§2.Public-private wildfire technology deployment and demonstration partnership
This section establishes a deployment and demonstration pilot program, to be set up by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior (acting jointly) not later than one year after enactment, to advance new and innovative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, response, and mitigation technologies through public-private partnerships. The program requires the Secretaries to (1) consult with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group; (2) identify key technology priority areas (e.g., hazardous fuels reduction, remote sensing, autonomous suppression systems) in coordination with covered agencies, which include federal land management agencies (i.e., National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service), Department of Defense, Bureau of Indian Affairs, NOAA, FEMA, NASA, U.S. Fire Administration, GSA, state/tribal/local fire departments, and other federal wildfire response agencies; (3) connect participating covered entities (i.e., private entities, nonprofits, institutions of higher education) with covered agencies for testing; (4) define success criteria focused on effectiveness, scalability, and cost-efficiency; and (5) coordinate scaled deployment, including via multiagency procurement. Covered entities must apply with technology proposals addressing priority areas; covered agencies may submit statements on existing successful partnerships, which the Secretaries may deem successful. The Secretaries must conduct outreach on priority areas and submit reports to specified congressional committees (180 days after program establishment and annually thereafter) describing deployed technologies, acquisition costs, outreach efforts, and recommendations for at-scale adoption.