Top Story on local News is Senate Bill S.786

[Aquawind]

Senate Bill 786 is still in the senate and could be passed according to the Wink TV (CBS) channel just now.. I thought it was over with for awhile.. Time to send some letters out!

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

So is this the one that will give the nhc over to Accuwx? I would not like that very much because they would like make it pay. But who would get forecast and save lifes if its that way?

[Aquawind]

Yep.. That's it..

II

(Star Print)
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION S. 786
To clarify the duties and responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the National Weather Service, and for other
purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL 14, 2005
Mr. SANTORUM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To clarify the duties and responsibilities of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National
Weather Service, and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Weather
5 Services Duties Act of 2005’’.
2
•S 786 IS1S
1 SEC. 2. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL OCE2
ANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
3 AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
4 (a) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.—To protect life
5 and property, the Secretary of Commerce shall, through
6 the National Weather Service, be responsible for the fol7
lowing:
8 (1) The preparation and issuance of severe
9 weather forecasts and warnings designed for the
10 protection of life and property of the general public.
11 (2) The preparation and issuance of
12 hydrometeorological guidance and core forecast in13
formation.
14 (3) The collection and exchange of meteorolog15
ical, hydrological, climatic, and oceanographic data
16 and information.
17 (4) The provision of reports, forecasts, warn18
ings, and other advice to the Secretary of Transpor19
tation and other persons pursuant to section 44720
20 of title 49, United States Code.
21 (5) Such other duties and responsibilities as the
22 Secretary shall specify.
23 (b) COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR.—The
24 Secretary of Commerce shall not provide, or assist other
25 entities in providing, a product or service (other than a
3
•S 786 IS1S
1 product or service described in subsection (a)(1)) that is
2 or could be provided by the private sector unless—
3 (1) the Secretary determines that the private
4 sector is unwilling or unable to provide such product
5 or service; or
6 (2) the United States Government is obligated
7 to provide such product or service under inter8
national aviation agreements to provide meteorolog9
ical services and exchange meteorological informa10
tion.
11 (c) ISSUANCE OF DATA, FORECASTS, AND WARN12
INGS.—
13 (1) IN GENERAL.—All data, information, guid14
ance, forecasts, and warnings received, collected, cre15
ated, or prepared by the National Oceanic and At16
mospheric Administration or the National Weather
17 Service shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be
18 issued in real time, and without delay for internal
19 use, in a manner that ensures that all members of
20 the public have the opportunity for simultaneous and
21 equal access to such data, information, guidance,
22 forecasts, and warnings.
23 (2) MODE OF ISSUANCE.—Data, information,
24 guidance, forecasts, and warnings shall be issued
25 under paragraph (1) through a set of data portals
4
•S 786 IS1S
1 designed for volume access by commercial providers
2 of products or services and by such other mecha3
nisms as the Secretary of Commerce considers ap4
propriate for purposes of that paragraph.
5 (d) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DISCLOSURES.—An
6 officer, employee, or agent of the National Oceanic and
7 Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Serv8
ice, or any other department or agency of the United
9 States who by reason of that status comes into possession
10 of any weather data, information, guidance, forecast, or
11 warning that might influence or affect the market value
12 of any product, service, commodity, tradable, or business
13 may not—
14 (1) willfully impart, whether directly or indi15
rectly, such weather data, information, guidance,
16 forecast, or warning, or any part thereof, before the
17 issuance of such weather data, information, guid18
ance, forecast, or warning to the public under sub19
section (c); or
20 (2) after the issuance of such weather data, in21
formation, guidance, forecast, or warning to the
22 public under subsection (c), willfully impart com23
ments or qualifications on such weather data, infor24
mation, guidance, forecast, or warning, or any part
5
•S 786 IS1S
1 thereof, to the public, except pursuant to an
2 issuance that complies with that subsection.
3 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the
4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com5
merce shall prescribe regulations to implement the provi6
sions of this section.
7 (f) PRODUCT OR SERVICE DEFINED.—In this sec8
tion, the term ‘‘product or service’’ means a product, serv9
ice, device, or system that provides, senses, or commu10
nicates meteorological, hydrological, climatic, solar, or
11 oceanographic data, forecasts, or other similar informa12
tion.
13 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this sec14
tion (other than subsection (e)) shall take effect 90 days
15 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
16 (h) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Act of Octo17
ber 1, 1890 (26 Stat. 653) is amended as follows:
18 (1) Section 3 (15 U.S.C. 313) is repealed.
19 (2) Section 9 (15 U.S.C. 317) is amended by
20 striking ‘‘, and it shall be’’ and all that follows and
21 inserting a period.
6
•S 786 IS1S
1 SEC. 3. REPORT ON MODIFICATION OF NATIONAL OCEANIC
2 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION AND
3 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES.
4 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date
5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
6 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress
7 a report that sets forth—
8 (1) a detailed statement of the activities, if any,
9 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis10
tration and the National Weather Service that are
11 inconsistent with the provisions of section 2;
12 (2) a schedule for the modification of the activi13
ties referred to in paragraph (1) in order to conform
14 such activities to the provisions of section 2; and
15 (3) the regulations prescribed under section
16 2(e).
17 (b) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE18
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit19
tees of Congress’’ means—
20 (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
21 Transportation of the Senate; and
22 (2) the Committee on Science of the House of
23 Representatives.
Æ

[bvigal]

It's been buried in committee, right? For some "changes"? They could sneak it out and pass it right before summer break. We need to right letters and raise a RUCKUSS!!!

