[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4626 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4626

    To standardize and improve safety training specific to electric 
 vehicles for firefighters and other emergency response providers, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 20, 2024

   Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To standardize and improve safety training specific to electric 
 vehicles for firefighters and other emergency response providers, 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 ``Supporting America's Firefighters 
and Emergency Responders to Electric Vehicles Act of 2024'' or the 
``SAFER EVs Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Electric vehicle.--The term ``electric vehicle'' means 
        a vehicle that draws propulsion energy from a rechargeable 
        energy storage system.
            (2) Emergency response providers.--The term ``emergency 
        response providers'' has the meaning given that term in section 
        2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101).
            (3) Second responder.--The term ``second responder''--
                    (A) means personnel who support the work of 
                emergency response providers; and
                    (B) includes tow truck operators and salvage yard 
                personnel.

SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS AND TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall coordinate with the 
Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, acting through the United States Fire 
Administrator, (referred to in this section as the ``agency heads'')--
            (1) to aggregate cross-agency research relating to electric 
        vehicles;
            (2) to align future research and development efforts with 
        respect to electric vehicles; and
            (3) to plan to effectively deploy electric vehicle training 
        across the United States.
    (b) Efforts.--In carrying out subsection (a), the agency heads 
shall align and coordinate efforts relating to--
            (1) the research and coordination of safety and testing 
        standards for electric vehicles and the components and 
        infrastructure relating to those vehicles, including--
                    (A) electric vehicles;
                    (B) hybrid vehicles;
                    (C) electric buses;
                    (D) hybrid buses; and
                    (E) components and infrastructure relating to 
                replenishing the on-board sources of power of the 
                vehicles described in subparagraphs (A) through (D), 
                including batteries, vehicle charging stations, vehicle 
                battery swap stations, and vehicle-related energy 
                storage units;
            (2) research and development on emergency response provider 
        safety and corresponding best practices; and
            (3) the delivery of safety training course materials to 
        emergency response providers and second responders.
    (c) Technical Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall produce a 
        technical report on electric vehicles, and batteries, power 
        storage, and power replenishment infrastructure relating to 
        those vehicles, that--
                    (A) documents best practices for consumers, 
                emergency response providers, and second responders in 
                the event of an emergency;
                    (B) identifies gaps in current best practices 
                described in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) recommends regions of the United States to 
                target for training deployment due to observed 
                increases in the use of electric vehicles.
            (2) Updates.--The technical report described in paragraph 
        (1) shall be updated every 3 years.
            (3) Coordination and consultation.--In producing the 
        technical report, the Secretary of Energy shall--
                    (A) coordinate with the Secretary of 
                Transportation;
                    (B) ensure consultation among, at a minimum, the 
                Vehicle Technologies Office in the Department of 
                Energy, the National Highway Traffic Safety 
                Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the 
                Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 
                and the United States Fire Administration; and
                    (C) solicit input from interested parties, 
                including the UL Fire Safety Research Institute, the 
                National Fire Protection Association, the International 
                Association of Fire Chiefs, the International 
                Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer 
                Fire Council, the North American Fire Training 
                Directors, and the International Society of Fire 
                Service Instructors, for the purpose of incorporating 
                important issues from the emergency responder community 
                that may help shape strategies for developing safety 
                standards, best practices, and effective training 
                materials.
            (4) FACA exemption.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States 
        Code, shall not apply to the coordination or consultation under 
        paragraph (3).
            (5) Publicly available.--The most recent version of the 
        technical report produced under this subsection shall be--
                    (A) publicly available on the website of the 
                Department of Energy and the Department of 
                Transportation; and
                    (B) linked to on the website of the United States 
                Fire Administration.

