I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2451
To require recreational camps to report information concerning deaths and
certain injuries and illnesses to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, to direct the Secretary to collect the information in a central
data system, to establish a President’s Advisory Council on Recreational
Camps, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 10, 2001
Mr. SHAYS (for himself Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr.
PASCRELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To require recreational camps to report information con-
cerning deaths and certain injuries and illnesses to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, to direct the
Secretary to collect the information in a central data
system, to establish a President’s Advisory Council on
Recreational Camps, 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 ‘‘Recreational Camp
Safety Act’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) CAMPER.—The term ‘‘camper’’ means an
individual who is attending a recreational camp
and—
(A) is less than 18 years of age; or
(B) is an individual with special needs.
(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the
President’s Advisory Council on Recreational Camps
established by section 201.
(3) DAY CAMP.—The term ‘‘day camp’’ means
a camp that is operated on a permanent campsite
for less than 24 hours a day and for at least 5 days
during a 2-week period, but does not include—
(A) a swimming facility operated by a pub-
lic agency or a private organization on a mem-
bership basis, to the extent that the facility is
not used as part of a recreational camp;
(B) a day care center, to the extent that
the center is not used as part of a recreational
camp; or
(C) a playground or other recreational fa-
cility provided for neighborhood use by a local
public agency.
(4) INDIVIDUAL
WITH
SPECIAL
NEEDS.—The
term ‘‘individual with special needs’’ means an indi-
vidual who has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more of the individual’s
major life activities.
(5) MEDICAL
INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘medical
incident’’ means—
(A) a death of a camper, staff member,
recreational camp operator, or recreational
camp director; or
(B) an injury or illness of such an indi-
vidual that—
(i) is treated by a physician or nurse;
and
(ii) results in the affected individual—
(I) returning to the individual’s
permanent residence from a residen-
tial camp;
(II) being admitted to a hospital;
or
(III) having a laboratory analysis
or X-ray performed that results in a
positive diagnosis.
(6) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘‘nonprofit’’, when
used with respect to a person, means a person—
(A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
501(c)); and
(B) exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code (26 U.S.C. 501(a)).
(7) PERMANENT
CAMPSITE.—The term ‘‘per-
manent campsite’’ means a premises that is continu-
ously or periodically used for camping purposes by
a recreational camp operator.
(8) RECREATIONAL
CAMP.—The term ‘‘rec-
reational camp’’ means a day camp, residential
camp, travel camp, or trip camp located on private
or public land that—
(A) is conducted for 10 or more campers;
(B) offers recreational camp activities that
are conducted under the auspices of a rec-
reational camp operator or recreational camp
director; and
(C) is owned or operated by a recreational
camp operator.
(9) RECREATIONAL
CAMP
ACTIVITIES.—The
term ‘‘recreational camp activities’’ includes swim-
ming, diving, boating, lifesaving, canoeing, sailing,
skindiving, archery, riflery, horseback riding, hiking,
tennis, mountain climbing, other sports and ath-
letics, campcraft, and nature study activities.
(10) RECREATIONAL
CAMP
DIRECTOR.—The
term ‘‘recreational camp director’’ means the indi-
vidual on the premises of a recreational camp who
has the primary responsibility for the administration
of program operations and support services for the
camp and for the supervision of the staff members
of the camp.
(11) RECREATIONAL
CAMP
OPERATOR.—The
term ‘‘recreational camp operator’’ means a person
or governmental agency who owns or operates a rec-
reational camp, regardless of whether the camp is
nonprofit.
(12) RESIDENTIAL CAMP.—The term ‘‘residen-
tial camp’’ means a camp that is operated on a per-
manent campsite 24 hours a day for 4 or more days
during a 2-week period.
(13) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(14) 
SEXUAL
ABUSE.—The 
term 
‘‘sexual
abuse’’ has the meaning given such term in section
226(c) of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
13031).
(15) STAFF MEMBER.—The term ‘‘staff mem-
ber’’ means an individual who is employed by a rec-
reational camp operator to supervise, direct, or con-
trol recreational camp activities, regardless of wheth-
er the individual is compensated for the individual’s
services.
(16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of
the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir-
gin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
Guam, and American Samoa.
(17) TRAVEL CAMP.—The term ‘‘travel camp’’
means a camp that is operated 24 hours a day over
a period of 2 or more days during a 2-week period
and that uses motorized transportation to move
campers as a group from one site to another.
(18) TRIP
CAMP.—The term ‘‘trip camp’’
means a camp that is operated 24 hours a day over
a period of 2 or more days during a 2-week period
and that moves campers under their own power or
by a transportation mode permitting individual guid-
ance of a vehicle or animal from one site to another.
TITLE I—RECREATIONAL CAMP
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
AND DATA BASE
SEC. 101. RECREATIONAL CAMP REPORTING REQUIRE-
MENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A recreational camp in a State
shall report to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services—
(1) each medical incident that occurs at the
camp; and
(2) each incident of sexual abuse that—
(A) is alleged to have occurred at the
camp;
(B) is alleged to involve a camper or staff
member as a victim; and
(C) has previously been reported to an-
other governmental agency.
(b) REPORTING OFFICIALS.—The recreational camp
director or recreational camp operator of the camp in-
volved shall make the report required under subsection
(a).
(c) TIMING.—
(1) REPORT OF MEDICAL INCIDENT.—A med-
ical incident shall be reported to the Secretary with-
in the 7-day period beginning on the date of the oc-
currence of an event described in subparagraph (A),
or subclause (I), (II), or (III) of subparagraph
(B)(ii), of section 2(5).
(2) REPORT OF SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATION.—
An allegation of sexual abuse shall be reported to
the Secretary within the 7-day period beginning on
the first date that the allegation is reported to a
governmental agency.
(d) METHODS OF REPORTING.—
(1) OBLIGATIONS
OF
CAMP.—The report re-
quired in subsection (a) shall be made by—
(A) verbally reporting to the Secretary,
through a toll-free, long-distance telephone line
provided by the Secretary, the information con-
cerning the incident that the Secretary may re-
quest; or
(B) mailing to the Secretary a written re-
port concerning the incident on a form pre-
scribed by the Secretary.
(2) OBLIGATIONS
OF
SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall—
(A) establish the telephone line referred to
in paragraph (1)(A) and publish information on
access to the line in a manner that, to the ex-
latures, a report setting forth a comprehensive analysis of
the information reported under section 101 during the
year.
(c) ADVISORIES.—The Secretary shall evaluate on an
ongoing basis whether the incidents reported under section
101 could have been prevented through increased over-
sight or regulation of recreational camps or increased en-
forcement of laws applicable to recreational camps. At the
discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may issue
advisories to States that will assist them in the prevention
of deaths, injuries, and illnesses at recreational camps.
SEC. 103. RECREATIONAL CAMP MEDICAL LOG.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) INCIDENTS
RECORDED.—A recreational
camp shall record in a medical log information
concerning—
(A) an incident that is required to be re-
ported under section 101; and
(B) other illnesses and injuries that occur
at the camp that the Secretary may prescribe
by regulation.
(2) INFORMATION RECORDED.—A medical log
required under paragraph (1) shall specify—
(A) whether a death, illness, injury, or alle-
gation of sexual abuse involves a camper, staff
member, recreational camp operator, or rec-
reational camp director;
(B) the cause and nature of the death, ill-
ness, injury, or allegation of sexual abuse, to
the greatest extent practicable; and
(C) any other information that the Sec-
retary may prescribe by regulation.
(b) RECORDING OFFICERS.—The recreational camp
operator of the camp involved or such person’s delegate
shall record the information referred to in subsection (a).
(c) TIMING OF RECORDING.—The recording of the
information referred to in subsection (a) shall take place
pursuant to deadlines that the Secretary shall prescribe
by regulation.
