[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3895 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3895

 To provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and measures with 
          respect to campus buildings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2000

  Mr. Pascrell (for himself, Mrs. Roukema, Mr. Holt, Mr. Andrews, Mr. 
 Franks of New Jersey, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Frelinghuysen, 
  Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Wynn, and Mr. Rothman) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and measures with 
          respect to campus buildings, 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 ``Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act 
of 2000''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FIRE SAFETY OF CAMPUS BUILDINGS.

    Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (N);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (O) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(P) the fire safety report prepared by the institution 
        pursuant to subsection (h).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Disclosure of Fire Safety Standards and Measures.--
            ``(1) Fire safety reports required.--Each eligible 
        institution participating in any program under this title 
        shall, beginning in academic year 2001-2002, and each year 
        thereafter, prepare, publish, and distribute, through 
        appropriate publications or mailings, to all current students 
        and employees, and to any applicant for enrollment or 
        employment upon request, an annual fire safety report 
        containing at least the following information with respect to 
        the campus fire safety practices and standards of that 
        institution:
                    ``(A) A statement that identifies each student 
                housing facility of the institution, and whether or not 
                that facility is equipped with a fire sprinkler system 
                or other fire safety systems, or both.
                    ``(B) Statistics concerning the occurrence on 
                campus, during the 2 preceding calendar years for which 
                data are available, of fires and false fire alarms in 
                student housing facilities.
                    ``(C) For each such occurrence, a statement of the 
                human injuries or deaths and the structural damage 
                caused by the occurrence.
                    ``(D) Information regarding fire alarms, smoke 
                alarms, the presence of adequate fire escape planning 
                or protocols (as defined in local fire codes), rules on 
                portable electrical appliances, smoking and open flames 
                (such as candles), regular mandatory supervised fire 
                drills, and planned and future improvement in fire 
                safety.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to require 
        particular policies, procedures, or practices by institutions 
        of higher education with respect to fire safety.
            ``(3) Reports.--Each institution participating in any 
        program under this title shall make periodic reports to the 
        campus community on fires and false fire alarms that are 
        reported to local fire departments in a manner that will aid 
        the prevention of similar occurrences.
            ``(4) Reports to secretary.--On an annual basis, each 
        institution participating in any program under this title shall 
        submit to the Secretary a copy of the statistics required to be 
        made available under paragraph (1)(B). The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) review such statistics;
                    ``(B) make copies of the statistics submitted to 
                the Secretary available to the public; and
                    ``(C) in coordination with representatives of 
                institutions of higher education, identify exemplary 
                fire safety policies, procedures, and practices and 
                disseminate information concerning those policies, 
                procedures, and practices that have proven effective in 
                the reduction of campus fires.
            ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection, the term `campus' 
        has the meaning provided in subsection (f)(6).''.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS BY SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.

    Within one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Education shall prepare and submit to the Congress a 
report containing--
            (1) an analysis of the current status of fire safety 
        systems in college and university facilities, including 
        sprinkler systems;
            (2) an analysis of the appropriate fire safety standards to 
        apply to these facilities, which the Secretary shall prepare 
        after consultation with such fire safety experts, 
        representatives of institutions of higher education, and other 
        Federal agencies as the Secretary, in the Secretary's 
        discretion, considers appropriate;
            (3) an estimate of the cost of bringing all nonconforming 
        dormitories and other campus buildings up to current new 
        building codes; and
            (4) recommendations from the Secretary concerning the best 
        means of meeting fire safety standards in all college 
        facilities, including recommendations for methods to fund such 
        cost.
                                 <all>