Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 was established to acknowledge the evolving apprehension of

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

criteria for the

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars. Sector ...

. The

United States federal statute An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

was an

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

to the

Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 was created in response to the 1973 National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control report, ''America Burning''. The report's authors estimated fires caused 12,000 deaths, 300,000 serious inj ...

implementing an adjunct promoting fire and life safety

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

s for domiciles providing

public accommodations In United States law, public accommodations are generally defined as facilities, whether publicly or privately owned, that are used by the public at large. Examples include retail stores, rental establishments, and service establishments as well ...

. H.R. 94

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

was passed by the 101st U.S. Congressional session and enacted by the 41st

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George H.W. Bush on September 25, 1990.

Congressional Assessment

The U.S. Congress issued a

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

related to fire and life safety safeguards with regards to

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

and

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

dwellings. :(a) Legislative Findings — ::(1) more than four hundred Americans have lost their lives in multi-story hotel fires over the last five years ::(2) when properly installed and maintained, automatic sprinklers and

smoke detector A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Smoke detectors are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about in diameter and thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be detecte ...

s provide the most effective safeguards against the loss of life and property from fire ::(3) automatic sprinklers and smoke detectors should supplement and not supplant other fire protection measures, including existing requirements for fire resistive walls and

fire retardant A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants m ...

furnishings ::(4) some

local governments Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

State governments A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

, and the hotel industry need to act more rapidly to require the installation and use of automatic sprinkler systems in hotels ::(5) through the

United States Fire Administration The United States Fire Administration (USFA) is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg. Per the official website, "the mission of the U.S. Fire Administra ...

and the Center for Fire Research, the Federal Government has helped to develop and promote the use of residential sprinkler systems and other means of fire prevention and control :(b) Legislative Purpose — ::(1) It is the purpose of this Act to save lives and protect property by promoting fire and life safety in hotels, motels, and all places of public accommodation affecting

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

Provisions of the Act

Hotel and Motel Fire Prevention and Control

State and Local Governments

Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, 15 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., is amended by the addition of the following sections.

Listings of Certified Places of Public Accommodation

:(a) Submissions by States — ::(1) Not later than two years after the date of enactment, each State shall submit those places of public accommodation affecting commerce located in the State which the Governor of the State or designee certifies meet the requirements of the guidelines ::(2) Each State shall periodically update the list submitted which meet the requirements of the guidelines for those places of public accommodation affecting commerce :(b) Compilation and Distribution of Master List — ::(1) Not later than sixty days after the expiration of the two year period, a national master list shall be compiled and published in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...

of all places of public accommodation affecting commerce located in each State that meet the requirements of the guidelines and shall distribute such list to each agency of the Federal Government and take steps to make the employees of such agencies aware of its existence and contents ::(2) National master list shall periodically be updated and compiled to reflect changes in the State lists submitted and shall periodically redistribute the updated master list to each agency of the Federal Government

Fire Prevention and Control Guidelines for Places of Public Accommodation

:(a) Contents of Guidelines — ::(1) a requirement that hard-wired, single-station smoke detectors be installed in accordance with

National Fire Protection Association The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is an international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. As of 2018, the NFPA claims to have 50,000 mem ...

Standard 74 in each guest room in each place of public accommodation affecting commerce ::(2) a requirement that an automatic sprinkler system be installed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association Standard 13 or 13-R, whichever is appropriate, in each place of public accommodation affecting commerce except those places that are three stories or lower :(b) Effect on

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

Local Law A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. China In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () af ...

