II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1771 

To increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by requiring the use 

of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and pool and spa drainage systems, to educate the public about pool and spa safety, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11, 2007 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself, Mr. DODD, Mr. STEVENS, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WARNER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and 

pool and spa drainage systems, to educate the public 

about pool and spa safety, 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 ‘‘Virginia Graeme Baker 

5 Pool and Spa Safety Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Of injury-related deaths, drowning is the 

2 second leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 

3 14 in the United States. 

4 (2) In 2004, 761 children aged 14 and under 

5 died as a result of unintentional drowning. 

6 (3) Adult supervision at all aquatic venues is a 

7 critical safety factor in preventing children from 

8 drowning. 

9 (4) Research studies show that the installation 

10 and proper use of barriers or fencing, as well as ad11 ditional layers of protection, could substantially re12 duce the number of childhood residential swimming 

13 pool drownings and near drownings. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) ASME/ANSI.—The term ‘‘ASME/ANSI’’ 

17 as applied to a safety standard means such a stand18 ard that is accredited by the American National 

19 Standards Institute and published by the American 

20 Society of Mechanical Engineers. 

21 (2) BARRIER.—The term ‘‘barrier’’ includes a 

22 natural or constructed topographical feature that 

23 prevents unpermitted access by children to a swim24 ming pool, and, with respect to a hot tub, a lockable 

25 cover. 


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1 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

3 (4) MAIN DRAIN.—The term ‘‘main drain’’ 

4 means a submerged suction outlet typically located 

5 at the bottom of a pool or spa to conduct water to 

6 a re-circulating pump. 

7 (5) SAFETY VACUUM RELEASE SYSTEM.—The 

8 term ‘‘safety vacuum release system’’ means a vacu9 um release system capable of providing vacuum re10 lease at a suction outlet caused by a high vacuum 

11 occurrence due to a suction outlet flow blockage. 

12 (6) SWIMMING POOL; SPA.—The term ‘‘swim13 ming pool’’ or ‘‘spa’’ means any outdoor or indoor 

14 structure intended for swimming or recreational 

15 bathing, including in-ground and above-ground 

16 structures, and includes hot tubs, spas, portable 

17 spas, and non-portable wading pools. 

18 (7) UNBLOCKABLE DRAIN.—The term 

19 ‘‘unblockable drain’’ means a drain of any size and 

20 shape that a human body cannot sufficiently block 

21 to create a suction entrapment hazard. 

22 SEC. 4. FEDERAL SWIMMING POOL AND SPA DRAIN COVER 

23 STANDARD. 

24 (a) CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY RULE.—The re25 quirements described in subsection (b) shall be treated as 


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1 a consumer product safety rule issued by the Consumer 

2 Product Safety Commission under the Consumer Product 

3 Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.). 

4 (b) DRAIN COVER STANDARD.—Effective 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, each swimming 

6 pool or spa drain cover manufactured, distributed, or en7 tered into commerce in the United States shall conform 

8 to the entrapment protection standards of the ASME/ 

9 ANSI A112.19.8 performance standard, or any successor 

10 standard regulating such swimming pool or drain cover. 

11 SEC. 5. STATE SWIMMING POOL SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap13 propriations authorized by subsection (e), the Commission 

14 shall establish a grant program to provide assistance to 

15 eligible States. 

16 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 

17 the program, a State shall— 

18 (1) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Com19 mission that it has a State statute, or that, after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, it has enacted a stat21 ute, or amended an existing statute, and provides for 

22 the enforcement of, a law that— 

23 (A) except as provided in section 

24 6(a)(1)(A)(i), applies to all swimming pools in 

25 the State; and 


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1 (B) meets the minimum State law require2 ments of section 6; and 

3 (2) submit an application to the Commission at 

4 such time, in such form, and containing such addi5 tional information as the Commission may require. 

6 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Commission shall de7 termine the amount of a grant awarded under this Act, 

8 and shall consider— 

9 (1) the population and relative enforcement 

10 needs of each qualifying State; and 

11 (2) allocation of grant funds in a manner de12 signed to provide the maximum benefit from the 

13 program in terms of protecting children from drown14 ing or entrapment, and, in making that allocation, 

15 shall give priority to States that have not received 

16 a grant under this Act in a preceding fiscal year. 

17 (d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A State receiving a 

18 grant under this section shall use— 

19 (1) at least 50 percent of amounts made avail20 able to hire and train enforcement personnel for im21 plementation and enforcement of standards under 

22 the State swimming pool and spa safety law; and 

23 (2) the remainder— 


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1 (A) to educate pool construction and in2 stallation companies and pool service companies 

3 about the standards; 

4 (B) to educate pool owners, pool operators, 

5 and other members of the public about the 

6 standards under the swimming pool and spa 

7 safety law and about the prevention of drown8 ing or entrapment of children using swimming 

9 pools and spas; and 

10 (C) to defray administrative costs associ11 ated with such training and education pro12 grams. 

13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

15 each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 $2,000,000 to carry 

16 out this section, such sums to remain available until ex17 pended. 

