S. 571 — what changed

changed This Act may be cited as the “Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2”.

removed “(1) In general—Upon a decision by the Administrator denying a covered certificate, or imposing a punitive civil action or an order of revocation under section 44709 of title 49, United States Code, a person substantially affected by the decision may, at the person’s election, file an appeal with the National Transportation Safety Board or, without further administrative review, in the United States district court in which the person resides or in which the action in question occurred, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.”

changed “(1) In general—In an appeal filed under subsection (d) in a United States district court with respect to a denial, suspension, or revocation of a covered an airman certificate by the Administrator—

“(A) the district court shall review the denial, suspension, or revocation de novo, including by—

“(i) conducting a full independent review of the complete administrative record of the denial, suspension, or revocation;

“(ii) permitting additional discovery and the taking of additional evidence; and

changed “(iii) making the findings of fact and conclusions of law required by Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure without being bound to any facts found by findings of fact of the Administrator or the National Transportation Safety Board; andBoard.”

added “(2) Burden of proof—In an appeal filed under subsection (d) in a United States district court after an exhaustion of administrative remedies, the burden of proof shall be as follows:

added “(A) In an appeal of the denial of an application for the issuance or renewal of an airman certificate under section 44703 of title 49, United States Code, the burden of proof shall be upon the applicant denied an airman certificate by the Administrator.

added “(B) In an appeal of an order issued by the Administrator under section 44709 of title 49, United States Code, the burden of proof shall be upon the Administrator.”

removed “(B) the Administrator shall bear the burden of proof.”

added “(4) Applicability of administrative procedure act—Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection or subsection (a)(1) of section 554 of title 5, United States Code, section 554 of such title shall apply to adjudications of the Administrator and the National Transportation Safety Board to the same extent as that section applied to such adjudications before the date of enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2.”

removed “(3) Applicability of Administrative Procedure Act—Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(A) or subsection (a)(1) of section 554 of title 5, United States Code, that section applies to adjudications of the Administrator and the National Transportation Safety Board to the same extent as that section applied to such adjudications before the date of the enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2.”

removed “(k) Covered certificate defined—In this section, the term covered certificate means an airman certificate, design organization certificate, holder of type certificate, production certificate, airworthiness certificate, air carrier operating certificate, airport operating certificate, air agency certificate, air navigation facility certificate, medical certificate, or any other authorization issued by the Administrator under chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code.”

removed “(4) Failure To Provide Information—If the Administrator does not provide a person with the notification required by paragraph (1) with respect to an investigation relating to the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a covered certificate, including all of the information required under paragraph (2), the Administrator may not—

removed “(A) retain records of the investigation;

removed “(B) deny, suspend, or revoke the covered certificate;

removed “(C) seek a civil penalty or other punitive action against the person; or

removed “(D) in any way take action, including issuance of a warning letter or letter of correction or any other administrative action, with regard to the matter that was the subject of the investigation.”

“(f) Release of investigative reports

“(1) In general

added “(A) Emergency orders—In any proceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to the amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate, in which the Administrator issues an emergency order under subsections (d) and (e) of section 44709, section 44710, or section 46105(c) of title 49, United States Code, or another order that takes effect immediately, the Administrator shall provide to the individual holding the airman certificate the releasable portion of the investigative report at the time the Administrator issues the order. If the complete Report of Investigation is not available at the time the Emergency Order is issued, the Administrator shall issue all portions of the report that are available at the time and shall provide the full report within 5 days of its completion.

added “(B) Other orders—In any non-emergency proceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to the amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate, in which the Administrator notifies the certificate holder of a proposed certificate action under subsections (b) and (c) of section 44709 or section 44710 of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator shall, upon the written request of the covered certificate holder and at any time after that notification, provide to the covered certificate holder the releasable portion of the investigative report.

added “(2) Motion for dismissal—If the Administrator does not provide the releasable portions of the investigative report to the individual holding the airman certificate subject to the proceeding referred to in paragraph (1) by the time required by that paragraph, the individual may move to dismiss the complaint of the Administrator or for other relief and, unless the Administrator establishes good cause for the failure to provide the investigative report or for a lack of timeliness, the administrative law judge shall order such relief as the judge considers appropriate.

