[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 399 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 399

  To provide for fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or 
 prevention technologies, in public and private college and university 
housing and dormitories, including fraternity and sorority housing and 
                              dormitories.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2001

 Mr. Edwards (for himself and Mr. Dodd) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or 
 prevention technologies, in public and private college and university 
housing and dormitories, including fraternity and sorority housing and 
                              dormitories.

    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 ``College Fire Prevention Act''.

SEC 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) On Wednesday, January 19, 2000, a fire occurred at a 
        Seton Hall University dormitory. Three male freshmen, all 18 
        years of age, died. Fifty-four students, 2 South Orange 
        firefighters, and 2 South Orange police officers were injured. 
        The dormitory was a 6-story, 350-room structure built in 1952, 
        that housed approximately 600 students. It was equipped with 
        smoke alarms but no fire sprinkler system.
            (2) On Mother's Day 1996 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a 
        fire in the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity House killed 5 college 
        juniors and injured 3. The 3-story plus basement fraternity 
        house was 70 years old. The National Fire Protection 
        Association identified several factors that contributed to the 
        tragic fire, including the lack of fire sprinkler protection.
            (3) It is estimated that between 1980 and 1998, an average 
        of 1,800 fires at dormitories, fraternities, and sororities, 
        involving 1 death, 70 injuries, and $8,000,000 in property 
        damage were reported to public fire departments.
            (4) Within dormitories, fraternities, and sororities the 
        number 1 cause of fires is arson or suspected arson. The second 
        leading cause of college building fires is cooking, while the 
        third leading cause is smoking.
            (5) The National Fire Protection Association has no record 
        of a fire killing more than 2 people in a completely fire 
        sprinklered public assembly, educational, institutional, or 
        residential building where the sprinkler system was operating 
        properly.
            (6) New dormitories are generally required to have advanced 
        safety systems such as fire sprinklers. But such requirements 
        are rarely imposed retroactively on existing buildings.
            (7) In 1998, 93 percent of the campus building fires 
        reported to fire departments occurred in buildings where there 
        were smoke alarms present. However, only 34 percent had fire 
        sprinklers present.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

SEC. 4. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    (a) Program Authority.--The Secretary of Education, in consultation 
with the United States Fire Administration, is authorized to award 
grants to States, private or public colleges or universities, 
fraternities, and sororities to assist them in providing fire sprinkler 
systems, or other fire suppression or prevention technologies, for 
their student housing and dormitories.
    (b) Matching Funds Requirement.--The Secretary of Education may not 
award a grant under this section unless the entity receiving the grant 
provides, from State, local, or private sources, matching funds in an 
amount equal to not less than one-half of the cost of the activities 
for which assistance is sought.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Application.--Each entity desiring a grant under this Act shall 
submit to the Secretary of Education an application at such time and in 
such manner as the Secretary may require.
    (b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this Act, the Secretary 
shall give priority to applicants that demonstrate in the application 
submitted under subsection (a) the inability to fund the sprinkler 
system, or other fire suppression or prevention technology, from 
sources other than funds provided under this Act.
    (c) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--An entity that receives 
a grant under this Act shall not use more than 4 percent of the grant 
funds for administrative expenses.

SEC. 6. DATA AND REPORT.

    The Comptroller General shall--
            (1) gather data on the number of college and university 
        housing facilities and dormitories that have and do not have 
        fire sprinkler systems and other fire suppression or prevention 
        technologies; and
            (2) report such data to Congress.

SEC. 7. ADMISSIBILITY.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any application for 
assistance under this Act, any negative determination on the part of 
the Secretary of Education with respect to such application, or any 
statement of reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as 
evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other 
entity.
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