[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1727 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1727

    To establish a program of grants to States for arson research, 
            prevention, and control, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 1993

 Mr. Boucher (for himself, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Brown of California, Mr. 
 Hoyer, Mr. Weldon, Mr. Stokes, Mr. Leach, Mr. Barlow, Mr. McHugh, Mr. 
Lazio, Mr. Mazzoli, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Towns, Mrs. Meyers of 
Kansas, Ms. Eshoo, and Mr. Meehan) introduced the following bill; which 
    was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish a program of grants to States for arson research, 
            prevention, and control, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Arson Prevention Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) arson is a serious and costly problem, and is 
        responsible for approximately 25 percent of all fires in the 
        United States;
            (2) arson is a leading cause of fire deaths, accounting for 
        approximately 700 deaths annually in the United States, and is 
        the leading cause of property damage due to fire in the United 
        States;
            (3) estimates of arson property losses are in the range of 
        $2,000,000,000 annually, or approximately 1 of every 4 dollars 
        lost to fire;
            (4) the incidence of arson in the United States is 
        seriously underreported, in part because of the lack of 
        adequate participation by local jurisdictions in the National 
        Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the Uniform Crime 
        Reporting (UCR) program;
            (5) there is a need for expanded training programs for 
        arson investigators;
            (6) there is a need for improved programs designed to 
        enable volunteer firefighters to detect arson crimes and to 
        preserve evidence vital to the investigation and prosecution of 
        arson cases;
            (7) according to the National Fire Protection Association, 
        of all the suspicious and incendiary fires estimated to occur, 
        only one-third are confirmed as arson; and
            (8) improved training of arson investigators will increase 
        the ability of fire departments to identify suspicious and 
        incendiary fires, and will result in increased and more 
        effective prosecution of arson offenses.

SEC. 3. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is amended by 
adding after section 24 the following new section:

                       ``arson prevention grants

    ``Sec. 25. (a) In General.--The Administrator, through the Office, 
shall carry out a demonstration program of grant awards, not to exceed 
10 in number, to States, or consortia thereof, for programs relating to 
arson research, prevention, and control. In carrying out the 
requirements of this section, the Administrator shall award 2-year 
grants on a competitive, merit basis to States for projects which have 
one or more of the following goals:
            ``(1) To improve the training by States leading to 
        professional certification of arson investigators, in 
        accordance with nationally recognized certification standards.
            ``(2) To provide resources for the formation of arson task 
        forces or interagency organizational arrangements involving 
        police and fire departments and other relevant local agencies 
        such as State arson bureaus and the State fire marshal's 
        office.
            ``(3) To combat fraud as a cause of arson and to advance 
        research at the State and local levels on the significance and 
        prevention of fraud as a motive for setting fires.
            ``(4) To provide for management of arson squads, 
        including--
                    ``(A) training courses for fire departments in 
                arson case management, including standardization of 
                investigative techniques and reporting methodology;
                    ``(B) preparation of arson unit management guides; 
                and
                    ``(C) the development and dissemination of new 
                public education materials relating to the arson 
                problem.
            ``(5) To combat civil unrest as a cause of arson and to 
        advance research at the State and local levels on the 
        prevention and control of arson linked to urban disorders.
            ``(6) To combat juvenile arson, such as juvenile fire-
        setter counseling programs and similar intervention programs, 
        and to advance research at the State and local levels on the 
        prevention of juvenile arson.
            ``(7) To combat drug-related arson and to advance research 
        at the State and local levels on the causes and prevention of 
        drug-related arson.
            ``(8) To combat domestic violence as a cause of arson and 
        to advance research at the State and local levels on the 
        prevention of arson arising from domestic violence.
            ``(9) To combat arson in rural areas and to improve the 
        capability of firefighters to identify and prevent arson 
        initiated fires in rural areas and public forests.
            ``(10) To improve the capability of firefighters to 
        identify and combat arson through expanded training programs, 
        including--
                    ``(A) training courses at the State fire academies; 
                and
                    ``(B) innovative courses developed with the 
                National Fire Academy and made available to volunteer 
                firefighters through regional delivery methods, 
                including teleconferencing and satellite delivered 
                television programs.
    ``(b) Structuring of Applications.--The Administrator shall assist 
grant applicants in structuring their applications so as to ensure that 
at least one grant is awarded for each goal described in the paragraphs 
of subsection (a).
    ``(c) State Qualification Criteria.--In order to qualify for a 
grant under this section, a State or consortium thereof shall provide 
assurances adequate to the Administrator that it--
            ``(1) will obtain at least 25 percent of the cost of 
        programs funded by the grant, in cash or in kind, from non-
        Federal sources;
            ``(2) will not as a result of receiving the grant decrease 
        its prior level of spending of funds from non-Federal sources 
        for arson research, prevention, and control programs;
            ``(3) will use no more than 10 percent of funds provided 
        under the grant for administrative costs of the programs; and
            ``(4) is making efforts to ensure that all local 
        jurisdictions will provide arson data to the National Fire 
        Incident Reporting System or the Uniform Crime Reporting 
        program.
    ``(d) Extension.--Grants awarded under this section may be extended 
for additional periods, at the discretion of the Administrator, subject 
to the availability of appropriations.
    ``(e) Technical Assistance.--The Office shall provide technical 
assistance to States in carrying out programs funded by grants under 
this section.
    ``(f) Consultation and Cooperation.--In carrying out the 
requirements of this section, the Administrator shall consult and 
cooperate with other Federal agencies to enhance program effectiveness 
and avoid duplication of effort, including the conduct of regular 
meetings initiated by the Administrator with other Federal agencies 
concerned with arson and concerned with efforts to develop a more 
comprehensive profile of the magnitude of the national arson problem.
    ``(g) Assessment.--The Administrator shall, not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this section, submit a report to 
the Congress identifying grants made, specifying the identity of 
grantees, stating the goals of each grant, and containing a preliminary 
assessment of the effectiveness of the grants program under this 
section.
    ``(h) Regulations.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this section, the Administrator shall issue regulations to implement 
this section, which shall establish procedures for grant applications.
    ``(i) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term ``arson'' includes all incendiary and 
        suspicious fires; and
            ``(2) the term ``Office'' means the Office of Fire 
        Prevention and Arson Control of the United States Fire 
        Administration.
    ``(j) Administration.--The Administrator shall directly administer 
the grants program required by this section, and shall not enter into 
any contract under which the grants program or any portion thereof will 
be administered by another party.''.

SEC. 4. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TRAINING.

    Section 24(a)(2) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 2220(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ``, with particular 
emphasis on the needs of volunteer firefighters for improved and more 
widely available arson training courses'' after ``detection, and 
control''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 
United States Fire Administration--
            (1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1994 for basic research on the 
        development of an advanced course on arson prevention;
            (2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 for the expansion of 
        arson investigator training programs at the National Fire 
        Academy under section 24 of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
        Control Act of 1974 and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training 
        Center, or through regional delivery sites;
            (3) $4,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995 
        for carrying out section 25 of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
        Control Act of 1974; and
            (4) $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995 for 
        salaries and expenses for carrying out such section 25.

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