QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC AIRCRAFT STATUS.

SEC. 35003. QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC AIRCRAFT STATUS. Section 40125 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:“(d) Search and Rescue Purposes.—An aircraft described in section 40102(a)(41)(D) that is not exclusively leased for at least 90 continuous days by the government of a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States or a political subdivision of 1 of those governments, qualifies as a public aircraft if the Administrator determines that—“(1) there are extraordinary circumstances;“(2) the aircraft will be used for the performance of search and rescue missions;“(3) a community would not otherwise have access to search and rescue services; and126 STAT. 844“(4) a government entity demonstrates that granting the waiver is necessary to prevent an undue economic burden on that government.”.