Introduced on May 13, 2015 | Number of Co-Sponsors 5 | |
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Full title A bill to establish an interim rule for the operation of small unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes and their safe integration into the national airspace system. Act(s) affected FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 | ||
The Commercial UAS Modernization Act (S
Contents
As of December 15, 2015, the bill is co-sponsored by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
Background
The FAA runs six drone test sites in the U.S. In May 2015, the FAA released a program called the Pathfinder Program, which would expand drone testing by allowing certain companies the right to experiment using drones out of the line of sight of the operator. CNN, BNSF Railway and PrecisionHawk, a drone startup company, were included in the initial approval for the program. The FAA plans to analyze the data collected from the experiments as part of a fact-finding process.
In February 2015, the FAA released a set of draft regulations that would allow drone operators to fly commercial UAVs during daylight, under 500 feet in the air, and within the line of sight of the operator.
Legislative details
S. 1314 would create an interim FAA rule that would allow for commercial use and testing of small drones. The bill’s provisions would apply until the FAA finalizes its own drone regulations.
If passed into law, the bill would allow people to operate small drones without needing an airworthiness certificate from the FAA if they met the following conditions:
Additionally, the bill would create a new position within the FAA titled the Deputy Associate Administrator for Unmanned Aircraft. The FAA would establish a research and development data collection and analysis program at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, an FAA facility located near Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Support
Groups and companies that have publicly expressed support for the legislation include:
Senator Booker has said that the drone industry expects that finalization of the FAA drone regulations will create over 100,000 jobs in the United States and have an economic impact of $82 billion.