Senate Commerce Committee To Consider PBOR 2

Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-Okla.) Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 is poised to take another step forward with the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee scheduled to vote on the bill, S.571, on November 18. AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker called the planned action a significant step “in our efforts to bring long-overdue common sense to the third-class medical process. We’ve never been closer.”

Along with essentially expanding the third-class medical exemption to certified recreational pilots  with certain conditions, the bill includes a number of provisions designed to strengthen certificate-holder protections during investigations or enforcement procedures, expedite updates to the Notam improvement program that the original PBOR bill mandated and provide further Good Samaritan protections, among other measures.

Jointly introduced by Sens. Inhofe, Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), the bill has attracted 69 co-sponsors. “The Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 has strong support among lawmakers who recognize the importance of general aviation and the need to give pilots relief from the costly and burdensome third-class medical process,” Baker said.