Rep. Jay Obernolte

Maddy summaryThe National Park Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2022 extends and increases funding for the National Park Foundation. It amends federal law to authorize $15 million annually (up from $5 million) for the Foundation through 2030 (extending from 2023). This bill directly affects the National Park Foundation by providing a longer-term, higher level of federal appropriations for its operations. The key change is a specific funding authorization adjustment in Title 54 of the U.S. Code, with no new program requirements or policy changes.

Allowing Greater Access to Safe and Effective Contraception Act This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration to prioritize review of supplemental applications for over-the counter oral contraceptives that are intended for routine use. It also removes certain limitations in relation to such products and health savings accounts, flexible spending arrangements, and other arrangements (e.g., limitations on the number of items that may be purchased).

This bill ensures that members of the Armed Forces who were granted a general discharge under honorable conditions (on the sole basis that the members failed to obey a lawful order to receive a vaccine for COVID-19) are eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty and Post-9/11 GI Bill programs.

Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022 This bill requires a designated officer of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network regarding an emergency involving an active shooter. The bill sets forth duties of the coordinator, including to work with state, tribal, and local governments to encourage coordination of various elements of the network. The coordinator must also encourage federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies to establish procedures for responding to active shooters. Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on state and local responses to active shooters and situations requiring the issuance of a public alert or warning.

This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 502 East Cotati Avenue in Cotati, California, as the Arturo L. Ibleto Post Office Building.

Desert Community Lands Act This bill requires the Department of the Interior to convey specified land to designated communities in California. Specifically, Interior must convey, at the request of the town of Apple Valley in California, without consideration, the surface estate of specified land, to be known and designated as the Apple Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area. The conveyed land may be used by the town to provide (1) a suitable location for the establishment of a centralized, off-road vehicle recreation park; (2) the public with opportunities for off-road vehicle recreation; and (3) a designated area and facilities that would discourage unauthorized use of off-highway vehicles in areas that have been identified by the federal government, the state of California, or San Bernardino County, California, to contain environmentally sensitive land. Such land may not be disposed of by the town without Interior's approval. The bill also requires Interior to convey, at the request of the cities of Twentynine Palms, Barstow, or Victorville in California, without consideration, the surface estate of specified lands to those cities. All land conveyances under this bill are subject to valid existing rights and do not include the mineral estate in the lands conveyed. The conveyance to Victorville is subject to the reservation of a permanent easement and right of way for flood control, utility, pipeline, or telecommunications facilities located within the strips of land described in a right of way grant.

This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 League in Irvine, California, as the Tuskegee Airman Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Friend Memorial Post Office Building.

Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization Act or the AAIM Act This bill establishes a pilot grant program to support advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure. AAM infrastructure refers to an air transportation system that transports individuals and property between points in the United States in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace using certain aircraft, including remotely piloted, autonomous, or vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must award planning grants for AAM infrastructure to (1) state, local, or tribal governments; (2) airport sponsors; (3) transit agencies; (4) port authorities; (5) metropolitan planning organizations; or (6) consortia of such entities. Entities that receive these grants must develop a comprehensive plan for AAM infrastructure, including vertiports (sites that support the landing, takeoff, loading, and other operations of vertical take-off and landing aircraft). Topics covered in the plan must address matters such as identifying locations for AAM infrastructure and available sources of funding. DOT must brief Congress about the plans it receives. The briefing must include an evaluation of the planned or proposed locations for vertiports and a description of best practices or lessons learned through the review of comprehensive plans. If the Federal Aviation Administration issues type certificates for at least two aircraft models designed to provide AAM transportation and other requirements are met, DOT may award construction grants to entities that submitted comprehensive plans. Recipients may use grant funds for design, environmental studies, and other capital costs related to the construction of a public-use vertiport or associated infrastructure. Grants may not be awarded after September 30, 2023.

Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of a qualified military spouse. (The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group such as qualified veterans, ex-felons, or long-term unemployment recipients to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.) A qualified military spouse is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.

AI for National Security Act This bill modifies policy related to the Department of Defense enterprise-wide procurement of cyber data products and services, including by providing for the use of artificial intelligence-based endpoint security that prevents cyber-attacks and does not require constant internet connectivity to function.