Sec. 635. Protection of public gatherings
332 words·~2 min read·
/bill/118/hr/3935/eh/section-635·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a process to allow applicants to request temporary prohibitions of unmanned aircraft operations in close proximity to an eligible large public gathering for a specified period of time. In making a determination whether to grant or deny an application for a designation, the Administrator shall consider— aviation safety; protection of persons and property on the ground; national security; or homeland security.
The application procedures under this section shall allow eligible petitions to apply for a prohibition individually or collectively. Large public gatherings eligible for application under this section shall— have an estimated attendance of greater than 20,000 people; be primarily outdoors; have defined and static geographical boundaries; and be advertised in the public domain. Applicants eligible to submit petitions for consideration in subsection
(a)shall be a credentialed law enforcement organization or public safety organization otherwise recognized by a Federal, State, local, Tribal, or territorial governmental entity. The Administrator shall provide for a timely determination on an application submitted under subsection
(a)to allow for the public to be notified of a prohibition in advance of the public gathering. The Administrator shall make every practicable effort to make a determination on an application submitted under subsection
(a)not later than 7 days before the expected start date of the large public gathering. Temporary prohibition designated under subsection
(a)shall be published by the Federal Aviation Administration in a publicly accessible manner, in English and other non-English languages, at least 2 days before the large public gathering. Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting the Administrator from authorizing operation of an aircraft, including an unmanned aircraft system, over, under, or within a specified distance from that large public gathering designated under subsection (b). In this section, the terms unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft system have the meanings given such terms in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.