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Bill
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Title II — Faa Oversight and Organization

S. 1939 · 118th Congress · Jun 13, 2023 · Lineage

II Faa Oversight and Organization

A Organization

Sec. 201 Future of NextGen

(a)
Completion and sunset—
(1)
Key programs— Not later than December 31, 2025, the FAA shall operationalize all the key programs under the NextGen project as described in the FAA’s deployment plan.
(2)
Office; Advisory Committee— The NextGen Office and the NextGen Advisory Committee shall terminate on December 31, 2025.
(3)
Transfer of residual NextGen implementation functions; status report— If the FAA does not complete the NextGen project by the deadline specified in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall transfer the residual functions of completing NextGen to the Airspace Innovation Office established under section 202.
(4)
Transfer of advanced air mobility functions— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, any AAM (as defined in section 106(u)(7) of title 49, United States Code (as added by section 801)) relevant functions, duties, and responsibilities of the NAS Systems, Engineering, & Integration Office or other Offices within the Office of NextGen shall be incorporated into the Office of Advanced Aviation Technology and Innovation established under section 106(u) of title 49, United States Code (as so added).
(5)
Status reports— If the FAA does not complete the NextGen project by the deadline specified in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, not later than 30 days after such deadline, and quarterly thereafter until all key programs under the NextGen project are deployed, brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the status of each incomplete program, including, with respect to each such incomplete program—
(A)
an explanation as to why the program deployment was delayed or not completed by such deadline;
(B)
an assessment of the key risks to the full implementation of the program and a description of how the FAA is mitigating, or plans to mitigate, those risks; and
(C)
a detailed schedule of actions necessary to complete the program, including updated milestones and deadlines.
(b)
Independent report—
(1)
In general— Not later than 90 days of the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall contract with an independent third-party contractor or a Federally funded research and development center to develop a report reviewing and assessing the implementation of the NextGen project.
(2)
Requirements— The report developed under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A)
Evaluation of the promised operational benefits at the time of initiation and the realized benefits upon completion of the NextGen project.
(B)
Recommendations for the technical capacity and resources needed by the FAA in order to oversee a comprehensive airspace modernization project on-schedule and on-budget.
(C)
Identification of programs under the NextGen project that were significantly delayed, significantly diminished, or ultimately not implemented, including an explanation of the cause of the delay, reduction, or removal of the program from the NextGen project by the FAA. This discussion shall include at a minimum, programs relating to expanding surveillance coverage across the country, increasing performance-based navigation, and improving enroute data communications.
(D)
Identification of any challenges that impacted the implementation of the NextGen project.
(E)
Identification of any lessons learned during the NextGen project effort, and whether, how, and to what effect those lessons may be applied to future national airspace system modernization efforts.
(F)
Assessment of national airspace system user engagement in the NextGen project priorities and implementation.
(G)
Recommendations of the justifications for further national airspace system modernization efforts including economic, safety, efficiency, capacity, predictability, and resiliency of the United States air transportation system.
(3)
Deadline— Not later than June 30, 2026, the report developed under paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Administrator and the appropriate committees of Congress.

