,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ehbb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #i1 #bjad ,mr4 ,lipinski introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to establish a ,hazardous ,materials ,information ,advisory ,committee to develop standards for the use of electronic shipping papers for the transportation of hazardous materials1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,developing ,standards for ,electronic ,shipping ,papers ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the impacts of hazardous materials transportation incidents can be mitigated by effective response strategies1 equipment1 and training4 7#b7 ,shipping papers and manifests are essential tools for responding to incidents involving hazardous materials as they provide the disclosures needed to determine the proper response strategy4 7#c7 ,while physical shipping papers must continue to be required under law in order to ensure that redundancies are in place to protect the safety of first responders1 there should be efforts to modernize how hazardous materials information is disseminated4 7#d7 ,the ,,hm-,,access ,program authorized in section #ccjje of ,,map-#ba 7#di ,u4,s4,c4 #eaba note7 is an important step for developing additional1 innovative methods for disseminating hazardous material information electronically1 but the pilot tests will not be completed until ,october #bjae4 7#e7 ,as transporters of hazardous materials in commerce deploy these innovative technologies on their own1 efforts should be undertaken to ensure that best practices and voluntary standards are available until the ,,hm-,,access pilot and subsequent rulemakings are completed so that transporters of hazardous materials will have guidelines to assist with their modernization effort while ensuring that first responders will have access to standardized information platforms and systems4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,commerce and hazardous material ,the terms commerce and hazardous material have the meanings given such terms in section #eajb of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,electronic shipping paper ,the term electronic shipping paper means an electronic version of the physical shipping paper that is-- 7,a7 designed to convey the most current available hazard information required to be disclosed under section #eaaj7;a7 of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,b7 capable of being accessed instantaneously by emergency responders during an incident involving hazardous material being transported in commerce4 #d4 ,hazardous ,materials ,information ,advisory ,committee 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,transportation shall establish a ,hazardous ,materials ,information ,advisory ,committee composed of members appointed by the ,secretary4 7b7 ,membership ,members appointed by the ,secretary under subsection 7a7 shall represent the following individuals and entities3 7#a7 ,fire services personnel and management4 7#b7 ,law enforcement and other appropriate enforcement personnel4 7#c7 ,other emergency response providers4 7#d7 ,persons who transport hazardous material by air1 highway1 rail1 or water4 7#e7 ,persons who offer hazardous material in commerce for transport by air1 highway1 rail1 or water4 7#f7 ,employees of persons who transport or offer for transportation hazardous material in commerce by air1 highway1 rail1 or water4 7#g7 ,the ,coast ,guard and other relevant agencies4 7#h7 ,other individuals and entities determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,duties ,not later than #abj days after the establishment of the ,hazardous ,materials ,information ,advisory ,committee under subsection 7a71 the ,committee shall-- 7#a7 develop a voluntary standard for the use of electronic shipping papers until a rulemaking has been completed2 7#b7 establish a standardized curriculum for training first responders and enforcement officials in the use of electronic shipping papers and other alternative means of communicating hazardous materials information2 7#c7 provide recommendations and best practices for the use of electronic shipping papers by first responders in varying circumstances and locations2 7#d7 provide recommendations and best practices to assist persons transporting hazardous materials in commerce in implementing electronic shipping papers2 and 7#e7 assess potential issues during deployment phases1 including first responder training1 technology procurement issues and budget limitations1 and biometrics4 7d7 ,requirements ,in developing the best practices1 standards1 and findings under subsection 7c71 the ,hazardous ,materials ,information ,advisory ,committee shall take into consideration-- 7#a7 the scalability of information in its presentation to determine the most efficient means of conveying necessary information for emergency response personnel while allowing access to ancillary information relating to the transport of hazardous materials in order to ensure that information conveyed fits the intended need and the varying levels of first responder training2 7#b7 access issues and spectrum issues for rural responders2 7#c7 standardization of information to equipment to ensure consistency across modes2 7#d7 providing data security and protection from unwanted manipulation in order to preserve the integrity of data entered by transporters of hazardous materials and accessed by bona fide first responders2 7#e7 the need to develop a ,national ,deployment ,standard on biometrics and identifiers to ensure secure access for first responders2 7#f7 the potential for the deployment of fail-safe redundancies linked to ,state1 regional1 and local #iaa emergency centers2 7#g7 the timing of implementation and methods for funding the implementation of electronic shipping papers devices and training2 7#h7 updates and revisions to the ,emergency ,response ,guidebooks2 7#i7 existing technologies that are employed voluntarily by persons who transport hazardous materials in commerce by air1 highway1 rail1 and water2 and 7#aj7 the results of pilot tests being conducted in accordance with section #ccjje of ,,map-#ba 7#di ,u4,s4,c4 #eaba note7 and any interim recommendations issued by the persons administering such pilot tests4 7e7 ,travel expenses ,the ,secretary may provide travel expenses1 including per diem in lieu of subsistence1 to a member appointed under subsection 7b77#a71 7b77#b71 or 7b77#c7 in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter ,i of chapter #eg of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7f7 ,report ,not later than #abj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,hazardous ,materials ,information ,advisory ,committee shall transmit to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate1 a report listing the best practices1 standards1 and findings developed under subsection 7c74