added “(3) Releasable portion of investigative report—For purposes of paragraph (1), the releasable portion of an investigative report is all information in the report, except for the following:

removed “(A) Emergency orders—In any proceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to denial, amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of a covered certificate, in which the Administrator issues an emergency order of revocation under subsections (d) and (e) of section 44709 of title 49, United States Code, an emergency order under section 46105(c) of such title, or another order that takes effect immediately, the Administrator shall provide to the person holding the covered certificate the releasable portion of the investigative report before issuing the order.

removed “(B) Other orders—In any proceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to denial, amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of a covered certificate, in which the Administrator notifies the holder of the covered certificate of a proposed action under subsections (b) and (c) of section 44709 of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator shall, upon request of the holder of the covered certificate and at any time after that notification, provide to the holder of the covered certificate the releasable portion of the investigative report.

removed “(2) Motion for dismissal—If the Administrator does not provide the investigative report to the person holding the covered certificate subject to the proceeding referred to in paragraph (1) by the time required by that paragraph, the person may move to dismiss the complaint of the Administrator or for other relief and, unless the Administrator establishes good cause for the failure to provide the investigative report, the administrative law judge shall order such relief as the judge considers appropriate.

removed “(3) Releasable portion of report—For purposes of paragraph (1), the releasable portion of an investigative report is all information in the report, except for the following:

“(A) Information that is privileged.

“(B) Information that constitutes work product or reflects internal deliberative process.

“(C) Information that would disclose the identity of a confidential source.

“(D) Information the disclosure of which is prohibited by any other provision of law.

“(E) Information that is not relevant to the subject matter of the proceeding.

“(F) Information the Administrator can demonstrate is withheld for good cause.

“(G) Sensitive security information, as defined in section 15.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar ruling or regulation).

added “(4) Rule of construction—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the Administrator from releasing to an individual subject to an investigation described in subsection (b)(1)—

removed “(4) Rule of construction—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the Administrator from releasing to a person subject to an investigation described in subsection (b)(1)—

“(A) information in addition to the information included in the releasable portion of the investigative report; or

“(B) a copy of the investigative report before the Administrator issues a complaint.”

removed “(g) Limitation on document requests—In any case in which the Administrator initiates an investigation described in subsection (b)(1) with respect to a person, the Administrator and the investigating officials may request documents from the person only if the request is limited and narrowly tailored to issues in the investigation.”

removed “(h) Response to Requests by Repair Stations To Settle or Withdraw—The Administrator shall respond to a written request by a repair station holding a certificate under part 145, Code of Federal Regulations, that is subject to an investigation described in subsection (b)(1) to withdraw from or settle a proceeding relating to the investigation not later than 30 calendar days after receiving the request.”

removed “(i) Limitation on retention of records—The Administrator shall expunge the record of any investigation described in subsection (b)(1) with respect to a covered certificate that does not lead to the denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of the certificate not later than 90 days after the Administrator determines not to deny, suspend, modify, or revoke the certificate.

removed “(j) Prohibition on publicizing pending enforcement actions—The Administrator may not indicate in the publicly accessible records of a person holding a covered certificate who is the subject of an investigation described in subsection (b)(1) any information that is different from information in such records of an airman who is not under such an investigation.”

removed “(1) In general—The Administrator”

removed “(2) Reexamination of airmen certificates

removed “(A) In general—The Administrator may reexamine an airman holding a certificate issued under section 44703 of this title only if the Administrator has reasonable grounds—

removed “(i) to question the airman’s lack of competence based on acts or omissions committed while the airman was exercising the privileges of the certificate; or

removed “(ii) to believe the airman obtained the certificate through fraudulent means.

removed “(B) Notification requirements—Before taking any action to reexamine an airman holding a certificate issued under section 44703 of this title, the Administrator shall provide to the airman—

removed “(i) the specific justification for the reexamination; and

removed “(ii) any releasable information gathered by the Federal Aviation Administration that form the basis for that justification.”