— ::The provisions shall not be construed to limit the power of any State or political subdivision thereof to implement or enforce any law, rule, regulation, or standard concerning fire prevention and control

Dissemination of Fire Prevention and Control Information

:States shall be encouraged to promote the use of automatic sprinkler systems and automatic smoke detection systems, and to disseminate to the maximum extent possible information on the life safety value and use of such systems. Such steps may include, but need not be limited to, providing copies of the guidelines and master list compiled to Federal agencies, State and local governments, and fire services throughout the United States, and making copies of the master list compiled available upon request to interested private organizations and individuals

Adherence to Fire Safety Guidelines in Establishing Rates and Discounts for Lodging Expenses

:(a) Studies or surveys conducted for the purposes of establishing per diem rates for lodging expenses shall be limited to places of public accommodation that meet the requirements of the fire prevention and control guidelines of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. The provisions shall not apply with respect to studies and surveys that are conducted in any jurisdiction that is not a State as defined by the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 :(b) The Administrator of the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

may not include in any directory which lists lodging accommodations any hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation that does not meet the requirements of the fire prevention and control guidelines described in the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 :(c) The Administrator of General Services Administration shall include in each Handicapped directory which lists lodging accommodations a description of the persons, access and safety devices, including appropriate emergency alerting devices, which each listed place of public accommodation provides for guests who are hearing impaired or visually or physically handicapped :(d) The Administrator of General Services Administration may take any additional actions the Administrator determines appropriate to encourage employees traveling on official business to stay at places of public accommodation that meet the requirement of the fire prevention and control guidelines described in the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974

Establishment of Approved Accommodations Percentage for Federal Agencies

:(a) Approved Accommodations Percentage — ::(1) Each agency shall ensure that its approved accommodations percentage for a fiscal year shall be not less than — :::(A) sixty-five percent, for the first fiscal year that begins four years after the date of enactment of this Act :::(B) seventy-five percent, for the fiscal year that begins five years after the date of enactment of this Act :::(C) ninety percent, for the fiscal year that begins six years after the date of enactment of this Act for each subsequent fiscal year ::(2) An agency's approved accommodations percentage for a fiscal year is the percentage determined by multiplying one hundred by the quotient of — :::(A) the total number of nights spent by civilian employees of the agency for which payment was made for lodging expenses incurred in any State at any approved hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation not owned by the Federal Government; divided by :::(B) the total number of nights spent by such employees for which payment was made for lodging expenses incurred in any State at any hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation not owned by the Federal Government ::(3) A hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation is approved if it meets the requirements of the fire prevention and control guidelines described in the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974

Prohibiting Federal Funding of Conferences Held at Non-Certified Places of Public Accommodation

:(a) In General — ::No Federal funds may be used to sponsor or fund in whole or in part a meeting, convention, conference, or training seminar that is conducted in, or that otherwise uses the rooms, facilities, or services of, a place of public accommodation that does not meet the requirements of the fire prevention and control guidelines described in the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 :(b) Waiver — ::(1) In General — :::The head of an agency of the Federal Government sponsoring or funding a particular meeting, convention, conference, or training seminar may waive the prohibition as described ::::(a) if the head of such agency determines that a waiver of such prohibition is necessary in the public interest in the case of such particular event ::(2) Delegation of Authority — :::The head of an agency of the Federal Government may delegate the authority provided under paragraph (1) ::::(1) to waive the prohibition and to determine whether such a waiver is necessary in the public interest to an officer or employee of the agency if such officer or employee is given such authority with respect to all meetings, conventions, conferences, and training seminars sponsored or funded by the agency :(c) Notice Requirements — ::(1) Advertisements and Applications — :::(A) Any advertisement for or application for attendance at a meeting, convention, conference, or training seminar sponsored or funded in whole or in part by the Federal Government shall include a notice regarding the prohibition described :::(B) The requirement described shall not apply in the case of an event for which a head of an agency of the Federal Government waives the prohibition ::(2) Providing Notice to Recipients of Funds — :::(A) Each Executive department, Government corporation, and independent establishment providing Federal funds to non-Federal entities shall notify recipients of such funds of the prohibition

References

External links

* * * {{Fire protection , state=autocollapse 1990 in law 101st United States Congress Fire prevention law Fire protection Firefighting in the United States