Sec. 202 Airspace Innovation Office

(a)
Establishment—
(1)
In general— On January 1, 2026, the Administrator shall establish within the FAA the Airspace Innovation Office (in this section referred to as the Office).
(2)
Assistant Administrator— The Office shall be led by the Assistant Administrator.
(3)
Duties— The Office shall be responsible for—
(A)
the research and development, systems engineering, enterprise architecture, and portfolio management for the continuous modernization of the national airspace system; and
(B)
developing an integrated plan for the future state of the national airspace system and overseeing the deployment of the system.
(4)
Consultation— The Assistant Administrator shall consult, as necessary, with the Chief Technology Officer appointed under section 106(s) of title 49, United States Code, and the Associate Administrator for Advanced Aviation Technology and Innovation appointed under section 106(u) of title 49, United States Code (as added by section 801).
(b)
Integrated plan requirements— The integrated plan developed by the Office shall be designed to ensure that the national airspace system meets future safety, security, mobility, efficiency, and capacity needs of a diverse set of airspace users. The integrated plan shall include the following:
(1)
A description of the demand for services that will be required of the Nation’s future air transportation system, and an explanation of how those demand projections were derived, including—
(A)
the most likely range of average annual resources required over the duration of the plan to cost-effectively maintain the safety, sustainability, and other characteristics of national airspace operation and the FAA’s mission; and
(B)
an estimate of FAA resource requirements by user group, including expectations concerning the growth of new entrants and potential new users.
(2)
A roadmap for creating and implementing the integrated plan, including—
(A)
the most significant technical, operational, and personnel obstacles and the activities necessary to overcome such obstacles, including the role of other Federal agencies, corporations, institutions of higher learning, and non-profit organizations in carrying out such activities;
(B)
the annual anticipated cost of carrying out such activities; and
(C)
the technical milestones that will be used to evaluate the activities.
(3)
A description of the operational concepts to meet the system performance requirements for all system users and a timeline and anticipated expenditures needed to develop and deploy the system.
(4)
The management of the enterprise architecture framework for the introduction of these operational improvements and to inform FAA financial decision-making.
(5)
A business case for the operational improvements that the Office will develop and deploy not later than 2040, including the benefits, costs, and risks of the preferred and alternative options.
(c)
Considerations— In developing and carrying out the integrated plan, the Office shall consider—
(1)
the results and recommendations of the independent report on implementation of the NextGen project under section 201(b);
(2)
the status of the transition to, and deployment of, trajectory-based operations within the national airspace system; and
(3)
the audit of legacy systems required by section 407, and the resulting plan to replace or enhance the identified legacy systems within a reasonable time frame.
(d)
Consultation— In developing and carrying out the integrated plan, the Office shall consult with representatives from—
(1)
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(2)
airlines;
(3)
business aviation;
(4)
general aviation;
(5)
aviation labor groups;
(6)
aviation research and development entities;
(7)
aircraft and avionics manufacturers;
(8)
air traffic control suppliers;
(9)
commercial space industry;
(10)
commercial and recreational drone industry; and
(11)
any other entities the Office deems necessary.
(e)
Plan deadline; briefings—
(1)
Plan deadline— Not later than November 30, 2026, the Administrator shall submit the integrated plan required by subsection (a)(3)(B) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2)
Annual briefings— The Administrator shall provide the committees of Congress specified in paragraph (1) with an annual briefing describing the progress in carrying out the integrated plan required by subsection (a)(3)(B), including any changes to the plan.
(f)
DOT Inspector General review— Not later than 180 days following submission of the integrated plan under subsection (e)(1), the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall review the integrated plan and submit to the committees of Congress specified in paragraph (1) a report that—
(1)
assesses the business case for the integrated plan;
(2)
provides any recommendations for improving the integrated plan; and
(3)
includes any other information that the Inspector General determines appropriate.
(g)
Limitation— The FAA is not authorized to spend any amounts on the deployment of new air traffic management technologies and operational improvements that have yet to be deployed and identified in the integrated plan until the committees of Congress specified in paragraph (1) have been briefed under subsection (e)(2).

Sec. 203 Commercial Software Options for Improving ASIAS Analytics

(a)
ASIAS analytics—
(1)
Evaluation— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall evaluate whether commercial software solutions are available to improve the FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system to advance the system’s predictive capabilities and analytical solutions developed.
(2)
Requirements— In carrying out the evaluation required by paragraph (1), the Administrator shall—
(A)
prioritize production-ready configurable solutions over custom development to support FAA critical aviation safety programs; and
(B)
ensure that adequate market research is completed in accordance with FAA acquisition management system requirements, including appropriate live demonstrations of proposed solutions, as part of the evaluation criteria.
(b)
Congressional briefing— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a briefing on the results of the evaluation carried out under subsection (a) that—
(1)
includes an assessment of the FAA’s progress toward achieving previously identified milestones for ASIAS by the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation and the Special Committee to Review FAA Aircraft Certification Reports; and
(2)
outlines the FAA’s plan to use rapidly deployable commercial solutions to assist the FAA in meeting such milestones.

