Says Bill Already Had Negative Impact On Training
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association says a federal judge sent a strong message recently...
ruling states cannot preempt the federal government by forcing
flight school students to undergo criminal background checks.
US District Judge for the state of New York Gary L. Sharpe ruled
on August 2 in favor of AOPA's motion for summary judgment. As ANN reported, last year
AOPA and seven New York flight schools filed suit against the
ill-conceived state law.
"This law didn't do anything to enhance security for New
Yorkers," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "It was unnecessary and
discriminatory, and it violated the US. Constitution."
The pilot advocacy group argued the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) and the FAA already have aggressive and
comprehensive security programs that include identity verification
for all pilots as well as background checks for non-US citizens. In
addition, flight schools and flight instructors are required to
receive annual training on reporting suspicious activities to the
TSA or local law enforcement.
AOPA had tried to work with the New York legislature on the
issue and later gave the governor compelling reasons to veto the
bill... yet it still moved forward. AOPA fought and won a similar
battle in Michigan and prevented a bill in the California
legislature from becoming law.
The issue was not about security, but rather what part of
government has the authority and responsibility for aviation
security. The lawsuit stated that Congress has enacted legislation
to create "a single, uniform system of regulation for the safety
and security of aviation, to be maintained by the federal
government."
And if states were
permitted to enact their own aviation security laws, it would
create a patchwork of dissimilar and conflicting laws across the
nation, "frustrating the purpose of a uniform and consistent system
of safety regulation," the suit said.
The New York law had required the state to run a criminal
background check on any flight school applicant through the FBI.
But the FBI wouldn't allow New York to access its criminal database
when the information was to be provided to a third party.
So the state was only able to examine criminal histories
contained within its own records. Any criminal history in another
state wouldn't have been revealed by the New York check.
Although the law was short-lived, AOPA says it had already
created a negative impact on flight school businesses... with many
reporting a downturn in student starts.