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