[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9892 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9892
To promote the use of smart technologies and systems in communities,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2024
Ms. DelBene (for herself and Ms. Clarke of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and
Technology, Education and the Workforce, and Foreign Affairs, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote the use of smart technologies and systems in communities,
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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Cities and
Communities Act of 2024''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--ENHANCING FEDERAL COORDINATION AND INVESTMENT IN SMART CITY OR
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Sec. 101. Coordination of activities among Federal agencies.
Sec. 102. Smart city and community resource guide.
TITLE II--PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
Sec. 201. Technology demonstration grant program.
Sec. 202. Cybersecurity Working Group.
Sec. 203. TechHire Workforce Training and Development Program.
Sec. 204. GAO study on innovative financing.
Sec. 205. Technical assistance, smart city voucher, and technologist in
residence programs.
TITLE III--IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AND INTEROPERABILITY
Sec. 301. Standards and interoperability framework.
TITLE IV--INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND BEST PRACTICES
Sec. 401. Development of global smart city or community best practices.
Sec. 402. Trade program.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to promote smart technologies and
systems to improve community livability, services, communication,
safety, mobility, energy productivity, and resilience to natural and
manmade disasters, to reduce civic costs, traffic congestion, and air
pollution, and to promote equity, economic growth, and opportunities
for communities of all sizes by--
(1) improving Federal Government coordination and outreach
with respect to smart city or community technologies;
(2) promoting the quality and performance of smart city or
community technologies while protecting--
(A) the security of data and systems; and
(B) privacy;
(3) demonstrating the value and utility of smart, local
government-owned and -operated services through the development
and implementation of performance standards;
(4) providing assistance to local governments interested in
implementing smart city or community technologies;
(5) developing a workforce skilled in smart city or
community technologies; and
(6) expanding international cooperation and trade in smart
city or community technologies.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Interagency
Council on Smart Cities established under section
101(a)(1)(A)(i).
(2) Data.--The term ``data'' includes information and
images.
(3) Equity; equitable.--The terms ``equity'' and
``equitable'' mean the consistent and systematic fair, just,
and impartial treatment of individuals who--
(A) belong to underserved communities; and
(B) have been denied systematic fair, just, and
impartial treatment based on race, ethnicity, religion,
income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation,
or disability status.
(4) Local workforce development board; state workforce
development board.--The terms ``local workforce development
board'' and ``State workforce development board'' have the
meanings given the terms ``local board'' and ``State board'',
respectively, in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
(5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary, acting in coordination with--
(A) the Secretary of Energy;
(B) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(C) the Secretary of Transportation;
(D) the Director of the National Science
Foundation; and
(E) as the Secretary determines to be appropriate--
(i) the Secretary of Health and Human
Services;
(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(iii) the Secretary of Labor; and
(iv) the Secretary of State.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'', unless otherwise
specified, means the Secretary of Commerce.
(7) Smart city or community.--
(A) In general.--The term ``smart city or
community'' means a community in which innovative,
advanced, and trustworthy information, communications,
and energy technologies and related mechanisms are
applied--
(i) to improve the health and quality of
life of residents;
(ii) to increase the efficiency and cost
effectiveness of civic operations and services;
(iii) to promote economic growth; and
(iv) to create a community that is safer
and more secure, equitable, sustainable,
resilient, livable, and workable.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``smart city or
community'' includes a local jurisdiction that--
(i) gathers and incorporates data from
systems, devices, and sensors embedded in civic
systems and infrastructure to improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of civic
operations and services;
(ii) aggregates and analyzes gathered data;
(iii) communicates the analysis performed
under clause (ii), and the data described in
that clause, in a variety of formats;
(iv) makes corresponding improvements to
civic systems and services based on gathered
data;
(v) coordinates with relevant public and
private sector entities (including entities
providing electric, water, telecommunications,
energy, and transportation services) to
leverage the activities carried out by those
entities;
(vi) integrates measures--
(I) to ensure the resilience of
civic systems against cybersecurity
threats and physical vulnerabilities
and breaches;
(II) to protect the private data of
residents; and
(III) to measure the impact of
smart city or community technologies on
the effectiveness, equity, and
efficiency of civic operations and
services; and
(vii) promotes regional coordination of the
activities described in clauses (i) through
(vi).
(8) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) a State;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(D) any other territory or possession of the United
States.
(9) Working group.--The term ``Working Group'' means the
Cybersecurity Working Group established under section
202(b)(1).
