[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1643 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1643

 To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of 
General Services to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design 
        features into public buildings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2011

 Mr. Quigley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of 
General Services to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design 
        features into public 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 ``Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) a multi-agency report issued in 2009, entitled ``The 
        State of the Birds, United States of America'', provides the 
        most comprehensive assessment to date on the status of bird 
        populations;
            (2) the multi-agency report concludes that nearly one-third 
        of the Nation's 800 bird species are endangered, threatened, or 
        in significant decline;
            (3) death from collisions with man-made structures is one 
        of the most serious sources of avian mortality, and it is 
        increasing;
            (4) not only are birds beautiful and interesting creatures 
        that are eagerly welcomed by millions of Americans into their 
        backyards every year, but birds also have an impact on the 
        United States economy;
            (5) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has 
        reported that birdwatchers contribute $36 billion annually to 
        the United States economy, and birds naturally provide billions 
        of dollars worth of pest control, benefitting farmers and 
        consumers alike;
            (6) the U.S. Green Building Council has added bird-friendly 
        language to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 
        (LEED) Reference Guide, which will have the impact of 
        recognizing bird-friendly design in awarding LEED credits;
            (7) bird-safe design features can be incorporated into new 
        construction and major renovation projects at no extra cost, 
        and existing buildings may be made bird-safe through the use of 
        simple, low-cost adaptations;
            (8) the General Services Administration is obligated, under 
        Executive Order 13186, to ``support the conservation intent of 
        the migratory bird conventions by integrating bird conservation 
        principles, measures, and practices into agency activities and 
        by avoiding or minimizing, to the extent practicable, adverse 
        impacts on migratory bird resources when conducting agency 
        actions''; and
            (9) the General Services Administration has already 
        constructed many award-winning, bird-friendly buildings, 
        including the San Francisco Federal Building, the Suitland 
        Census Complex, the United States courthouse in Eugene, Oregon, 
        the Beltsville ATF Laboratory Center, and the United States 
        courthouse in Buffalo, New York.

SEC. 3. USE OF BIRD-SAFE BUILDING MATERIALS AND DESIGN FEATURES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 3314, 3315, and 3316 as 
        sections 3315, 3316, and 3317, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 3313 the following:
``Sec. 3314. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features
    ``(a) Construction, Alteration, and Acquisition of Public 
Buildings.--Each public building constructed, altered, or acquired by 
the Administrator of General Services shall incorporate, to the maximum 
extent feasible as determined by the Administrator, bird-safe building 
materials and design features.
    ``(b) Existing Buildings and Lighting.--The Administrator, where 
practicable, shall--
            ``(1) incorporate bird-safe building materials and design 
        features into existing public buildings; and
            ``(2) address interior and exterior lighting's impacts on 
        native bird species.
    ``(c) Bird-Safe Building Materials Defined.--In this section, the 
term `bird-safe building materials and design features' includes the 
materials and features recommended by--
            ``(1) the city of Chicago's `Bird-Safe Building Design 
        Guide for New Construction and Renovation';
            ``(2) the city of Toronto's `Bird-Friendly Development 
        Guidelines'; and
            ``(3) the American Bird Conservancy and New York City 
        Audubon's `Bird-Safe Building Guidelines'.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for such chapter is amended 
by striking the items relating to sections 3314, 3315, and 3316 and 
inserting the following:

``3314. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features.
``3315. Delegation.
``3316. Report to Congress.
``3317. Certain authority not affected.''.
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