,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #behc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ca1 #bjbe ,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,sullivan1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,mr4 ,moran1 and ,mr4 ,peters7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,under ,secretary of ,commerce for ,oceans and ,atmosphere to expand and modernize the weather radio system of the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,noaa ,weather ,radio ,modernization ,act4 #b4 ,,noaa ,weather ,radio 7a7 ,in general ,the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #heja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,,vii ,,noaa ,weather ,radio #gja4 ,,noaa ,weather ,radio 7a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary shall establish or maintain a nationwide weather radio network1 to be known as ,,noaa ,weather ,radio1 that-- 7#a7 broadcasts weather information1 including emergency weather watches1 warnings1 and other hazard information2 7#b7 operates #bd hours a day1 #g days a week2 and 7#c7 is resilient to emergency hazards1 such as loss of power and cellular service4 7b7 ,coverage and reliability ,the ,under ,secretary shall ensure the reliability of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio by-- 7#a7 maintaining support for existing systems1 especially those serving areas not covered by or having poor quality cellular service2 and 7#b7 ensuring consistent maintenance and operations monitoring1 with timely repairs to broadcast transmitter site equipment and antennas4 7c7 ,modernization initiative 7#a7 ,in general ,to the maximum extent practicable1 the ,under ,secretary shall expand the coverage of and modernize ,,noaa ,weather ,radio to ensure it remains valuable to the public1 including by-- 7,a7 improving those methods of communicating the risks posed by hazardous weather events to the public that are most likely to result in informed decisionmaking regarding the mitigation of such risks2 7,b7 improving communication of hazardous weather warnings and the urgency of such warnings to areas that experience a high frequency of such warnings2 7,c7 enhancing the ability to amplify non-weather emergency messages through ,,noaa ,weather ,radio as necessary2 7,d7 acquiring additional transmitters as required to expand coverage to-- 7i7 areas at high risk for rapid onset weather disasters that require short-fuse warnings2 7ii7 communities without-- 7,i7 mobile broadband internet access service 7as defined in section #h4a7;b7 of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation77 and as depicted by a map created under section #hjb7;c77#a77;,c7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #fdb7;c77#a77;,c772 7,,ii7 ,state or local emergency warning systems2 or 7,,iii7 satellite coverage2 and 7iii7 ,federal lands1 such as land in the ,national ,park ,system or the ,national ,forest ,system and ,national ,recreation ,areas2 7,e7 adding the capability to disseminate ,,noaa ,weather ,radio alerts by satellite or through the cloud2 and 7,f7 modernizing the messaging system to enable more geographically specific warnings4 7#b7 ,elements ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,under ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 upgrade telecommunications infrastructure of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio to accelerate the transition of broadcasts to internet protocol-based communications over non-copper media2 7,b7 accelerate software upgrades to the ,advanced ,weather ,interactive ,processing ,system1 or any relevant system successors1 in order to implement partial county notifications and alerts2 7,c7 enhance accessibility and usability of data and feeds of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio with feedback from relevant stakeholders1 including the private sector2 7,d7 develop options1 including satellite backup capability and commercial provider partnerships1 for continuity of service of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio in the event of an outage at a weather forecast office2 7,e7 research and develop alternative options to transmit ,,noaa ,weather ,radio signals to transmitters that are remote or do not have internet protocol capability2 7,f7 transition critical applications to the ,integrated ,dissemination ,program1 or any relevant program successors2 and 7,g7 work with the ,general ,services ,administration1 and other relevant agencies1 to develop new1 alternative1 or updated expedited mechanisms to secure priority space capacity1 such as leased land and tower space1 for ,,noaa ,weather ,radio transmitters and antennas that are best suited for the national security and public safety missions of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio4 7#c7 ,priority ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,under ,secretary shall prioritize practices1 capabilities1 and technologies recommended in accordance with the assessment under subsection 7d7 to maximize the accessibility of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio1 particularly in areas of the ,united ,states described in paragraph 7#a77;,d77i74 7d7 ,assessment for management and distribution 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,under ,secretary shall complete an assessment of access to ,,noaa ,weather ,radio4 7#b7 ,elements ,in conducting the assessment required under paragraph 7#a71 the ,under ,secretary shall take into consideration and provide recommendations regarding the following3 7,a7 ,the need for continuous1 adequate1 and operational real-time broadcasts of ,,noaa ,weather ,radio4 7,b7 ,input from relevant stakeholders that provide access to ,,noaa ,weather ,radio1 including third-party platforms that provide online services1 such as websites and mobile device applications4 7,c7 ,the manner by which existing or