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Bill

S 258

Enacts"Bryan Johnson's law"

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Addabbo and 8 co-sponsors

Enhances tornado observation, research, forecasting, and warning messaging to reduce deaths, injuries, and property damage by better informing and protecting communities.

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Bill Summary · S 258

Summary — S. 258 (TORNADO Act)

Tornado Observations Research and Notification Assessment for Development of Operations (TORNADO) Act
Senate Report No. 119‑26 (Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)

Purpose

S. 258 — cited as the Tornado Observations Research and Notification Assessment for Development of Operations (TORNADO) Act — is intended to strengthen U.S. capabilities to observe, research, forecast, and communicate information about tornadoes and other hazardous severe convective weather in order to reduce fatalities, injuries, and property damage.

Why the bill was introduced

The bill responds to persistent gaps in tornado detection, measurement, and public response. Tornadoes cause dozens of deaths annually and can form with little notice (overnight and rain‑obscured tornadoes are especially deadly). The bill builds on an identified need for better observations, research into tornado formation and intensity, and improved warning and notification approaches to give people timely, actionable guidance.

Key provisions (as reported)

The committee report summarizes the bill’s goals and expected activities; the report text provided is truncated and does not include the full statute language, but the TORNADO Act as reported generally aims to:

  • Improve and coordinate observational capabilities and field research to better characterize tornado genesis, intensification, and wind fields.
  • Support research-to-operations activities to transition scientific advances into operational forecasting and warning systems.
  • Enhance notification, messaging, and public‑outreach research so watches/warnings and recommended protective actions are better understood and more effective (including addressing confusion over “watch” vs. “warning,” sheltering guidance for people in public spaces, and overnight-event communications).
  • Assess and recommend improvements to monitoring networks, data collection (including wind speed and damage assessment), and integration of those data into forecasting tools.
  • Involve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS), National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), academic researchers, and state/local emergency management stakeholders.

(The printed Senate Report includes background on tornado frequency, the Enhanced Fujita scale limitations, recent outbreak examples, and the importance of warning lead time — see Report No. 119‑26 for full text and any statutory language or funding authorizations.)

Who would be affected

  • Federal agencies and programs focused on severe-weather research and forecasting (NOAA/NWS/NSSL).
  • University and private‑sector researchers and instrument/observational providers.
  • State and local emergency managers, first‑responders, and public‑warning systems.
  • Residents and communities in tornado‑prone areas (all 50 states can be affected), especially populations vulnerable due to housing type, time of day, or location.

Procedural status and timeline

  • Introduced in the Senate: January 27, 2025 (read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
  • Committee action: Ordered reported with amendments (Feb. 5, 2025); reported favorably with amendments by Senator Cruz’s committee on June 2, 2025 (Senate Report No. 119‑26).
  • Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders — Calendar No. 88 (June 2, 2025).
  • A hearing is listed (hearing scheduled 09/08/2025 per the provided actions).
  • Sponsors/cosponsors listed include Senator Roger F. Wicker (primary) and multiple bipartisan senators as cosponsors.

Notes and potential confusion in provided materials

The materials supplied also include unrelated legislative texts from other jurisdictions that use the identifier “S.258” (examples: a New Jersey grid‑modernization bill and a Massachusetts bill on social‑care data privacy). This summary pertains to the federal S.258 described in Senate Report 119‑26 (the TORNADO Act). Consult the full committee report and the actual bill text for complete statutory language, authorization levels, and any Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate referenced in the report.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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