H. R. 1727
One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four
An Act
To establish a program of grants to states for arson research, prevention, and
control, 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 ‘‘Arson Prevention Act of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) arson is a serious and costly problem, and is responsible
for approximately 25 percent of all fires in the United States;
(2) arson is a leading cause of fire deaths, accounting
for approximately 700 deaths annually in the United States,
and is the leading cause of property damage due to fire in
the United States;
(3) estimates of arson property losses are in the range
of $2,000,000,000 annually, or approximately 1 of every 4 dol-
lars lost to fire;
(4) the incidence of arson in the United States is seriously
underreported, in part because of the lack of adequate participa-
tion by local jurisdictions in the National Fire Incident Report-
ing System (NFIRS) and the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
program;
(5) there is a need for expanded training programs for
arson investigators;
(6) there is a need for improved programs designed to
enable volunteer firefighters to detect arson crimes and to
preserve evidence vital to the investigation and prosecution
of arson cases;
(7) according to the National Fire Protection Association,
of all the suspicious and incendiary fires estimated to occur,
only 1⁄3 are confirmed as arson; and
(8) improved training of arson investigators will increase
the ability of fire departments to identify suspicious and incen-
diary fires, and will result in increased and more effective
prosecution of arson offenses.
SEC. 3. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.
The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is
amended by inserting after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2220) the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 25. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
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‘‘(1) ARSON.—The term ‘arson’ includes all incendiary and
suspicious fires.
‘‘(2) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Office of Fire
Prevention and Arson Control of the United States Fire
Administration.
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Administrator, acting through the Office,
shall carry out a demonstration program under which not more
than 10 grant awards shall be made to States, or consortia of
States, for programs relating to arson research, prevention, and
control.
‘‘(c) GOALS.—In carrying out this section, the Administrator
shall award 2-year grants on a competitive, merit basis to States,
or consortia of States, for projects that promote one or more of
the following goals:
‘‘(1) To improve the training by States leading to profes-
sional certification of arson investigators, in accordance with
nationally recognized certification standards.
‘‘(2) To provide resources for the formation of arson task
forces or interagency organizational arrangements involving
police and fire departments and other relevant local agencies,
such as a State arson bureau and the office of a fire marshal
of a State.
‘‘(3) To combat fraud as a cause of arson and to advance
research at the State and local levels on the significance and
prevention of fraud as a motive for setting fires.
‘‘(4) To provide for the management of arson squads,
including—
‘‘(A) training courses for fire departments in arson
case management, including standardization of investiga-
tive techniques and reporting methodology;
‘‘(B) the preparation of arson unit management guides;
and
‘‘(C) the development and dissemination of new public
education materials relating to the arson problem.
‘‘(5) To combat civil unrest as a cause of arson and to
advance research at the State and local levels on the prevention
and control of arson linked to urban disorders.
‘‘(6) To combat juvenile arson, such as juvenile fire-setter
counseling programs and similar intervention programs, and
to advance research at the State and local levels on the preven-
tion of juvenile arson.
‘‘(7) To combat drug-related arson and to advance research
at the State and local levels on the causes and prevention
of drug-related arson.
‘‘(8) To combat domestic violence as a cause of arson and
to advance research at the State and local levels on the preven-
tion of arson arising from domestic violence.
‘‘(9) To combat arson in rural areas and to improve the
capability of firefighters to identify and prevent arson initiated
fires in rural areas and public forests.
‘‘(10) To improve the capability of firefighters to identify
and combat arson through expanded training programs,
including—
‘‘(A) training courses at the State fire academies; and
‘‘(B) innovative courses developed with the Academy
and made available to volunteer firefighters through
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regional delivery methods, including teleconferencing and
satellite delivered television programs.
‘‘(d) STRUCTURING OF APPLICATIONS.—The Administrator shall
assist grant applicants in structuring their applications so as to
ensure that at least one grant is awarded for each goal described
in subsection (c).
‘‘(e) STATE QUALIFICATION CRITERIA.—In order to qualify for
a grant under this section, a State, or consortium of States, shall
provide assurances adequate to the Administrator that the State
or consortium—
‘‘(1) will obtain at least 25 percent of the cost of programs
funded by the grant, in cash or in kind, from non-Federal
sources;
‘‘(2) will not as a result of receiving the grant decrease
the prior level of spending of funds of the State or consortium
from non-Federal sources for arson research, prevention, and
control programs;
‘‘(3) will use no more than 10 percent of funds provided
under the grant for administrative costs of the programs; and
‘‘(4) is making efforts to ensure that all local jurisdictions
will provide arson data to the National Fire Incident Reporting
System or the Uniform Crime Reporting program.
‘‘(f) EXTENSION.—A grant awarded under this section may be
extended for one or more additional periods, at the discretion of
the Administrator, subject to the availability of appropriations.
‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall provide
technical assistance to States in carrying out programs funded
by grants under this section.
‘‘(h) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.—In carrying out this
section, the Administrator shall consult and cooperate with other
Federal agencies to enhance program effectiveness and avoid
duplication of effort, including the conduct of regular meetings
initiated by the Administrator with representatives of other Federal
agencies concerned with arson and concerned with efforts to develop
a more comprehensive profile of the magnitude of the national
arson problem.
‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall submit
a report to Congress that—
‘‘(1) identifies grants made under this section;
‘‘(2) specifies the identity of grantees;
‘‘(3) states the goals of each grant; and
‘‘(4) contains a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness
of the grant program under this section.
‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall issue regula-
tions to implement this section, including procedures for grant
applications.
‘‘(k) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator shall directly admin-
ister the grant program required by this section, and shall not
enter into any contract under which the grant program or any
portion of the program will be administered by another party.
‘‘(l) PURCHASE
OF AMERICAN MADE EQUIPMENT
AND PROD-
UCTS.—
‘‘(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that
any recipient of a grant under this section should purchase,
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when available and cost-effective, American made equipment
and products when expending grant monies.
‘‘(2) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—In allocating
grants under this section, the Administrator shall provide to
each recipient a notice describing the statement made in para-
graph (1) by the Congress.’’.
SEC. 4. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TRAINING.
Section 24(a)(2) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control
Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2220(a)(2)) is amended by inserting before
the semicolon the following: ‘‘, with particular emphasis on the
needs of volunteer firefighters for improved and more widely avail-
able arson training courses’’.
SEC. 5. CPR TRAINING.
The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 32. CPR TRAINING.
‘‘No funds shall be made available to a State or local govern-
ment under section 25 unless such government has a policy to
actively promote the training of its firefighters in cardiopulmonary
resuscitation.’’.
SEC. 6. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE HOUSING EXCEPTIONS.
Section 31(c)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control
Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2227(c)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘No Federal’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this
paragraph, no Federal’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
‘‘(C) Housing covered by this paragraph that does not have
an adequate and reliable electrical system shall not be subject
to the requirement under subparagraph (A) for protection by hard-
wired smoke detectors, but shall be protected by battery operated
smoke detectors.
‘‘(D) If funding has been programmed or designated for the
demolition of housing covered by this paragraph, such housing
shall not be subject to the fire protection requirements of sub-
paragraph (A), but shall be protected by battery operated smoke
detectors.’’.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 17 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act
of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(h) In addition to any other amounts that are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this Act, there are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this Act—
‘‘(1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1995 for basic research on
the development of an advanced course on arson prevention;
‘‘(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1996 for the expansion of
arson investigator training programs at the Academy under
section 24 and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Cen-
ter, or through regional delivery sites;
‘‘(3) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 and 1996
for carrying out section 25, except for salaries and expenses
for carrying out section 25; and
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‘‘(4) $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996
for salaries and expenses for carrying out section 25.’’.
SEC. 8. SUNSET.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no funds are
authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year after fiscal year
1996 for carrying out the programs for which funds are authorized
by this Act, or the amendments made by this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.