“(1) In general—The Administrator”

added “(2) Limitation on the reexamination of airman certificates

added “(A) In general—The Administrator may not reexamine an airman holding a student, sport, recreational, or private pilot certificate issued under section 44703 of this title if the reexamination is ordered as a result of an event involving the fault of the Federal Aviation Administration or its designee, unless the Administrator has reasonable grounds—

added “(i) to establish that the airman may not be qualified to exercise the privileges of a particular certificate or rating, based upon an act or omission committed by the airman while exercising those privileges, after the certificate or rating was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or its designee; or

added “(ii) to demonstrate that the airman obtained the certificate or the rating through fraudulent means or through an examination that was substantially and demonstrably inadequate to establish the airman’s qualifications.

added “(B) Notification requirements—Before taking any action to reexamine an airman under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall provide to the airman—

added “(i) a reasonable basis, described in detail, for requesting the reexamination; and

added “(ii) any information gathered by the Federal Aviation Administration, that the Administrator determines is appropriate to provide, such as the scope and nature of the requested reexamination, that formed the basis for that justification.”

added “(1) In general—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Administrator”

removed “(2) Modification, suspension, or revocation of airmen certificates after reexamination—The Administrator may not amend, modify, suspend, or revoke an airman certificate issued under section 44703 of this title after a reexamination of the airman holding the certificate unless the Administrator demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the airman—

removed “(A) lacks the skills and competency, or care, judgment, and responsibility, necessary to hold the certificate; or

removed “(B) materially contributed to the issuance of the certificate by fraudulent means.”

removed “(1) In general—A person”

added “(2) Amendments, modifications, suspensions, and revocations of airman certificates after reexamination

added “(A) In general—The Administrator may not issue an order to amend, modify, suspend, or revoke an airman certificate held by a student, sport, recreational, or private pilot and issued under section 44703 of this title after a reexamination of the airman holding the certificate unless the Administrator determines that the airman—

added “(i) lacks the technical skills and competency, or care, judgment, and responsibility, necessary to hold and safely exercise the privileges of the certificate; or

added “(ii) materially contributed to the issuance of the certificate by fraudulent means.

added “(B) Standard of review—Any order of the Administrator under this paragraph shall be subject to the standard of review provided for under section 2 of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (49 U.S.C. 44703 note).”

removed “(2) Appeals relating to reexamination of airmen certificates—If the Administrator amends, modifies, suspends, or revokes an airman certificate after reexamination of the airman holding the certificate in violation of subsection (a)(2), the airman may elect to file an appeal in the United States district court in which the airman resides or in which the action in question occurred, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, instead of filing an appeal with the Board under subsection (d).”

changed “(B) to establish a continue developing and modernizing the NOTAM repository, in a public central location, to maintain and archive all NOTAMs, including the original content and form of the notices, the original date of publication, and any amendments to such notices with the date of each amendment, in a manner that is Internet-accessible, machine-readable, and searchable;”

changed “(D) to establish a rating system to prioritize each NOTAM by specify the urgency times during which temporary flight restrictions are in effect and importance of the NOTAM; andduration of a designation of special use airspace in a specific area.”

removed “(E) to specify the times during which temporary flight restrictions are in effect and the duration of a designation of special use airspace in a specific area.”

changed “(d) Designation of repository as sole source for NOTAMsnotams

“(1) In general—The Administrator—

changed “(A) shall consider the repository for NOTAMs established under subsection (a)(2)(B) to be the sole location for airmen to check for NOTAMs; and

changed “(B) may not consider a NOTAM to be announced and or published until the NOTAM is included in the repository.repository for NOTAMs under subsection (a)(2)(B).

changed “(2) Prohibition on taking action for violations of NOTAMs notams not in repository

changed “(A) In general—Except as provided in subparagraph (A), (B), beginning on and after the date on which that the repository established under subsection (a)(2)(B) is final and published, the Administrator may not take any enforcement action against an airman for a violation of a NOTAM during a flight if that NOTAM is not available through the repository before the commencement of the flight and reasonably accessible and identifiable to the airman.if—

added “(i) that NOTAM is not available through the repository before the commencement of the flight; and

added “(ii) that NOTAM is not reasonably accessible and identifiable to the airman.

“(B) Exception for national security—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of an enforcement action for a violation of a NOTAM that directly relates to national security.”

