Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 351 To encourage States to require the installation of residential carbon monoxide detectors in homes, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 22, 2021 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To encourage States to require the installation of residential carbon monoxide detectors in homes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nicholas and Zachary 4 Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention 5 Act of 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas 9 produced by burning any fuel. Exposure to unheal- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 351 IS thy levels of carbon monoxide can lead to carbon 1 monoxide poisoning, a serious health condition that 2 could result in death. 3 (2) Unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning 4 from motor vehicles and improper operation of fuel- 5 burning appliances, such as furnaces, water heaters, 6 portable generators, and stoves, annually kills more 7 than 400 individuals and sends approximately 8 15,000 individuals to hospital emergency rooms for 9 treatment. 10 (3) Research shows that installing carbon mon- 11 oxide alarms close to the sleeping areas in residen- 12 tial homes and other dwelling units can help avoid 13 fatalities. 14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 15 gress that Congress should promote the installation of car- 16 bon monoxide alarms in residential homes and dwelling 17 units across the United States in order to promote the 18 health and public safety of citizens throughout the United 19 States. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM.—The term 23 ‘‘carbon monoxide alarm’’ means a device or system 24 that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 351 IS (A) detects carbon monoxide; and 1 (B) is intended to sound an alarm at a 2 carbon monoxide concentration below a con- 3 centration that could cause a loss of the ability 4 to react to the dangers of carbon monoxide ex- 5 posure. 6 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 7 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 8 (3) COMPLIANT CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM.— 9 The term ‘‘compliant carbon monoxide alarm’’ 10 means a carbon monoxide alarm that complies with 11 the most current version of— 12 (A) the Standard for Single and Multiple 13 Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms of the Amer- 14 ican National Standards Institute and UL 15 (ANSI/UL 2034), or any successor standard; 16 and 17 (B) the Standard for Gas and Vapor De- 18 tectors and Sensors of the American National 19 Standards Institute and UL (ANSI/UL 2075), 20 or any successor standard. 21 (4) DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘‘dwelling 22 unit’’— 23 (A) means a room or suite of rooms used 24 for human habitation; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 351 IS (B) includes— 1 (i) a single family residence; 2 (ii) each living unit of a multiple fam- 3 ily residence, including an apartment build- 4 ing; and 5 (iii) each living unit in a mixed use 6 building. 7 (5) FIRE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.— 8 The term ‘‘fire code enforcement officials’’ means of- 9 ficials of the fire safety code enforcement agency of 10 a State or local government or a Tribal organization. 11 (6) INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE.—The term 12 ‘‘IFC’’ means— 13 (A) the 2015 or 2018 edition of the Inter- 14 national Fire Code published by the Inter- 15 national Code Council; or 16 (B) any amended or similar successor code 17 pertaining to the proper installation of carbon 18 monoxide alarms in dwelling units. 19 (7) INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE.—The 20 term ‘‘IRC’’ means— 21 (A) the 2015 or 2018 edition of the Inter- 22 national Residential Code published by the 23 International Code Council; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 351 IS (B) any amended or similar successor code 1 pertaining to the proper installation of carbon 2 monoxide alarms in dwelling units. 3 (8) NFPA 720.—The term ‘‘NFPA 720’’ 4 means— 5 (A) the Standard for the Installation of 6 Carbon Monoxide Detection and Warning 7 Equipment issued by the National Fire Protec- 8 tion Association in 2012; and 9 (B) any amended or similar successor 10 standard relating to the proper installation of 11 carbon monoxide alarms in dwelling units. 12 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 13 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 14 tion 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act 15 (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)); and 16 (B) includes— 17 (i) the Commonwealth of the North- 18 ern Mariana Islands; and 19 (ii) any political subdivision of a 20 State. 21 (10) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib- 22 al organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 23 section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and 24 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(l)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 351 IS SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM FOR CARBON MONOXIDE POI- 1 SONING PREVENTION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap- 3 propriations authorized under subsection (f), the Commis- 4 sion shall establish a grant program to provide assistance 5 to States and Tribal organizations that are eligible under 6 subsection (b) to carry out the carbon monoxide poisoning 7 prevention activities described in subsection (e). 