S. 1920 · 115th Congress
Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2017
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
BookerSponsor2 cosponsors · 2 D
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill requires each public building constructed, substantially altered, or acquired by the General Services Administration (GSA) to meet the following standards:
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Oct 4, 2017
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:
- at least 90% of the exposed facade material from ground level to 40 feet shall not be composed of glass or shall be composed of glass employing elements that preclude bird collisions without completely obscuring vision, ultraviolet (UV) patterned glass that contains UV-reflective or contrasting patterns that are visible to birds, patterns on glass designed in accordance with a rule that restricts horizontal spaces to less than 2 inches high and vertical spaces to less than 4 inches wide, opaque, etched, stained, frosted, or translucent glass, or any combination of these methods (modified glass);
- at least 60% of the exposed facade material above 40 feet shall meet such glass standard;
- there shall not be any transparent passageways or corners;
- all glass adjacent to atria or courtyards containing water features, plants, and other materials attractive to birds shall meet the modified glass standard; and
- outside lighting shall be appropriately shielded and minimized.
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.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2017
Latest action (Oct 4, 2017): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Oct 4, 2017
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.