Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3459 To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish certain rules relating to unmanned aircraft systems and operations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. YAKYM (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish certain rules relating to unmanned aircraft systems and oper- ations, 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 ‘‘Increasing Competi- 4 tiveness for American Drones Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT OPERATIONS FOR 6 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 448 of title 49, United 8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3459 IH ‘‘§ 44811. Beyond visual line of sight operations for 1 unmanned aircraft systems 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 3 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 4 of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this section re- 5 ferred to as the ‘Administrator’) shall issue a notice of 6 proposed rulemaking establishing a regulatory pathway 7 for certification or approval of unmanned aircraft systems 8 to enable commercial beyond visual line of sight (in this 9 section referred to as ‘BVLOS’) operations. 10 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 12 in promulgating the rule under subsection (a), the 13 Administrator shall implement the final report and 14 recommendations of the Beyond Visual Line of Sight 15 Aviation Rulemaking Committee which were sub- 16 mitted to the Administrator on March 10, 2022. 17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the Administrator deter- 18 mines not to implement 1 or more of the rec- 19 ommendations described in paragraph (1), the Ad- 20 ministrator shall provide to the appropriate commit- 21 tees of Congress a statement of explanation for such 22 determination. 23 ‘‘(c) FINAL RULE.— 24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 25 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3459 IH ministrator shall issue a final rule establishing a reg- 1 ulatory pathway for certification or approval of un- 2 manned aircraft systems to enable commercial 3 BVLOS operations. 4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The final rule described 5 in paragraph (1) shall, at a minimum, do the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(A) Establish an applicable risk assess- 8 ment methodology for the authorization of 9 BVLOS unmanned aircraft system operations 10 that includes quantified measures of accept- 11 ability which sufficiently account for the total 12 air and ground risks associated with such oper- 13 ations and the means for mitigating such risks, 14 taking into account an aircraft’s size, weight, 15 speed, kinetic energy, operational capability, 16 proximity to airports and populated areas, oper- 17 ation over people, and operation beyond the vis- 18 ual line of sight, or operation during the day or 19 night, including consideration of unmanned air- 20 craft using an approved or accepted detect and 21 avoid system appropriate for the class and type 22 of airspace in which the operation is being con- 23 ducted. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3459 IH ‘‘(B) Establish remote pilot certification 1 standards for remote pilots for BVLOS oper- 2 ations, taking into account varying levels of 3 automated control and management of un- 4 manned aircraft system flights. 5 ‘‘(C) Establish an airworthiness process for 6 small unmanned aircraft systems that requires 7 a manufacturer’s declaration of compliance to a 8 Federal Aviation Administration accepted 9 means of compliance, which shall not require 10 type or production certification or the issuance 11 of a special airworthiness certificate. 12 ‘‘(D) Establish a special airworthiness cer- 13 tificate to be issued upon a manufacturer’s dec- 14 laration of compliance to a Federal Aviation 15 Administration accepted means of compliance, 16 which— 17 ‘‘(i) shall not require type or produc- 18 tion certification; 19 ‘‘(ii) shall, at least, govern airworthi- 20 ness of any unmanned aircraft system 21 that— 22 ‘‘(I) is not— 23 ‘‘(aa) a small unmanned air- 24 craft system; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3459 IH ‘‘(bb) appropriate for the 1 process described in subpara- 2 graph (C), as determined by the 3 Administrator; 4 ‘‘(II) has a maximum gross 5 weight of not more than 1,320 lbs; 6 and 7 ‘‘(III) has a maximum speed of 8 100 miles per hour; and 9 ‘‘(iii) may require unmanned aircraft 10 systems subject to the certificate to oper- 11 ate in the national airspace system at alti- 12 tudes below at least— 13 ‘‘(I) 400 feet above ground level; 14 or 15 ‘‘(II) with respect to an un- 16 manned aircraft system flown within a 17 400-foot radius of a structure, 400 18 feet above the structure’s immediate 19 uppermost limit. 20 ‘‘(E) Amend the Code of Federal Regula- 21 tions to establish generally applicable standards 22 for the type certification of unmanned aircraft 23 systems that the Administrator determines pose 24 higher air or ground risks such that those un- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3459 IH manned aircraft systems are not appropriate 1 for approvals under the processes described in 2 subparagraph (C) or (D). 3 ‘‘(F) Establish operating rules for— 4 ‘‘(i) the operation of the unmanned 5 aircraft systems described in subparagraph 6 (C), (D), or (E); and 7 ‘‘(ii) certain unmanned aircraft sys- 8 tems to enable lower-risk BVLOS oper- 9 ations without airworthiness requirements 10 in a manner consistent with the final re- 11 port and recommendations of the Beyond 12 Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking 13 Committee described in subsection (b)(1). 14 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 15 this section shall prohibit the use of the manufac- 16 turer declarations of compliance required under 17 paragraph (2)(C) for other unmanned aircraft sys- 18 tems.’’. 19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 20 ter 448 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 21 inserting after the item relating to section 44810 the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘44811. Beyond visual line of sight operations for unmanned aircraft systems.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3459 IH SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR 1 OF UAS INTEGRATION. 2 Section 106 of title 49, United States Code, is 3 amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 4 section: 5 ‘‘(u) OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR OF 6 UAS INTEGRATION.— 7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 8 the Federal Aviation Administration the Office of 9 Associate Administrator of UAS Integration (in this 10 subsection referred to as the ‘Office’). 