[MiamiensisWx]

Can the thread title please be changed to reflect the topic? Thanks... it's needed!

[beachbum_al]

So does this mean that the gov is selling the nhc website to accuwx and if we want important, vital info we are going to have to pay for it? Doesn't make a bit of sense when this info saves millions of lives each season. I agree with writing the letters. This is crazy if I read this right.

[bvigal]

I heard Santorum may lose his seat this election. He MUST pass this bill to stay in the Senate. Here's his latest propaganda about the bill:
click to read

[storms in NC]

Why On God's Green earth would they do that for? That is just not right!

[MiamiensisWx]

Thanks for editing the thread title, Paul!

[Aquawind]

Thanks for editing the thread title, Paul!

Twas a good idea CVW

[bvigal]

Hmm, can't find any additional information since it was referred to Commerce Committee last year
sorry, can't get the usual url tags to work with this:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D ... arch.html|

[brunota2003]

So is this the one that will give the nhc over to Accuwx? I would not like that very much because they would like make it pay. But who would get forecast and save lifes if its that way?

Unless they changed it, the NWS/NHC would still issue WARNINGS, however any forecasts, which would include watches I think, you would have to pay to get...is that correct Paul?

[Regit]

Star Print was requested, meaning it is being revised. Since it has gone 15 months without action, the bill would usually be considered dead. Santorum could try to dig it up, but it doesn't help him that it has no sponsors. I doubt he really thinks this will pass. Probably just so he can say "Well I tried, if you contribute to my campaign I'll continue trying."

[Aquawind]

I can't find anything real recent on it either changes or otherwise.. It's still in the subcomittee like bvigal said. Prior threads...Do a search for 786 in the TT forum and you will get all the info and opinions..

[storms in NC]

Star Print was requested, meaning it is being revised. Since it has gone 15 months without action, the bill would usually be considered dead. Santorum could try to dig it up, but it doesn't help him that it has no sponsors. I doubt he really thinks this will pass. Probably just so he can say "Well I tried, if you contribute to my campaign I'll continue trying."

LOL as I read your post I could see your little guy say it. The lizzard

[stormtruth]

We already pay for this with our taxes. I can't think of one citizen who would be excited about paying extra for weather forecasts. What next? Will they make us pay for data from the BLS or the Census Bureau?

[MGC]

Has the house considered simular legislation?.....MGC

[Aquawind]

Here Wink posted a link finally.. It was the 5:30 pm Top Story tonight.

http://www.winktv.com/x22581.xml

Senate Bill Could Change National Weather Service Mission

July 10, 2006

By Maya Rodriguez

Collier County -

The day before her charter fishing boat sets sail, Debbie Weber makes sure one thing gets done.

"Every night, after six, we look at it," she said.

'It' is a report from the National Weather Service, which looks ahead to what tomorrow might bring.

"We do safety patrols, training patrols, environmental patrols and we always, always check the national weather service for conditions for the day," said Allen Miller, commander of the Auxiliary Coast Guard, based in Naples.

That is why U.S. Senate bill 786 comes as a shock to some boaters. The bill would basically forbid the National Weather Service from providing any information that a private weather service could. The only exception would be in cases of severe weather.

"We depend on it," Miller said. "We need it and it would be an incredible loss and a real detriment to boating safety if it were ever discontinued."

The idea behind the bill is to stop the government agency from competing with private weather services, and foster the growth of those private companies. However, without access to the National Weather Service. Some fear other boaters won't subscribe to a private company to get the information, and head out on the water without a complete picture of the conditions.

"I think it acts like an adjunct to private weather forecasting," Miller said. "and I think the more of these kinds of reports we can get from different sources, the better effort we have in achieving boating safety."

"we'll have trouble because there'll be a lot of inexperienced boaters going out there and saying 'oh, maybe it's going to rain, it's not going to be choppy,' and they're going to be out there blind," Weber said.

Right now, the bill is still in a Senate sub-committee. If it passes, private weather services would step in to provide that information. Collier Emergency Management tells WINK News, it would hit their budget hard, if they had to pay for the weather information that they get for free now.

[brunota2003]

here, I found this petition against S. Bill 786: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveTheNWS/

[george_r_1961]

here, I found this petition against S. Bill 786: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveTheNWS/

already done