I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3895
To provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and measures with respect
to campus buildings, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 9, 2000
Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. HOLT, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr.
FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. FRELING-
HUYSEN, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. WYNN, and
Mr. ROTHMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce
A BILL
To provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and meas-
ures with respect to campus buildings, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FIRE SAFETY OF CAMPUS BUILD-
INGS.
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 sub-
paragraph (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 in-
stitution pursuant to subsection (h).’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(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
2001–2002, and each year thereafter, prepare, pub-
lish, and distribute, through appropriate publications
or mailings, to all current students and employees,
and to any applicant for enrollment or employment
upon request, 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 stu-
dent housing facility of the institution, and
whether or not that facility is equipped with a
fire sprinkler system or other fire safety sys-
tems, or both.
‘‘(B) Statistics concerning the occurrence
on campus, during the 2 preceding calendar
years for which data are available, of fires and
false fire alarms in student housing facilities.
‘‘(C) For each such occurrence, a state-
ment 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 es-
cape planning or protocols (as defined in local
fire codes), rules on portable electrical appli-
ances, smoking and open flames (such as can-
dles), regular mandatory supervised fire drills,
and planned and future improvement in fire
safety.
‘‘(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 periodic
reports to the campus community on fires and false
fire alarms that are reported to local fire depart-
ments in a manner that will aid the prevention of
similar occurrences.
‘‘(4) 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 sub-
mitted to the Secretary available to the public;
and
‘‘(C) in coordination with representatives
of institutions of higher education, identify ex-
emplary fire safety policies, procedures, and
practices and disseminate information con-
cerning those policies, procedures, and practices
that have proven effective in the reduction of
campus fires.
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the
term ‘campus’ has the meaning provided in sub-
section (f)(6).’’.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS BY SECRETARY OF EDU-
CATION.
Within one year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Education shall prepare and submit
to the Congress a report containing—
(1) an analysis of the current status of fire
safety systems in college and university facilities, in-
cluding sprinkler systems;
(2) an analysis of the appropriate fire safety
standards to apply to these facilities, which the Sec-
retary 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 non-
conforming dormitories and other campus buildings
up to current new building codes; and
(4) recommendations from the Secretary con-
cerning the best means of meeting fire safety stand-