,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bija  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #ah 
7legislative day1 ,september #af71      
#bjbe,mr4 ,sheehy introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary 
of ,transportation to establish a pilot 
program to improve the integration of   
real-time wildfire hazard alerts with   
,state and local transportation closure 
information systems1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,safer ,emergency   
and ,evacuation ,routes ,response ,act  
of #bjbe4  #b4 ,pilot program  7a7      
,establishment ,the ,secretary of       
,transportation 7referred to in this    
section as the ,secretary71 in          
coordination with the ,administrator of 
the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric 
,administration and the ,chief of the   
,forest ,service1 shall establish a     

voluntary pilot program 7referred to in 
this section as the pilot program7 to   
improve the integration of real-time    
wildfire hazard alerts with ,state and  
local transportation closure information
 systems4  7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of 
the pilot program shall be to assist    
participating ,states in automatically  
relaying information on roadway         
closures1 detours1 and evacuation routes
 to drivers during wildfire events by   
linking existing ,national ,weather     
,service hazard alert products with     
,state and local traffic management and 
traveler information systems4  7c7      
,scope  7#a7 ,voluntary ,participation  
in the pilot program shall be voluntary4
  7#b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in
 this section grants the ,secretary or  
the ,administrator of the ,national     
,oceanic and ,atmospheric               
,administration any authority to make or
 direct roadway closure decisions4  7#c7
 ,requirements ,the ,secretary shall    
ensure that the pilot program-- 7,a7    

uses existing data standards and formats
 to the maximum extent practicable2     
7,b7 does not require ,states to adopt  
uniform systems or centralized          
infrastructure2 and  7,c7 allows        
participating ,states flexibility to    
tailor integration to their existing    
traffic management systems4  7d7        
,funding ,the ,secretary may carry out  
the pilot program using amounts         
otherwise available for surface         
transportation research and development 
under section #ejc7;b7 of title #bc1    
,united ,states ,code4  7e7 ,evaluation 
,not later than #b years after          
implementation of the pilot program1 the
 ,secretary shall submit to the         
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  
,transportation of the ,senate and the  
,committee on ,transportation and       
,infrastructure of the ,house of        
,representatives a report evaluating the
 pilot program and the effectiveness of 
the pilot program in improving the      
timeliness and accuracy of              

wildfire-related driver notifications4