(d) MAINTENANCE
AT CAMP.—A medical log re-
quired in subsection (a) shall remain at a recreational
camp during the hours of operation of the camp, except
the log may be removed for purposes of—
(1) transporting it to a physician, nurse, or
medical facility in the event of an emergency; or
(2) examination by the Secretary.
(e) RETENTION OF ENTRIES.—A recreational camp
may dispose of a portion of a medical log required in sub-
section (a) that contains only entries made in the log more
than 2 years before the date of disposal.
(f) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall have access, for the
purpose of examination, to a medical log required in sub-
section (a). A State agency that has legal responsibility
for public health under the law of the State in which a
recreational camp is located shall also have access, for the
purpose of examination, to the medical log of the camp.
SEC. 104. ENFORCEMENT OF REPORTING AND RECORDING
REQUIREMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If a recreational camp in a State
fails to comply with a requirement imposed on it by this
title, the Secretary shall advise of such failure—
(1) each State agency that has legal responsi-
bility for public health under the law of the State;
and
(2) each State agency that issues a license to
the camp.
(b) OTHER ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS.—Not later
than the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub-
mit to the Congress recommendations concerning any ad-
ditional enforcement mechanisms the Secretary deter-
mines are necessary to enforce the provisions of this title,
including civil money penalties.
SEC. 105. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
(b), the provisions of this title shall take effect one year
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.—Sec-
tions 101(d)(2), 102(b), and 104(b) shall take effect on
the enactment of this Act.
TITLE 
II—PRESIDENT’S 
ADVI-
SORY 
COUNCIL 
ON 
REC-
REATIONAL CAMPS
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is established a council to be known as the
President’s Advisory Council on Recreational Camps.
SEC. 202. DUTIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall develop model
safety guidelines for recreational camps.
(b) SPECIFIC ISSUES.—In fulfilling the duty de-
scribed in subsection (a), the Council shall consider—
(1) qualifications for recreational camp direc-
tors, staff members, and health personnel;
(2) appropriate ratios of campers to staff mem-
bers;
(3) fire and lightening safety;
(4) housing and plumbing construction;
(5) waterfront safety;
(6) written fire and safety plans;
(7) special supervision and equipment for high-
risk activities such as aquatics, riflery, archery, and
horseback riding; and
(8) special requirements for individuals with
special needs.
(c) STATE LAWS.—The Council shall study the laws
and guidelines of States concerning camp safety.
(d) NEED FOR FEDERAL LAW.—The Council shall
consider whether and by what means States could be en-
couraged to adopt the model safety guidelines developed
by the Council, including consideration of financial incen-
tives. The Council shall formulate a recommendation con-
cerning whether the guidelines should be incorporated in
Federal law.
SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Council shall
be composed of 9 members appointed by the President.
The Council shall consist of the following members:
(1) One individual from the general public who
has a special interest in recreational camps.
(2) One individual from a private nonprofit or-
ganization that operates a recreational camp for in-
dividuals with special needs.
(3) One individual from an organization that
has a special interest in safety.
(4) 2 recreational camp operators from non-
profit recreational camps.
(5) 2 recreational camp operators from rec-
reational camps that are not nonprofit.
(6) 2 State officials who exercise responsibility
for recreational camp safety in their respective
States.
(b) CONTINUATION
OF MEMBERSHIP.—Any indi-
vidual appointed under subsection (a) who ceases to fulfill
the requirements contained in the paragraph under which
such individual was appointed because of a change in such
individual’s status may continue as a member of the Coun-
cil for not longer than the 30-day period beginning on the
date of such change in status.
(c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the
life of the Council.
(d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Council shall be
filled not later than 30 days after the date of the creation
of the vacancy in the manner in which the original ap-
pointment was made.
(e) COMPENSATION.—
(1) RATES
OF
PAY.—Except as provided in
paragraph (2), members of the Council shall serve
without pay.