Expanding unmanned aircraft systems operations

(a) In general The Secretary of Transportation shall— (1) not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue a proposed rule enabling routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (hereinafter referred to as BVLOS) operations for unmanned aircraft systems; and (2) not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, issue a final rule based on the proposed rulemaking issued under paragraph (1). (b) Safety metrics The Secretary of Transportation shall— (1) not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, establish metrics for assessing the performance and safety of BVLOS operations of unmanned aircraft systems; and (2) not later than 180 days of the date of enactment of this Act, identify and describe any additional regulatory barriers and challenges to such BVLOS implementation and submit to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy recommendations for— (A) addressing the barriers and challenges expeditiously; and (B) potential regulation or legislative action.