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.

Bill: 118-hr-9959
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3]
Introduced: 2024-10-11
Policy area: Emergency Management
Latest action: action_date: 2024-10-12
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9959 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. Effectiveness of Local Outdoor Siren Systems (a) In General The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the ability of local outdoor siren systems to effectively disseminate timely and relevant alerts during weather-related emergencies in order to help communities better develop policies and procedures for emergency response and public safety. (b) Contents In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall— (1) review a representative sample of States, counties, and municipalities, including emergency managers, local officials, and community groups; (2) evaluate the ability of local outdoor siren systems to effectively disseminate alerts during weather-related emergencies; (3) evaluate how such systems interact with other public alert systems; (4) evaluate the age and condition of the infrastructure of such systems; (5) evaluate the ability, financially and otherwise, of each sample State, county, and municipality to replace such systems as needed; (6) evaluate the efficacy of efforts by emergency management divisions to improve the precision of such systems; (7) evaluate the efficacy of emergency management divisions, both in and upon, switching to systems that activate automatically upon the issuance of a relevant National Weather Service warning; (8) evaluate the ability to connect such systems to the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; (9) evaluate the impact that different activation standards across the United States may have on the effectiveness of such systems; (10) evaluate relevant cybersecurity protections for such systems; and (11) evaluate whether improvements could be made to such systems and relevant procedures. (c) Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the study conducted under subsection (a). (d) State Defined In this Act, the term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.