Fire Weather Development Act of 2024
Latest action · Apr 30, 2024 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 25, 2023
- Passed HouseApr 29, 2024
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Fire Weather Development Act of 2024
This bill establishes several programs and requirements to address wildfire forecasting, detection, and management, particularly with respect to interagency collaboration.
For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must establish a program to improve collaboration between federal, state, and local entities with respect to wildfire management. Program goals include improving communication about wildfire spread, earlier detection of wildfires, and better understanding of the impact of climate change on fire weather environments. Authorized activities include research and development of communication tools, modeling systems, and other relevant technology to help with wildfire management, as well as education and training for researchers and enhancing data sharing capabilities between agencies.
NOAA may also (1) contract with private sector entities to obtain additional airborne and space-based data to support wildfire prediction and monitoring, and (2) conduct pilot programs to test the use of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather observations.
The bill also establishes the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires (to assist state and local agencies with wildfire management while avoiding duplication of activities) and the National Advisory Committee on Wildfires (to advise the coordinating committee and other relevant entities on wildfire management).
Finally, the bill exempts incident meteorologists of the National Weather Service from premium pay limitations when responding to emergency wildfires. It also requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology to recommend ways to improve the standards of communication between wildfire first responders and fire management response officials.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 153 | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed341–48 | Apr 29, 2024 |
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 25, 2023.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CO | Yadira Caraveo | Original | Jul 25, 2023 |
| R-CA | Young Kim | Original | Jul 25, 2023 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Referred Jul 25, 2023Markup Jul 27, 2023Reported Sep 22, 2023 |
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Apr 30, 2024 |
Actions 15
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2024Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Apr 29, 2024Mr. Lucas moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Apr 29, 2024Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2646-2651)
- Apr 29, 2024DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4866.
- Apr 29, 2024At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H2819 | Young Kim R-CA | May 1, 2024 |
| House | Debate and remarks H2646–H2651Text printed H2646–H2649Recorded votes H2687enact | Frank D. Lucas R-OK, Haley M. Stevens D-MI, Mike Garcia R-CA, Yadira Caraveo D-CO | Apr 29, 2024 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Apr 25, 2024H.R. 4866, Fire Weather Development Act of 2023As reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on September 22, 2023
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 128, July 25, 2023, page H3951.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 118-36 | WINNING IN WEATHER: U.S. COMPETITIVENESS IN FORECASTING AND MODELING55 pages | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Mar 6, 2024 |
CRS reports 3
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 3
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF12884 | Fire Weather: Background and NOAA’s Role | Resource | Jan 5, 2026 |
| IF12698 | Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 3816 and H.R. 5089) | Resource | Aug 8, 2025 |
| R47373 | Science and Technology Issues for the 118th Congress Archived | Report | Oct 15, 2024 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 369 | NIST Wildland Fire Communications and Information Dissemination Act | Related bill | Sep 1, 2023 |
Titles 6
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a program to improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, detection, and local collaboration, and for other purposes.
- Official Titles as Amended by House
- To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrator to improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, detection, and local collaboration, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Fire Weather Development Act of 2023
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Fire Weather Development Act of 2023
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- Fire Weather Development Act of 2024
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Fire Weather Development Act of 2024
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2024Referred in Senate
- Apr 29, 2024Engrossed in House
- Sep 22, 2023Reported in House
- Jul 25, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
