Sec. 2. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS AND ELIMINATION OF DEFERENCE
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## SEC. 2 FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS AND ELIMINATION OF DEFERENCE **[**[49 U.S.C. 44703 note](/us/usc/t49/s44703)**]** ###
(a)In General Any proceeding conducted under subpart C, D, or F of part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to denial, amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate, shall be conducted, to the extent practicable, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. ###
(b)Access to Information ####
(1)In general Except as provided under paragraph (3), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (referred to in this section as the “Administrator”) shall provide timely, written notification to an individual who is the subject of an investigation relating to the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of an airman certificate under chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code. ####
(2)Information required The notification required under paragraph
(1)shall inform the individual— #####
(A)of the nature of the investigation and the specific activity on which the investigation is based; #####
(B)that an oral or written response to a Letter of Investigation from the Administrator is not required; #####
(C)that no action or adverse inference can be taken against the individual for declining to respond to a Letter of Investigation from the Administrator; #####
(D)that any response to a Letter of Investigation from the Administrator or to an inquiry made by a representative of the Administrator by the individual may be used as evidence against the individual; #####
(E)that the releasable portions of the Administrator’s investigative report will be available to the individual; and #####
(F)that the individual is entitled to access or otherwise obtain air traffic data described in paragraph (4). ####
(3)Exception The Administrator may delay notification under paragraph
(1)if the Administrator determines that such notification may threaten the integrity of the investigation. ####
(4)Access to air traffic data #####
(A)FAA air traffic data The Administrator shall provide an individual described in paragraph
(1)with timely access to any air traffic data in the possession of the Federal Aviation Administration that would facilitate the individual’s ability to productively participate in a proceeding relating to an investigation described in such paragraph. #####
(B)Air traffic data defined As used in subparagraph (A), the term “air traffic data” includes— ######
(i)relevant air traffic communication tapes; ######
(ii)radar information; ######
(iii)air traffic controller statements; ######
(iv)flight data; ######
(v)investigative reports; and ######
(vi)any other air traffic or flight data in the Federal Aviation Administration’s possession that would facilitate the individual’s ability to productively participate in the proceeding. #####
(C)Government contractor air traffic data ######
(i)In general Any individual described in paragraph
(1)is entitled to obtain any air traffic data that would facilitate the individual’s ability to productively participate in a proceeding relating to an investigation described in such paragraph from a government contractor that provides operational services to the Federal Aviation Administration, including control towers and flight service stations. ######
(ii)Required information from individual The individual may obtain the information described in clause
(i)by submitting a request to the Administrator that— ######
(I)describes the facility at which such information is located; and ######
(II)identifies the date on which such information was generated. ######
(iii)Provision of information to individual If the Administrator receives a request under this subparagraph, the Administrator shall— ######
(I)request the contractor to provide the requested information; and ######
(II)upon receiving such information, transmitting the information to the requesting individual in a timely manner. ####
(5)Timing Except when the Administrator determines that an emergency exists under section 44709(e)(2) or 46105(c), the Administrator may not proceed against an individual that is the subject of an investigation described in paragraph
(1)during the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the air traffic data required under paragraph
(4)is made available to the individual. ####
(6)Response to letter of investigation #####
(A)In general If an individual decides to respond to a Letter of Investigation described in paragraph (2)(B), such individual may respond not later than 30 days after receipt of such Letter, including providing written comments on the incident to the investigating office. #####
(B)Construction Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Administrator (as of the day before the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024) to take emergency action relating to an airman certificate. ###
(c)Amendments to Title 49 **[**[49 U.S.C. 44703](/us/usc/t49/s44703)**]** ####
(1)Airman certificates Section 44703(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “but is bound by all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries out unless the Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law”. ####
(2)Amendments, modifications, suspensions, and revocations of certificates **[**[49 U.S.C. 44709](/us/usc/t49/s44709)**]** Section 44709(d)(3) of such title is amended by striking “but is bound by all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries out and of written agency policy guidance available to the public related to sanctions to be imposed under this section unless the Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law”. ####
(3)Revocation of airman certificates for controlled substance violations **[**[49 U.S.C. 44710](/us/usc/t49/s44710)**]** Section 44710(d)(1) of such title is amended by striking “but shall be bound by all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries out and of written agency policy guidance available to the public related to sanctions to be imposed under this section unless the Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law”. ###
(d)Appeal From Certificate Actions ####
(1)In general Upon a decision by the National Transportation Safety Board upholding an order or a final decision by the Administrator denying an airman certificate under section 44703(d) of title 49, United States Code, or imposing a punitive civil action or an emergency order of revocation under subsections
(d)and
(e)of section 44709 of such title, an individual substantially affected by an order of the Board may, at the individual’s election, file an appeal in the United States district court in which the individual resides or in which the action in question occurred, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. If the individual substantially affected by an order of the Board elects not to file an appeal in a United States district court, the individual may file an appeal in an appropriate United States court of appeals. ####
(2)Emergency order pending judicial review Subsequent to a decision by the Board to uphold an Administrator’s emergency order under section 44709(e)(2) of title 49, United States Code, and absent a stay of the enforcement of that order by the Board, the emergency order of amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of a certificate shall remain in effect, pending the exhaustion of an appeal to a Federal district court as provided in this Act. ###
(e)Standard of Review ####
(1)In general In an appeal filed under subsection
(d)in a United States district court, the district court shall give full independent review of a denial, suspension, or revocation ordered by the Administrator, including substantive independent and expedited review of any decision by the Administrator to make such order effective immediately. ####
(2)Evidence A United States district court’s review under paragraph
(1)shall include in evidence any record of the proceeding before the Administrator and any record of the proceeding before the National Transportation Safety Board, including hearing testimony, transcripts, exhibits, decisions, and briefs submitted by the parties. ###
(f)Release of Investigative Reports ####
(1)In general #####
(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, upon request, 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 of the request, the Administrator shall issue all portions of the report that are available at the time and shall provide the full report not later than 5 days after its completion. #####
(B)Other orders In any nonemergency 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. ####
(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. ####
(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: #####
(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). ####
(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)— #####
(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.
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Sec. 2
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS AND ELIMINATION OF DEFERENCE
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