S. 2670: Micro Drone Safety and Innovation Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-03-10 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-03-10 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. 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

Micro Drone Safety and Innovation Act of 2016

Plain summary

Micro Drone Safety and Innovation Act of 2016 This bill amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to make a special rule for any micro unmanned aircraft system whose aircraft component, including payload, weighs at most 4.4 pounds (micro drone). A micro drone and its operator shall qualify for exemptions from certain airman certification, airworthiness, and operational regulations if the system is operated: at an altitude under 400 feet above ground level, at an airspeed under 40 knots, within the operator's visual line of sight, between sunrise and sunset, and at least five statute miles from the geographic center of an airport that either has an operational air traffic control tower or is denoted on a current aeronautical chart published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A micro drone may also be operated within five statute miles of such an airport if, beforehand, the operator notifies the airport operator and receives approval from the air traffic control tower, if the airport has one. Under the exemptions of this bill, any person may operate a micro drone without being required to: pass any aeronautical knowledge test, meet any age or experience requirement, or obtain an airman certificate or medical certificate. In an alternative to the requirements of this bill, a micro drone may be operated pursuant to any form of FAA-prescribed authorization, operational rules, or exemptions pertaining to unmanned aircraft systems; but both the aircraft and its operator shall remain exempt from any requirement for an airman certificate or medical certificate.

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

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Micro Drone Safety and Innovation Act of 2016

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. Vitter, David [R-LA] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

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 (5)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
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.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

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-114s2670.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s2670 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114