Title: Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2017
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2017
This bill requires each public building constructed, substantially altered, or acquired by the General Services Administration (GSA) to meet the following standards:
GSA must: (1) ensure that actual bird mortality is monitored at each public building; and (2) reduce exterior building and site lighting for each public building, where practicable.
The bill exempts historic buildings of national significance, the White House and grounds, the Supreme Court building and grounds, and the U.S. Capitol and related buildings and grounds from the provisions of this bill.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1920 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1920

 To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of 
General Services to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design 
        features into public buildings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 4, 2017

  Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of 
General Services to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design 
        features into public buildings, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) nearly \1/3\ of the 800 bird species in the United 
        States are endangered, threatened, or in significant decline;
            (2) in the United States alone, an estimated 1,000,000,000 
        birds die annually from striking buildings, bridges, and other 
        manmade structures, with glass being one of the primary causes 
        of the deaths;
            (3) birds have a significant impact on the United States 
        economy, as evidenced by United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service estimates that the 47,000,000 birdwatchers in the 
        United States contribute $40,000,000,000 annually to the 
        economy of the United States; and
            (4) the General Services Administration is obligated, under 
        Executive Order 13186 (16 U.S.C. 701 note; relating to 
        responsibilities of Federal agencies to protect migratory 
        birds), to ``support the conservation intent of the migratory 
        bird conventions by integrating bird conservation principles, 
        measures, and practices into agency activities and by avoiding 
        or minimizing, to the extent practicable, adverse impacts on 
        migratory bird resources when conducting agency actions''.

SEC. 3. USE OF BIRD-SAFE BUILDING MATERIALS AND DESIGN FEATURES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 33 of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 3315, 3316, and 3317 as 
        sections 3316, 3317, and 3318, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 3314 the following:
``Sec. 3315. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features
    ``(a) Construction, Alteration, and Acquisition of Public 
Buildings.--Each public building constructed, substantially altered (as 
determined by the Commissioner of Public Buildings), or acquired by the 
Administrator of General Services (referred to in this section as the 
`Administrator') shall meet, to the maximum extent practicable, as 
determined by the Administrator, the following standards:
            ``(1) Not less than 90 percent of the exposed facade 
        material from ground level to 40 feet--
                    ``(A) shall not be composed of glass; or
                    ``(B) shall be composed of glass employing--
                            ``(i) elements that preclude bird 
                        collisions without completely obscuring vision, 
                        such as secondary facades, netting, screens, 
                        shutters, and exterior shades;
                            ``(ii) ultraviolet (UV) patterned glass 
                        that contains UV-reflective or contrasting 
                        patterns that are visible to birds;
                            ``(iii) patterns on glass designed in 
                        accordance with a rule (commonly referred to as 
                        the `2 x 4 rule') that restricts--
                                    ``(I) horizontal spaces to less 
                                than 2 inches high; and
                                    ``(II) vertical spaces to less than 
                                4 inches wide;
                            ``(iv) opaque, etched, stained, frosted, or 
                        translucent glass; or
                            ``(v) any combination of the methods 
                        described in clauses (i) through (iv).
            ``(2) Not less than 60 percent of the exposed facade 
        material above 40 feet shall meet the standard described in 
        paragraph (1) (A) or (B).
            ``(3) There shall not be any transparent passageways or 
        corners.
            ``(4) All glass adjacent to atria or courtyards containing 
        water features, plants, and other materials attractive to birds 
        shall meet the standard described in paragraph (1)(B).
            ``(5) Outside lighting shall be appropriately shielded and 
        minimized.
    ``(b) Monitoring.--The Administrator shall take such actions as may 
be necessary to ensure that actual bird mortality is monitored at each 
public building.
    ``(c) Existing Buildings and Lighting.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, where practicable, as 
        determined by the Administrator, shall reduce exterior building 
        and site lighting for each public building.
            ``(2) Use of automatic control technologies.--In carrying 
        out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make use of 
        automatic control technologies, including timers, photo-
        sensors, and infrared and motion detectors.
    ``(d) Exempt Buildings.--This section shall not apply to--
            ``(1) a historic building of national significance within 
        the meaning of chapter 3201 of title 54;
            ``(2) the White House and grounds;
            ``(3) the Supreme Court building and grounds; or
            ``(4) the United States Capitol and related buildings and 
        grounds.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 33 of 
title 40, United States Code, is amended by striking the items relating 
to sections 3315, 3316, and 3317 and inserting the following:

``3315. Use of bird-safe building materials and design features.
``3316. Delegation.
``3317. Report to Congress.
``3318. Certain authority not affected.''.
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