Directs the Secretary to: (1) review such statistics; (2) make copies available to the public; (3) 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; and (4) report to Congress analyses of the current status of fire safety systems in college and university facilities, and of the appropriate fire safety standards to apply to these facilities, as well as cost estimates and recommendations.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 773 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 773
To provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and measures with
respect to campus buildings, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 25, 2001
Mr. Torricelli (for himself and Mr. Corzine) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
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''.
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS AND MEASURES WITH RESPECT
TO 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) Fire safety reports required.--Each eligible
institution participating in any program under this title
shall, beginning in academic year 2002-2003, and each academic
year thereafter, prepare, publish, and distribute, through
appropriate publications, including the Internet, or mailings,
to all current students and employees, and upon request to any
applicant for enrollment or employment, 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 each
such facility is equipped with a fire sprinkler system
or another equally protective fire safety system.
``(B) Statistics concerning the occurrence on
campus, during the 2 preceding academic years for which
data are available, of fires and false fire alarms.
``(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, 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 (5); and
``(ii) a statement concerning whether and
how the institution works with recognized
student fraternities and sororities to make
buildings and property owned or controlled by
such fraternities or sororities more fire safe.
``(2) 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.
``(3) Reports.--Each institution participating in any
program under this title shall make timely reports to the
campus community on fires that are reported to local fire
departments and the incidence of false fire alarms on campus.
Such reports shall be provided to students and employees in a
manner that is timely and that will aid in the prevention of
similar occurrences.
``(4) Logs.--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.
``(5) 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.
``(6) 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 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.
``(7) Definition of campus.--In this subsection, the term
`campus' means--
``(A) any building or property owned or controlled
by an institution of higher education within the same
reasonably contiguous geographic area of the
institution and used by the institution in direct
support of, or in a manner related to, the
institution's educational purposes, including residence
halls; and
``(B) property within the same reasonably
contiguous geographic area of the institution that is
owned by the institution but controlled by another
person, is used by students, and supports institutional
purposes (such as a food or other retail vendor).''.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS BY SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Education shall prepare and submit to 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 or life safety codes; and
(4) recommendations from the Secretary concerning the best
means of meeting fire safety standards in all college and
university facilities, including recommendations for methods to
fund such cost.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3924)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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