[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2901 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2901
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 systems, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Mr. Sheehy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 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 systems, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Safer Emergency and Evacuation
Routes Response Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Transportation (referred to in
this section as the ``Secretary''), in coordination with the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish a voluntary pilot
program (referred to in this section as the ``pilot program'') to
improve the integration of real-time wildfire hazard alerts with State
and local transportation closure information systems.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot program shall be to assist
participating States in automatically relaying information on roadway
closures, detours, 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 systems.
(c) Scope.--
(1) Voluntary.--Participation in the pilot program shall be
voluntary.
(2) 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 decisions.
(3) Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
pilot program--
(A) uses existing data standards and formats to the
maximum extent practicable;
(B) does not require States to adopt uniform
systems or centralized infrastructure; and
(C) allows participating States flexibility to
tailor integration to their existing traffic management
systems.
(d) Funding.--The Secretary may carry out the pilot program using
amounts otherwise available for surface transportation research and
development under section 503(b) of title 23, United States Code.
(e) Evaluation.--Not later than 2 years after implementation of the
pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, 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 notifications.
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