U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 5707a. Adherence to fire safety guidelines in establishing rates and discounts for lodging expenses

(a)

(1) For the purpose of making payments under this chapter for lodging expenses incurred in a State, each agency shall ensure that not less than 90 percent of the commercial-lodging room nights for employees of that agency for a fiscal year are booked in approved places of public accommodation.

(2) Each agency shall establish explicit procedures to satisfy the percentage requirement of paragraph (1).

(3) An agency shall be considered to be in compliance with the percentage requirement of paragraph (1) until September 30, 2002, and after that date if travel arrangements of the agency, whether made for civilian employees, members of the uniformed services, or foreign service personnel, are made through travel management processes designed to book commercial lodging in approved places of public accommodation, whenever available.

(b) Studies or surveys conducted for the purposes of establishing per diem rates for lodging expenses under this chapter shall be limited to approved places of public accommodation. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply with respect to studies and surveys that are conducted in any jurisdiction that is not a State.

(c) The Administrator of General Services may not include in any directory which lists lodging accommodations any hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation that is not an approved place of public accommodation.

(d) The Administrator of General Services shall include in each directory which lists lodging accommodations a description of the 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.

(e) The Administrator of General Services may take any additional actions the Administrator determines appropriate to facilitate the ability of employees traveling on official business to stay at approved places of public accommodation.

(f) For purposes of this section:

(1) The term “agency” does not include the government of the District of Columbia.

(2) The term “approved places of public accommodation” means hotels, motels, and other places of public accommodation that are listed by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as meeting the requirements of the fire prevention and control guidelines described in section 29 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2225).

(3) The term “State” means any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or any other territory or possession of the United States.

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