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Senator Alan Lowenthal Chair, Senate Transportation and Housing State Capitol, Room 2032 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Senator Lowenthal: I OPPOSE AB 1943 (Leno and Lieu) which would impose a new set of state regulations on the airline industry that could have harmful unintended consequences on passengers, airline employees, and airline trafficking. I believe the regulations attempted in AB 1943, which sets forth standards for passenger safety and service in lengthy delayed-departure situations, should be addressed only at the federal level. Although the bill is well-intentioned, it regulates airline operations and services, an area of regulation preempted by federal law, and thus subject to legal challenge. Additionally, I am also extremely concerned about the unintended consequences of regulating at the state level airline activity which has national and international implications. Doing so may result in further delay and complication of air travel for consumers, compromise passenger and airline employee safety, and place airline companies in a catch-22 between compliance with conflicting state and federal regulations. The airline industry is a heavily-regulated industry, and the regulations are highly-specialized and specifically designed to address the characteristics unique to the complex nature of the federal and international airline traffic system, including conveyance of passengers and cargo, handling of airplanes and airplane equipment, and unique airport settings. Even one new local-level requirement on the airline industry that may seem simple to the average lay person can have a complex, dramatic, and reverberating national and international impact on the air traffic system. A patchwork of different standards from different states is a recipe for chaos that could result in the opposite of what this bill endeavors on behalf of consumers. Therefore, I believe the health and safety standards as proposed in AB 1943 should be reserved to the federal level and developed by experts in the U.S. Department of Transportation who are in the best position for determining consumer health, safety, and service standards that can be incorporated into current air traffic regulations, and can be uniformly applied across all of the states. I understand that regulations by the Department of Transportation addressing this issue are currently pending.

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