Future of Aviation Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4126 To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to current and future electric power requirements of airports, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 14, 2023 Mr. MOLINARO (for himself and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to current and future electric power requirements of air- ports, 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 ‘‘Future of Aviation 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Section 47102 of title 49, United States Code, is 7 amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (3)(P) by striking ‘‘improve 9 the reliability and efficiency of the airport’s power 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4126 IH supply’’ and inserting ‘‘improve reliability and effi- 1 ciency of the airport’s power supply or meet current 2 and future electrical power demand.’’; and 3 (2) in paragraph (5) by inserting after subpara- 4 graph (C) the following: 5 ‘‘(D) assessing current and future elec- 6 trical power demand.’’. 7 SEC. 3. INCREASING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF AIR- 8 PORTS AND MEETING CURRENT AND FUTURE 9 ELECTRICAL POWER DEMANDS. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47140 of title 49, United 11 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 12 ‘‘§ 47140. Meeting current and future electrical power 13 demand 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 15 shall establish a program under which the Secretary 16 shall— 17 ‘‘(1) encourage the sponsor of each public-use 18 airport to— 19 ‘‘(A) conduct airport planning that as- 20 sesses the airport’s— 21 ‘‘(i) current and future electrical 22 power requirements, including— 23 ‘‘(I) heating and cooling; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4126 IH ‘‘(II) on-road airport vehicles, in- 1 cluding ground support equipment; 2 ‘‘(III) gate electrification; and 3 ‘‘(IV) electric aircraft charging; 4 and 5 ‘‘(ii) existing electrical infrastructure 6 condition, location and capacity, including 7 base load and backup power, to meet the 8 current and future electrical power demand 9 as identified in this subparagraph; and 10 ‘‘(B) conduct airport development to in- 11 crease energy efficiency or meet future electrical 12 power demands as identified in subparagraph 13 (A); and 14 ‘‘(2) reimburse the airport sponsor for the costs 15 incurred in conducting the assessment under para- 16 graph (1). 17 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make grants from 18 amounts made available under section 48103 to assist air- 19 port sponsors that have completed the assessment de- 20 scribed in subsection (a)(1)— 21 ‘‘(1) to acquire or construct equipment that will 22 increase energy efficiency at the airport; and 23 ‘‘(2) to pursue an airport development project 24 described in subsection (a)(1)(B).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4126 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 1 ter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 2 striking the item relating to section 47140 and inserting 3 the following: 4 ‘‘47140. Meeting current and future electrical power demand.’’. SEC. 4. ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT INFRASTRUCTURE PILOT 5 PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 7 may establish a pilot program under which the sponsors 8 of public-use airports may use funds made available under 9 chapter 471 or section 48103 of title 49, United States 10 Code, for use at up to 10 airports to carry out— 11 (1) activities associated with the acquisition, by 12 purchase or lease, operation, and installation of 13 equipment to support the operations of electric air- 14 craft, including interoperable electric vehicle charg- 15 ing equipment; and 16 (2) the construction or modification of infra- 17 structure to facilitate the delivery of power or serv- 18 ices necessary for the use of electric aircraft, includ- 19 ing— 20 (A) on airport utility upgrades; and 21 (B) associated design costs. 22 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—A public-use airport is eligible for 23 participation in the pilot program under this section if the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4126 IH Secretary finds that funds made available under sub- 1 section (a) would support— 2 (1) electric aircraft operators at such airport, or 3 using such airport; or 4 (2) electric aircraft operators planning to oper- 5 ate at such airport with an associated agreement in 6 place. 7 (c) SUNSET.—The pilot program established under 8 subsection (a) shall sunset 5 years after the date of enact- 9 ment of this Act. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB