I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2280 

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 

MAY 12, 2015 

Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TONKO, Mr. 

CONNOLLY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. RANGEL, and Mr. CONYERS) 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Bird-Safe 

5 Buildings Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Nearly one-third of the 800 bird species in 

2 the United States are endangered, threatened, or in 

3 significant decline. 

4 (2) In the United States alone, an estimated 1 

5 billion birds die annually from striking buildings, 

6 bridges, and other manmade structures, with glass 

7 being one of the primary causes of the deaths. 

8 (3) Birds have a significant impact on the 

9 United States economy, as evidenced by United 

10 States Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that the 

11 47 million birdwatchers in the United States con12 tribute $40 billion annually to the Nation’s economy. 

13 (4) The General Services Administration is obli14 gated, under Executive Order 13186, to ‘‘support 

15 the conservation intent of the migratory bird conven16 tions by integrating bird conservation principles, 

17 measures, and practices into agency activities and by 

18 avoiding or minimizing, to the extent practicable, ad19 verse impacts on migratory bird resources when con20 ducting agency actions’’. 

21 SEC. 3. USE OF BIRD-SAFE BUILDING MATERIALS AND DE22 SIGN FEATURES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 40, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating sections 3314, 3315, and 

2 3316 as sections 3315, 3316, and 3317, respectively; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after section 3313 the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 3314. Use of bird-safe building materials and de7 sign features 

8 ‘‘(a) CONSTRUCTION, ALTERATION, AND ACQUISI9 TION OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS.—Each public building con10 structed, substantially altered, or acquired by the Admin11 istrator of General Services shall meet, to the maximum 

12 extent feasible, as determined by the Administrator, the 

13 following standards: 

14 ‘‘(1) At least 90 percent of the exposed facade 

15 material from ground level to 40 feet— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall not be composed of glass; or 

17 ‘‘(B) shall be composed of glass employ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(i) elements that preclude bird colli20 sions without completely obscuring vision, 

21 such as secondary facades, netting, 

22 screens, shutters, and exterior shades; 

23 ‘‘(ii) ultraviolet (UV) patterned glass 

24 that contains UV-reflective or contrasting 

25 patterns that are visible to birds; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) patterns on glass designed in ac2 cordance with a rule that restricts hori3 zontal spaces to less than 2 inches high 

4 and vertical spaces to less than 4 inches 

5 wide, commonly referred to as the ‘2 X 4 

6 rule’; 

7 ‘‘(iv) opaque, etched, stained, frosted, 

8 or translucent glass; or 

9 ‘‘(v) any combination of the methods 

10 described in this subparagraph. 

11 ‘‘(2) At least 60 percent of the exposed facade 

12 material above 40 feet shall meet the standard de13 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B). 

14 ‘‘(3) There shall not be any transparent pas15 sageways or corners. 

16 ‘‘(4) All glass adjacent to atria or courtyards 

17 containing water features, plants, and other mate18 rials attractive to birds shall meet the standard de19 scribed in paragraph (1)(B). 

20 ‘‘(5) Outside lighting shall be appropriately 

21 shielded and minimized. 

22 ‘‘(b) MONITORING.—The Administrator shall take 

23 such actions as may be necessary to ensure that actual 

24 bird mortality is monitored at each public building. 

25 ‘‘(c) EXISTING BUILDINGS AND LIGHTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, where 

2 practicable, as determined by the Administrator, 

3 shall reduce exterior building and site lighting for 

4 each public building. 

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL TECH6 NOLOGIES.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Ad7 ministrator shall make use of automatic control 

8 technologies, including timers, photo-sensors, and in9 frared and motion detectors. 

10 ‘‘(d) EXEMPT BUILDINGS.—This section shall not 

11 apply to— 

12 ‘‘(1) a historic building of national significance 

13 within the meaning of the Act of August 21, 1935 

14 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.; commonly known as the His15 toric Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act); 

16 ‘‘(2) the White House and its grounds; 

17 ‘‘(3) the Supreme Court building and its 

18 grounds; or 

19 ‘‘(4) the United States Capitol and its related 

20 buildings and grounds.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

22 chapter is amended by striking the items relating to sec23 tions 3314, 3315, and 3316 and inserting the following: 

‘‘3314. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features. 

‘‘3315. Delegation. 


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‘‘3316. Report to Congress. 

‘‘3317. Certain authority not affected.’’. 

Æ 


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