,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #caij ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #ah1 #bjbe,mr4 ,lujn 7for himself and ,mr4 ,curtis7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to direct the establishment of a public-private wildfire technology deployment and demonstration partnership1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fire ,innovation ,unit ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,public-private wildfire technology deployment and demonstration partnership 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered agency ,the term covered agency means-- 7,a7 each ,federal land management agency 7as defined in section #hjb of the ,federal ,lands ,recreation ,enhancement ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #fhja772 7,b7 the ,department of ,defense2 7,c7 the ,bureau of ,indian ,affairs2 7,d7 the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration2 7,e7 the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency2 7,f7 the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration2 7,g7 the ,united ,states ,fire ,administration2 7,h7 the ,general ,services ,administration2 7,i7 a ,state1 ,tribal1 county1 or municipal fire department1 fire district1 land management agency1 natural resources agency1 or equivalent agency operating through the ,united ,states ,fire ,administration or pursuant to an agreement with a ,federal agency2 and 7,j7 any other ,federal agency involved in wildfire response4 7#b7 ,covered entity ,the term covered entity means-- 7,a7 a private entity2 7,b7 a nonprofit organization2 and 7,c7 an institution of higher education 7as defined in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja774 7#c7 ,pilot ,program ,the term ,pilot ,program means the deployment and demonstration pilot program established under subsection 7b74 7#d7 ,relevant committees of ,congress ,the term relevant committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 in the ,senate-- 7i7 the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry2 7ii7 the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources2 7iii7 the ,committee on ,indian ,affairs2 7iv7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs2 and 7v7 the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation2 and 7,b7 in the ,house of ,representatives-- 7i7 the ,committee on ,agriculture2 7ii7 the ,committee on ,natural ,resources2 and 7iii7 the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology4 7#e7 ,secretaries ,the term ,secretaries means the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior1 acting jointly4 7b7 ,establishment ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretaries shall establish a deployment and demonstration pilot program for new and innovative wildfire prevention1 detection1 communication1 response1 and mitigation technologies4 7c7 ,functions ,in carrying out the ,pilot ,program1 the ,secretaries shall-- 7#a7 consult with the ,national ,wildfire ,coordinating ,group2 7#b7 in consultation with the heads of the covered agencies1 identify and advance the demonstration and deployment of key technology priority areas1 including for mature and commercially available technologies1 with respect to the deployment of wildfire prevention1 detection1 communication1 and mitigation technologies1 including-- 7,a7 innovations in hazardous fuels reduction activities or treatments1 including the use of prescribed or cultural fire2 7,b7 spatial planning for unplanned human-caused ignitions2 7,c7 wildfire modeling and effectiveness algorithms2 7,d7 dispatch communications2 7,e7 remote sensing1 detection1 and tracking2 7,f7 safety equipment2 7,g7 common operating pictures or operational dashboards2 7,h7 interoperable commercial data2 7,i7 autonomous suppression systems2 7,j7 grid resilience2 7,k7 community resilience and home hardening2 and 7,l7 prioritization and decision support tools2 7#c7 connect each covered entity selected to participate in the ,pilot ,program with the appropriate covered agency to coordinate real-time and on-the-ground testing of technology during wildfire mitigation activities and training2 7#d7 define clear criteria for evaluating the success of technologies 7including mature and commercially available technologies7 demonstrated under the ,pilot ,program1 focusing on effectiveness1 scalability1 and cost-efficiency2 and 7#e7 coordinate with covered agencies to ensure the efficient deployment of scaled technologies1 including through expanded public-private partnerships1 multiagency contracting for procurement1 and authorization of covered agency staff with technological procurement expertise to assist other covered agencies in need of that expertise4 7d7 ,applications ,to be eligible to participate in the ,pilot ,program1 a covered entity shall submit to the ,secretaries an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretaries may require1 including a proposal to demonstrate technologies specific to key technology priority areas identified under subsection 7c77#b74 7e7 ,existing partnerships 7#a7 ,in general ,a covered agency may submit a statement to the ,secretaries describing the effectiveness1 scalability1 and cost-efficiency of an existing partnership1 pilot project1 or contract a covered entity providing a technology described in subsection 7c77#b74 7#b7 ,successfulness ,the ,secretaries may deem a technology described in a statement submitted under paragraph 7#a7 to be a successful technology for purposes of this section4 7f7 ,outreach ,the ,secretaries1 in coordination with the heads of the covered agencies1 shall make publicly available the key technology priority areas identified under subsection 7c77#b7 and invite covered entities to apply under subsection 7d7 to deploy and demonstrate technologies to address those priority areas4 7g7 ,reports and recommendations ,not later than #ahj days after the date of establishment of the ,pilot ,program1 and annually thereafter for the duration of the ,pilot ,program1 the ,secretaries shall submit to the relevant committees of ,congress a report that includes the following with respect to the ,pilot ,program3 7#a7 ,a brief description of potential technologies deployed and demonstrated4 7#b7 ,an estimate of the cost of acquiring each such technology and applying the technology at scale4 7#c7 ,outreach efforts by covered agencies to covered entities developing wildfire technologies4 7#d7 ,assessments of1 and recommendations relating to1 new technologies with potential adoption and application at-scale in the wildfire prevention1 detection1 communication1 and mitigation efforts of ,federal land management agencies 7as defined in section #hjb of the ,federal ,lands ,recreation ,enhancement ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #fhja774 7#e7 ,a description of the relationship and coordination between the ,pilot ,program and the activities of the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration1 including the ,fire ,weather ,testbed4 7#f7 ,barriers and solutions for procurement of technologies by covered agencies4 7h7 ,sunset ,the ,pilot ,program terminates on the date that is #g years after the date of enactment of this ,act4