H.R. 1325 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Mar 24, 2025. Received Mar 25, 2025; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summarySpeeds up private satellite imaging licenses
Right now, companies that want to launch satellites to photograph Earth's surface need a license from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This bill cuts the time the agency has to review those applications in half, from 120 days down to 60 days. It also brings back and expands an annual report that tracks these licenses, showing which applications are approved or denied and why they're categorized the way they are.
How it affects you
If you work in the commercial remote sensing industry or own a company that wants to launch Earth-imaging satellites, this could mean faster approval for your projects. The expanded reporting requirements are mainly for government transparency, so the average person won't see a direct change in daily life, though businesses relying on satellite data could benefit from quicker access to new imaging systems.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Feb 13, 2025)
Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2025
This bill makes certain changes related to the licensing of private remote sensing space systems. (Under current regulations, remote sensing refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth's orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth's surface; private remote sensing space systems refer to remote sensing instruments not owned by the U.S. government.)
The bill decreases from 120 to 60 days the amount of time in which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must review and act on an application for a license to operate a private remote sensing space system.
Further, the bill expands annual reporting on the licensing of private remote sensing space systems to include a list of all applications, organized by tier, as well as the rationale for each tier categorization. (Currently, each license is categorized into one of three tiers based on whether the system produces or is capable of producing data that is already available from other entities). Additionally, the report must include all terms, conditions, or restrictions placed on licensees.
The bill also reinstates this annual reporting requirement, which expired on September 30, 2020, through September 30, 2030.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 1325
AN ACT
Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3) · Introduced Feb 13, 2025 · Science, Technology, Communications · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 25, 2025: “Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 3 official versions.