Sec. 204 Authority to use electronic service

Section 46103 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “or” after the semicolon;
(ii)
in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:

“(D) by electronic or facsimile transmission to the person to be served or the designated agent of the person; or

“(E) as designated by regulation or guidance published in the Federal Register.”

(B)
by adding at the end the following:

“(3) The date of service made by an electronic or facsimile method is—

“(A) the date an electronic or facsimile transmission is sent; or

“(B) the date a notification is sent by an electronic or facsimile method that a notice, process, or action is immediately available and accessible in an electronic database.”

(2)
in subsection (c) by striking the first sentence and inserting “Service on an agent designated under this section shall be made at the office or usual place of residence of the agent or at the electronic or facsimile address designated by the agent.”.

B Regulatory Reform

Sec. 211 Safety and efficiency through digitization of FAA systems

(a)
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall—
(1)
identify, at the discretion of the Administrator, 3 processes of the FAA that result in a certification (such as an aircraft certification, aircraft registration, or airmen certification) or authorization, an exemption, or a letter of authorization; and
(2)
initiate the digitization of such processes.
(b)
Requirements— In carrying out the digitization required by subsection (a), the Administrator shall ensure that the digitization of any process allows for—
(1)
an applicant to track their application throughout the period of submission and review of such application; and
(2)
the status of the application to be available upon demand to the applicant, as well as FAA employees responsible for reviewing and making a decision on the application.
(c)
Briefing to Congress— Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Administrator initiates the digitization under subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the progress of such digitization.
(d)
Definition of digitization— In this section, the term digitization means the transition from a predominantly paper-based system to a system centered on the use of a data management system and the internet.

Sec. 212 Report elimination or modification

(a)
Reports modified—
(1)
Report on the airport improvement program—
(A)
In general— Section 47131(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking the first sentence and inserting “Not later than June 1, 2025, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress a report on activities carried out under this subchapter during the prior 2 fiscal years.”.
(B)
Conforming amendments—
(i)
Section 47131 of title 49, United States Code, is amended in the section heading by striking “Annual” and inserting “Biennial”.
(ii)
The analysis for chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 47131 and inserting the following:
(2)
National aviation research plan—
(A)
Section 44501(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “the date of submission” and inserting “90 days after the date of submission”.
(B)
Section 48102(g) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “the date of submission” and inserting “90 days after the date of submission”.
(b)
Reports eliminated—
(1)
Laser pointer incidents— Section 2104(a) of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (49 U.S.C. 46301 note) is amended by striking “Beginning 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, in coordination with appropriate Federal law enforcement agencies, shall provide quarterly updates to the appropriate committees of Congress regarding” and inserting “The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, in coordination with appropriate Federal law enforcement agencies, shall provide an annual briefing to the appropriate committees of Congress regarding”.
(2)
Report on helicopter air ambulance operations— Section 44731 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
in subsection (d)—
(i)
in the subsection heading, by striking “Report to Congress” and inserting “Briefing”;
(ii)
by striking the first sentence and inserting “The Administrator shall provide a briefing to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate annually on the data collected under subsection (a).”; and
(iii)
in the second sentence by striking “report” and inserting “briefing”; and
(B)
in subsection (e)(2), by striking “the report” and inserting “the briefing”.

