing and technology sectors in the United States and
products produced by those sectors are exported in great numbers.
(5) Technology developed and proven in general aviation aids in
the success and safety of all sectors of aviation and scientific
competence.
(6) The average small airplane in the United States is now 40
years old and the regulatory barriers to bringing new designs to
the market are resulting in a lack of innovation and investment in
small airplane design.
(7) Since 2003, the United States lost 10,000 active private
pilots per year on average, partially due to a lack of cost-
effective, new small airplanes.
(8) General aviation safety can be improved by modernizing and
revamping the regulations relating to small airplanes to clear the
path for technology adoption and cost-effective means to retrofit
the existing fleet with new safety technologies.
SEC. 3. SAFETY AND REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR GENERAL AVIATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than December 15, 2015, the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue a
final rule--
(1) to advance the safety and continued development of small
airplanes by reorganizing the certification requirements for such
airplanes under part 23 to streamline the approval of safety
advancements; and
(2) that meets the objectives described in subsection (b).
(b) Objectives Described.--The objectives described in this
subsection are based on the recommendations of the Part 23
Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee:
(1) The establishment of a regulatory regime for small
airplanes that will improve safety and reduce the regulatory cost
burden for the Federal Aviation Administration and the aviation
industry.
(2) The establishment of broad, outcome-driven safety
objectives that will spur innovation and technology adoption.
(3) The replacement of current, prescriptive requirements under
part 23 with performance-based regulations.
(4) The use of consensus standards accepted by the Federal
Aviation Administration to clarify how the safety objectives of
part 23 may be met using specific designs and technologies.
(c) Consensus-Based Standards.--In prescribing regulations under
this section, the Administrator shall use consensus standards, as
described in section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 272 note), to the extent practicable
while continuing traditional methods for meeting part 23.
(d) Safety Cooperation.--The Administrator shall lead the effort to
improve general aviation safety by working with leading aviation
regulators to assist them in adopting a complementary regulatory
approach for small airplanes.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Consensus standards.--
(A) In general.--The term ``consensus standards'' means
standards developed by an organization described in
subparagraph (B) that may include provisions requiring that
owners of relevant intellectual property have agreed to make
that intellectual property available on a nondiscriminatory,
royalty-free, or reasonable royalty basis to all interested
persons.
(B) Organizations described.--An organization described in
this subparagraph is a domestic or international organization
that--
(i) plans, develops, establishes, or coordinates,
through a process based on consensus and using agreed-upon
procedures, voluntary standards; and
(ii) operates in a transparent manner, considers a
balanced set of interests with respect to such standards,
and provides for due process and an appeals process with
respect to such standards.
(2) Part 23.--The term ``part 23'' means part 23 of title 14,
Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) Part 23 reorganization aviation rulemaking committee.--The
term ``Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee'' means
the aviation rulemaking committee established by the Federal
Aviation Administration in August 2011 to consider the
reorganization of the regulations under part 23.
(4) Small airplane.--The term ``small airplane'' means an
airplane which is certified to part 23 standards.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.