18 SEC. 6. MINIMUM STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (1) SAFETY STANDARDS.—A State meets the 

21 minimum State law requirements of this section if— 

22 (A) the State requires by statute— 

23 (i) the enclosure of all residential 

24 pools and spas by barriers to entry that 

25 will effectively prevent small children from 


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1 gaining unsupervised and unfettered access 

2 to the pool or spa; 

3 (ii) that all pools and spas be 

4 equipped with devices and systems de5 signed to prevent entrapment by pool or 

6 spa drains; 

7 (iii) that pools and spas built more 

8 than 1 year after the date of the enact9 ment of such statute have— 

10 (I) more than 1 drain; 

11 (II) 1 or more unblockable 

12 drains; or 

13 (III) no main drain; and 

14 (iv) every swimming pool and spa that 

15 has a main drain, other than an 

16 unblockable drain, be equipped with a 

17 drain cover that meets the consumer prod18 uct safety standard established by section 

19 4; and 

20 (B) the State meets such additional State 

21 law requirements for pools and spas as the 

22 Commission may establish after public notice 

23 and a 30-day public comment period. 

24 (2) USE OF MINIMUM STATE LAW REQUIRE25 MENTS.—The Commission— 


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1 (A) shall use the minimum State law re2 quirements under paragraph (1) solely for the 

3 purpose of determining the eligibility of a State 

4 for a grant under section 5 of this Act; and 

5 (B) may not enforce any requirement 

6 under paragraph (1) except for the purpose of 

7 determining the eligibility of a State for a grant 

8 under section 5 of this Act. 

9 (3) REQUIREMENTS TO REFLECT NATIONAL

10 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND COMMISSION

11 GUIDELINES.—In establishing minimum State law 

12 requirements under paragraph (1), the Commission 

13 shall— 

14 (A) consider current or revised national 

15 performance standards on pool and spa barrier 

16 protection and entrapment prevention; and 

17 (B) ensure that any such requirements are 

18 consistent with the guidelines contained in the 

19 Commission’s publication 362, entitled ‘‘Safety 

20 Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools’’, the Com21 mission’s publication entitled ‘‘Guidelines for 

22 Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas 

23 Safer’’, and any other pool safety guidelines es24 tablished by the Commission. 


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1 (b) STANDARDS.—Nothing in this section prevents 

2 the Commission from promulgating standards regulating 

3 pool and spa safety or from relying on an applicable na4 tional performance standard. 

5 (c) BASIC ACCESS-RELATED SAFETY DEVICES AND

6 EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In 

7 establishing minimum State law requirements for swim8 ming pools and spas under subsection (a)(1), the Commis9 sion shall consider the following requirements: 

10 (1) COVERS.—A safety pool cover. 

11 (2) GATES.—A gate with direct access to the 

12 swimming pool that is equipped with a self-closing, 

13 self-latching device. 

14 (3) DOORS.—Any door with direct access to the 

15 swimming pool that is equipped with an audible alert 

16 device or alarm which sounds when the door is 

17 opened. 

18 (4) POOL ALARM.—A device designed to provide 

19 rapid detection of an entry into the water of a swim20 ming pool or spa. 

21 (d) ENTRAPMENT, ENTANGLEMENT, AND EVISCERA22 TION PREVENTION STANDARDS TO BE REQUIRED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing additional 

24 minimum State law requirements for swimming 

25 pools and spas under subsection (a)(1), the CommisVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:19 Jul 13, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1771.IS S1771

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1 sion shall require, at a minimum, 1 or more of the 

2 following (except for pools constructed without a sin3 gle main drain): 

4 (A) SAFETY VACUUM RELEASE SYSTEM.— 

5 A safety vacuum release system which ceases 

6 operation of the pump, reverses the circulation 

7 flow, or otherwise provides a vacuum release at 

8 a suction outlet when a blockage is detected, 

9 that has been tested by an independent third 

10 party and found to conform to ASME/ANSI 

11 standard A112.19.17 or ASTM standard 

12 F2387. 

13 (B) SUCTION-LIMITING VENT SYSTEM.—A 

14 suction-limiting vent system with a tamper-re15 sistant atmospheric opening. 

16 (C) GRAVITY DRAINAGE SYSTEM.—A grav17 ity drainage system that utilizes a collector 

18 tank. 

19 (D) AUTOMATIC PUMP SHUT-OFF SYS20 TEM.—An automatic pump shut-off system. 

21 (E) DRAIN DISABLEMENT.—A device or 

22 system that disables the drain. 

23 (F) OTHER SYSTEMS.—Any other system 

24 determined by the Commission to be equally ef25 fective as, or better than, the systems described 


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1 in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this para2 graph at preventing or eliminating the risk of 

3 injury or death associated with pool drainage 

4 systems. 

5 (2) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—Any device or 

6 system described in subparagraphs (B) through (E) 

7 of paragraph (1) shall meet the requirements of any 

8 ASME/ANSI or ASTM performance standard if 

9 there is such a standard for such a device or system, 

10 or any applicable consumer product safety standard. 

11 SEC. 7. EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish 

13 and carry out an education program to inform the public 

14 of methods to prevent drowning and entrapment in swim15 ming pools and spas. In carrying out the program, the 

16 Commission shall develop— 

17 (1) educational materials designed for pool 

18 manufacturers, pool service companies, and pool 

19 supply retail outlets; 

20 (2) educational materials designed for pool own21 ers and operators; and 

22 (3) a national media campaign to promote 

23 awareness of pool and spa safety. 

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 


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1 each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 $5,000,000 

2 to carry out the education program authorized by sub3 section (a). 

4 SEC. 8. CPSC REPORT. 

5 Not later than 1 year after the last day of each fiscal 

6 year for which grants are made under section 5, the Com7 mission shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the 

8 effectiveness of the grant program authorized by that sec9 tion. 

Æ 


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