[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 798 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 798

    To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to 
establish a program of grants to States for arson research, prevention, 
                  and control, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               April 20 (legislative day, April 19), 1993

 Mr. Bryan (for himself and Mr. Gorton) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 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.

    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 \1/3\ 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 
inserting after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2220) the following new section:

``SEC. 25. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Arson.--The term `arson' includes all incendiary and 
        suspicious fires.
            ``(2) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of Fire 
        Prevention and Arson Control of the United States Fire 
        Administration.
    ``(b) Grants.--The Administrator, acting through the Office, shall 
carry out a demonstration program under which not more than 10 grant 
awards shall be made to States, or consortia of States, for programs 
relating to arson research, prevention, and control.
    ``(c) Goals.--In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall 
award 2-year grants on a competitive, merit basis to States, or 
consortia of States, for projects that promote 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 a State arson bureau and the office of a fire marshal 
        of a State.
            ``(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 the management of arson squads, 
        including--
                    ``(A) training courses for fire departments in 
                arson case management, including standardization of 
                investigative techniques and reporting methodology;
                    ``(B) the 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 Academy 
                and made available to volunteer firefighters through 
                regional delivery methods, including teleconferencing 
                and satellite delivered television programs.
    ``(d) 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 subsection 
(c).
    ``(e) State Qualification Criteria.--In order to qualify for a 
grant under this section, a State, or consortium of States, shall 
provide assurances adequate to the Administrator that the State or 
consortium--
            ``(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 
        the prior level of spending of funds of the State or consortium 
        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.
    ``(f) Extension.--A grant awarded under this section may be 
extended for one or more additional periods, at the discretion of the 
Administrator, subject to the availability of appropriations.
    ``(g) Technical Assistance.--The Administrator shall provide 
technical assistance to States in carrying out programs funded by 
grants under this section.
    ``(h) Consultation and Cooperation.--In carrying out 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 representatives of other Federal agencies concerned 
with arson and concerned with efforts to develop a more comprehensive 
profile of the magnitude of the national arson problem.
    ``(i) Assessment.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall submit a report 
to Congress that--
            ``(1) identifies grants made;
            ``(2) specifies the identity of grantees;
            ``(3) states the goals of each grant; and
            ``(4) contains a preliminary assessment of the 
        effectiveness of the grant program under this section.
    ``(j) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall issue regulations 
to implement this section, including procedures for grant applications.
    ``(k) Administration.--The Administrator shall directly administer 
the grant program required by this section, and shall not enter into 
any contract under which the grant program or any portion of the 
program 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 before the 
semicolon the following: ``, with particular emphasis on the needs of 
volunteer firefighters for improved and more widely available arson 
training courses''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 17 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
(15 U.S.C. 2216) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) In addition to any other amounts that are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act--
            ``(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 Academy under 
        section 24 and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, 
        or through regional delivery sites;
            ``(3) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994 and 1995 for 
        carrying out section 25, except for salaries and expenses for 
        carrying out section 25; and
            ``(4) $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995 
        for salaries and expenses for carrying out section 25.''.

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