Rep Rodney Davis Seeks to Exempt Certain Drones from FAA Regulations

Representative Rodney Davis offered an amendment Thursday to the FAA Budget Bill that will exempt drones weighing less that 4.4 lbs from federal regulation. The bill is creating quite a stir. Among its provisions is one that would put the oversight of the country’s air traffic control system under a non-profit board, removing it from government oversight.

Here is Representative Davis’s announcement:

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today will offer an amendment to H.R. 4441, the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016 (AIRR Act), that would benefit small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drone, manufacturers like Horizon Hobby in Champaign, IL. The amendment would create a new exemption for small UAS from regulation under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Davis will offer this amendment, along with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), at today’s House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee markup of H.R. 4441, a bill to reform and reauthorize the FAA.

“U.S. policy regarding drones has not kept up with technology and lags behind that of other countries,” said Davis. “This commonsense amendment will remove bureaucratic red tape and allow for the responsible use of small drones. This new classification will spur innovation and help small manufacturers like Horizon Hobby, which specializes in manufacturing drones for agriculture use, expand and create jobs.”

Currently, several countries including Canada, Mexico, and Australia have exemptions for small UAS and Europe has proposed a similar classification. This amendment creates a new classification that would exempt micro UAS weighing up to 4.4 pounds from regulation under the FAA but would still require the UAS to be operated within line of sight, less than 400 feet above the ground, and more than five miles from any airport.

This amendment is in addition to several provisions Davis authored and supports in H.R. 4441. Learn more by clicking here. To watch the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s markup of H.R. 4441 today at 9:00am CST click here.