Yesterday, Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act of 2016. The bill would authorize programs run by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through fiscal year 2022. The FAA has been operating under a number of short-term extensions with the current one expiring on March 31. The bill includes provisions closely tracked by AGC including airport infrastructure funding and financing, and the regulation of the commercial use of drones.
Modernizing the nation’s air traffic control system is the main piece of the bill and the most controversial. The bill creates an independent, not-for-profit corporation that would set user fees (replacing current taxes) that would fund much of the air traffic control system. The creation of this new corporation is supported by the air traffic controllers union and most major airlines. However, concerns have been raised by bipartisan members of the House and Senate appropriations committee and Ranking Transportation & Infrastructure Democrat Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who plans to offer up an alternative to the AIRR Act.
Throughout the reauthorization process, modernizing airport infrastructure financing and increasing funding for the Airport Improvement Program have been priorities of AGC. Unfortunately, the bill fails to modernize the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), keeping the current cap of $4.50 per trip in place. Despite not increasing the cap, the AIRR Act allows airports to impose $4.50 PFC under the same standards as imposing a $3.00 or lower PFC and provides a streamlined process for imposing PFC’s at small and medium hubs. The bill does stabilize funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and, in fact, increases authorization for the program from $3.350 billion in fiscal year 2016 to $3.817 in fiscal year 2022.
In terms of drones, the AIRR Act includes provisions that could force the FAA to provide exemptions for beyond-line-of-sight commercial drone flights. In comments provided in April, AGC encouraged the FAA to eliminate requirements that aircrafts remain visible to its operator, provided that it remains visible to an observer working with the operator. The use of drones promises to improve the performance of the construction industry, including the many potential impacts on project planning and design, quality and productivity, compliance with environment and other rules, the resolution of disputes, and on the safety of construction workers.
The AIRR Act is the first step in the reauthorization process. It is unclear at this point whether or not a reauthorization bill can move through the House and Senate prior to the March 31 expiration of the current extension. AGC will continue to work to ensure that the best interests of the construction industry are represented as the bill moves through the legislative process.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.