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Title II — Providing assistance to cities and communities

S. 1398 · 116th Congress · May 9, 2019 · Lineage

II Providing assistance to cities and communities

Sec. 201 Technology demonstration grant program

(a)
In general— The Secretary shall establish a smart city or community regional demonstration grant program under which the Secretary shall conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems in a variety of communities, including small- and medium-sized cities and rural and Tribal communities.
(b)
Goals— The goals of the program established under subsection (a) are—
(1)
to demonstrate—
(A)
potential benefits of concentrated investments in smart city or community technologies that are repeatable and scalable across cities of different sizes; and
(B)
the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of civic infrastructure and services;
(2)
to facilitate the adoption of advanced smart city or community technologies and collaboration between small- and medium- to large-sized cities; and
(3)
to demonstrate 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.
(c)
Demonstration projects—
(1)
Eligibility— Subject to paragraph (2), a unit of local government shall be eligible to receive a grant for a demonstration project under this section.
(2)
Application; Cooperation— To qualify for a demonstration project under this section, a unit of local government shall—
(A)
submit to the Secretary an application for a grant for a demonstration project at such time and containing such information as the Secretary may require; and
(B)
agree to follow applicable best practices identified by the Secretaries, in consultation with industry entities and institutions of higher education, to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented smart city or community technologies to ensure that—
(i)
technologies and interoperability can be assessed;
(ii)
best practices can be shared; and
(iii)
data can be shared in a public, interoperable, and transparent format.
(3)
Federal share of cost of technology investments— The Secretary—
(A)
subject to subparagraph (B), shall provide to a unit of local government selected under this section for the conduct of a demonstration project a grant in an amount equal to not more than 50 percent of the total cost of technology investments to incorporate and assess qualifying smart city or community technologies in the applicable jurisdiction; but
(B)
may waive the cost-share requirement of subparagraph (A) as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(d)
Requirement— In conducting demonstration projects under this section, the Secretary shall—
(1)
develop competitive, technology-neutral requirements;
(2)
seek to leverage ongoing or existing civic infrastructure investments; and
(3)
take into consideration the non-Federal cost share as a competitive criterion in applicant selection in order to leverage non-Federal investment.
(e)
Public availability of data and reports— The Secretary shall ensure that reports, public data sets, schematics, diagrams, and other works created using a grant provided under this section are—
(1)
available on a royalty-free, non-exclusive basis; and
(2)
open to the public to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, without cost.
(f)
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (c) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

Sec. 202 Cybersecurity Working Group

(a)
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
the work conducted by the Internet Policy Task Force and the Digital Economy Leadership Team of the Department of Commerce to foster an enabling environment for Internet of Things technology to grow and thrive, allow the private sector to lead, and promote technology-neutral standards and consensus-based multistakeholder approaches to policymaking at local, Tribal, State, Federal, and international levels on issues ranging from the security to the competitiveness of the United States is valuable and should be continued; and
(2)
the work conducted by the Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to create resources for communities seeking to adopt smart cities or communities technology is valuable and should be continued.
(b)
Establishment—
(1)
In general— The Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall convene a multistakeholder working group, to be known as the “Cybersecurity Working Group”, to develop tools for communities to use to evaluate the cybersecurity of smart city or community technologies.
(2)
Membership—
(A)
In general— In appointing members to the Working Group, the Secretary shall consider appointing—
(i)
representatives of consumer groups;
(ii)
representatives of small units of local government, as determined by the Secretary;
(iii)
representatives of large units of local government, as determined by the Secretary;
(iv)
manufacturers of smart city or community devices, equipment, and software;
(v)
individuals with expertise in communications networks;
(vi)
Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials;
(vii)
individuals with other expertise necessary to carry out the duties of the Working Group; and
(viii)
such representatives of the Council as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(B)
Representation— In appointing members to the Working Group, the Secretary shall ensure that the Working Group includes a multidisciplinary cross section of smart city or community stakeholders.
(3)
Duties— The Working Group shall—
(A)
leverage and build on previous activities carried out by the Department of Commerce relating to Internet of Things technology;
(B)
develop tools for communities to evaluate the cybersecurity of smart city or community technology being considered by the communities for adoption in those communities;
(C)
develop tools for communities to protect against cybersecurity threats relevant to the technology the community has chosen to adopt;
(D)
(i)
assess—
(I)
whether Internet of Things cybersecurity standards should exist; and
(II)
whether the standards described in subclause (I) should be voluntary or mandatory; and
(ii)
identify which entity is appropriate to devise the standards described in clause (i)(I); and
(E)
submit to the Council a report that describes the findings of the Working Group.

