Emergency Responders Highway Safety Act of 2009

Emergency Responders Highway Safety Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a highway emergency responders safety grant program.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations for projects to: (1) increase awareness of state laws that require a motorist to change lanes or reduce speed if passing a highway emergency responder, including the penalties for noncompliance with such laws; and (2) provide highway emergency responders with training on the prevention of injuries and fatalities resulting from roadside collisions.

Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a multidisciplinary advisory group to make program recommendations; and (2) an incident reporting system to compile information on roadside collisions involving highway emergency responders.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4104 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4104

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and carry out a 
   highway emergency responders safety grant program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2009

Mr. Ellsworth introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and carry out a 
   highway emergency responders safety grant program, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Responders Highway Safety 
Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. HIGHWAY EMERGENCY RESPONDERS SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
and carry out a highway emergency responders safety grant program (in 
this section referred to as the ``program'').
    (b) Grant Authority.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary is 
authorized to make grants to nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations 
(including organizations partnered with local government entities) for 
projects and activities--
            (1) to increase awareness of State laws that require a 
        motorist to change lanes or reduce speed if passing a highway 
        emergency responder, including the penalties for noncompliance 
        with such laws; and
            (2) to provide highway emergency responders with training 
        on the prevention of injuries and fatalities resulting from 
        roadside collisions.
    (c) Advisory Group.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary 
shall establish a multidisciplinary advisory group to make 
recommendations relating to program implementation, including 
recommendations with respect to the criteria for awarding grants under 
the program. The advisory group shall include, at a minimum, a member 
from a national organization representing each employment category 
specified in subsection (e).
    (d) Incident Tracking and Report to Congress.--
            (1) Incident tracking.--The Secretary shall establish and 
        administer an incident reporting system to compile information 
        with respect to roadside collisions throughout the United 
        States involving highway emergency responders.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than one year after the 
        date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 
        Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the number of 
        highway emergency responders injured or killed in roadside 
        collisions in each State during the year preceding such report 
        and on the status and content of State laws relating to highway 
        emergency responder safety.
    (e) Highway Emergency Responder Defined.--In this section, the term 
``highway emergency responder'' means an individual who is any of the 
following:
            (1) A law enforcement officer.
            (2) A firefighter.
            (3) An emergency medical service provider.
            (4) A maintenance and operations worker.
            (5) A tow truck or recovery operator.
    (f) Funding.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit 
        Account) to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of 
        fiscal years 2010 through 2015.
            (2) Contract authority.--Funds made available to carry out 
        this section shall be available for obligation and administered 
        in the same manner as if the funds were apportioned under 
        chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code.
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