I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9959 

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to issue a report 

on the effectiveness of local outdoor siren systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 11, 2024 

Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to 

issue a report on the effectiveness of local outdoor siren 

systems, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL OUTDOOR SIREN 

4 SYSTEMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

6 United States shall conduct a study on the ability of local 

7 outdoor siren systems to effectively disseminate timely and 

8 relevant alerts during weather-related emergencies in 

9 order to help communities better develop policies and pro10 cedures for emergency response and public safety. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study under sub2 section (a), the Comptroller General shall— 

3 (1) review a representative sample of States, 

4 counties, and municipalities, including emergency 

5 managers, local officials, and community groups; 

6 (2) evaluate the ability of local outdoor siren 

7 systems to effectively disseminate alerts during 

8 weather-related emergencies; 

9 (3) evaluate how such systems interact with 

10 other public alert systems; 

11 (4) evaluate the age and condition of the infra12 structure of such systems; 

13 (5) evaluate the ability, financially and other14 wise, of each sample State, county, and municipality 

15 to replace such systems as needed; 

16 (6) evaluate the efficacy of efforts by emergency 

17 management divisions to improve the precision of 

18 such systems; 

19 (7) evaluate the efficacy of emergency manage20 ment divisions, both in and upon, switching to sys21 tems that activate automatically upon the issuance 

22 of a relevant National Weather Service warning; 

23 (8) evaluate the ability to connect such systems 

24 to the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System 

25 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; 


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1 (9) evaluate the impact that different activation 

2 standards across the United States may have on the 

3 effectiveness of such systems; 

4 (10) evaluate relevant cybersecurity protections 

5 for such systems; and 

6 (11) evaluate whether improvements could be 

7 made to such systems and relevant procedures. 

8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

10 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In11 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com12 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

13 of the Senate a report on the study conducted under sub14 section (a). 

15 (d) STATE DEFINED.—In this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ 

16 means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, 

17 each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

18 States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

Æ 


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