TITLE I--ENHANCING FEDERAL COORDINATION AND INVESTMENT IN SMART CITY OR
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
SEC. 101. COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES AMONG FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) Coordination.--
(1) Coordination of activities.--
(A) Federal council.--
(i) Establishment.--The Secretaries shall
establish a council of Federal agencies, to be
known as the ``Interagency Council on Smart
Cities'', to promote the coordination of the
activities and funding from Federal agencies
relating to smart cities or communities.
(ii) Membership.--The Council shall--
(I) be led by the Office of Science
and Technology Policy;
(II) be co-chaired by the Director
of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy and the Secretary; and
(III) include--
(aa) the Secretary of
Energy;
(bb) the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development;
(cc) the Secretary of
Transportation;
(dd) the Director of the
National Science Foundation;
and
(ee) the heads of such
other Federal agencies as the
Secretary determines to be
appropriate, including--
(AA) the Secretary
of Homeland Security;
(BB) the Secretary
of Labor; and
(CC) the Secretary
of State.
(B) Prioritization.--For purposes of coordinating
Federal activities under subparagraph (A), the
Secretaries shall prioritize the conduct of Federal
activities that would--
(i) demonstrate smart city or community
technologies in repeatable ways that can
rapidly be scaled;
(ii) encourage public, private, regional,
national, and international sharing of data and
best practices;
(iii) encourage private sector innovation
by promoting industry-driven technology
standards, open platforms, technology-neutral
requirements, and interoperability;
(iv) promote--
(I) a skilled workforce;
(II) an open and competitive global
market for smart city or community
technologies;
(III) inclusion of all citizens,
including minority or disadvantaged
groups;
(IV) protocols and standards that
allow for the measurement and
validation of the cost savings and
performance improvements associated
with the installation and use of smart
city or community technologies and
practices; and
(V) equitable distribution of
benefits gained from the use of smart
technologies;
(v) foster the growth of the smart city or
community technology industry and workforce in
the United States;
(vi) encourage the adoption of smart city
or community technologies by communities;
(vii) safeguard cybersecurity, including by
promoting industry practices relating to
cybersecurity; and
(viii) safeguard privacy and, in
consultation with cities, communities, and
industry entities, establish parameters and
best practices for the full life cycle
management of all types of smart city or
community data, including--
(I) best practices for the
collection, storage, disposal,
ownership, and sharing of data; and
(II) best practices for data
transparency and data use limitations.
(C) Considerations.--The Secretaries shall--
(i) ensure that the Federal activities
described in subparagraph (B) relating to
safeguarding cybersecurity take into account
existing Federal, State, and local frameworks,
guidelines, and best practices when considering
the application of those frameworks,
guidelines, and best practices to smart city
technologies;
(ii) ensure that the Federal activities
described in subparagraph (B) take into
consideration software quality, especially as
software quality impacts reproducibility,
maintainability, reliability, and security of
systems, especially high-confidence systems;
(iii) conduct privacy impact assessments
for Federal activities that could negatively
affect privacy; and
(iv) ensure the privacy of individuals by
providing guidelines for--
(I) the use of technologies with
inherent privacy and security
considerations;
(II) screening vendors and partners
to prevent the inclusion of
organizations and individuals that have
been involved in, or affiliated with,
illegal or unethical uses of data;
(III) contractually obligating
vendors and partners to maintain legal
and ethical data standards with respect
to privacy and data security; and
(IV) monitoring for compliance with
the requirements of this clause.
(2) Strategy.--
(A) In general.--The Secretaries, acting through
the Council, in consultation with industry entities,
cities, and communities, shall develop a multiyear
strategy for--
(i) the coordination of activities and
funding under paragraph (1)(A);
(ii) the development of partnerships with
the private sector relating to smart cities or
communities; and
(iii) the promotion of international
cooperation with respect to smart city or
community technologies and standards.
(B) Requirement.--The Secretaries shall coordinate
with the heads of any applicable Federal agencies to
leverage private sector and non-Federal public
investment in smart city or community technologies
consistent with the strategy developed under
subparagraph (A).
(3) Assessment.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor,
in consultation with the heads of other applicable
Federal agencies, shall coordinate with such private
and public organizations and units of local government
as the Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate
regarding the preparation of a smart city or community
technology workforce needs assessment.
(B) Submission.--On completion of the assessment
prepared under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Labor
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress
and the Council the completed assessment.
(4) Coordination of funds.--In promoting the coordination
of Federal funding relating to smart city or community
activities under paragraph (1)(A) and in accordance with the
strategy developed under paragraph (2)(A), each of the
Secretaries shall--
(A) track, with respect to the appropriate Federal
agency, the expenditures and planned expenditures of
Federal funds for smart city- or community-related
activities, together with leveraged non-Federal
matching funds; and
(B) coordinate with the head of any other
applicable Federal agency that allocates funds for
smart city or community activities--