NIST Wildland Fire Communications and Information Dissemination Act

To require the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research on public safety communication coordination standards among wildland firefighters and fire management response officials. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the NIST Wildland Fire Communications and Information Dissemination Act 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Director The term Director (2) Member agency The term member agency (3) Wildland firefighter The term wildland firefighter (4) Fire management response officials The term fire management response officials (5) Technology manufacturers The term technology manufacturers 3. Research (a) Requirement To conduct research on public safety Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director, acting through the head of the Public Safety and Communications Research Division and in consultation with the Fire Research Division and technology manufacturers, shall carry out research on— (1) public safety communication coordination standards among Federal, State, Tribal, and local wildland firefighters, fire management response officials, and member agencies; and (2) improving and integrating existing communications systems to trasmit secure real-time data, alerts, and advisories to fire management response officials and wildland firefighters. (b) Requirement To conduct field testing of information dissemination and technology The Public Safety and Communications Research Division, in consultation with the Fire Research Division and member agencies, will conduct both live and virtual field testing of equipment, software, and other technologies to determine current times of information dissemination and develop standards for the delivery of real-time data among member agencies, fire management response officials, and wildland firefighters based on findings from research under subsection (a). 4. Recommendations (a) Requirement To develop and provide recommendations The Director shall develop and publish recommendations for member agencies to improve public safety communication coordination standards among wildland first responders and fire management response officials. (b) Requirement To provide recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and member agencies The Director shall provide recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Police to assist member agencies with the implementation of the recommendations in subsection (a). 5. Reporting requirements (a) Requirement To report research findings and recommendations The Director shall provide the recommendations published under section 4(a) to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (b) Requirement To report on the implementation of recommendations Not later than 1 year after the date of the publication of the Director’s recommendations, the Government Accountability Office shall produce a report on the extent to which member agencies have implemented the Director’s recommendations. 6. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute of Standards and Technology $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027 to carry out this section.

Summary: NIST Wildland Fire Communications and Information Dissemination Act This bill requires research on public safety communication coordination standards related to wildland firefighting. The Public Safety and Communications Research Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) must carry out research on such standards among wildland firefighters, fire management response officials, and specified federal agencies responsible for coordinating and mobilizing for wildland fire and other incidents. The research must also focus on improving and integrating existing communications systems to allow for secure, real-time transmission of data, alerts, and advisories to fire management officials and wildland firefighters. In carrying out the research, the division must (1) conduct live and virtual field tests of equipment, software, and other technologies; and (2) consult with NIST's Fire Research Division and communication technology manufacturers. Informed by the research, NIST must publish recommendations for specified federal agencies to improve public safety communication coordination standards among wildland first responders and fire management officials. In addition, NIST must advise the Office of Management and Budget and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy concerning the agencies' implementation of the recommendations. Within one year of the publication of NIST's recommendations, the Government Accountability Office must report on the extent to which the agencies have implemented the recommendations.