Empty Lots to Housing Act

House Bill

H.R. 3459

119th Congress

Empty Lots to Housing Act

In Committee

Introduced:Sep 30, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Kevin Mullin

Representative

Democratic

CA-15

Cosponsors

2

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Transportation and Public Works

Summary

This bill aims to make it easier for commercial drone companies to operate drones beyond the operator's line of sight. It requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish new rules and processes to approve drones for these long-distance flights, as well as create a new office focused on drone integration.

Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

SponsorKevin Mullin (D-CA)

Introduced9/30/2025

StatusReferred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

ChamberHouse

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Vote Prediction

Empty Lots to Housing Act

This bill aims to make it easier for commercial drone companies to operate drones beyond the operator's line of sight. It requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish new rules and processes to approve drones for these long-distance flights,

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

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0 predictions

This bill aims to make it easier for commercial drone companies to operate drones beyond the operator's line of sight. It requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish new rules and processes to approve drones for these long-distance flights, as well as create a new office focused on drone integration.

Bill Number: 3459
Sponsor: Kevin Mullin (D-CA)
Introduced: 9/30/2025
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Policy Area: Transportation and Public Works

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Empty Lots to Housing Act
Bill Number: 3459
Sponsor: Kevin Mullin (D-CA)
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Introduced: 9/30/2025
Summary: This bill aims to make it easier for commercial drone companies to operate drones beyond the operator's line of sight. It requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish new rules and processes to approve drones for these long-distance flights, as well as create a new office focused

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill aims to make it easier for commercial drone companies to operate drones beyond the operator's line of sight. It requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish new rules and processes to approve drones for these long-distance flights, as well as create a new office focused on drone integration.

Last updated: 12/29/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act of 2023This bill establishes and extends certain rules and authorities related to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and operations.Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a regulatory pathway for certification or approval of UAS to enable commercial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, including a risk assessment methodology.Additionally, the bill establishes the Office of Associate Administrator of UAS Integration within the FAA. Among other duties, the office must (1) ensure and oversee the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace system, and (2) encourage and facilitate a commercially viable UAS industry and the leadership of the United States in UAS.The bill also establishes the UAS Certification Unit to develop and implement the UAS certification or approval processes for BVLOS operations.The bill extends the FAA's UAS Test Site Program, which provides verification of the safety of public and civil UAS, operations, and related navigation procedures before their integration into the national airspace system. The bill also modifies the program to require the FAA to use modeling and simulation tools to assist in the testing, evaluation, verification, and validation of UAS.Further, the bill extends the special authority for the Department of Transportation to provide exemptions from some requirements for UAS by using a risk-based approach to determine if certain UAS may operate safely in the national airspace system.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Establishes a regulatory pathway for the FAA to certify or approve drones for commercial 'beyond visual line of sight' operations
Creates the Office of Associate Administrator of UAS Integration within the FAA to oversee drone integration and support the commercial drone industry
Extends the FAA's UAS Test Site Program to continue testing and validating drone safety before integration into the national airspace

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would primarily impact commercial drone companies and the FAA. If passed, it could lead to more widespread use of drones for deliveries, inspections, and other commercial applications that require flying beyond the operator's line of sight. This could provide new business opportunities and cost savings, but also raises privacy and safety concerns that would need to be carefully addressed.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Transportation and Public Works

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

3459, 119th Congress (2025). "Empty Lots to Housing Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-3459

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