Smoke Detector Demonstration Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
Smoke Detector Demonstration Act - Directs the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to establish and conduct smoke detector placement demonstration projects for two years, after consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Directs the Administrator to establish criteria applicable to the selection, acquisition, installation, and maintenance of smoke detectors and for the selection of participating households and communities. Directs the Administrator to establish minimum performance requirements applicable to detectors used in the projects, after examining and testing detectors available for retail purchase on the enactment date of this Act, and to authorize acquisition of detectors which meet such requirements. Directs the Administrator to ensure that: (1) sufficient opportunity for participation is given to older persons, institutions serving children, and low-income families; and (2) south central region communities which experience substantial risk of fire are included. Directs the Administrator to cooperate with local fire prevention agencies and local communities. Authorizes the Administrator to cooperate with any private entities in carrying out the projects. Directs the Administrator to submit information on project results to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Directs the Commission to evaluate such information and disseminate to consumers information pertinent to the purchase and effective use of smoke detectors. Authorizes the Commission to require the Administrator to design projects so as to produce information to be used in promulgating consumer product safety standards. Directs the Commission to take account of such information relating to potential fire hazards from household appliances or other consumer products. Directs the Administrator to report to Congress. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1981 to carry out this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on October 26, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 26, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MATTHEW RINALDO (R-NJ) introduced it on October 26, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on October 26, 1979, 17121 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17121 days ago, on October 26, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers