AIR Safety Act of 2020

II 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 sup- pression, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aerial Incursion Re- 4 percussion Safety Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘AIR Safety Act 5 of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF DRONE INCURSIONS ON 7 WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION. 8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3413.IS S3413 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3413 IS (1) DRONE.—The term ‘‘drone’’ means an un- 1 manned aircraft system owned by a private indi- 2 vidual or entity. 3 (2) DRONE INCURSION.—The term ‘‘drone in- 4 cursion’’ means the operation of a drone within any 5 airspace for which the Administrator of the Federal 6 Aviation Administration has issued a temporary 7 flight restriction because of a wildfire. 8 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 9 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di- 10 rector of the Bureau of Land Management. 11 (4) WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION.—The term ‘‘wild- 12 fire suppression’’ has the meaning given the term in 13 section 46320(d) of title 49, United States Code. 14 (b) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary, in consulta- 15 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 16 Chief of the Forest Service, shall conduct a study on the 17 effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression with re- 18 spect to land managed by the Department of the Interior 19 or the Department of Agriculture. 20 (c) STUDY CONTENTS.—In conducting the study re- 21 quired under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 22 (1) determine, for each of the 5 most recent 23 calendar years— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3413.IS S3413 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3413 IS (A) the number of occurrences in which a 1 drone incursion interfered with wildfire suppres- 2 sion; and 3 (B) the effect of each occurrence described 4 in subparagraph (A) on— 5 (i) the length of time required to 6 achieve complete suppression; 7 (ii) the effectiveness of aerial fire- 8 fighting responses; and 9 (iii) the amounts expended by the 10 Federal Government; and 11 (2) evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of 12 various actions to prevent drone incursions, includ- 13 ing— 14 (A) the use of reasonable force to disable, 15 damage, or destroy a drone; 16 (B) the seizure of a drone, including sei- 17 zure with a net device; and 18 (C) the dissemination of educational mate- 19 rials relating to the effects of drone incursions 20 on wildfire suppression. 21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 23 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3413.IS S3413 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3413 IS the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 1 the House of Representatives a report describing— 2 (1) the findings of the study required under 3 subsection (b); and 4 (2) any recommendations of the Secretary relat- 5 ing to those findings. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3413.IS S3413 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS