The Business Council opposes this legislation, and recommends its not be approved by the state legislature.

We believe this legislation is preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Further, we see this legislation as inappropriately establishing unique, state-specific regulation of airline services, a measure that will add to costs and complicate compliance efforts.

Specifically,

• This legislation in inconsistent with the express preemption provision in 49 U.S.C. Section 41713(b)(1) that says that "a State . . . may not enact or enforce a law . . . having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier." The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that, by referencing acts "related to" price, routes and service, this is a broad preemption against state regulation. We believe that by mandating the provision of specific services in the event of a delay in the takeoff of an aircraft, this legislation violates the preemption provisions of the federal Airline Deregulation Act.
• Further, this legislation would add costs and new regulatory burdens to airlines operating in New York State. We believe this is contrary to the state's objective of expanding airline service in the state. Given the federal regulatory framework under which the airline industry operates, it would be inappropriate for individual states to create a patchwork of inconsistent regulatory requirements regarding passenger services and state oversight measures.

Congress has given the U.S. Department of Transportation the authority to protect consumers in air transportation. This federal approach provides adequate and consistent consumer protections across all fifty states. Therefore, any new requirements regarding provision of customer services during flight delays would more properly be addressed through federal legislation or regulation.

For these reasons, The Business Council respectfully opposes S.5050-C/A.8406-B.