new management systems may promote consistent1 efficient1 and compatible access to ,,noaa ,weather ,radio4 7,d7 ,the ability of the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration to aggregate real-time broadcast feeds at one or more central locations1 as a redundancy to the broadcast feed from the nearest weather forecast office4 7,e7 ,effective coordination between agencies with responsibilities relating to emergencies and natural disasters4 7,f7 ,the potential effects of an electromagnetic pulse or geomagnetic disturbance on ,,noaa ,weather ,radio4 7e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to the ,under ,secretary-- 7#a7 for each of fiscal years #bjbf through #bjca1 #be1jjj1jjj to operate ,,noaa ,weather ,radio under subsections 7a7 and 7b72 and 7#b7 for fiscal year #bjbf1 #ajj1jjj1jjj1 which shall remain available until expended1 to carry out subsections 7c7 and 7d74 4 7b7 ,weather ready all hazards award program ,section #djg of the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #hedf7 is-- 7#a7 transferred to title ,,vii of that ,act1 as added by subsection 7a72 7#b7 inserted after section #gja of that ,act1 as added by subsection 7a72 and 7#c7 redesignated as section #gjb4 7c7 ,clerical amendments ,the table of contents for the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag is amended-- 7#a7 by striking the item relating to section #djg2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 ,,title ,,vii--,,noaa ,weather ,radio ,sec4 #gja4 ,,noaa ,weather ,radio4 ,sec4 #gjb4 ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration ,weather ,ready ,all ,hazards ,award ,program4 4 #c4 ,national standards for weather warning systems in flash flood zones 7a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary of ,commerce for ,standards and ,technology1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary of ,commerce for ,oceans and ,atmosphere1 shall develop standards for flash flood emergency alert systems within the #ajj-year floodplain 7as defined in section #ajjbjb7;a7 of the ,biggert-,waters ,flood ,insurance ,reform ,act of #bjab 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djjd7;a7774 7b7 ,requirements ,the ,director shall ensure that standards developed under subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 meet the needs of communities without-- 7,a7 mobile broadband internet access service 7as defined in section #h4a7;b7 of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation77 and as depicted by a map created under section #hjb7;c77#a77;,c7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #fdb7;c77#a77;,c772 7,b7 ,state or local emergency warning systems2 or 7,c7 satellite coverage2 and 7#b7 will result in reliable systems1 especially during hazardous events4 7c7 ,report required ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,under ,secretary of ,commerce for ,standards and ,technology shall submit to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology of the ,house of ,representatives a report that includes a summary of the standards developed under subsection 7a74 #d4 ,classification of and staffing plan for employees and protection from hiring freezes 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,iv of the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #heda et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #dae4 ,classification of and staffing plan for employees and protection from hiring freezes 7a7 ,classification of certain employees 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget shall categorize each position in the ,national ,oceanographic and ,atmospheric ,administration specified in paragraph 7#b7 as a protective service occupation under the ,standard ,occupational ,classification ,system4 7#b7 ,positions specified ,the positions specified in this paragraph are the following positions in the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration1 as defined by the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management3 7,a7 ,meteorology ,series 7#acdj74 7,b7 ,hydrology ,series 7#acae74 7,c7 ,general ,physical ,science ,series 7#acja74 7,d7 ,oceanographer ,series 7#acfj74 7,e7 ,electronics ,technical ,series 7#jhef74 7,f7 ,information ,technology ,management ,series 7,,gs-#bbaj74 7,g7 ,professional ,mariners 7as defined in section #bfi;,b of the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration ,commissioned ,officer ,corps ,act of #bjjb 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 #cjgi;b77 who are involved in the collection of data to support forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property 7including ,series #jhfe1 #iija1 #iiaf1 #iibj1 #iibc-bd1 #iibg-bh1 #iica-cd1 #iidd1 #iied1 #iifj1 #iife1 #iifh1 #iiga1 #iigc1 and #iihd74 7b7 #aj-,year staffing plan for the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,under ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a #aj-year staffing plan for-- 7#a7 the ,national ,weather ,service2 and 7#b7 any positions within the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration that support forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property1 including positions that involve-- 7,a7 collection of data for incorporation into watches and warnings2 7,b7 operation and maintenance of equipment for collection of data described in subparagraph 7,a72 7,c7 maintenance of information technology systems2 7,d7 modeling for forecasts and warnings2 and 7,e7 research to improve forecasts1 warnings1 and communication of those warnings to better protect human life and property4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents for the ,weather ,research and ,forecasting ,innovation ,act of #bjag is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #dad the following3 ,sec4 #dae4 ,classification of and staffing plan for employees and protection from hiring freezes4 4