[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 919 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 919
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
January 30, 2019
Mr. Quigley (for himself, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Zeldin, Mr.
McNerney, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms.
Wilson of Florida, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Lowenthal,
Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr.
Soto) 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 ``Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. USE OF BIRD-SAFE BUILDING MATERIALS AND DESIGN FEATURES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is
further amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3319. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features
``(a) Construction, Alteration, and Acquisition of Public
Buildings.--Each public building constructed, acquired, or of which
more than 50 percent of the facade is substantially altered (in the
opinion of the Commissioner of Public Buildings) by the Administrator
of General Services shall meet, to the maximum extent practicable, as
determined by the Administrator, the following standards:
``(1) At least 90 percent of the exposed facade material
from ground level to 40 feet--
``(A) shall not be composed of glass; or
``(B) shall be composed of glass employing--
``(i) elements that preclude bird
collisions without completely obscuring vision,
such as secondary facades, netting, screens,
shutters, and exterior shades;
``(ii) ultraviolet (UV) patterned glass
that contains UV-reflective or contrasting
patterns that are visible to birds;
``(iii) patterns on glass designed in
accordance with a rule that restricts
horizontal spaces to less than 2 inches high
and vertical spaces to less than 4 inches wide,
commonly referred to as the `2 x 4 rule';
``(iv) opaque, etched, stained, frosted, or
translucent glass; or
``(v) any combination of the methods
described in this subparagraph.
``(2) At least 60 percent of the exposed facade material
above 40 feet shall meet the standard described in paragraph
(1)(A) or (1)(B).
``(3) There shall not be any transparent passageways or
corners.
``(4) All glass adjacent to atria or courtyards containing
water features, plants, and other materials attractive to birds
shall meet the standard described in paragraph (1)(B).
``(5) Outside lighting shall be appropriately shielded and
minimized subject to security and other mission related
requirements.
``(b) Monitoring.--The Administrator shall take such actions as may
be necessary to ensure that actual bird mortality is monitored at each
public building.
``(c) Existing Buildings and Lighting.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator, where practicable and
consistent with security and other mission related
requirements, as determined by the Administrator, shall reduce
exterior building and site lighting for each public building.
This paragraph shall not apply to buildings in which the
Administrator does not have control of the exterior building
and site lighting.
``(2) Use of automatic control technologies.--In carrying
out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make use of
automatic control technologies, including timers, photo-
sensors, and infrared and motion detectors.
``(d) Additional Methods.--In carrying out the requirements of this
section, the Administrator may employ any available methods and
strategies that are in accordance with existing effective best
practices to reduce bird mortality.
``(e) Exception for Significant Cost.--The requirements of this
section shall not apply to any acquisition or substantial alteration
described in subsection (a) if the Administrator, after consideration
of multiple options, determines that the use of the required building
materials and design features would result in a significant additional
cost for the project.
``(f) Exempt Buildings.--This section shall not apply to--
``(1) any building or site listed, or eligible for listing,
on the National Register of Historic Places;
``(2) the White House and its grounds;
``(3) the Supreme Court building and its grounds; or
``(4) the United States Capitol and its related buildings
and grounds.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is further amended by
adding at the end the following new item:
``3319. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features.''.
<all>