49 U.S.C. § 40124 — Interstate agreements for airport facili-

Page 1100 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 40124 carriers are reviewed and approved by a supervisor after the initial review by an inspector. ‘‘(d) INSPECTOR GENERAL STUDY.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De- partment of Transportation shall conduct a study of the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program. ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—In conducting the study, the Inspec- tor General shall examine, at a minimum, if the Ad- ministration— ‘‘(A) conducts comprehensive reviews of vol- untary disclosure reports before closing a voluntary disclosure report under the provisions of the pro- gram; ‘‘(B) evaluates the effectiveness of corrective ac- tions taken by air carriers; and ‘‘(C) effectively prevents abuse of the voluntary disclosure reporting program through its secondary review of self-disclosures before they are accepted and closed by the Administration. ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Inspector General shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the study conducted under this sec- tion.’’ § 40124. Interstate agreements for airport facili- ties Congress consents to a State making an agree- ment, not in conflict with a law of the United States, with another State to develop or operate an airport facility. (Added Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(69)(A), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3395, § 40121; renumbered § 40124, Pub. L. 105–102, § 3(d)(1)(B), Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2215.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES This restates 49:44502(e) as 49:40121 [now 40124] to pro- vide a more appropriate place in title 49. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1997—Pub. L. 105–102 amended Pub. L. 104–287, renum- bering section 40121 of this title as this section. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1997 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 105–102, § 3(d), Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2215, pro- vided that the amendment made by section 3(d)(1)(B) is effective Oct. 11, 1996. Amendment by Pub. L. 105–102 effective as if included in the provisions of the Act to which the amendment relates, see section 3(f) of Pub. L. 105–102, set out as a note under section 106 of this title. § 40125. Qualifications for public aircraft status (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—The term ‘‘com- mercial purposes’’ means the transportation of persons or property for compensation or hire, but does not include the operation of an air- craft by the armed forces for reimbursement when that reimbursement is required by any Federal statute, regulation, or directive, in ef- fect on November 1, 1999, or by one govern- ment on behalf of another government under a cost reimbursement agreement if the govern- ment on whose behalf the operation is con- ducted certifies to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration that the op- eration is necessary to respond to a significant and imminent threat to life or property (in- cluding natural resources) and that no service by a private operator is reasonably available to meet the threat. (2) GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘governmental function’’ means an activity undertaken by a government, such as national defense, intelligence missions, firefighting, search and rescue, law enforcement (including transport of prisoners, detainees, and illegal aliens), aeronautical research, biological or geological resource management (including data collection on civil aviation systems un- dergoing research, development, test, or eval- uation at a test range (as such term is defined in section 44801)), infrastructure inspections, or any other activity undertaken by a govern- mental entity that the Administrator deter- mines is inherently governmental. (3) QUALIFIED NON-CREWMEMBER.—The term ‘‘qualified non-crewmember’’ means an indi- vidual, other than a member of the crew, aboard an aircraft— (A) operated by the armed forces or an in- telligence agency of the United States Gov- ernment; or (B) whose presence is required to perform, or is associated with the performance of, a governmental function. (4) ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘‘armed forces’’ has the meaning given such term by section 101 of title 10. (b) AIRCRAFT OWNED BY GOVERNMENTS.—An aircraft described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (F) of section 40102(a)(41) does not qualify as a public aircraft under such section when the aircraft is used for commercial purposes or to carry an individual other than a crewmember or a qualified non-crewmember. (c) AIRCRAFT OWNED OR OPERATED BY THE ARMED FORCES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an aircraft described in section 40102(a)(41)(E) qualifies as a public aircraft if— (A) the aircraft is operated in accordance with title 10; (B) the aircraft is operated in the perform- ance of a governmental function under title 14, 31, 32, or 50 and the aircraft is not used for commercial purposes; or (C) the aircraft is chartered to provide transportation or other commercial air serv- ice to the armed forces and the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating) des- ignates the operation of the aircraft as being required in the national interest. (2) LIMITATION.—An aircraft that meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) and that is owned or operated by the National Guard of a State, the District of Columbia, or any terri- tory or possession of the United States, quali- fies as a public aircraft only to the extent that it is operated under the direct control of the Department of Defense. (d) SEARCH AND RESCUE PURPOSES.—An air- craft described in section 40102(a)(41)(D) that is