NOTAM Improvement Act of 2023 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish the FAA Task Force on NOTAM (notice to air missions required by international or domestic law) Improvement. A NOTAM is a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations but not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means. It states the abnormal status of a component of the National Airspace System. Specifically, the task force must (1) review existing methods for presenting NOTAMs and flight operations information for pilots; (2) review regulations and policies relating to NOTAMs, including their content and presentation to pilots; (3) evaluate and determine best practices to organize, prioritize, and present flight operations information in a manner that optimizes pilot review and retention of relevant information; (4) provide recommendations to improve the presentation of NOTAM information; and (5) report to Congress on its reviews and evaluations.
LEOSA Reform Act This bill broadens the authority for certain law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, the bill allows qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms and ammunition (including magazines) in school zones; in national parks; on state, local, or private property that is open to the public; and in certain federal facilities that are open to the public. Further, the bill permits states to reduce the frequency with which retired law enforcement officers must meet certain qualification standards.
Unleashing American Energy Act This bill requires a minimum amount of oil and gas lease sales a year on certain submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and limits delays on federal oil and gas leases on such lands. Specifically, this bill requires the Department of the Interior to annually conduct a minimum of two region-wide oil and gas lease sales in each of the following regions of the OCS: (1) the Gulf of Mexico region in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, and (2) the Alaska region. In addition, the bill requires the President to obtain congressional approval before delaying federal oil and gas leases on the OCS.
Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act This bill requires, subject to a limited exception, that any agency rule promulgated under notice and comment procedures must be issued and signed by an individual who was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs must issue guidance for agencies to implement this requirement.
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2023 This bill restricts federal funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. or any of its affiliates or clinics for one year. Specifically, it prohibits funding those entities unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide funds to entities that perform, abortions during that year. If the certification requirement is not met, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture must recoup any federal assistance received by those entities. However, the bill's funding restriction does not apply to abortions performed in cases of rape or incest or when necessary to resolve a physical condition that endangers a woman's life. The bill also provides additional funding for community health centers for the one-year period. These funds are subject to the same abortion-related restrictions and exceptions.
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2023 This bill requires federally funded entities to certify that they will not, subject to certain exceptions, perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness.
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the carry or possession of concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, an individual who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. It sets forth requirements for the lawful concealed carry across state lines. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.
This bill nullifies certain changes made by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to dispensing requirements for mifepristone. (Mifepristone is a drug that is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks gestation when used in conjunction with the drug misoprostol. The procedure is often referred to as medication abortion or the abortion pill.) The FDA regulates the use of mifepristone through the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. The program requires health care providers to comply with certain requirements in order to prescribe or dispense mifepristone to end a pregnancy; the program previously included an in-person dispensing requirement that required mifepristone to be directly dispensed to patients in clinics, medical offices, or hospitals. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the FDA temporarily stopped enforcing the in-person dispensing requirement, which allowed mail-order pharmacies to fill and dispense mifepristone prescriptions. In January 2023, the FDA modified program requirements so as to (1) remove the in-person dispensing requirement, and (2) require pharmacies to be certified in the program in order to dispense mifepristone. The modifications allow retail pharmacies, after receiving certification, to dispense mifepristone pursuant to prescriptions that are written by program-certified prescribers. The bill nullifies the January 2023 changes and prohibits any similar changes in the future.