Bill Text: NJ AR167 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Federal Aviation Administration to require air carriers to submit annual sexual assault reports.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-06-25 - Filed with Secretary of State [AR167 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-AR167-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Federal Aviation Administration to require air carriers to submit annual sexual assault reports.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the Federal Aviation Administration to require air carriers to submit annual sexual assault reports.
Whereas, Air carriers in the United States transport an average of 2.1 million passengers each day; and
Whereas, Crimes committed aboard aircraft generally fall under federal jurisdiction, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) formally investigated 63 cases of sexual assault on aircraft in the 12 months ending September 30, 2017; and
Whereas, The September 2017 numbers mark the fourth consecutive year of increasing investigations dating back to 2014, when the FBI conducted 38 formal investigations of sexual assault on aircraft; and
Whereas, The Montreal Convention, which regulates air carrier responsibilities on a range of issues from the physical injury or death of a passenger to lost baggage, governs international air carrier liability for international flights, but does not impose liability on air carriers for emotional damage or molestation that does not produce physical injury; and
Whereas, In 2017, the Association of Flight Attendants surveyed its members on the subject of sexual assault on aircraft, and 20 percent of the almost 2,000 flight attendants who responded, said they had dealt with complaints of sexual assault from passengers; and
Whereas, After decades of underreporting and silence surrounding the issue of sexual assault on aircraft, the public conversation is shifting, driven by the courage of those who have been assaulted who speak about their experiences and a growing public focus on sexual misconduct; and
Whereas, Sexual assaults on flights that have resulted in criminal charges have occurred on major United States airlines, including an incident of sexual assault against a minor on a flight to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport in July 2017; and
Whereas, In 2016, 22 United States senators sent a letter to the Attorney General and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) calling for the FAA and representatives of the airlines, the unions, and other stakeholders to jointly develop federal rules and best practices for dealing with this issue; and
Whereas, The FAA states that it is the mission of the organization to "provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world," and that it continually strives "to improve the safety and efficiency of flight" in the United States; and
Whereas, To make the United States aerospace system safe for all of its passengers, the FAA must confront the spate of sexual assaults on flights by standardizing reporting requirements and requiring air carriers to submit annual sexual assault reports; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the Federal Aviation Administration to require air carriers to submit annual sexual assault reports to the Federal Aviation Administration.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Secretary of Transportation, and each member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This Assembly resolution urges the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require air carriers to submit annual sexual assault reports.
The FAA's mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world, and in order to improve safety for all of United States air carrier passengers, the FAA must work with air carriers to require appropriate sexual assault reporting. Sexual assaults on flights have occurred on major United States airlines, including a sexual assault against a minor on a flight to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport in July 2017, but without federal reporting standards the industry will remain unable to systematically address this important passenger safety issue.
