The Senate will vote Wednesday on final passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act (HR-302), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday. The five-year reauthorization bill would direct the Department of Transportation to issue regulations banning in-flight voice use of cellphones and other mobile devices, would clarify how wireless towers should be marked to protect low-flying aircraft and includes several provisions aimed at unmanned aerial vehicle systems. The Senate voted 90-7 Monday to invoke cloture on HR-302, as expected (see 1810010042). The House passed HR-302 last week 398-23 (see 1809270050).

The Senate was set to have voted Monday night on invoking cloture on the FAA Reauthorization Act (HR-302). The five-year recertification bill includes language clarifying how wireless towers should be marked to protect low-flying aircraft and several provisions aimed at unmanned aerial vehicle systems. All covered towers would, within a year of enactment, be required to be “clearly marked consistent” with FAA 2015 guidance. HR-302 would direct the Department of Transportation to issue regulations banning “an individual on an aircraft from engaging in voice communications” using a cellphone or other mobile device during flight. Flight crews, flight attendants and law enforcement officers would be exempted for duty-specific voice communications. The UAV language includes text of the Preventing Emerging Threats Act, which would allow the Department of Homeland Security and DOJ to react in real-time to stop terrorism threats and would provide clear public disclosure about no-fly areas (see 1809270055). The House passed HR-302 last week 398-23 (see 1809270050).

The House passed the FAA Reauthorization Act (HR-302) Wednesday 398-23. The compromise bill, which the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees released over the weekend, recertifies the FAA for five years. It includes language clarifying how wireless towers should be marked to protect low-flying aircraft and several provisions aimed at unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems. All covered towers would, within a year of enactment, be required to be “clearly marked consistent” with FAA 2015 guidance. The Wireless Infrastructure Association believes the language “will protect the safety of low-flying aviation without imposing burdensome regulations that would have impeded the deployment of next-generation 5G wireless services,” said Legislative Affairs Head Matt Mandel in a statement. HR-302 would direct the Department of Transportation to issue regulations banning “an individual on an aircraft from engaging in voice communications” using a cellphone or other mobile device during flight. Flight crews, flight attendants and law enforcement officers would be exempted for duty-specific voice communications. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai earlier pulled the plug on a long-running proceeding on relaxing rules on cellphone calls on commercial flights (see 1704100066). HR-302's UAV language in part clarifies the FAA's role in regulating recreational drones and directs further study about how to delineate the extent to which the agency can pre-empt state, local and tribal governments' ability to regulate UAVs. The FAA would be required to work with DOT and NTIA on privacy-related UAV issues. HR-302 also addresses the potential use of UAVs to attack a “covered facility or asset.” CTA believes the UAV language “helps clear the way for the FAA to implement beyond-line-of-sight, flight-over-people and nighttime drone operations, which our nation needs to fully realize the benefits of drone technology,” said President Gary Shapiro in a statement. The UAV “also outlines ways consumers may fly their drones responsibly without being grounded by unreasonable rules. The drone portion of this bill provides a boost of clarity and confidence to this growing sector of the tech industry.”

House-passed legislation allows DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security to protect their facilities against security risks of drones and other unmanned aircraft, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. The bill was passed Wednesday with the five-year reauthorization of the FAA. The Preventing Emerging Threats Act allows DOJ and DHS to “react, in real-time, to stop acts of terror and threats of violence,” McCaul said and to provide clear public disclosure about no-fly areas. The bill includes one important clarification that “will protect the safety of low-flying aviation without imposing burdensome regulations that would have impeded the deployment of next-generation 5G wireless services,” said Wireless Infrastructure Association Legislative Affairs Head Matt Mandel.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a law making it illegal to fly a private drone over state prisons, jails and juvenile facilities. The new law, to take effect in January, will subject violators to a $500 fine. Sen. Jerry Hill (D) introduced SB-1355 earlier this year after drug- and contraband-smuggling incidents at facilities. “SB 1355 updates current law to make clear that using drones to smuggle contraband into correctional facilities is also unlawful,” Hill said Monday.

Horizon Hobby agreed to pay a $35,000 fine and implement a compliance plan to end an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation of whether it sold audio/video transmitters for use with drones that weren't compliant with rules. “Horizon Hobby admits that it marketed AV transmitters that did not comply with the Commission’s equipment marketing rules,” said a consent decree released Thursday. RF devices must “comply with the Commission’s technical requirements and do not interfere with authorized communications,” the bureau said. “Because the noncompliant AV transmitters could operate in bands that are reserved for important operations, including Federal Aviation Administration Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, they must not be marketed or operated by anyone. Moreover, entities that rely on amateur frequencies in operating compliant AV transmitters must have an amateur license and otherwise comply with all applicable laws.” Horizon Hobby operates several websites that advertise and sell fully assembled drones, parts and accessories to hobbyists, including for use in drone racing, the bureau said: the company stopped selling the noncompliant transmitters after receiving a letter of inquiry in December. It didn’t comment.

Drone flights will be restricted starting Aug. 30 over three DOD facilities in the St. Louis area, the FAA announced Wednesday. The restrictions, which resulted from requests from “federal security partners,” cover 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency West, NGA Next West and NGA Arnold. “There are only a few exceptions that permit drone flights within these restrictions, and they must be coordinated with the individual facility and/or the FAA,” that agency said.

The Senate should “expeditiously” consider reauthorization of the FAA so outstanding differences with the House can be worked out, aviation groups told Senate leadership Wednesday. The House passed the five-year FAA reauthorization on April 27. Since 2015, the FAA has received short-term extensions of its authority, which will next expire Sept. 30. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Commercial Drone Alliance, Small UAV Coalition and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were among some 30 organizations signing the letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

An Amazon package-delivering drone prototype will be part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum set to open in 2021. The Thomas W. Haas We All Fly gallery will feature exhibits showing how various industries have innovated and deployed aircraft for different purposes, blogged the company. The hybrid drone was recently driven cross-country in a wooden shipping container from Seattle to Chantilly, Virginia, where it will be stored at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until the exhibit opens, Amazon said. The drone gathered data during test flights that’s being used to develop next-generation devices, it said, and the goal of the Smithsonian exhibit is to inspire future generations of aerospace engineers and “remind museum visitors of Amazon’s commitment to advanced technology."

The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act to let unmanned aircraft systems carry property commercially wouldn't undercut state discretion over privacy and local land use, the Small UAV Coalition wrote Senate Commerce Committee members Tuesday. State and local organizations oppose the portion of S-1405 that would allow commercial carrying. The Small UAV Coalition argued the provision wouldn't conflict with the UAS integration pilot program, which it said ensures state and local discretion.