S. 3229: Air Medical Service Safety Improvement Act of 2008

110th Congress · introduced 2008-07-08 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2008-07-08 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Air Medical Service Safety Improvement Act of 2008

Plain summary

Air Medical Service Safety Improvement Act of 2008 - Requires all pilots of a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft providing emergency medical services, if there is a medical crew on board, without regard to whether there are patients on board, to comply with federal safety operating requirements governing commuter and on demand operations as well as persons on board aircraft. Prescribes other requirements for such aircraft when operating under instrument flight rules or carrying out training. Requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to initiate a rulemaking to: (1) create a standardized checklist of risk evaluation factors which shall be used by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft emergency medical service operators to determine whether a mission should be accepted; (2) require such operators to implement and comply with performance based flight dispatch and flight-following procedures; and (3) develop a method to assess and ensure that such operators comply with the latter requirements. Requires helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service operations to have on board a terrain awareness and warning system device that meets FAA guidelines. Requires the Administrator to issue: (1) a report on the availability, survivability, and costs of devices that record voice communications and flight data information on existing and new helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service operations; and (2) regulations to require such devices on board such aircraft.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Air Medical Service Safety Improvement Act of 2008

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] reported raising $985,139 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-110s3229.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/110/s>

Record fed-us-cong110-s3229 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong110 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong110