[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 418 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 418

 To confirm the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
  with respect to releasing systems on residential window bars and to 
  establish a consumer product safety standard ensuring that all such 
                bars include a quick-release mechanism.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2009

Ms. Lee of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
    to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To confirm the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
  with respect to releasing systems on residential window bars and to 
  establish a consumer product safety standard ensuring that all such 
                bars include a quick-release mechanism.

    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 ``Safe Access in Fire Emergencies Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States Fire Administration (USFA) of the 
        Department of Homeland Security encourages prevention, fire 
        sprinklers, smoke detectors, and planned escape routes as main 
        goals of avoiding casualties in residential and commercial 
        fires.
            (2) Window bars are most prevalent in low-income areas and 
        high crime areas, where other security risks often overshadow 
        fire safety standards.
            (3) According to the USFA, children, the elderly, persons 
        who are mobility-impaired, and firefighters are especially 
        vulnerable to fatalities or injuries involving residential 
        window bars.
            (4) Persons have died in residential fires as a result of 
        being trapped by window bars in at least 14 States, including 
        Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, 
        Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, 
        Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.
            (5) Some States, including Mississippi, California, Texas, 
        and, most recently, Oklahoma, have established safety standards 
        for window bars.
            (6) On June 12, 2005, five children were killed in a house 
        fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when their escape was 
        prevented by ground-level, residential window bars.
            (7) Collecting information on a national basis regarding 
        the risks and casualties caused by window bar entrapment during 
        residential fires will help in raising public awareness of such 
        risks and casualties.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF WINDOW BARS.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``window bars'' means any metal 
or other bars, grills, grates, heavy-duty screens, glazing, or other 
barriers that are designed--
            (1) to cover exterior and interior escape windows in 
        residential dwelling units; and
            (2) to deter any physical security threats to the home, 
        including threats from burglars.
Such term does not include any such barriers that (A) protect children 
from falling from open windows in upper floors of buildings, and (B) 
protect nonresidential or commercial properties.

SEC. 4. SAFETY STANDARD FOR WINDOW BARS.

    (a) Rulemaking Required.--The Consumer Products Safety Commission 
(in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'') shall initiate a 
rulemaking proceeding under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 
within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act to establish 
a consumer product safety standard under section 7(a) of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056(a)) for window bars, except that the 
Commission may extend such 90-day period for good cause. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including chapter 5 of 
title 5, United States Code, the Commission shall promulgate a final 
rule establishing such consumer product safety standard within 12 
months after the date on which the rulemaking pursuant to this 
subsection is initiated, except that the Commission may extend such 12-
month period for good cause. Such consumer product safety standard 
shall take effect upon the expiration of the 6-month period beginning 
on the date on which the final rule establishing such standard is 
promulgated.
    (b) Releasing System Requirement.--The standard established 
pursuant to subsection (a) shall--
            (1) require all window bars that are manufactured or 
        installed in the United States to incorporate releasing systems 
        that meet the minimum standards under subsection (c); and
            (2) address releasing systems for interior- and exterior-
        based window bars.
    (c) Minimum Standards for Releasing Systems.--The minimum standards 
under this subsection for releasing systems for window bars shall 
require that such systems--
            (1) when actuated, can move such bars and provide egress to 
        occupants of residential dwelling units equipped with such 
        bars; and
            (2) at a minimum, can be actuated manually from the 
        interior of a residential dwelling unit and provide escape 
        through the protected opening.
    (d) Consultation.--In developing the standard pursuant to 
subsection (a), the Commission shall consult with experts, including 
manufacturers of window bars, housing and building codes authorities, 
and representatives of the United States Fire Administration, the 
National Fire Protection Association, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., 
officials in States that have in effect window bar safety standards, 
and other similar public safety-related organizations.
    (e) Enforcement.--Compliance with the consumer product safety 
standard established pursuant to this section shall be enforced under 
the Consumer Product Safety Act.

SEC. 5. LABELING REQUIREMENT.

    The Consumer Products Safety Commission shall require each 
manufacturer selling, or offering for sale, in the United States, any 
window bars to include in the packaging for the window bars a written 
statement clearly explaining how the window bars are to be configured 
and installed and the inclusion and operation of the releasing system 
incorporated pursuant to section 4(b).

SEC. 6. FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING.

    It is the sense of the Congress that all public housing dwelling 
units, all dwelling units assisted under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937, all manufactured housing units, and all homes 
purchased using any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under the 
National Housing Act or title 38, United States Code, should meet a 
minimal standard for use of window bars that requires such bars to 
incorporate an emergency releasing system.

SEC. 7. PROVISION OF DATA.

    The Commission shall establish and maintain a National Electronic 
Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) code and system for collection of 
information and statistics on casualties associated with window bars.

SEC. 8. NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

    Notwithstanding section 26 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
U.S.C. 2075), this Act may not be construed to annul, alter, impair, 
affect, or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this Act from 
complying with any provision of the law of any State or any political 
subdivision thereof, except to the extent that such provisions of State 
law are inconsistent with any provision of this Act, and then only to 
the extent of the inconsistency. A provision of State law may not be 
considered to be inconsistent with this Act if such provision applies 
more stringent requirements with respect to window bar releasing 
systems than is afforded by this Act.

SEC. 9. NOTICE.

    The Commission shall promptly, upon the enactment of this Act, take 
such actions as may be appropriate to inform all manufacturers of 
window bars distributed in interstate commerce or installed within the 
United States of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission for carrying out this Act such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.
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