This bill directs federal science and standards agencies to create and share a single, consistent set of forward-looking long-term meteorological information. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere must identify and support research to produce information that models future extreme weather and other environmental trends and that includes up-to-date observations. The bill lists examples of "extreme weather" (for example: drought, heavy precipitation, hurricanes, tornadoes and other windstorms, extreme heat or cold, and flooding) and other environmental trends (for example: wildfires, coastal and inland flooding, land subsidence, and sea level rise).
The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) must make that information public, identify federal and nonfederal efforts to develop standards and building codes, and provide advice and technical help to organizations that develop standards, model building codes, and voluntary certifications so they can use the forward-looking meteorological information. The Director must carry out these tasks through entities such as the Fire Research Center and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program and may use other statutory authorities.
The bill also requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination with the United States Global Change Research Program and the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, to set up a working group of federal agencies to identify and support research needed to produce the information.
If the bill becomes law, federal agencies would work to produce and share consistent future-focused weather and environmental data. Standards groups, building code developers, and voluntary certification programs would be able to receive technical advice and data from NIST so they can consider forward-looking meteorological information when updating standards or codes. The bill does not itself change any specific building code or standard.
No publicly available information.
The bill directs agencies to create a consistent set of forward-looking meteorological information and to help standards and code organizations use that information. Supporters intend this to make it easier for standards-developing organizations and code writers to consider future weather and environmental trends when writing standards, model codes, and voluntary certifications.
No publicly available information.