103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1727
AN ACT
To establish a program of grants to States for
arson research, prevention, and control, and for
other purposes.
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1727
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arson Prevention Act
of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) arson is a serious and costly problem in
both rural and urban areas, 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
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 in-
vestigation and prosecution of arson cases;
(7) according to the National Fire Protection
Association, of all the suspicious and incendiary fires
estimated to occur, only one-third 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
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 adding after section 24 the following new
section:
‘‘ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS
‘‘SEC. 25. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator,
through the Office, shall carry out a demonstration pro-
gram of grant awards, not to exceed 10 in number, to
States, or consortia thereof, for programs relating to arson
research, prevention, and control. In carrying out the re-
quirements of this section, the Administrator shall award
2-year grants on a competitive, merit basis to States for
projects which have 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-
rangements involving police and fire departments
and other relevant local agencies such as State arson
bureaus and the State fire marshal’s office.
‘‘(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 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) 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-
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 do-
mestic 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
academies; and
‘‘(B) innovative courses developed with the
National Fire Academy and made available to
volunteer firefighters through regional delivery
methods, including teleconferencing and sat-
ellite delivered television programs.
‘‘(b) GOALS
TO
BE
REFLECTED
IN
GRANT
AWARDS.—The Administrator shall ensure that each goal
described in subsection (a) is embodied within one or more
grant awards.
‘‘(c) STATE QUALIFICATION CRITERIA.—In order to
qualify for a grant under this section, a State or consor-
tium thereof shall provide assurances adequate to the Ad-
ministrator that it—
‘‘(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 its prior level of spending of funds 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.
‘‘(d) EXTENSION.—Grants awarded under this sec-
tion may be extended for additional periods, at the discre-
tion of the Administrator, subject to the availability of ap-
propriations.
‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Office shall pro-
vide technical assistance to States in carrying out pro-
grams funded by grants under this section.
‘‘(f) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.—In carry-
ing out the requirements of 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 other Federal agencies con-
cerned with arson and concerned with efforts to develop
a more comprehensive profile of the magnitude of the na-
tional arson problem.
‘‘(g) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall, not
later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this
section, submit a report to the Congress identifying grants
made, specifying the identity of grantees, stating the goals
of each grant, and containing a preliminary assessment
of the effectiveness of the grants program under this
section.
‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—Within 180 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall issue
regulations to implement this section, which shall establish
procedures for grant applications.
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘arson’ includes all incendiary
and suspicious fires; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘Office’ means the Office of Fire
Prevention and Arson Control of the United States
Fire Administration.
‘‘(j) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator shall di-
rectly administer the grants program required by this sec-
tion, and shall not enter into any contract under which
the grants program or any portion thereof will be adminis-
tered by another party.
‘‘(k) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN MADE EQUIPMENT
AND PRODUCTS.—
‘‘(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
Congress that any recipient of a grant under this
section should purchase, when available and cost-ef-
fective, American made equipment and products
when expending grant monies.
‘‘(2) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—
In allocating grants under this section, the Adminis-
trator shall provide to each recipient a notice de-
scribing the statement made in paragraph (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 ‘‘, with particular emphasis on the needs of
volunteer firefighters for improved and more widely avail-
able arson training courses’’ after ‘‘detection, and con-
trol’’.
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
government under section 25 unless such government has
a policy to actively promote the training of its firefighters
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.’’.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad-
ministrator of the United States Fire Administration—
(1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1994 for basic re-
search on the development of an advanced course on
arson prevention;
(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 for the ex-
pansion of arson investigator training programs at
the National Fire Academy under section 24 of the
Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, at
the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and
at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy, or
through regional delivery sites;
(3) $4,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994
and 1995 for carrying out section 25 of the Federal
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974; and
(4) $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994
and 1995 for salaries and expenses for carrying out
such section 25.
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no
funds are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year
after fiscal year 1995 for carrying out the programs for
which funds are authorized by this Act, or the amend-
ments made by this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives July 26, 1993.
Attest:
Clerk.