Advanced Aviation Integration Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1888 To provide for the safe and timely integration of advanced aviation tech- nologies into the national airspace system by the Federal Aviation Admin- istration and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2023 Mrs. FISCHER (for herself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To provide for the safe and timely integration of advanced aviation technologies into the national airspace system by the Federal Aviation Administration 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 ‘‘Advanced Aviation In- 4 tegration Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ADVANCED AVIATION LEADERSHIP. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall des- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1888 IS ignate the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation 1 Administration as the executive responsible for leadership, 2 coordination, and integration of advanced aviation in the 3 national airspace system. 4 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of the 5 Deputy Administrator (including any designee of the Dep- 6 uty Administrator) shall include the following: 7 (1) Coordinate across relevant offices of the Ad- 8 ministration to facilitate the necessary planning for 9 policy, rulemaking, and approval processes on mat- 10 ters relating to the safe operation and integration of 11 advanced aviation systems in the national airspace 12 system. 13 (2) Coordinate across relevant offices of the Ad- 14 ministration on the development, assessment, and 15 refinement of advanced aviation systems concepts to 16 ensure feasibility and viability within the national 17 airspace system, including coordination of research 18 and conducting studies and demonstrations to prove 19 concepts. 20 (3) Coordinate workforce planning across rel- 21 evant offices of the Administration to— 22 (A) hire and recruit personnel to— 23 (i) research, develop, test, and evalu- 24 ate advanced aviation systems; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1888 IS (ii) process hiring applications related 1 to advanced aviation systems in a timely 2 manner; and 3 (B) develop and submit a biannual report 4 to the Secretary and the Administrator, includ- 5 ing— 6 (i) core workforce requirements re- 7 lated to the research, development, testing, 8 and evaluation of advanced aviation sys- 9 tems by the Administration; 10 (ii) core workforce requirements re- 11 lated to the safety, certification, and oper- 12 ational approval of advanced aviation sys- 13 tems by the Administration; and 14 (iii) recommendations on staffing and 15 budgetary resources needed to address 16 areas of concern. 17 (4) Coordinate across relevant offices of the Ad- 18 ministration to facilitate the United States leader- 19 ship and participation in activities relating to the 20 international standardization of airworthiness and 21 the operational and environmental effects of ad- 22 vanced aviation systems. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1888 IS (5) Advise the Administrator during internal 1 and interagency coordination on advanced aviation 2 systems and other matters. 3 (6) Advise the Chief Operating Officer of the 4 Administration on the development of enterprise ar- 5 chitecture. 6 (7) Validate supporting system requirements 7 proposed by the Chief Operating Officer. 8 (8) Participate in aviation rulemaking commit- 9 tees related to advanced aviation systems. 10 (9) Serve as the new Designated Federal Offi- 11 cial for the Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee 12 and consult with and assign tasks to the Advanced 13 Aviation Advisory Committee. 14 (10) Use the Administration’s clearinghouse 15 website for publicly available data (commonly re- 16 ferred to as ‘‘Data.FAA.gov’’) to ensure the estab- 17 lishment and implementation of a secure, single-sign 18 on for all FAA-related services (including pending 19 certifications, applications, IACRA, CAPS, 20 DroneZone, MedXpress, CARES, and any other 21 service deemed appropriate by the Administration) 22 with multifactor authentication-protected online ca- 23 pability that allows stakeholders with a new or pend- 24 ing certification or approval application to review the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1888 IS status of such application, receive notice of deadlines 1 and major certification milestones, identify the Ad- 2 ministration office that is reviewing such application, 3 and submit inquiries or requests for guidance pursu- 4 ant to subsection (c). 5 (11) Work with relevant offices of the Adminis- 6 tration to develop and implement pilot programs in 7 partnership with advanced aviation stakeholders to 8 provide data to support rulemaking and approval 9 processes. 10 (12) Serve as a representative of the Adminis- 11 tration during interagency coordination of policies 12 related to advanced aviation systems. 13 (13) Provide an opportunity for stakeholders to 14 submit requests or inquiries related to advanced 15 aviation systems to the Office of Advanced Aviation. 16 (14) Promote the safe and responsible integra- 17 tion of advanced aviation systems into the national 18 airspace system. 19 (c) REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE ON OPERATIONAL AP- 20 PROVAL APPLICATIONS.—Any person who submits an 21 operational approval application may include a request for 22 the Assistant Administrator for Advanced Aviation to pro- 23 vide guidance on the processing and coordination required 24 for such request. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1888 IS SEC. 3. OFFICE OF ADVANCED INTEGRATION. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Deputy Administrator 2 shall redesignate the National Airspace System Engineer- 3 ing and Integration Office as the Office of Advanced Inte- 4 gration within the Office of Advanced Aviation. 5 (b) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 6 date of enactment of this Act, the Deputy Administrator, 7 in consultation with the Administrator and Secretary, 8 shall appoint a Director of Advanced Integration to head 9 the Office of Advanced Integration. 10 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Deputy Administrator 11 shall delegate to the Director of Advanced Integration the 12 responsibilities described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 13 section 2(b). 14 (d) COLLABORATION.—The Director of Advanced In- 15 tegration shall collaborate with the following: 16 (1) The Vice President of Air Traffic Services 17 of the Administration and the Vice President of Mis- 18 sion Support Services of the Administration to carry 19 out the responsibilities described in section 2(b)(2). 20 (2) The Executive Director of Aircraft Certifi- 21 cation Service of the Administration, the Executive 22 Director of Flight Standards Services of the Admin- 23 istration, and the Executive Director of the Office of 24 Rulemaking of the Administration to carry out the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1888 IS responsibilities described in paragraphs (1) and (3) 1 of section 2(b). 2 (3) The Director of the William J. Hughes 3 Technical Center of the Administration to carry out 4 the responsibilities described in section 2(b)(3). 5 (4) The Assistant Administrator for Finance 6 and Management of the Administration and the As- 7 sistant Administrator for Human Resource Manage- 8 ment of the Administration to carry out the respon- 9 sibilities described in section 2(b)(4). 10 SEC. 4. ADVANCED AVIATION COORDINATION UNIT. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 12 a coordination unit within the Administration to carry out 13 the responsibilities described in subsection (d), to be 14 known as the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit. 15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advanced Aviation Coordi- 16 nation Unit shall consist of the head of each relevant office 17 of the Administration, or an employee representing such 18 office, including— 19 (1) the Office of Advanced Integration estab- 20 lished under section 3; 21 (2) the Office of Aviation Safety, including the 22 UAS Integration Office, the Aircraft Certification 23 Service, the Flight Standards Service, and the Office 24 of Rulemaking; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1888 IS (3) the Air Traffic Organization, including the 1 Program Management Organization, the Technical 2 Operations Services, the Office of Mission Support 3 Services, and the office headed by the Chief Oper- 4 ating Officer; 5 (4) the Office of Security and Hazardous Mate- 6 rials Safety; 7 (5) the Office of Airports; 8 (6) the Office of the Chief Counsel; 9 (7) the Office of Policy, International Affairs, 10 and Environment; and 11 (8) any other office determined appropriate by 12 the Deputy Administrator. 13 (c) CHAIR.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Advanced 15 Integration shall serve as the Chair of the Advanced 16 Aviation Coordination Unit, at the discretion of the 17 Deputy Administrator. 18 (2) AUTHORITY.—The Chair may— 19 (A) schedule meetings of the members of 20 the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit; 21 (B) identify items for the members of the 22 Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit to act on 23 in fulfillment of the responsibilities described in 24 subsection (d); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1888 IS (C) establish working groups in addition to 1 the working groups established pursuant to sub- 2 section (e). 3 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The members of the Ad- 4 vanced Aviation Coordination Unit shall collaborate to— 5 (1) promote the safe and responsible integration 6 of advanced aviation systems into the national air- 7 space system; 8 (2) improve processes related to such integra- 9 tion; 10 (3) improve processes related to the certifi- 11 cation of advanced aviation systems; 12 (4) develop clear and consistent standards re- 13 lated to advanced aviation systems; 14 (5) ensure that determinations of the Adminis- 15 tration related to advanced aviation systems are 16 made in a timely manner; and 17 (6) identify innovative aviation technologies 18 that may be integrated into the national airspace 19 system. 20 (e) WORKING GROUPS.— 21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Chair of the Ad- 22 vanced Aviation Coordination Unit shall establish 23 within the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit a 24 working group on each of the following topics: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1888 IS (A) Unmanned aircraft system integration. 1 (B) Advanced air mobility integration. 2 (C) Safety technology integration. 3 (2) PERSONNEL.—The Chair shall consult with 4 the members of the Advanced Coordination Unit on 5 the assignment of Administration personnel to staff 6 the working groups established under paragraph (1). 7 (3) PROJECTS.—The Chair shall, in consulta- 8 tion with the Administrator and members of the Ad- 9 vanced Aviation Coordination Unit, assign projects 10 to the working groups established under paragraph 11 (1) and oversee the execution of such projects. 12 (f) CONSULTATION.—The Deputy Administrator 13 shall consult with the Administrator and members of the 14 Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit to ensure that exist- 15 ing projects of the Administration are incorporated into 16 the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit in a minimally 17 disruptive manner. 18 (g) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretary 19 may facilitate coordination between interagency partners 20 and the members of the Advanced Aviation Coordination 21 Unit to fulfill the responsibilities described in subsection 22 (d). 23 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1888 IS (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 2 Aviation Administration. 3 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra- 4 tion’’ means the Federal Aviation Administration. 5 (3) ADVANCED AVIATION SYSTEM.—The term 6 ‘‘advanced aviation system’’ means— 7 (A) an unmanned aircraft system; 8 (B) a powered lift aircraft; 9 (C) a technology related to— 10 (i) advanced air mobility; 11 (ii) the ability of an aircraft to detect 12 surroundings and avoid impacts; 13 (iii) autonomous functioning of air- 14 craft; 15 (iv) supersonic aircraft capabilities; 16 (v) electric or hydrogen based aircraft 17 propulsion; or 18 (vi) evolving aerospace operations in- 19 cluding new aircraft, airport, weather, or 20 info-centric and digital systems; or 21 (D) any other aviation-related technology 22 that the Deputy Administrator determines 23 qualifies as an advanced aviation system that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1888 IS could feasibly be integrated into the national 1 airspace system. 2 (4) OPERATIONAL APPROVAL APPLICATION.— 3 The term ‘‘operational approval application’’ means 4 an application for the operation of an advanced avia- 5 tion system in the national airspace system sub- 6 mitted pursuant to section 44701 or 44807 of title 7 49, United States Code, or any other provision of 8 law related to such operation. 9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Transportation. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB