Senate adopts change to ensure 'temporary' FAA hazard area language in spacecraft critical‑infrastructure bill

The Senate adopted the conference committee report for Senate Bill 11 98, which designates spacecraft launch, landing, recovery and testing facilities as critical infrastructure and explicitly incorporates Federal Aviation Administration temporary hazard areas into the designation.

Senator Kelly Hancock (floor sponsor identified in the transcript as Senator Burwell during the motion) said the House adjustments more accurately reflected the regulatory framework and added the FAA-established hazard area. Conferees returned to the Senate to add a clarification ensuring the hazard area’s temporary nature could not be misconstrued.

“As such, we needed to go to conference and add the word temporary to the description of the hazard area,” the sponsor said during floor remarks presenting the conference committee report.

The Senate adopted the conference committee report by roll call. The change narrows potential interpretations by limiting the hazard-area language to temporary safety zones required by FAA for launches and reentries rather than a permanent land‑use restriction.

With the conference committee report adopted by the Senate, the measure moves forward for enrollment and any remaining steps toward final enactment.