11 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Office 12 shall be headed by an Associate Administrator, who 13 shall— 14 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Administrator, in 15 consultation with the Secretary of Transpor- 16 tation; and 17 ‘‘(B) report directly to the Administrator. 18 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office 19 are to— 20 ‘‘(A) ensure and oversee the safe integra- 21 tion of UASs into the national airspace system; 22 ‘‘(B) encourage and facilitate a commer- 23 cially viable UAS industry and the leadership of 24 the United States in UAS; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3459 IH ‘‘(C) increase overall safety of the trans- 1 portation system on a mode-neutral basis; 2 ‘‘(D) promote the global leadership of the 3 United States in advanced aviation; and 4 ‘‘(E) manage the UAS Integration Office. 5 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Associate Administrator 6 shall— 7 ‘‘(A) conduct rulemaking proceedings with 8 respect to UASs; 9 ‘‘(B) review submissions under the proc- 10 esses established in subparagraphs (C) through 11 (E) of section 44811(c)(2) and, as appropriate, 12 grant certifications and other operational ap- 13 provals; 14 ‘‘(C) review, modify, accept, or approve in- 15 dustry-developed standards, means of compli- 16 ance, and declarations of compliance; 17 ‘‘(D) consult and coordinate with subject 18 matter experts from all relevant lines of busi- 19 ness and staff offices in carrying out the duties 20 described in this paragraph in a timely and effi- 21 cient manner; 22 ‘‘(E) hire full-time equivalent employees, 23 as appropriate, to build expertise within the Of- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3459 IH fice in assessing new technologies and novel risk 1 mitigations; 2 ‘‘(F) manage the UAS Certification Unit 3 (as described in subsection (v)); and 4 ‘‘(G) engage in any other activities deemed 5 necessary by the Associate Administrator to 6 carry out the purposes described in paragraph 7 (3). 8 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 9 ‘‘(A) BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT; 10 BVLOS.—The terms ‘beyond visual line of sight’ 11 or ‘BVLOS’ mean the operation of a UAS be- 12 yond the capability of the flightcrew members 13 to see the UAS with vision unaided by any de- 14 vice other than corrective lenses (such as spec- 15 tacles or contact lenses). 16 ‘‘(B) UAS.—The term ‘UAS’ has the 17 meaning given the term ‘unmanned aircraft sys- 18 tem’ in section 44801.’’. 19 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF UAS CERTIFICATION UNIT. 20 Section 106 of title 49, United States Code, as 21 amended by section 3, is amended by adding at the end 22 the following new subsection: 23 ‘‘(v) UAS CERTIFICATION UNIT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3459 IH ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 1 the Office of Associate Administrator of UAS Inte- 2 gration (as established in subsection (u)) the UAS 3 Certification Unit (in this subsection referred to as 4 the ‘Unit’). 5 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 6 ‘‘(A) EMPLOYEES.—The Unit shall include 7 not less than 1 employee from each relevant 8 line of business of the Federal Aviation Admin- 9 istration, including the UAS Integration Office, 10 the Aircraft Certification Service, the Flight 11 Standards Service, Air Traffic Control, the Of- 12 fice of Chief Counsel, the Office of Environment 13 and Energy, and any other office deemed ap- 14 propriate by the Associate Administrator. 15 ‘‘(B) LEADERSHIP.—Out of the employees 16 described in subparagraph (A), the Associate 17 Administrator of the Office of Associate Admin- 18 istrator of UAS Integration may designate a di- 19 rector and steering committee to lead the Unit, 20 which shall consist of not less than 1 employee 21 from each line of business participating in the 22 Unit. 23 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Unit shall develop and im- 24 plement the unmanned aircraft system certification 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3459 IH or approval processes described in section 44811 1 by— 2 ‘‘(A) reviewing and accepting industry- 3 based airworthiness standards and means of 4 compliance; 5 ‘‘(B) engaging with applicants on the cer- 6 tification or approval process; 7 ‘‘(C) providing clear and consistent guid- 8 ance to industry standards organizations, in- 9 cluding setting either a target level of safety or 10 an acceptable level of risk; 11 ‘‘(D) promptly responding to questions 12 from any person seeking an approval described 13 in subparagraphs (C) through (D) of section 14 44811(c)(2); and 15 ‘‘(E) taking all necessary steps to move the 16 unmanned aircraft system certification and ac- 17 ceptance processes forward without avoidable 18 delay. 19 ‘‘(4) UAS SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFI- 20 CATE APPROVALS.—The Associate Administrator 21 shall have the authority to grant or deny an applica- 22 tion for any approval described in section 44811, 23 upon review of the recommendations of the Unit and 24 after consultation with the managers of the Aircraft 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3459 IH Certification Service and Flight Standards Service, 1 if either manager requests consultation.’’. 2 SEC. 5. USE OF MODELING AND SIMULATION TOOLS IN UN- 3 MANNED AIRCRAFT TEST RANGES; PROGRAM 4 EXTENSION. 5 (a) USE OF MODELING AND SIMULATION TOOLS.— 6 Section 44803(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 7 amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 9 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(12) use modeling and simulation tools to as- 13 sist in the testing, evaluation, verification, and vali- 14 dation of unmanned aircraft systems.’’. 15 (b) PROGRAM EXTENSION.—Section 44803(h) of title 16 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Sep- 17 tember 30, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2028’’. 18 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF SPECIAL AUTHORITY FOR UN- 19 MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 21 gress that— 22 (1) the lack of appropriate certification stand- 23 ards, rules, and processes set by the Federal Avia- 24 tion Administration for airworthiness determinations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Jun 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3459.IH H3459 TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3459 IH and operational approvals of unmanned aircraft sys- 1 tems (as defined in section 44801 of title 49, United 2 States Code) puts the United States at a disadvan- 3 tage in global competitiveness and delays the inte- 4 gration of promising new technology into commu- 5 nities in the United States; [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]