“47124a. Accessibility of certain flight data

“(a) Definitions—In this section:

changed “(1) Contract tower—The Administration—The term contract tower Administration means an air traffic control tower providing air traffic control services pursuant to a contract with the Federal Aviation Administration under the Contract Tower Program under section 47124(b)(3).Administration.

changed “(2) Covered flight record—The Administrator—The term covered flight record Administrator means any flight data, including air traffic data (as defined in section 2(b)(4)(B) of the Pilot's Bill of Rights (49 U.S.C. 44703 note)), created, maintained, or controlled by any program of the Federal Aviation Administration, whether carried out by employees or contractors Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, including contract towers, flight service stations, and controller training programs.Administration.

changed “(b) Provision “(3) Applicable individual—The term applicable individual means an individual who is the subject of an investigation initiated by the Administrator related to a covered flight data to Federal Aviation Administrationrecord.

changed “(1) Request from Federal Aviation Administration—When the Federal Aviation Administration receives a request, “(4) Contract tower—The term contract tower means an air traffic control tower providing air traffic control services pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, for a covered flight record that is not in the possession of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Administrator of contract with the Federal Aviation Administration shall request the record from under the contract air traffic control tower or other contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration that possesses the record.program under section 47124(b)(3).

changed “(2) Provision of records to Federal Aviation Administration—Any “(5) Covered flight record—The term covered flight record means any air traffic data (as defined in section 2(b)(4)(B) of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (49 U.S.C. 44703 note)), created, maintained, or controlled by a contract tower or another contractor any program of the Federal Aviation Administration that maintains covered flight records shall be provided to the Federal Aviation Administration if Administration, including any program of the Federal Aviation Administration requests carried out by employees or contractors of the record pursuant to paragraph (1).Administration, such as contract towers, flight service stations, and controller training programs.

changed “(c) Applicability “(b) Provision of FOIA—After the Federal Aviation Administration receives a covered flight record under subsection (b), that record shall be—to administration

changed “(1) considered Requests—Whenever the Administration receives a written request for a covered flight record from an agency applicable individual and the covered flight record is not in the possession of the Federal Aviation Administration for purposes Administration, the Administrator shall request the covered flight record from the contract tower or other contractor of section 552(f)(2) the Administration in possession of title 5, United States Code; andthe covered flight record.

changed “(2) subject to section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Freedom Provision of Information Act”), to the same extent as if the records—Any covered flight record was created, maintained, and or controlled by a contract tower or another contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration.Administration that maintains covered flight records shall be provided to the Administration if the Administration requests the record pursuant to paragraph (1).

changed “(d) Withholding “(3) Notice of information—The proposed certificate action—If the Administrator has issued, or subsequently issues, a Notice of Proposed Certificate Action relying on evidence contained in the Federal Aviation Administration may withhold information that would otherwise be required covered flight record and the individual who is the subject of an investigation has requested the record, the Administrator shall promptly produce the record and extend the time the individual has to be made available under this section only if—respond to the Notice of Proposed Certificate Action until the covered flight record is provided.

changed “(1) the Administrator determines, based on information in the possession of the Administrator, that the Administrator may withhold the information in accordance with section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code; or“(c) Implementation

changed “(2) “(1) In general—Not later than 180 days after the information is voluntarily provided safety- date of enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations or security-related information covered by section 40123.guidance to ensure compliance with this section.

changed “(e) Format of records—Each contract tower or other contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration that maintains covered flight records shall maintain records relating to covered flight records in formats that are readily reproducible and reasonably searchable “(2) Compliance by the Federal Aviation Administration.contractors

changed “(f) Regulations“(A) Compliance with this section by a contract tower or other contractor of the Administration that maintains covered flight records shall be included as a material term in any contract between the Administration and the contract tower or contractor entered into or renewed on or after the date of enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2.

changed “(1) In general—Not later than 180 days after “(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any contract or agreement in effect on the date of the enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations or guidance to ensure compliance with this section by 2 unless the Federal Aviation Administration, contract towers, and other contractors of the Federal Aviation Administration or agreement is renegotiated, renewed, or modified after that maintain covered flight records.date.”

removed “(2) Compliance by applicable entities

removed “(A) In general—Compliance with this section by a contract tower or other contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration that maintains covered flight records shall be included as a material term in any contract between the Federal Aviation Administration and the contract tower or contractor entered into or renewed on or after the date of the enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2.

removed “(B) Modification of contract or agreement—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, the Administrator shall secure a modification to include compliance with this section by each contract tower and other contractor of the Federal Aviation Administration that maintains covered flight records as a material term in any contract between the Federal Aviation Administration and the contract tower or contractor that will not otherwise be renegotiated, renewed, or modified before the date that is one year after such date of enactment.”

added Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall revise section 13.11 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to authorize legal counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration to close enforcement actions covered by that section with a warning notice, letter of correction, or other administrative action.