I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 592 
To provide for disclosure of fire safety standards and measures with respect 
to campus buildings, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 19, 2007 
Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. BORDALLO, 
Mr. GERLACH, Mr. HOLT, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. 
PAYNE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. 
HARE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. STUPAK, Ms. LEE, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. 
OLVER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Ms. SHEA- 
PORTER, and Mr. CLAY) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and Labor 
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 2007’’. 
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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) ANNUAL
FIRE
SAFETY
REPORTS
RE-
QUIRED.—Each eligible institution participating in 
any program under this title shall, beginning in the 
first academic year that begins after the date of en-
actment of the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know 
Act of 2007, and each year thereafter— 
‘‘(A) prepare, publish, and distribute, 
through appropriate publications (including the 
Internet) or mailings, to all current students 
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and employees, and to any applicant for enroll-
ment or employment upon request, an annual 
fire safety report, which shall contain informa-
tion with respect to the campus fire safety prac-
tices and standards of that institution, includ-
ing: 
‘‘(i) a statement that identifies each 
student housing facility owned or con-
trolled by the institution, and whether each 
such facility is equipped with a full fire 
sprinkler system or other fire safety sys-
tems, fire escape planning or protocols, or 
both; 
‘‘(ii) statistics for each student hous-
ing facility concerning the occurrence of 
fires and unwanted and false alarms in 
each such facility, during the 2 preceding 
calendar years for which data are avail-
able; 
‘‘(iii) for each such occurrence in fa-
cilities described in clauses (i) and (ii), a 
summary of the human injuries or deaths, 
structural and property damage, or com-
bination thereof; 
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‘‘(iv) information regarding rules on 
portable electrical appliances, smoking and 
open flames (such as candles), regular 
mandatory supervised fire drills, and 
planned and future improvements in fire 
safety; and 
‘‘(v) information about fire safety edu-
cation and training provided to students, 
faculty, and staff; and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Secretary a copy of the 
statistics required to be made available under 
subparagraph (A)(ii). 
‘‘(2) FRATERNITIES, SORORITIES, AND OTHER 
STUDENT GROUPS THAT OWN, CONTROL, OR OCCUPY 
HOUSING FACILITIES.— 
‘‘(A) REPORTS BY ORGANIZING BODIES.— 
Each institution participating in a program 
under this title shall, as a condition of recog-
nizing and permitting the operation of any fra-
ternity, sorority, or other student group that is 
recognized by the institution and that owns, 
controls, or occupies student housing facilities, 
require the national organizing body of such 
fraternity, sorority, or other student group, be-
ginning in the first academic year that begins 
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after the date of enactment of the Campus Fire 
Safety Right-to-Know Act of 2007, and each 
year thereafter— 
‘‘(i) to collect the information de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), for each 
building and property that contains stu-
dent housing facilities and that is owned, 
controlled, or occupied by the fraternity, 
sorority, or group, respectively; 
‘‘(ii) beginning in the first academic 
year that begins after the date of enact-
ment of the Campus Fire Safety Right-to- 
Know Act of 2007, and each year there-
after, to prepare, publish, and distribute, 
through appropriate publications (including 
the Internet) or mailings to all current 
members, and to any interested party upon 
request, an annual fire safety report in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (B) of this 
paragraph; and 
‘‘(iii) to submit to the Secretary a 
copy of the statistics described in para-
graph (1)(A)(ii) and required to be col-
lected under clause (i) of this subpara-
graph. 
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‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF ANNUAL REPORTS.— 
The annual fire safety reports required under 
subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph shall 
contain the following: 
‘‘(i) Information concerning fire safety 
at any student housing facilities owned or 
controlled by the recognized fraternity, so-
rority, or other student group required to 
be collected under subparagraph (A)(i) of 
this paragraph. 
‘‘(ii) A statement concerning whether 
and how the recognized fraternity, sorority, 
or other student group owning, controlling, 
or occupying student housing facilities 
works with hosting academic institutions to 
make buildings and property owned or con-
trolled by such fraternities, sororities, or 
student groups more fire safe. 
‘‘(3) CURRENT INFORMATION TO CAMPUS COM-
MUNITY.—Each institution participating in any pro-
gram under this title shall make, keep, and maintain 
a log, written in a form that can be easily under-
stood, recording all on-campus fires, including the 
nature, date, time, and general location of each fire 
and all unwanted and false fire alarms. All entries 
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that are required pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
except where disclosure of such information is pro-
hibited by law, be open to public inspection, and 
each such institution shall make annual reports to 
the campus community on such fires and unwanted 
and false fire alarms in a manner that will aid the 
prevention of similar occurrences. 
‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 
The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) review the statistics submitted under 
paragraph (1)(B) and paragraph (2)(A)(iii); 
‘‘(B) make such statistics submitted to the 
Secretary available to the public; and 
‘‘(C) in coordination with nationally recog-
nized fire organizations and representatives of 
institutions of higher education, identify exem-
plary fire safety policies, procedures, programs, 
and practices and disseminate information to 
the United States Fire Administrator and make 
available to the public information concerning 
those policies, procedures, programs, and prac-
tices that have proven effective in the reduction 
of campus fires. 
‘‘(5) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to authorize the 
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Secretary to require particular policies, procedures, 
programs, or practices by institutions of higher edu-
cation with respect to fire safety, other than with re-
spect to the collection, reporting, and dissemination 
of information required by this subsection. 
‘‘(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 two years 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 status of fire safety sys-
tems in college and university facilities, including 
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; 
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(3) an estimate of the cost of bringing all non-
conforming student housing facilities up to the 
building codes in effect at the time of the report; 
(4) recommendations from the Secretary con-
cerning the best means of meeting fire safety stand-
ards in all college and university facilities, including 
recommendations for methods to fund the cost de-
scribed in paragraph (3); and 
(5) examples of exemplary fire safety education 
and training programs at colleges and universities 
and recommendations for wide adoption of similar 
programs among institutions of higher education. 
Æ 
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