8 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—For the purposes of this section, 9 an eligible State or Tribal organization is any State or 10 Tribal organization that— 11 (1) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 12 Commission that the State or Tribal organization 13 has adopted a statute or a rule, regulation, or simi- 14 lar measure with the force and effect of law, requir- 15 ing compliant carbon monoxide alarms to be in- 16 stalled in dwelling units in accordance with NFPA 17 72, the IFC, or the IRC; and 18 (2) submits an application— 19 (A) to the Commission at such time, in 20 such form, and containing such additional in- 21 formation as the Commission may require; and 22 (B) that may be filed on behalf of the 23 State or Tribal organization by the fire safety 24 code enforcement agency of that State or Tribal 25 organization. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 351 IS (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Commission shall deter- 1 mine the amount of each grant awarded under this sec- 2 tion. 3 (d) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—In select- 4 ing eligible States and Tribal organizations for the award 5 of grants under this section, the Commission shall give 6 favorable consideration to an eligible State or Tribal orga- 7 nization that demonstrates a reasonable need for funding 8 under this section and that— 9 (1) requires the installation of a one or more 10 compliant carbon monoxide alarms in a new or exist- 11 ing educational facility, childcare facility, health care 12 facility, adult dependent care facility, government 13 building, restaurant, theater, lodging establishment, 14 or dwelling unit— 15 (A) within which a fuel-burning appliance, 16 including a furnace, boiler, water heater, fire- 17 place, or any other apparatus, appliance, or de- 18 vice that burns fuel, is installed; or 19 (B) that has an attached garage; and 20 (2) has developed a strategy to protect vulner- 21 able populations, such as children, the elderly, or 22 low-income households, from exposure to unhealthy 23 levels of carbon monoxide. 24 (e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 351 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 1 eligible State or Tribal organization to which a grant 2 is awarded under this section may use the grant— 3 (A) to purchase and install compliant car- 4 bon monoxide alarms in the dwelling units of 5 low-income families or elderly individuals, facili- 6 ties that commonly serve children or the elderly 7 (including childcare facilities, public schools, 8 and senior centers); 9 (B) for the development and dissemination 10 of training materials, instructors, and any other 11 costs relating to the training sessions author- 12 ized under this subsection; or 13 (C) to educate the public about— 14 (i) the risk associated with carbon 15 monoxide as a poison; and 16 (ii) the importance of proper carbon 17 monoxide alarm use. 18 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 19 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An eligible 20 State or Tribal organization to which a grant is 21 awarded under this section may use not more 22 than 5 percent of the grant amount to cover ad- 23 ministrative costs that are not directly related 24 to training described in paragraph (1)(B). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 351 IS (B) PUBLIC OUTREACH.—An eligible State 1 or Tribal organization to which a grant is 2 awarded under this section may use not more 3 than 25 percent of the grant amount to cover 4 the costs of activities described in paragraph 5 (1)(D). 6 (C) STATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—An eligible 7 State to which a grant is awarded under this 8 section shall, with respect to the costs incurred 9 by the State in carrying out activities under the 10 grant, provide non-Federal contributions in an 11 amount equal to not less than 25 percent of 12 amount of Federal funds provided under the 13 grant to administer the program. This subpara- 14 graph shall not apply to Tribal organizations. 15 (f) FUNDING.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall carry 17 out this Act using amounts appropriated to the 18 Commission for each of fiscal years 2021 through 19 2025, to extent such funds are available. 20 (2) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EX- 21 PENSES.—In a fiscal year, not more than 10 percent 22 of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made 23 available to carry out this Act may be used for ad- 24 ministrative expenses. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 351 IS (g) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the last 1 day of each fiscal year in which grants are awarded under 2 this section, the Commission shall submit to Congress a 3 report that evaluates the implementation of the grant pro- 4 gram required under this section. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS