Smoke-Ready Communities Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1813 To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide wildfire smoke mitigation assistance to States and units of local government, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 12, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs A BILL To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act to provide wildfire smoke mitigation assistance to States and units of local government, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smoke-Ready Commu- 4 nities Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1813.IS S1813 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1813 IS SEC. 2. WILDFIRE SMOKE MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 1 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 2 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is 3 amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 431. WILDFIRE SMOKE MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide as- 6 sistance, including grants, equipment, supplies, and per- 7 sonnel, to any eligible State, unit of local government, or 8 Indian Tribe for the mitigation, management, and control 9 of smoke caused by one or more wildfires. 10 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or local government with 11 jurisdiction of an area impacted by smoke caused by one 12 or more wildfires shall be eligible for assistance under this 13 section. 14 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH STATE AND TRIBAL DE- 15 PARTMENTS.—In providing assistance under this section, 16 the President shall coordinate with State and Tribal de- 17 partments of health, forestry, and emergency manage- 18 ment. 19 ‘‘(d) ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE.—In providing assist- 20 ance under this section, the President may use the author- 21 ity provided under section 403, including providing N95 22 filtering facepiece respirators, mechanical air filters, port- 23 able air filters, or upgrading central heating, ventilating, 24 and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems for public buildings. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1813.IS S1813 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1813 IS ‘‘(e) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The President 1 shall prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary 2 to carry out this section.’’. 3 SEC. 3. SMOKE RESILIENT HOUSING GRANT PROGRAM. 4 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section— 5 (1) the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 6 (A) a State; 7 (B) an Indian Tribe; 8 (C) a homeowner; 9 (D) an individual or family renting a dwell- 10 ing unit or home; and 11 (E) an owner of a building with rental 12 dwelling units or of a home that is rented to an 13 individual or family; and 14 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 15 of Housing and Urban Development. 16 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 17 a program under which the Secretary shall provide grants 18 to eligible entities to increase the smoke resiliency of dwell- 19 ings owned or occupied by vulnerable persons and pay for 20 any associated increases in energy costs. 21 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities carried out using 22 grant funds may include— 23 (1) carrying out weatherization measures to 24 mitigate air infiltration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1813.IS S1813 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1813 IS (2) installing air filtration systems; and 1 (3) providing assistance for related energy costs 2 from the operation of those systems. 3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 4 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec- 5 essary to carry out this section. 6 SEC. 4. SMOKE RESILIENT BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 8 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- 9 ministrator of the Small Business Administration; 10 and 11 (2) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 12 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Small 13 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 14 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es- 15 tablish a program under which the Administrator shall 16 provide grants to owners of small business concerns to in- 17 crease the smoke resiliency of the business concern. 18 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities carried out using 19 grant funds may include— 20 (1) acquiring protective gear for employees; and 21 (2) upgrading the heating, ventilation, and air 22 cooling system of any building in which the small 23 business concern operates. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1813.IS S1813 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1813 IS (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec- 2 essary to carry out this section. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1813.IS S1813 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS