[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3413 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3413

 To direct the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to study the 
  effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2020

Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Romney) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to study the 
  effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression, 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 ``Aerial Incursion Repercussion Safety 
Act of 2020'' or the ``AIR Safety Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF DRONE INCURSIONS ON WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Drone.--The term ``drone'' means an unmanned aircraft 
        system owned by a private individual or entity.
            (2) Drone incursion.--The term ``drone incursion'' means 
        the operation of a drone within any airspace for which the 
        Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration has issued 
        a temporary flight restriction because of a wildfire.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 
        Land Management.
            (4) Wildfire suppression.--The term ``wildfire 
        suppression'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        46320(d) of title 49, United States Code.
    (b) Study Required.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
Service, shall conduct a study on the effects of drone incursions on 
wildfire suppression with respect to land managed by the Department of 
the Interior or the Department of Agriculture.
    (c) Study Contents.--In conducting the study required under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
            (1) determine, for each of the 5 most recent calendar 
        years--
                    (A) the number of occurrences in which a drone 
                incursion interfered with wildfire suppression; and
                    (B) the effect of each occurrence described in 
                subparagraph (A) on--
                            (i) the length of time required to achieve 
                        complete suppression;
                            (ii) the effectiveness of aerial 
                        firefighting responses; and
                            (iii) the amounts expended by the Federal 
                        Government; and
            (2) evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of various 
        actions to prevent drone incursions, including--
                    (A) the use of reasonable force to disable, damage, 
                or destroy a drone;
                    (B) the seizure of a drone, including seizure with 
                a net device; and
                    (C) the dissemination of educational materials 
                relating to the effects of drone incursions on wildfire 
                suppression.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives a report describing--
            (1) the findings of the study required under subsection 
        (b); and
            (2) any recommendations of the Secretary relating to those 
        findings.
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