Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1817 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish in the Department of Transportation a drone infrastructure inspection grant program and a drone education and training grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 6, 2023 Ms. ROSEN (for herself, Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish in the Department of Transportation a drone infrastructure inspection grant program and a drone education and training grant program, 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 ‘‘Drone Infrastructure 4 Inspection Grant Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1817 IS SEC. 2. DRONE INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION GRANT 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation 3 shall establish a drone infrastructure inspection grant pro- 4 gram to make grants to governmental entities to facilitate 5 the use of eligible small unmanned aircraft systems to in- 6 crease efficiency, reduce costs, improve worker and com- 7 munity safety, reduce carbon emissions, or meet other pri- 8 orities (as determined by the Secretary) related to critical 9 infrastructure projects. 10 (b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—A governmental enti- 11 ty may use a grant provided under this section to— 12 (1) purchase or lease eligible small unmanned 13 aircraft systems; 14 (2) support operational capabilities of eligible 15 small unmanned aircraft systems by the govern- 16 mental entity; 17 (3) contract for services performed with an eli- 18 gible small unmanned aircraft system in cir- 19 cumstances in which the governmental entity does 20 not have the resources or expertise to safely carry 21 out or assist in carrying out the activities described 22 under subsection (a); and 23 (4) support the program management capability 24 of the governmental entity to use an eligible small 25 unmanned aircraft system. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1817 IS (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 1 under this section, a governmental entity shall submit an 2 application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, 3 and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 4 quire, including an assurance that the governmental entity 5 or its contractor will comply with relevant Federal regula- 6 tions. 7 (d) SELECTION OF APPLICANTS.—In selecting an ap- 8 plicant for a grant under this section, the Secretary shall 9 prioritize projects that propose to— 10 (1) carry out a critical infrastructure project in 11 a historically disadvantaged community; or 12 (2) address a safety risk in the inspection, oper- 13 ation, maintenance, repair, modernization, or con- 14 struction of an element of critical infrastructure. 15 (e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 16 construed as to interfere with an agreement between a 17 governmental entity and a labor union. 18 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 19 after the first grant is provided under this section, the 20 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com- 22 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 23 of Representatives a report that evaluates the program 24 carried out under this section, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1817 IS (1) a description of the number of grants 1 awarded; 2 (2) the amount of each grant; 3 (3) the activities funded under this section; and 4 (4) the effectiveness of such funded activities in 5 meeting the objectives described in subsection (a). 6 (g) FUNDING.— 7 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 8 the cost of a project carried out using a grant under 9 this section shall not be less than 80 percent of the 10 total project cost. 11 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 13 this section— 14 (A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 15 (B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 16 SEC. 3. DRONE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING 17 GRANT PROGRAM. 18 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation 19 shall establish a drone education and training grant pro- 20 gram to make grants to educational institutions for work- 21 force training for eligible small unmanned aircraft system 22 technology. 23 (b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Amounts from a 24 grant under this section shall be used in furtherance of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1817 IS activities authorized under sections 631 and 632 of the 1 FAA Reauthorization Act 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 2 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 3 under this section, an educational institution shall submit 4 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, 5 and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 6 quire. 7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec- 9 tion— 10 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 11 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) COVERED FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term 15 ‘‘covered foreign entity’’ means an entity— 16 (A) included on the Consolidated Screening 17 List or Entity List as designated by the Sec- 18 retary of Commerce; 19 (B) domiciled in the People’s Republic of 20 China or the Russian Federation; 21 (C) subject to influence or control by the 22 Government of the People’s Republic of China 23 or by the Russian Federation; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1817 IS (D) is a subsidiary or affiliate of an entity 1 described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 2 (2) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 3 ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given such 4 term in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infrastruc- 5 tures Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 6 (3) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.— 7 The term ‘‘critical infrastructure project’’ means a 8 project for the inspection, operation, maintenance, 9 repair, modernization, or construction of an element 10 of critical infrastructure, including mitigating envi- 11 ronmental hazards to such infrastructure. 12 (4) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—The term 13 ‘‘educational institution’’ means an institution of 14 higher education (as defined in section 101 of the 15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) 16 that participates in a program authorized under sec- 17 tions 631 and 632 of the FAA Reauthorization Act 18 of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 19 (5) ELEMENT OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUC- 20 TURE.—The term ‘‘element of critical infrastruc- 21 ture’’ means a critical infrastructure facility or 22 asset, including public bridges, tunnels, roads, high- 23 ways, dams, electric grid, water infrastructure, com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1817 IS munication systems, pipelines, or other related facili- 1 ties or assets, as defined by the Secretary. 2 (6) ELIGIBLE SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 3 SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘eligible small unmanned air- 4 craft system’’ means a small unmanned aircraft sys- 5 tem manufactured or assembled by a company that 6 is domiciled in the United States and is not a cov- 7 ered foreign entity. 8 (7) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘gov- 9 ernmental entity’’ means— 10 (A) a State, the District of Columbia, the 11 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of 12 the United States, or a political subdivision 13 thereof; 14 (B) a unit of local government; 15 (C) a Tribal government; 16 (D) a metropolitan planning organization; 17 or 18 (E) a combination of the entities described 19 in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 20 (8) SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED 21 AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The 22 terms ‘‘small unmanned aircraft’’, ‘‘unmanned air- 23 craft’’, and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1817 IS meanings given such terms in section 44801 of title 1 49, United States Code. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1817.IS S1817 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB