In the Senate of the United States,
November 22, 1993.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1727) entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a program of
grants to States for arson research, prevention, and control,
and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arson Prevention Act
of 1993’’.
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, ac-
counting for approximately 700 deaths annually in
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the United States, and is the leading cause of prop-
erty 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 dollars lost to fire;
(4) the incidence of arson in the United States
is seriously underreported, in part because of the lack
of adequate participation by local jurisdictions in the
National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)
and the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program;
(5) there is a need for expanded training pro-
grams for arson investigators;
(6) there is a need for improved programs de-
signed to enable volunteer firefighters to detect arson
crimes and to preserve evidence vital to the investiga-
tion and prosecution of arson cases;
(7) according to the National Fire Protection As-
sociation, 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 incendiary fires, and will result in in-
creased and more effective prosecution of arson
offenses.
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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:
‘‘(1) ARSON.—The term ‘arson’ includes all in-
cendiary 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 Admin-
istrator shall award 2-year grants on a competitive, merit
basis to States, or consortia of States, for projects that pro-
mote one or more of the following goals:
‘‘(1) To improve the training by States leading
to professional 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 ar-
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rangements 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 standard-
ization of investigative techniques and reporting
methodology;
‘‘(B) the preparation of arson unit manage-
ment 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 interven-
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tion programs, and to advance research at the State
and local levels on the prevention of juvenile arson.
‘‘(7) To combat drug-related arson and to ad-
vance 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 prevention of arson arising from domes-
tic violence.
‘‘(9) To combat arson in rural areas and to im-
prove the capability of firefighters to identify and
prevent arson initiated fires in rural areas and pub-
lic 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 acad-
emies; and
‘‘(B) innovative courses developed with the
Academy and made available to volunteer fire-
fighters through regional delivery methods, in-
cluding teleconferencing and satellite delivered
television programs.
‘‘(d) STRUCTURING OF APPLICATIONS.—The Adminis-
trator shall assist grant applicants in structuring their ap-
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plications 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 consor-
tium of States, shall provide assurances adequate to the Ad-
ministrator 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 ju-
risdictions 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.