[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1824 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1824

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify automatic fire 
   sprinkler systems as 5-year property for purposes of depreciation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2003

 Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Langevin) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
                                 Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to classify automatic fire 
   sprinkler systems as 5-year property for purposes of depreciation.

    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 Sprinkler Incentive Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) since the publication of the original study and 
        comprehensive list of recommendations in America Burning, 
        written in 1974, requested advances in fire prevention through 
        the installation of automatic sprinkler systems in existing 
        buildings have yet to be fully implemented;
            (2) fire departments responded to approximately 1.7 million 
        fires in 2001;
            (3) there were 3,745 non-terrorist related deaths in the 
        United States and almost 21,000 civilian injuries resulting 
        from fire in 2001;
            (4) 99 firefighters were killed in 2001, excluding the 
        terrorist acts on September 11th;
            (5) fire caused $8.9 billion in direct property damage in 
        2001, and sprinklers are responsible for a 43 to 70 percent 
        reduction in property damage from fires in public assembly, 
        educational, residential, commercial, industrial and 
        manufacturing buildings;
            (6) fire departments respond to a fire every 18 seconds, a 
        fire breaks out in a structure every 60 seconds and in a 
        residential structure every 80 seconds in the United States;
            (7) the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, 
        did not contain an automated sprinkler system and burned down, 
        killing 99 people on February 20, 2003;
            (8) due to an automated sprinkler system, not a single 
        person was injured from a fire beginning in the Fine Line Music 
        Cafe in Minneapolis after the use of pyrotechnics on February 
        17, 2003;
            (9) the National Fire Protection Association has no record 
        of a fire killing more than two people in a completely 
        sprinklered public assembly, educational, institutional or 
        residential building where the system was properly installed 
        and fully operational;
            (10) sprinkler systems dramatically improve the chances of 
        survival of those who cannot save themselves, specifically 
        older adults, young children and people with disabilities;
            (11) most property owners are incapable of upgrading fire 
        counter measures in buildings built prior to fire safety codes 
        due to the financial cost of retrofitting;
            (12) many State and local governments lack any requirements 
        for new structures to contain automatic sprinkler systems;
            (13) under the present straight-line method of 
        depreciation, there is a disincentive for building safety 
        improvements due to an extremely low rate of return on 
        investment; and
            (14) the Nation is in need of incentives for the voluntary 
        installation and retrofitting of buildings with automated 
        sprinkler systems to save the lives of countless individuals 
        and responding firefighters as well as drastically reduce the 
        costs from property damage.

SEC. 3. CLASSIFICATION OF AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Subparagraph (B) of section 168(e)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 5-year property) is amended 
by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (v), by striking the period at 
the end of clause (vi) and inserting ``, and'', and by adding at the 
end the following:
                            ``(vii) any automatic fire sprinkler 
                        system.''.
    (b) Alternative System.--The table contained in section 
168(g)(3)(B) of such Code is amended by inserting after the third item 
the following:

``(B)(vii)..................................................       7''.
    (c) Definition of Automatic Fire Sprinkler System.--Subsection (i) 
of section 168 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(15)  Automated fire sprinkler system.--The term 
        `automated fire sprinkler system' means those sprinkler systems 
        classified under one or more of the following publications of 
        the National Fire Protection Association--
                    ``(A) NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems,
                    ``(B) NFPA 13 D, Installation of Sprinkler Systems 
                in One and Two Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, 
                and
                    ``(C) NFPA 13 R, Installation of Sprinkler Systems 
                in Residential Occupancies up to and Including Four 
                Stories in Height.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to property placed in service after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
                                 <all>