Sec. 213 Internal regulatory process review

(a)
In general— The Secretary shall establish an internal regulatory process review team (in this section referred to as the review team) comprising of FAA employees and individuals described in subsection (b) to develop recommendations to improve the timeliness of, and performance accountability in, the development and promulgation of regulatory materials (as defined in subsection (g)). The review team shall deliver a report with recommendations to the Secretary in accordance with the deadlines specified in subsection (e).
(b)
Other members; consultation—
(1)
In general— The review team shall include outside experts and academics with relevant experience or expertise in aviation safety and in improving the performance, accountability, and transparency of the Federal regulatory process, particularly as it relates to aviation safety. The review team shall include at least 3 outside experts or academics with relevant experience or expertise in aviation safety and at least 1 outside expert or academic with relevant experience or expertise in improving the performance, accountability, and transparency of the Federal regulatory process, particularly as it relates to aviation safety.
(2)
Consultation— The review team may, as appropriate, consult with industry stakeholders.
(c)
Contents of review— In conducting the review required under subsection (a), the review team shall do the following:
(1)
Develop a proposal for rationalizing processes and eliminating redundant administrative review of regulatory materials within the FAA, particularly when FAA-sponsored rule-making committees and stakeholders have collaborated on the proposed regulations to address airworthiness standards deficiencies.
(2)
With respect to each office within the FAA that reviews regulatory materials, assess—
(A)
the timeline assigned to each such office to complete the review of regulatory materials;
(B)
the actual time spent for such review;
(C)
opportunities to reduce the actual time for such review; and
(D)
whether clear roles, responsibilities, requirements, and expectations are clearly defined for each office required to review the regulatory materials.
(3)
Define and document the roles and responsibilities of each office within the FAA that develops, drafts or reviews each kind of regulatory material in order to ensure that hiring reflects who, where, and how these employees function in the rulemaking framework.
(4)
Describe any organizational changes or the need to hire additional FAA employees, if necessary and taking into consideration whether current positions are staffed, to reduce delays in publication of proposed and final regulatory materials.
(5)
In order to provide the public with detailed information on the progress of the development of regulatory materials, identify reporting mechanisms and develop a template and appropriate system metrics for making publicly available on a website a real-time progress tracker that updates itself to show the major stages (as determined by the Secretary) of the development of regulatory materials as they are initiated, in progress, and completed, from inception of a proposed development of regulatory materials to publication of the final version of such materials.
(6)
Consider changes to the FAA’s best practices under rules governing ex parte communications with other validating authorities, including international validating authorities, and with consideration of the public interest in transparency, to provide flexibility for FAA employees to discuss regulatory materials, particularly for those related to enhancing aviation safety and the United States’ aviation international leadership.
(7)
Recommend methods by which the FAA can incorporate research funded by the Department of Transportation, in addition to consensus standards and conformance assessment processes set by private sector standards-developing organizations into regulatory materials, to keep pace with rapid changes in aviation technologies and processes.
(8)
Recommend mechanisms to optimize the roles of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget, with the objective of improving the efficiency of regulatory activity.
(d)
Action plan— The Administrator shall develop an action plan to implement the recommendations developed by the review team. The Administrator shall publish the action plan on the Internet website of the FAA and shall transmit the plan to the appropriate committees of Congress.
(e)
Deadlines— The requirements of this section shall be subject to the following deadlines:
(1)
The review team shall complete the evaluation required under subsection (a) and submit the review team’s report on such evaluation to the Secretary not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this section.
(2)
The Administrator shall develop and publish the action plan under subsection (d) not later than 30 days after the date on which the review team submits the report required by subsection (a) to the Administrator.
(f)
Administrative procedure requirements inapplicable— The provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Administrative Procedure Act”) shall not apply to any activities of the review team in carrying out the requirements of this section.
(g)
Regulatory materials defined— In this section, the term regulatory materials means rules, orders, advisory circulars, statements of policy, guidance, and other materials related to aviation safety regulations, as well as other materials pertaining to training and operation of aeronautical products.

Sec. 214 Review and Updates of Categorical Exclusions

Not later than 2 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall—
(1)
identify each categorical exclusion under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (referred to in this section as the “Department”), including any operating administration within the Department; and
(2)
review, adopt, and broaden the applicability of categorical exclusions to enable the use by operating administrations of the Department, as relevant and appropriate, of categorical exclusions identified in paragraph (1).