This bill directs the EPA to help communities deal with wildfire smoke and extreme heat. It funds local air agencies to monitor air, warn the public, add air filters in public buildings so they can serve as cleaner air spaces, deploy more monitors, and provide gear like N95 masks and portable air cleaners. The EPA must spread funds using a formula that considers which places are most vulnerable. Funding for this part is “such sums as are necessary.”

It also creates four Centers of Excellence at colleges to study health effects (including for outdoor workers), develop practical fixes, and improve tools to predict smoke and heat. The EPA must begin this work within 180 days and give priority to schools in hard‑hit areas with strong air‑quality expertise and local partnerships. This includes $10 million each year for the centers and $20 million each year for related research, starting in FY2026.

The EPA must also start a competitive grant program within 180 days to help states, local governments, Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations build and carry out community plans to reduce smoke and heat harms, working with nearby public colleges or other research institutions. This program is authorized at $50 million each year starting in FY2026.

Key points

• Who is affected: Local air agencies; states, cities, Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations; colleges; outdoor workers; communities facing smoke and heat.
• What changes: Grants for air monitoring, public alerts, cleaner air spaces in public buildings, masks and portable filters, weatherization, and subgrants; four research centers; expanded research; community planning grants.
• When: EPA must launch the research, centers, and community planning grants within 180 days of enactment; yearly funding begins in FY2026.