,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #defc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ba1 #bjbe,mr4 
,frost 7for himself and ,mr4 ,webster of
 ,florida7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and     
,technology  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the 
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration to carry out research   
and development to improve the          
understanding of how the public         
receives1 interprets1 and responds to   
and values hurricane forecasts and      
warnings1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,fixing ,gaps in ,hurricane         
,preparedness ,act4  #b4 ,hurricane     
social1 behavioral1 and economic        
sciences  7a7 ,in general ,the          
,administrator of the ,national ,oceanic
 and ,atmospheric ,administration 7in   
this section referred to as the         
,administrator71 in consultation with   
the ,director of the ,national ,science 

,foundation1 shall carry out research   
and development to improve the          
understanding of how the public         
receives1 interprets1 and responds to   
and values hurricane forecasts and      
warnings4  7b7 ,research and development
 ,in conducting the research and        
development in accordance with          
subsection 7a71 the ,administrator      
shall-- 7#a7 conduct a comprehensive    
review of what is known about how the   
public receives1 interprets1 and        
responds to and makes decisions         
regarding hurricane forecasts and       
warnings1 including-- 7,a7 how the      
connections between weather             
observations1 downstream models1 and    
processes affect the decision tools or  
products derived from such hurricane    
forecasts and warnings2  7,b7 how such  
hurricane forecasts and warnings        
generated by decision tools and products
 are used by emergency managers1        
governments1 and other users to benefit 
the public and stakeholder groups2  7,c7

 how past experiences with hurricanes   
impacts decision making2  7,d7 how the  
source of such hurricane forecasts and  
warnings affects interpretation2  7,e7  
how tropical cyclone warnings and       
watches are received and interpreted2   
7,f7 how understanding of and response  
to such hurricane forecasts and warnings
 vary across demographic groups1        
including the elderly1 people with      
disabilities1 and other vulnerable      
populations2  7,g7 language barriers2   
and  7,h7 how understanding and response
 to such hurricane forecasts and        
warnings varies across geographic areas1
 including rural1 urban1 and suburban2  
7#b7 identify data gaps based on the    
review conducted pursuant to paragraph  
7#a72  7#c7 taking into the account the 
data gaps identified pursuant to        
paragraph 7#b71 carry out social and    
behavioral research1 including data     
collection1 to improve the understanding
 of how the public1 including vulnerable
 populations1 receive1 interpret1 and   

respond to hurricane forecasts and      
warnings and to inform evidence-based   
updates to existing hurricane forecasts 
and warnings2  7#d7 carry out research1 
including data collection1 to evaluate  
and quantify the economic value of      
extending lead times of tropical cyclone
 warnings and watches1 including to     
vulnerable populations2  7#e7 identify  
affected populations and gather data to 
conduct baseline assessments2  7#f7     
conduct retrospective assessments of    
previous hurricane forecasts and        
warnings and improvements to better     
understand the key components of the    
value of the forecasts and warnings     
provided2  7#g7 conduct ex ante         
assessments based on potential forecasts
 and warnings improvements and expected 
actions or behavior changes2  7#h7      
conduct cost benefit analysis of        
forecasts and warnings improvement      
alternatives2  7#i7 conduct risk        
assessments for pre-1 during1 and       
post-storm periods in regions and       

communities with significant elderly    
populations1 including retirement       
communities2  7#aj7 establish policies  
and procedures for the collection1      
archiving1 and stewardship of data on   
community response1 including the       
response of vulnerable populations1 to  
high-impact tropical systems2 and  7#aa7
 integrate and consider research and    
development described in this subsection
 in the development or enhancement of   
hurricane products1 information1 and    
services4  7c7 ,pilot study  7#a7 ,in   
general ,not later than #ahj days1 the  
,administrator shall seek to enter into 
an agreement with an appropriate entity1
 as determined by the ,administrator1 to
 conduct a pilot study using a mixed    
methods approach1 such as surveys1 focus
 groups1 and interviews1 to gather      
information from hurricane prone        
population areas regarding their levels 
of preparedness for hurricanes4 ,the    
surveys shall evaluate the following3   
7,a7 ,possession of disaster supplies4  

7,b7 ,evacuation decisions4  7,c7       
,levels of trust of tropical cyclone    
information from various sources4  7,d7 
,access to tropical cyclone warnings in 
a survey participant's first language4  
7,e7 ,determination regarding a survey  
participant's reasoning that may hinder 
the ability of such a participant to    
evacuate or willingness to evacuate4    
7,f7 ,any additional information the    
,administrator determines necessary4    
7#b7 ,additional criteria ,the pilot    
study described in paragraph 7#a7 shall 
define its methodology and be made      
publicly available on a website of the  
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration4