ACERO Act
Officially: “ACERO Act” Read the full text
What it does
Read it in plain language
1Short title
This section gives the Act a short title: the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations Act, or the ACERO Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations Act or the ACERO Act .
2Advanced capabilities for emergency response operations
This section would require the Administrator of NASA to use NASA-developed tools and technologies to carry out research and development under NASA's Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project, in order to improve aerial responses to wildfires. To the extent practicable, that research and development would have to address four goals: advanced aircraft technologies and airspace management efforts to help manage, deconflict, and coordinate aerial assets during wildfire response; information sharing and real-time data exchange among wildfire response teams; an interoperable platform that gives situational awareness of aerial assets during wildfire response; and a multi-agency concept of operations, which may involve federal, state, and local government agencies, to coordinate aerial wildfire-response activities. In carrying out this work, the Administrator may coordinate and collaborate with other federal, state, and local government agencies, regional organizations, commercial partners, and academic institutions involved in wildfire management, and must, to the maximum extent practicable, consult with the heads of other federal departments and agencies to avoid duplicating their work. The Administrator would be barred from procuring an unmanned aircraft system to carry out activities under this section if that system is manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity. The Administrator could waive this ban on a case-by-case basis, but only if the Administrator determines both that procuring the unmanned aircraft system is in the national interest of the United States and that it is necessary for the sole purpose of improving aerial responses to wildfires, and the Administrator then notifies the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation within 30 days after making that determination. Not later than one year after enactment, and annually after that through December 31, 2030, the Administrator would have to submit a report to those same two committees describing the activities, including results, carried out under this section. Each report would have to include, at minimum: a description of the research and development activities; a description of the Administrator's coordination and collaboration activities; an assessment of how effective those activities have been at preventing injuries and loss of life, protecting property, and reducing economic damage; an identification of topics related to improving aerial wildfire response that could benefit from further research; a description of any continuing efforts under this section; and any other information the Administrator considers appropriate. The section would authorize $15,000,000 to be appropriated for fiscal year 2026 to carry out this section. Finally, the section defines its key terms: 'Administrator' means the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; 'covered foreign entity' has the meaning given in section 1822 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31); 'NASA' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and 'unmanned aircraft system' has the meaning given in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.
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2. Advanced capabilities for emergency response operations (a) In general The Administrator shall leverage NASA-developed tools and technologies to conduct research and development activities under the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project to improve aerial responses to wildfires. (b) Goals The research and development activities conducted under subsection (a) shall, to the extent practicable, address the following: (1) Advanced aircraft technologies and airspace management efforts to assist in the management, deconfliction, and coordination of aerial assets during wildfire response efforts. (2) Information sharing and real-time data exchange for wildfire response teams. (3) Development of an interoperable platform to provide situational awareness of aerial assets during wildfire response. (4) Establishment of a multi-agency concept of operations, which may involve Federal, State, and local government agencies, to enable coordination of aerial activities for wildfire response. (c) Collaboration In carrying out this section, the Administrator— (1) may coordinate and collaborate with other Federal, State, and local government agencies, regional organizations, and commercial partners and academic institutions involved in wildfire management; and (2) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies to avoid duplication of activities. (d) Prohibition (1) In general Except as provided in this subsection, the Administrator may not procure an unmanned aircraft system to conduct activities described in this section if such unmanned aircraft system is manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity. (2) Exemption The Administrator may waive the prohibition under paragraph (1) on a case-by-case basis if the Administrator— (A) determines that the procurement of an unmanned aircraft system is— (i) in the national interest of the United States; and (ii) necessary for the sole purpose of improving aerial responses to wildfires; and (B) notifies the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 30 days after a determination in the affirmative under subparagraph (A). (e) Annual reports Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing the activities, including results, carried out pursuant to this section. Each such report, at minimum, shall contain the following: (1) A description of any research and development activities. (2) A description of the Administrator’s activities pursuant to subsection (c). (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of such activities in preventing injuries and loss of life, protecting property, and reducing economic damage. (4) An identification of any topics related to improvement of aerial responses to wildfires that could benefit from further research. (5) A description of any continuing efforts under this section. (6) Any other information determined appropriate by the Administrator. (f) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out this section. (g) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2) Covered foreign entity The term covered foreign entity has the meaning given such term in section 1822 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 ( Public Law 118–31 ). (3) NASA The term NASA means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (4) Unmanned aircraft system The term unmanned aircraft system has the meaning given such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.
Where it is
In the House.