Given the task definition and input, reply with output. In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Remote Sensing Applications Act of
2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that--
(1) although urban land use planning, growth management,
and other functions of State, local, regional, and tribal
agencies are rightfully within their jurisdiction, the Federal
Government can and should play an important role in the
development and demonstration of innovative techniques to
improve comprehensive land use planning and growth management;
(2) the United States is making a major investment in
acquiring remote sensing and other geospatial information from
both governmental and commercial sources;
(3) while much of the data is being acquired for scientific
and national security purposes, it also can have important
applications to help meet societal goals;
(4) it has already been demonstrated that Landsat data and
other earth observation data can be of enormous assistance to
Federal, State, local, regional, and tribal agencies for urban
land use planning, coastal zone management, natural and
cultural resource management, and disaster monitoring;
(5) remote sensing, coupled with the emergence of
geographic information systems and satellite-based positioning
information, offers the capability of developing important new
applications of integrated sets of geospatial information to
address societal needs;
(6) the full range of applications of remote sensing and
other forms of geospatial information to meeting public sector
requirements has not been adequately explored or exploited;
(7) the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992,
Presidential Decision Directive 23 of 1994, and the Commercial
Space Act of 1998 all support and promote the development of
United States commercial remote sensing capabilities;
(8) many State, local, regional, tribal, and Federal
agencies are unaware of the utility of remote sensing and other
geospatial information for meeting their needs, even when
research has demonstrated the potential applications of that
information;
(9) even when aware of the utility of remote sensing and
geospatial technologies in the area of wildland fire management
to detect and monitor a wildland fire in real-time from the
early stages of fire growth, many State, local, regional, and
tribal agencies are hampered by a lack of overall strategy
guiding interagency management of resources and technology,
according to a September 2003 Government Accounting Office
report;
(10) remote sensing and other geospatial information,
especially when used in a coordinated approach, can be
particularly useful to State, local, regional, and tribal
agencies in the area of urban planning, especially in their
efforts to plan for and manage the impacts of growth,
development, and sprawl, as well as in wildland fire management
and environmental impact and disaster relief planning and
management;
(11) the United States Geological Survey, in coordination
with other agencies, can play a unique role in demonstrating
how data acquired for scientific purposes, when combined with
other data sources and processing capabilities, can be applied
to assist State, local, regional, and tribal agencies and the
private sector in decisionmaking in such areas as agriculture,
weather forecasting, and forest management; and
(12) in addition, the United States Geological Survey, in
conjunction with other agencies, can play a unique role in
stimulating the development of the remote sensing and other
geospatial information sector through pilot projects to
demonstrate the value of integrating governmental and
commercial remote sensing data with geographic information
systems and satellite-based positioning data to provide useful
applications products.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act--
(1) the term ''Director'' means the Director of the United
States Geological Survey;
(2) the term ''geospatial information'' means knowledge of
the nature and distribution of physical and cultural features
on the landscape based on analysis of data from airborne or
spaceborne platforms or other types and sources of data; and
(3) the term ''institution of higher education'' has the
meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).

SEC. 4. PILOT PROJECTS TO ENCOURAGE PUBLIC SECTOR APPLICATIONS.

(a) In General.--The Director shall establish a program of grants
for competitively awarded pilot projects to explore the integrated use
of sources of remote sensing and other geospatial information to
address State, local, regional, and tribal agency needs.
(b) Preferred Projects.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Director shall give preference to projects that--
(1) make use of existing public or commercial data sets;
(2) integrate multiple sources of geospatial information,
such as geographic information system data, satellite-provided
positioning data, and remotely sensed data, in innovative ways;
(3) include funds or in-kind contributions from non-Federal
sources;
(4) involve the participation of commercial entities that
process raw or lightly processed data, often merging that data
with other geospatial information, to create data products that
have significant value added to the original data; and
(5) taken together demonstrate as diverse a set of public
sector applications as possible.
(c) Opportunities.--In carrying out this section, the Director
shall seek opportunities to assist--
(1) in the development of commercial applications
potentially available from the remote sensing industry;
(2) State, local, regional, and tribal agencies in applying
remote sensing and other geospatial information technologies
for growth management; and
(3) State, local, regional, and tribal agencies in
obtaining and utilizing satellite, aviation, and sensor
capabilities for wildland fire detection, analysis, and
observation.
(d) Duration.--Assistance for a pilot project under subsection (a)
shall be provided for a period not to exceed 3 years.
(e) Report.--Each recipient of a grant under subsection (a) shall
transmit a report to the Director on the results of the pilot project
within 180 days of the completion of that project.
(f) Workshop.--Each recipient of a grant under subsection (a)
shall, not later than 180 days after the completion of the pilot
project, conduct at least one workshop for potential users to
disseminate the lessons learned from the pilot project as widely as
feasible.
(g) Regulations.--The Director shall issue regulations establishing
application, selection, and implementation procedures for pilot
projects, and guidelines for reports and workshops required by this
section.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM EVALUATION.

(a) Advisory Committee.--The Director shall establish an advisory
committee, consisting of individuals with appropriate expertise in
State, local, regional, and tribal agencies, the university research
community, and the remote sensing and other geospatial information
industry, to monitor the program established under section 4. The
advisory committee shall consult with the Federal Geographic Data
Committee and other appropriate industry representatives and
organizations. Notwithstanding section 14 of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, the advisory committee established under this subsection
shall remain in effect until the termination of the program under
section 4.
(b) Effectiveness Evaluation.--Not later than December 31, 2008,
the Director shall transmit to the Congress an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the program established under section 4 in exploring
and promoting the integrated use of sources of remote sensing and other
geospatial information to address State, local, regional, and tribal
agency needs. Such evaluation shall have been conducted by an
independent entity.

SEC. 6. DATA AVAILABILITY.

The Director shall ensure that the results of each of the pilot
projects completed under section 4 shall be retrievable through an
electronic, Internet-accessible database.

SEC. 7. EDUCATION.

The Director shall establish an educational outreach program to
increase awareness at institutions of higher education and State,
local, regional, and tribal agencies of the potential applications of
remote sensing and other geospatial information.

SEC. 8. COST SENSITIVITY STUDY.

The Director shall conduct a study of the effect of remote sensing
imagery costs on potential State, local, regional, and tribal agency
applications. The study shall identify applications that are likely to
be most affected by reductions in the cost of remote sensing imagery.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Director shall transmit to the Congress the results of the study
conducted under this section.

SEC. 9. REPORT.

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Director shall submit to the Congress a report on how agencies are
implementing the recommendations contained in the September 2003
General Accounting Office report entitled ''Geospatial Information:
Technologies Hold Promise for Wildland Fire Management, but Challenges
Remain''.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the United States
Geological Survey, $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2009 to carry out this Act.
Remote Sensing Applications Act of 2004 - Requires the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey to: (1) establish a program of grants for pilot projects to explore the integrated use of sources of remote sensing and other geospatial information to address State, local, regional, and tribal agency needs; (2) establish an advisory committee to monitor the program; (3) transmit to Congress an independent evaluation of program effectiveness; and (4) ensure that project results are retrievable through an Internet-accessible database.

Requires the Director to seek opportunities to assist: (1) in the development of commercial applications potentially available from the remote sensing industry; and (2) State, local, regional, and tribal agencies in applying remote sensing and geospatial information technologies for growth management.

Requires the Director to: (1) establish an educational outreach program to increase awareness at institutions of higher education and such agencies of the potential applications of remote sensing and geospatial information; and (2) study the effect of remote sensing imagery costs on potential State, local, regional, and tribal agency applications.