Sec. 203 TechHire Workforce Training and Development Program

(a)
In general— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, based on findings from the needs assessment conducted under section 101(a)(3), the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary, shall establish a pilot program, to be known as the “TechHire Workforce Training and Development Pilot Program”, under which the Secretary of Labor, during the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, shall provide to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, grants for technology-based job training and education programs that provide industry-recognized credentials.
(b)
Requirements— A job training and education program that is awarded a grant under this section shall—
(1)
provide technology-based training across 2 or more sectors;
(2)
focus on smart city or community technologies, systems, and infrastructure across all sectors of the economy;
(3)
address privacy and cybersecurity considerations; and
(4)
address smart city or community workforce needs identified by the Secretary of Labor, after consultation with other applicable Federal agencies.
(c)
Eligible entities— To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an entity shall be a public organization or an organization described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code that—
(1)
includes an advisory board, which may be—
(A)
(i)
a local workforce development board;
(ii)
a State workforce development board; or
(iii)
an appropriate subgroup of a local workforce development board or a State workforce development board; or
(B)
a board of proportional participation, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, of relevant organizations, including—
(i)
relevant industry organizations, including public and private employers;
(ii)
labor organizations;
(iii)
one or more units of local government that are actively pursuing smart city or community programs; and
(iv)
postsecondary education organizations;
(2)
demonstrates experience in implementing and operating job training and education programs;
(3)
demonstrates the ability to recruit and support individuals who plan to work in a relevant sector on the successful completion of relevant job training and education programs;
(4)
(A)
provides students who complete the training and education program with an industry-recognized credential; or
(B)
uses a curriculum that has received extensive feedback from employers; and
(5)
demonstrates successful outcomes connecting graduates of job training and education programs to quality jobs relevant to the job training and education programs.
(d)
Applications— An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary of Labor an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary of Labor may require.
(e)
Priority— In selecting eligible entities to receive grants under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall prioritize applicants that—
(1)
(A)
are a local workforce development board or State workforce development board; or
(B)
demonstrate a strong partnership with a local workforce development board or State workforce development board;
(2)
house the job training and education program in—
(A)
a community college or institution of higher education that includes basic science, technology, and math education in the curriculum of the community college or institution of higher education; or
(B)
an apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Labor or a State;
(3)
work with the Secretary of Defense or veterans organizations to transition members of the Armed Forces and veterans to careers in a relevant sector;
(4)
include in the application an entity that receives State funding or is operated by a State agency;
(5)
include an apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Labor or a State as part of the job training and education program;
(6)
provide support services and career coaching;
(7)
provide entry-level technology workforce training aimed at matching workers with well-paying jobs; or
(8)
propose to serve—
(A)
young adults between the ages of 16 and 24; or
(B)
individuals with barriers to employment (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)).
(f)
Additional consideration— In making grants under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall consider regional diversity.
(g)
Limitation on applications— An eligible entity may not submit, either individually or as part of a joint application, more than 1 application for a grant under this section during any 1 fiscal year.
(h)
Limitations on amount of grant— The amount of a single grant provided under this section for any 1 year shall not exceed $5,000,000.
(i)
Non-Federal share— The non-Federal share of the cost of a job training and education program carried out using a grant under this section shall be not less than 25 percent of the total cost.
(j)
Reduction of duplication— Before submitting an application for a grant under this section, each applicant shall—
(1)
consult with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies; and
(2)
coordinate the proposed activities of the applicant with existing State and local programs.
(k)
Technical assistance— The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary, may provide technical assistance to eligible entities under subsection (c) to leverage the existing job training and education programs of the Department of Labor and other relevant programs at appropriate Federal agencies.
(l)
Report— Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to Congress, and make publicly available on the website of the Department of Labor, a report on the program established under this section, including a description of—
(1)
any entity that receives a grant under this section;
(2)
any activity carried out using the grants under this section;
(3)
best practices used to leverage the investment of the Federal Government under this section; and
(4)
an assessment of the results achieved by the program established under this section, including the rate of employment for participants after completing a job training and education program carried out using a grant under this section.
(m)
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

Sec. 204 GAO study on innovative financing

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to identify—
(1)
financial and procurement mechanisms currently available to public and private entities to fund smart city or community activities and associated demonstration projects, including “pay for performance” financing that could deliver measurable and verifiable market and non-market values to smart cities or communities;
(2)
new, innovative financial and procurement mechanisms under development or used experimentally that may be available, in the near term, to public and private entities to fund smart city or community activities and associated demonstration projects;
(3)
barriers to creative financing solutions for those activities and projects, including procurement barriers faced by State and local governments; and
(4)
ways to leverage private sector investments in smart cities and communities.