I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1986 
To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of General 
Services to incorporate practices and strategies to reduce bird fatality 
resulting from collisions with certain public buildings, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2021 
Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself and Mr. GRIFFITH) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Admin-
istrator of General Services to incorporate practices and 
strategies to reduce bird fatality resulting from collisions 
with certain public 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 ‘‘Federal Bird Safe 
Buildings Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. USE OF BIRD-SAFE FEATURES, PRACTICES, AND 
STRATEGIES IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 40, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 3319. Use of bird-safe features, practices, and strat-
egies in public buildings 
‘‘(a) CONSTRUCTION, ALTERATION, AND ACQUISI-
TION OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS.—The Administrator of Gen-
eral Services shall incorporate, to the extent practicable, 
features, practices, and strategies to reduce bird fatality 
resulting from collisions with public buildings for each 
public building— 
‘‘(1) constructed; 
‘‘(2) acquired; or 
‘‘(3) of which more than 50 percent of the fa-
cade is substantially altered (in the opinion of the 
Commissioner of Public Buildings). 
‘‘(b) DESIGN GUIDE.—The Administrator shall de-
velop a design guide to carry out subsection (a) that in-
cludes the following: 
‘‘(1) Features for reducing bird fatality result-
ing from collisions with public buildings throughout 
all construction phases, taking into account the 
number of each such bird fatality that occurs at dif-
ferent types of public buildings. 
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‘‘(2) Methods and strategies for reducing bird 
fatality resulting from collisions with public build-
ings during the operation and maintenance of such 
buildings, including installing interior, exterior, and 
site lighting. 
‘‘(3) Best practices for reducing bird fatality re-
sulting from collisions with public buildings, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) a description of the reasons for 
adopting such practices; and 
‘‘(B) an explanation for the omission of a 
best practice identified pursuant to subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(c) IDENTIFYING BEST PRACTICES.—To carry out 
subsection (b)(3), the Administrator may identify best 
practices for reducing bird fatality resulting from colli-
sions with public buildings, including best practices rec-
ommended by— 
‘‘(1) Federal agencies with expertise in bird 
conservation; 
‘‘(2) nongovernmental organizations with exper-
tise in bird conservation; and 
‘‘(3) representatives of green building certifi-
cation systems. 
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‘‘(d) DISSEMINATION OF DESIGN GUIDE.—The Ad-
ministrator shall disseminate the design guide developed 
pursuant to subsection (b) to all Federal agencies, sub-
agencies, and departments with independent leasing au-
thority from the Administrator. 
‘‘(e) UPDATE
TO DESIGN GUIDE.—The Adminis-
trator shall, on a regular basis, update the design guide 
developed pursuant to subsection (b) with respect to the 
priorities of the Administrator for reducing bird fatality 
resulting from collisions with public buildings. 
‘‘(f) EXEMPT BUILDINGS.—This section shall not 
apply to— 
‘‘(1) any building or site listed, or eligible for 
listing, on the National Register of Historic Places; 
‘‘(2) the White House and the grounds of the 
White House; 
‘‘(3) the Supreme Court building and the 
grounds of the Supreme Court; or 
‘‘(4) the United States Capitol and any building 
on the grounds of the Capitol. 
‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than October 1 of 
each fiscal year, the Administrator, acting through the 
Commissioner, shall certify to Congress that the Adminis-
trator uses the design guide developed pursuant to sub-
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section (b) for each public building described in subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(h) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of each fis-
cal year, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a re-
port that includes— 
‘‘(1) the certification under subsection (g); and 
‘‘(2) to the extent practicable, the number of 
each such bird fatality that occurred as a result of 
a collision with the public buildings occupied by the 
respective head of each Federal agency.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 33 of title 40, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘3319. Use of bird-safe features, practices, and strategies in public buildings.’’. 
Æ 
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