Timber Innovation for Building Rural Communities Act

This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities related to research for wood products, including establishing a data platform, amending a grant program, creating new grant programs, and launching a pilot program for rural infrastructure and building projects.

Sec. 2, Definition of Secretary: The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.

Sec. 3, Forest and Wood Products Data Provision: The Secretary, with the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and in consultation with Indian Tribes, State foresters, and private partners, must establish a platform to provide data on carbon emissions, sequestration, storage, and atmospheric impacts of forest management and wood products. The platform must source data from various Department of Agriculture programs and provide tools to calculate forest carbon stocks, embodied carbon in products, long-term stored carbon in timber products, and carbon displacement compared to other materials. The platform should be established within 2 years of enactment.

Sec. 4, Wood Innovation Grant Program: This section amends the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to require that 50% of grant amounts be used for certain purposes and revises criteria for selecting proposals. The Secretary may give priority to proposals that include using or retrofitting sawmill facilities in high-unemployment counties, recognize carbon reduction strategies in building design, or report on connections to resilience and economic benefits from wood supply areas.

Sec. 5, Wood Building Education Accelerator Grant Program: The Secretary must establish a grant program to award up to $10,000,000 annually to geographically diverse eligible entities (engineering, architecture, or design schools, or centers of excellence) for developing curricula and best practices on designing and building with wood. Eligible entities must provide matching funds from non-Federal sources. Up to $5,000,000 per fiscal year from 2024 through 2028 is allocated.

Sec. 6, Rural Infrastructure and Building Pilot Program: The Secretary must award grants to eligible entities (nonprofits, governments, private entities, etc.) for pilot projects demonstrating innovative wood products in rural infrastructure and building construction or renovation. Projects must be up to 5 years, involve collaboration with public agencies, use offsite-manufactured wood products, and primarily use wood produced and assembled in the United States. Matching requirements vary by population served. Total grants are capped at $10,000,000 per fiscal year, with up to $10,000,000 allocated per fiscal year from 2024 through 2028. The Secretary must arrange an independent evaluation of the pilot projects.