109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6228
To amend section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition
Act of 1979 relating to air transportation to and from Love Field, Texas.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 28, 2006
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. MICA, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. MARCHANT, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. BURGESS,
Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. HALL, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition
Act of 1979 relating to air transportation to and from Love Field, Texas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006'.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PROVISIONS REGARDING FLIGHTS TO AND FROM LOVE
FIELD, TEXAS.
(a) Expanded Service- Section 29(c) of the International Air Transportation
Competition Act of 1979 (Public Law 96-192; 94 Stat. 35) is amended by striking
`carrier, if (1)' and all that follows and inserting the following: `carrier.
Air carriers and, with regard to foreign air transportation, foreign air
carriers, may offer for sale and provide through service and ticketing to
or from Love Field, Texas, and any United States or foreign destination
through any point within Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, or Alabama.'.
(b) Repeal- Section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition
Act of 1979 (94 Stat. 35), as amended by subsection (a), is repealed on
the date that is 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF INTERNATIONAL NONSTOP FLIGHTS TO AND FROM LOVE FIELD,
TEXAS.
No person shall provide, or offer to provide, air transportation of passengers
for compensation or hire between Love Field, Texas, and any point or points
outside the 50 States or the District of Columbia on a nonstop basis, and
no official or employee of the Federal Government may take any action to
make or designate Love Field as an initial point of entry into the United
States or a last point of departure from the United States.
SEC. 4. CHARTER FLIGHTS AT LOVE FIELD, TEXAS.
(a) In General- Charter flights (as defined in section 212.2 of title 14,
Code of Federal Regulations) at Love Field, Texas, shall be limited to--
(1) destinations within the 50 States and the District of Columbia; and
(2) no more than 10 per month per air carrier for charter flights beyond
the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama.
(b) Carriers Who Lease Gates- All flights operated to or from Love Field
by air carriers that lease terminal gate space at Love Field shall depart
from and arrive at one of those leased gates; except for--
(1) flights operated by an agency of the Federal Government or by an air
carrier under contract with an agency of the Federal Government; and
(2) irregular operations.
(c) Carriers Who Do Not Lease Gates- Charter flights from Love Field, Texas,
operated by air carriers that do not lease terminal space at Love Field
may operate from nonterminal facilities or one of the terminal gates at
Love Field.
SEC. 5. LOVE FIELD GATES.
(a) In General- The city of Dallas, Texas, shall reduce as soon as practicable,
the number of gates available for passenger air service at Love Field to
no more than 20 gates. Thereafter, the number of gates available for such
service shall not exceed a maximum of 20 gates. The city of Dallas, pursuant
to its authority to operate and regulate the airport as granted under chapter
22 of the Texas Transportation Code and this Act, shall determine the allocation
of leased gates and manage Love Field in accordance with contractual rights
and obligations existing as of the effective date of this Act for certificated
air carriers providing scheduled passenger service at Love Field on July
11, 2006. To accommodate new entrant air carriers, the city of Dallas shall
honor the scarce resource provision of the existing Love Field leases.
(b) Removal of Gates at Love Field- No Federal funds or passenger facility
charges may be used to remove gates at the Lemmon Avenue facility, Love
Field, in reducing the number of gates as required under this Act, but Federal
funds or passenger facility charges may be used for other airport facilities
under chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code.
(c) General Aviation- Nothing in this Act shall affect general aviation
service at Love Field, including flights to or from Love Field by general
aviation aircraft for air taxi service, private or sport flying, aerial
photography, crop dusting, corporate aviation, medical evacuation, flight
training, police or fire fighting, and similar general aviation purposes,
or by aircraft operated by any agency of the Federal Government or by any
air carrier under contract to any agency of the Federal Government.
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary
of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
may not make findings or determinations, issue orders or rules, withhold
airport improvement grants or approvals thereof, deny passenger facility
charge applications, or take any other actions, either self-initiated
or on behalf of third parties--
(A) that are inconsistent with the contract dated July 11, 2006, entered
into by the city of Dallas, the city of Fort Worth, the DFW International
Airport Board, and others regarding the resolution of the Wright Amendment
issues, unless actions by the parties to the contract are not reasonably
necessary to implement such contract; or
(B) that challenge the legality of any provision of such contract.
(2) COMPLIANCE WITH TITLE 49 REQUIREMENTS- A contract described in paragraph
(1)(A) of this subsection, and any actions taken by the parties to such
contract that are reasonably necessary to implement its provisions, shall
be deemed to comply in all respects with the parties' obligations under
title 49, United States Code.
(e) Limitation on Statutory Construction-
(1) IN GENERAL- Nothing in this Act shall be construed--
(A) to limit the obligations of the parties under the programs of the
Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration
relating to aviation safety, labor, environmental, national historic
preservation, civil rights, small business concerns (including disadvantaged
business enterprise), veteran's preference, disability access, and revenue
diversion;
(B) to limit the authority of the Department of Transportation or the
Federal Aviation Administration to enforce the obligations of the parties
under the programs described in subparagraph (A);
(C) to limit the obligations of the parties under the security programs
of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Transportation
Security Administration, at Love Field, Texas;
(D) to authorize the parties to offer marketing incentives that are
in violation of Federal law, rules, orders, agreements, and other requirements;
or
(E) to limit the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration or
any other Federal agency to enforce requirements of law and grant assurances
(including subsections (a)(1), (a)(4), and (s) of section 47107 of title
49, United States Code) that impose obligations on Love Field to make
its facilities available on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis
to air carriers seeking to use such facilities, or to withhold grants
or deny applications to applicants violating such obligations with respect
to Love Field.
(2) FACILITIES- Paragraph (1)(E)--
(A) shall only apply with respect to facilities that remain at Love
Field after the city of Dallas has reduced the number of gates at Love
Field as required by subsection (a); and
(B) shall not be construed to require the city of Dallas, Texas--
(i) to construct additional gates beyond the 20 gates referred to
in subsection (a); or
(ii) to modify or eliminate preferential gate leases with air carriers
in order to allocate gate capacity to new entrants or to create common
use gates, unless such modification or elimination is implemented
on a nationwide basis.
SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.
The provisions of this Act shall apply to actions taken with respect to
Love Field, Texas, or air transportation to or from Love Field, Texas, and
shall have no application to any other airport (other than an airport owned
or operated by the city of Dallas or the city of Fort Worth, or both).
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Sections 1 through 6, including the amendments made by such sections, shall
take effect on the date that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
notifies Congress that aviation operations in the airspace serving Love
Field and the Dallas-Fort Worth area which are likely to be conducted after
enactment of this Act can be accommodated in full compliance with Federal
Aviation Administration safety standards in accordance with section 40101
of title 49, United States Code, and, based on current expectations, without
adverse effect on use of airspace in such area.
END
