[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2683 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2683

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2003

Mr. Pascrell (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Langevin, 
  Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Walsh, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
   Boehlert, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Owens, Mr. Andrews, Mr. 
Hinchey, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Holden, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Payne, Mr. Rothman, 
 Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. McCarthy of New York) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                           and the 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 2003''.

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) Annual fire safety reports required.--Each eligible 
        institution participating in any program under this title 
        shall, beginning in academic year 2004-2005, and each year 
        thereafter, prepare, publish, and distribute, through 
        appropriate publications (including the Internet) 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 academic 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.
                    ``(E) Information about fire safety education and 
                training provided to students, faculty, and staff, 
                including the percentage of students, faculty, and 
                staff who have participated in such education and 
                training.
                    ``(F) Information concerning fire safety at student 
                fraternities and sororities that are recognized by the 
                institution, including--
                            ``(i) information reported to the 
                        institution under paragraph (4); and
                            ``(ii) a statement concerning whether and 
                        how the institution works with recognized 
                        student fraternities and sororities to make 
                        building and property owned or controlled by 
                        such fraternities or sororities more fire safe.
            ``(2) Current information to campus community.--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, and each such institution shall make 
        periodic reports to the campus community on such fires and 
        false fire alarms in a manner that will aid the prevention of 
        similar occurrences.
            ``(3) 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 nationally recognized 
                fire organizations and 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.
            ``(4) Fraternities and sororities.--Each institution 
        participating in a program under this title shall request each 
        fraternity and sorority that is recognized by the institution 
        to collect and report to the institution the information 
        described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1), as 
        applied to the fraternity or sorority, for each building and 
        property owned or controlled by the fraternity or sorority, 
        respectively.
            ``(5) 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.
            ``(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 two years 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.
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