State security background checks go nowhere

The New Jersey State Assembly deferred action on proposed legislation that would require security background checks of flight students. NBAA, AOPA and others argued that the legislation is illegal because it’s preempted by federal authority. If signed into law, this measure “will not only complicate the process for pilots to receive flight instruction in New Jersey, but will also burden every business conducting any type of flight instruction in the state,” claimed NBAA. In Michigan, meanwhile, AOPA said senators approved a bill repealing that state’s pilot-background-check law. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to sign the bill.