Bill Now Awaiting Signature By President Obama

The NBAA and the AEA welcomed passage Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Small Aircraft Revitalization Act of 2013, clearing the way for President Barack Obama to sign the landmark overhaul of Part 23 certification guidelines into law.

“NBAA is pleased that Congress has moved forward on this vital legislation to support growth and innovation in general aviation,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Streamlining the certification process for general aviation manufacturers, while preserving important safety requirements, will lead to swifter adoption of new aircraft designs and vital safety equipment, benefiting everyone from pilots and their passengers to manufacturers.”

The final bill, passed on Nov. 14, follows U.S. Senate approval of the measure in early October. The initial version of the legislation, H.R. 1848, passed the House earlier this year by a vote of 411-0.

Originally introduced by Kansas congressman and long-time general aviation champion Mike Pompeo (R-4-KS), along with co-sponsors Sam Graves (R-6-MO), Dan Lipinski (D-3-IL), Rick Nolan (D-8-MN) and Todd Rokita (R-4-IN), H.R. 1848 closely followed recommendations made last year by a joint industry-government Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) tasked with revising Part 23 certification standards in consideration of advances in technology and manufacturing processes.

The legislation, which quickly garnered strong bipartisan support among House lawmakers, calls for the FAA to adopt, no later than Dec. 31, 2015, consensus-based, design-specific standards that place greater emphasis on aircraft- and systems-specific criteria, over broader industry parameters such as the aircraft weight-and-propulsion method used now.

The revised version of the Small Aircraft Revitalization Act, reconciled with similar legislation (S. 1042) introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) earlier this year, passed the Senate on Oct. 4 and returned to the House for final passage. The bill now moves to the White House for President Obama’s signature into law.

“We particularly thank the broad coalition of lawmakers in Congress, including members of the House and Senate GA Caucuses, who listened to the concerns of their constituents and stakeholders, and who have recognized that this legislation is essential to the continued prosperity and growth of general aviation, a vital American industry,” Bolen concluded.

"The Aircraft Electronics Association applauds the action taken by the House and urges President Obama to sign the bill into law," said Paula Derks, AEA president. "The AEA has taken an active role in the Part 23 ARC and helped craft the recommendations on maintenance and retrofit of the existing general aviation fleet, as well as the certification of the next generation of avionics and safety-enhancing electronics. The association commends the bill's sponsors in both the House and Senate. This legislation encourages the acceptance and use of consensus standards. The AEA also has been active with ASTM International in developing consensus standards for the next generation of nonessential, nonrequired safety-enhancing avionics technologies.
  
"General aviation safety can be improved by modernizing and revamping the regulations for this sector to clear the path for technology adoption and cost-effective means to retrofit the existing fleet with new safety technologies. This bill gives general aviation a much-needed boost and will help those products be more efficiently certified for general aviation installations."

FMI: www.nbaa.org, www.aea.net