[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2178 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2178

   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require colleges and 
universities to disclose to students and their parents the incidents of 
fires in dormitories, and their plans to reduce fire safety hazards in 
   dormitories, to require the United States Fire Administration to 
    establish fire safety standards for dormitories, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 2, 2000

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require colleges and 
universities to disclose to students and their parents the incidents of 
fires in dormitories, and their plans to reduce fire safety hazards in 
   dormitories, to require the United States Fire Administration to 
    establish fire safety standards for dormitories, 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 ``Fire Safe Dorm Act of 2000''.

        TITLE I--OBLIGATIONS OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

SEC. 101. IMPROVED DISCLOSURE OF FIRES AND FIRE PREVENTION MEASURES IN 
              COLLEGE DORMITORIES.

    Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following 
        new subparagraphs:
            ``(I) Statistics concerning the occurrence of fires and 
        fire alarms in dormitories on campus during the most recent 
        calendar year, and during the 5 preceding calendar years for 
        which data are available.
            ``(J) A statement describing whether the institutions' 
        dormitory rooms currently have sprinklers, smoke detectors, and 
        furniture made of flame retardant material.'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following 
        new subparagraph:
    ``(C) Each institution participating in any program under this 
title shall make, keep, and maintain a daily 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. Such logs shall be open to public inspection.''; 
and
            (3) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                inserting ``or paragraph (1)(I)'' after ``paragraph 
                (1)(F)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and campus 
                fires'' after ``campus crime''.

SEC. 102. DISCLOSURE OF PLANS TO BRING RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES INTO 
              COMPLIANCE WITH NEW BUILDING CODES.

    Section 485(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (N);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (O) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(P) a summary of the specific plans that the institution 
        has adopted for construction or renovation to ensure that all 
        campus residential facilities comply, by January 1, 2010, with 
        the standards established by the Administrator of the United 
        States Fire Administration under section 201 of the Fire Safe 
        Dorm Act of 2000.''.

SEC. 103. COMPLIANCE WITH FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS FOR DORMITORIES.

    Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(24) The institution will adopt, within 10 years after 
        the date of enactment of the Fire Safe Dorm Act of 2000, plans 
        to install sprinklers, smoke detectors, and open flame 
        resistant furniture in dormitories in compliance with the 
        standards established by the Administrator of the United States 
        Fire Administration under section 201 of such Act.''.

SEC. 104. EXEMPTION.

    The amendments made by this title shall not be construed to require 
the installation of sprinklers in any building or other structure that 
is listed on the National Register for Historic Places as maintained by 
the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), if such installation would 
destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that 
characterize the historic nature of the property. The Secretary of 
Education shall determine disputes concerning the application of this 
exemption by reference of the matter to the Secretary of the Interior.

               TITLE II--DORMITORY FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS

SEC. 201. STANDARDS.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United States Fire 
Administration shall establish measurable standards for dormitory fire 
safety. Such standards shall include mandatory fire sprinklers, smoke 
detectors, and open flame resistant furniture and mattresses.
    (b) Outreach.--The Administrator of the United States Fire 
Administration shall undertake appropriate activities to encourage the 
adoption by State and local authorities of the standards established 
under subsection (a).
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