[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2108 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2108

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 28, 2000

Mr. Torricelli introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS AND MEASURES WITH RESPECT 
              TO 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 2001, 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 
                each such facility is equipped with a fire sprinkler 
                system or another equally protective fire safety 
                system.
                    ``(B) Statistics concerning the occurrence on 
                campus, during the 2 preceding calendar years for which 
                data are available, of fires and false fire alarms.
                    ``(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, 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 timely reports to the 
        campus community on fires that are reported to local fire 
        departments and the incidence of false fire alarms on campus. 
        Such reports shall be provided to students and employees in a 
        manner that is timely and that will aid in the prevention of 
        similar occurrences.
            ``(4) Logs.--Each institution participating in any program 
        under this title shall make, keep, and maintain a log, written 
        in a form that can be easily understood, recording all fires 
        reported to local fire departments, including the nature, date, 
        time, and general location of each fire, and all false fire 
        alarms. All entries that are required pursuant to this 
        paragraph shall, except where disclosure of such information is 
        prohibited by law, be open to public inspection.
            ``(5) 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) Definition of campus.--In this subsection the term 
        `campus' has the meaning provided in subsection (f)(6).''.

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

    Not later than 1 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 and 
        university facilities, including recommendations for methods to 
        fund such cost.
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