SEC. 4. UPDATING SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS AND MATERIALS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Fire Administration.
            (2) Firefighting personnel.--The term ``firefighting 
        personnel'' has the meaning given that term in section 33 of 
        the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
        2229).
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
        U.S.C. 101).
            (4) State fire training grant.--The term ``State Fire 
        Training Grant'' means a State Fire Training Grant issued by 
        the National Fire Academy, as authorized under section 7(f) of 
        the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
        2206(f)).
    (b) Updating of Safety Training Programs.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation and 
        coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, and in 
        consultation with the National Fire Protection Association, the 
        International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International 
        Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire 
        Council, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, and 
        other stakeholders, shall update safety training programs 
        regarding electric vehicles, including related external 
        components used for recharging, refueling, or replacing the 
        power supply of electric vehicles, for firefighting personnel, 
        other emergency response providers, and second responders based 
        on the reports under section 3(c).
            (2) FACA exemption.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States 
        Code, shall not apply to the consultation under paragraph (1).
    (c) Distributing the Training.--The Administrator, acting through 
the National Fire Academy, and in coordination with State fire 
academies, and other stakeholder organizations shall develop and 
implement a plan to--
            (1) accelerate the availability of the safety training 
        programs updated under subsection (b), including through the 
        use of State Fire Training Grants, with an emphasis on train-
        the-trainer programs; and
            (2) provide recurring training to ensure firefighting 
        personnel, emergency medical services personnel, other 
        emergency response providers, and second responders receive the 
        training, including responders in both urban and rural 
        geographic regions.
    (d) State Fire Academies.--A State fire academy that receives a 
State Fire Training Grant shall--
            (1) contact fire departments in the State to provide 
        information about available safety training regarding electric 
        vehicles when 1 or more commercial vehicle charging stations 
        are installed within the jurisdiction of the fire department; 
        and
            (2) collect and submit to the Administrator data and annual 
        statistics about the level of participation in safety training 
        regarding electric vehicles in the State, including the 
        percentage of career and volunteer firefighters and career and 
        volunteer emergency medical services personnel in the State who 
        completed electric vehicle safety training each year.
    (e) Authorizations of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator, in addition to amounts otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated (such as amounts authorized to be 
appropriated for State and local fire service training grants under 
section 7(f) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
U.S.C. 2206(f))), $10,000,000 for grants to State fire academies under 
the State Fire Training Grants program for training and education 
purposes to provide safety training and reporting related to electric 
vehicles.

SEC. 5. EMERGENCY RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Emergency response instructions.--The term ``emergency 
        response instructions'' means the emergency response 
        information for a vehicle prepared by the manufacturer of that 
        vehicle.
            (2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the New Car 
        Assessment Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration.
    (b) Consideration of Emergency Response Instructions.--
            (1) In general.--In determining the score of a vehicle 
        under the program, the Administrator of the National Highway 
        Traffic Safety Administration (referred to in this subsection 
        as the ``Administrator'') shall consider--
                    (A) the completeness of the emergency response 
                instructions for the vehicle; and
                    (B) whether and the extent to which those emergency 
                response instructions adhere to--
                            (i) International Organization for 
                        Standardization standard 17840; and
                            (ii) any other relevant standards.
            (2) Electric vehicles.--In determining the score of an 
        electric vehicle under the program, the Administrator shall 
        consider whether the emergency response instructions for the 
        electric vehicle contain vehicle-specific information on--
                    (A) fighting high-voltage lithium-ion battery 
                fires;
                    (B) mitigating--
                            (i) thermal runaway; and
                            (ii) the risk of high-voltage lithium-ion 
                        battery reignition;
                    (C) mitigating the risks associated with stranded 
                energy in high-voltage lithium-ion batteries--
                            (i) during the initial emergency response; 
                        and
                            (ii) before moving a damaged electric 
                        vehicle from the scene of an emergency; and
                    (D) safely storing an electric vehicle that has a 
                damaged high-voltage lithium-ion battery.
    (c) Availability and Use of Emergency Response Instructions.--
            (1) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
        Administrator of the United States Fire Administration 
        (referred to in this subsection as the ``Administrator'') shall 
        make the emergency response instructions for each vehicle 
        scored under the program widely available, including through 
        the United States Fire Administration website and National Fire 
        Academy and State training academy courses, to--
                    (A) all fire departments, emergency medical 
                services departments, police departments, and salvage 
                yards;
                    (B) each public or private entity that employs tow 
                operators, bus drivers, or truck drivers;
                    (C) national organizations representing law 
                enforcement, fire service, and emergency medical 
                services leadership and personnel;
                    (D) each professional association or other 
                organization representing tow operators, bus drivers, 
                or truck drivers; and
                    (E) each Federal agency that provides training 
                under this Act.
            (2) Use in training.--The emergency response instructions 
        made available by the Administrator under paragraph (1) may be 
        used for any training to which the emergency response 
        instructions are relevant, including off-road applications of 
        electric vehicles, such as material handling equipment, mining 
        or agricultural vehicles, and maritime, rail, and aviation 
        applications, including any training carried out under this 
        Act, as the provider of the training determines to be 
        appropriate.
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