[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9058 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9058
To amend title 49, United States Code, to permit the operation of
actively tethered unmanned aircraft systems by all first responders,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 2022
Ms. Johnson of Texas (for herself and Mr. Nehls) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to permit the operation of
actively tethered unmanned aircraft systems by all first responders,
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 ``First Responders Aerial Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF ACTIVELY TETHERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.
Section 44801(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) has redundant flight functionality which
permits the unmanned aircraft component to maintain
normal flight control in the event that a rotor or
flight mechanism fails during flight; and
``(E) is programed to initiate a controlled landing
in the event of a tether separation.''.
SEC. 3. OPERATION OF PUBLIC ACTIVELY TETHERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
SYSTEMS.
(a) In General.--Section 44806(c) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)--
(A) in clause (i) by striking ``or'' at the end;
(B) in clause (ii) by inserting ``; or'' at the
end; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) in an emergency response
situation--
``(I) at least a 0.25 mile radius
away from an airport, if such systems
are not operating in the approach or
departure flight path for a runway at
such airport;
``(II) at least a 0.5 mile radius
away from an airport, if such systems
are operating in the approach or
departure flight path for a runway at
an airport; or
``(III) with approval of air
traffic control personnel for an
airport if such systems are operating
closer to an airport than permitted
under subclauses (I) and (II);''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Emergency response situation.--The term
`emergency response situation' means any situation that
requires a response by an emergency service
organization.
``(B) Emergency service organization.--The term
`emergency service organization' means any entity,
including an entity contracting with a State or local
government, that provides emergency services or
training for emergency service providers, including--
``(i) a fire department;
``(ii) a police department;
``(iii) a search and rescue organization;
and
``(iv) a public safety organization.
``(C) Public actively tethered unmanned aircraft
system.--The term `public actively tethered unmanned
aircraft system' means an actively tethered unmanned
aircraft system that is--
``(i) a public unmanned aircraft system;
and
``(ii) operated by an emergency service
organization.''.
(b) Agency Guidance.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall issue guidance on the implementation of the
amendments made by this section.
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