US Congress Senate Bill 2924 (Prior Session Legislation)

---

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on November 13 2014 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2014-11-13 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Pending: Senate Commerce, Science, And Transportation Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Amends federal shipping law to extend through October 31, 2028, the exemption of certain vessels from the requirement that U.S. passenger vessels having berth or stateroom accommodations for at least 50 passengers be constructed of fire-retardant materials in order to be granted a certificate of inspection. Continues to apply this exemption only to vessels in operation before January 1, 1968, which operate only within the Boundary Line (the dividing point between inland waters and high seas). Requires the owner or managing operator of an exempt vessel to: notify crew members that the vessel does not comply with applicable fire safety standards due primarily to the wooden construction of passenger berthing areas, and make annual structural alterations to at least 10% of vessel areas that are not constructed of fire-retardant materials. Requires any noncombustible material requirements prescribed by the Coast Guard (with which an exempt vessel is still required to comply) to be consistent with the preservation of a vessel's historic integrity in areas carrying or accessible to passengers or generally visible to the public.

A bill to amend title 46, United States Code, to exempt old vessels that only operate within inland waterways from the fire-retardant materials requirement if the owners of such vessels make annual structural alterations to at least 10 percent of the areas of the vessels that are not constructed of fire-retardant materials.

Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]	Sen. Roy Blunt [R-MO]	Sen. John Boozman [R-AR]	Sen. Thad Cochran [R-MS]
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-LA]	Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]	Sen. Rob Portman [R-OH]	Sen. Mark Pryor [D-AR]
Sen. David Vitter [R-LA]

Date	Chamber	Action
2014-11-13	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

HB1961 (Related) 2013-12-20 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
SB1022 (Related) 2013-05-22 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/2924/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/s2924/BILLS-113s2924is.pdf