To provide for a rulemaking on operation of unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight, and for other purposes.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3969 To provide for a rulemaking on operation of unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 9, 2023 Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself and Ms. TITUS) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To provide for a rulemaking on operation of unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight, 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. BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT RULEMAKING. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 months after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 5 Federal Aviation Administration shall issue a notice of 6 proposed rulemaking establishing airworthiness and oper- 7 ational regulations for unmanned aircraft operated beyond 8 visual line of sight that are intended to operate primarily 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3969 IH at or below 400 feet above ground level and the associated 1 elements of such aircraft. 2 (b) CONTENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 3 Administrator shall— 4 (1) establish a means to accept proposed— 5 (A) airworthiness standards for unmanned 6 aircraft; 7 (B) standards for associated elements of 8 unmanned aircraft; and 9 (C) qualification standards for remote pi- 10 lots operating unmanned aircraft; 11 (2) enable the ability for unmanned aircraft to 12 be operated for agricultural purposes; 13 (3) establish a process by which the Adminis- 14 trator may approve or accept third-party compliance 15 services in support of the safe integration of un- 16 manned aircraft systems into the national airspace 17 system; and 18 (4) establish protocols, as appropriate, for 19 networked information exchange, including network- 20 based remote identification in support of beyond vis- 21 ual line of sight operations. 22 (c) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STAND- 23 ARDS.—In carrying out subsection (b)(1)(A), the Adminis- 24 trator shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3969 IH (1) define the operational environments of 1 which an airworthiness certification is needed to en- 2 sure aviation safety; 3 (2) establish an airworthiness category or cat- 4 egories for unmanned aircraft to be eligible for a 5 special airworthiness certificate; and 6 (3) establish a process to approve standards, 7 means of compliance, and declarations of compli- 8 ance. 9 (d) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATED ELEMENTS 10 STANDARDS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 12 (b)(1)(B), the Administrator shall establish a proc- 13 ess to accept or approve the associated elements of 14 an unmanned aircraft that, when considered collec- 15 tively with other associated elements and an un- 16 manned aircraft, meet an acceptable performance- 17 based safety standard. 18 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the 19 process under paragraph (1), the Administrator 20 shall consider the ways associated elements of an 21 unmanned aircraft system interact with other associ- 22 ated elements and unmanned aircraft. 23 (e) REMOTE PILOT QUALIFICATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3969 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 1 (b)(1)(C), the Administrator shall establish quali- 2 fications and standards, or a means to accept pro- 3 posed qualifications and standards, for remote pilots 4 operating unmanned aircraft systems. 5 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out sub- 6 section (e)(1), the Administrator shall account for 7 the varying levels of automation of unmanned air- 8 craft systems. 9 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 10 subsection may be construed to allow for the estab- 11 lishment of type-ratings that apply specifically and 12 exclusively to an aircraft manufactured by 1 manu- 13 facturer. 14 (f) INTERIM APPROVALS.—Before the date on which 15 the Administrator issues a final rule under this section, 16 the Administrator shall use the process described in sec- 17 tion 44807 of title 49, United States Code, to authorize 18 unmanned aircraft system operations conducted beyond 19 visual line of sight. 20 (g) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 16 months after 21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 22 issue a final rule establishing the regulations required 23 under this section. 24 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3969 IH (1) ASSOCIATED ELEMENTS.—The term ‘‘asso- 1 ciated elements’’ means any component of an un- 2 manned aircraft system, not permanently affixed to 3 the unmanned aircraft, required for the remote pilot 4 to operate such aircraft safely and efficiently in the 5 national airspace system. 6 (2) BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT.—The 7 term ‘‘beyond visual line of sight’’ means a distance 8 at which the remote pilot in command of an un- 9 manned aircraft system cannot see the unmanned 10 aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than 11 corrective lenses. 12 (3) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED AIR- 13 CRAFT SYSTEM.—The terms ‘‘unmanned aircraft’’ 14 and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the meaning 15 given such terms in section 44801 of title 49, United 16 States Code. 17 SEC. 2. SPECIAL AUTHORITY FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 18 SYSTEMS. 19 Section 44807 of title 49, United States Code, is 20 amended— 21 (1) in subsection (a)— 22 (A) by inserting ‘‘or chapter 447’’ after 23 ‘‘this chapter’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3969 IH (B) by striking ‘‘the Secretary of Trans- 1 portation’’ and inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 2 the Federal Aviation Administration’’; and 3 (C) by striking ‘‘if certain’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘how’’; 5 (2) in subsection (b)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘the Secretary’’ and insert- 7 ing ‘‘the Administrator’’; and 8 (B) in paragraph (1)— 9 (i) by striking ‘‘which types of un- 10 manned aircraft systems, if any, as a re- 11 sult of their size’’ and inserting ‘‘how the 12 unmanned aircraft, as a result of such air- 13 craft’s size’’; and 14 (ii) by striking ‘‘do not create’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘does not create’’; 16 (3) in subsection (c) to read as follows: 17 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR SAFE OPERATION.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For unmanned aircraft sys- 19 tems that the Administrator determines under this 20 section may operate safely in the national airspace 21 system, the Administrator shall establish require- 22 ments, or a process to accept proposed requirements, 23 for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3969 IH national airspace system, including operation related 1 to testing and evaluation of proprietary systems. 2 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF MITIGATION MEASURES.— 3 To the extent that a proposed operation will be con- 4 ducted exclusively within the airspace of a Mode C 5 Veil during the entirety of the operation, such oper- 6 ation shall be treated as satisfying the requirements 7 of section 91.113(b) of title 14, Code of Federal 8 Regulations, so long as the operation employs— 9 ‘‘(A) ADS–B In-based detect and avoid ca- 10 pabilities; 11 ‘‘(B) air traffic control communication and 12 coordination; and 13 ‘‘(C) aeronautical information management 14 systems to notify other aircraft operators of 15 such operations. 16 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 17 this subsection shall be construed to give an un- 18 manned aircraft operating pursuant to this section 19 the right of way over a manned aircraft.’’; 20 (4) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in- 21 serting ‘‘2033’’; and 22 (5) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—In making determinations under 24 this section, the Administrator may not consider un- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3969 IH manned aircraft systems to the extent that such systems 1 may meet the requirements of established regulations ap- 2 plicable to the proposed operation of a system.’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS