Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7996

Linemen Legacy Act

Utility Workers: Recognition as Emergency Responders

Mar 19·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

The Linemen Legacy Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Could go either way

The bill has support from both parties and addresses a practical issue in disaster response. It is likely to be seen as a common sense update, though it may need to be part of a larger bill to pass.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 7610 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 7610 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill changes federal law to officially recognize utility line technicians as emergency responders. This applies specifically when they are working during major disasters or emergencies declared by the government.
By being called emergency responders, these workers may get better access to disaster zones and resources. This helps them get the power back on faster for families and businesses after big storms or other crises.
The change would update the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It ensures that the people who fix power and water lines are treated with the same priority as other first responders like police and firefighters during a national emergency.
This effort is led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who want to honor the dangerous work these technicians do. It acknowledges that restoring utilities is a critical part of keeping the public safe during a disaster.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones3 actions

Mar 20, 2026House

Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 19, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mar 19, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Linemen Legacy Act

Bill NumberHR 7996

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(4)

D: 2R: 2

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.