Safe Indoor Spaces Act

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award a financial prize to persons who successfully develop a system or device that makes enclosed sections of a building safer during the COVID–19 public health emergency, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Safe Indoor Spaces Act 2. COVID–19 technology prize (a) Establishment The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this Act referred to as the Secretary (b) Criteria To be eligible to receive a prize under this section, a person must develop a system or device that meets the following: (1) Inactivates or eliminates all traces of airborne SARS–CoV–2 from the air of an enclosed section of a building. (2) Decreases the rate of transmission of SARS–CoV–2 in an enclosed section of a building to a rate of transmission of SARS–CoV–2 that is comparable to an outdoor setting. (3) Able to be installed in or service an enclosed section of a building or the ventilation systems of a building, including— (A) schools; (B) public buildings; and (C) most types of buildings used as places of work. (4) With respect to public buildings, able to be installed in or service not fewer than 150,000 buildings in not less than 6 months. (5) Maintains or increases the cost of controlling the environment of a building by not more than 10 percent. (c) Establishment of board (1) In general The Secretary shall establish a board to advise the Secretary with respect to the program established under subsection (a). (2) Membership The board shall be composed of 5 members appointed by the Secretary, including— (A) a public health expert; (B) an individual with experience in education; (C) an individual who represents small businesses; and (D) an engineer with expertise in public health. (d) Financial award Based on the advice of the board established under subsection (c), the Secretary shall make each award under the program established under subsection (a) in an amount equal to or less than $5,000,000. (e) Intellectual property The Federal Government may not acquire an intellectual property right in any product or idea by virtue of the submission of such product or idea in the prize competition under this section. (f) COVID–19 public health emergency In this section, the term COVID–19 public health emergency 42 U.S.C. 247d (g) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $5,250,000 for fiscal year 2021. (2) Administrative expenses Not more than $250,000 of the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year may be used for administrative expenses incurred in carrying out this section.

Summary: Safe Indoor Spaces Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a prize competition to incentivize the development of systems or devices that limit indoor transmission of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and the virus that causes it. To be eligible for the prize, a system or device must meet certain criteria with respect to decreased viral transmission rates, scalability, and costs. In addition, HHS must establish a board comprised of experts in public health, education, small business, and engineering to advise on this competition.