[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4466 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4466

To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for 
 the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2003, 2004, 
                   and 2005, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 17, 2002

 Mr. Young of Alaska (for himself, Mr. Mica, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Quinn, 
Mr. Lipinski, and Mr. Clement) introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for 
 the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2003, 2004, 
                   and 2005, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Transportation Safety Board 
Reauthorization Act of 2002''.

                     TITLE I--NTSB REAUTHORIZATION

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Fiscal Years 2003-2005.--Section 1118(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and''; and
            (2) by striking ``such sums to'' and inserting the 
        following: ``$73,325,000 for fiscal year 2003, $84,999,000 for 
        fiscal year 2004, and $89,687,000 for fiscal year 2005. Such 
        sums shall''.
    (b) NTSB Academy.--Section 1118 of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Academy.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Board for necessary expenses of the National Transportation Safety 
Board Academy, not otherwise provided for, $3,347,000 for fiscal year 
2003, $4,896,000 for fiscal year 2004, and $4,995,000 for fiscal year 
2005. Such sums shall remain available until expended.''.

SEC. 102. ACCIDENT AND SAFETY DATA CLASSIFICATION AND PUBLICATION.

    Section 1119 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Appeals.--
            ``(1) Notification of rights.--In any case in which an 
        employee of the Board determines that an occurrence associated 
        with the operation of an aircraft constitutes an accident, the 
        employee shall notify the owner or operator of that aircraft of 
        the right to appeal that determination to the Board.
            ``(2) Procedure.--The Board shall establish and publish the 
        procedures for appeals under this subsection.
            ``(3) Limitation on applicability.--This subsection shall 
        not apply in the case of an accident that results in a loss of 
        life.''.

SEC. 103. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION'S RESPONSES TO SAFETY 
              RECOMMENDATIONS.

    Section 1135(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(d) Reporting Requirements.--
            ``(1) Annual secretarial regulatory status reports.--On 
        February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit a report to 
        Congress and the Board containing the regulatory status of each 
        significant safety recommendation made by the Board to the 
        Secretary (or to an Administration within the Department) 
        during the previous calendar year. The Secretary shall continue 
        to report on the regulatory status of each such recommendation 
        in the report due on February 1 of subsequent years until final 
        regulatory action is taken on that recommendation or the 
        Secretary (or an Administration within the Department) 
        determines and states in such a report that no action should be 
        taken.
            ``(2) Failure to report.--If on March 1 of each year the 
        Board has not received the Secretary's report required by this 
        subsection, the Board shall notify the Committee on 
        Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate of the Secretary's failure to 
        submit the required report.
            ``(3) Significant safety recommendation defined.--For the 
        purposes of this subsection, the term `significant safety 
        recommendation' means a recommendation included in the Board's 
        `most wanted list'.
            ``(4) Termination.--This subsection shall cease to be in 
        effect after the report required to be filed on February 1, 
        2007, is filed.''.

SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT 
              ACCIDENTS.

    (a) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--Section 1136 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(j) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--
            ``(1) General rule.--This section (other than subsection 
        (g)) shall not apply to an aircraft accident if the Board has 
        relinquished investigative priority under section 1131(a)(2)(B) 
        and the Federal agency to which the Board relinquished 
        investigative priority is willing and able to provide 
        assistance to the victims and families of the passengers 
        involved in the accident.
            ``(2) Board assistance.--If this section does not apply to 
        an aircraft accident because the Board has relinquished 
        investigative priority with respect to the accident, the Board 
        shall assist, to the maximum extent possible, the agency to 
        which the Board has relinquished investigative priority in 
        assisting families with respect to the accident.''.
    (b) Revision of MOU.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the National Transportation Safety Board and the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation shall revise their 1977 agreement on 
the investigation of accidents to take into account the amendments made 
by this section and title II and shall submit a copy of the revised 
agreement to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate.

SEC. 105. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

    Section 1131(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
moving subparagraphs (B) and (C) 4 ems to the left.

                  TITLE II--RAILROAD FAMILY ASSISTANCE

SEC. 201. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TO 
              FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER 
              ACCIDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 11 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1138. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail 
              passenger accidents
    ``(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being notified of a 
rail passenger accident within the United States involving a rail 
passenger carrier and resulting in a major loss of life, the Chairman 
of the National Transportation Safety Board shall--
            ``(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of 
        a director of family support services who shall be an employee 
        of the Board and shall be responsible for acting as a point of 
        contact within the Federal Government for the families of 
        passengers involved in the accident and a liaison between the 
        rail passenger carrier and the families; and
            ``(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with 
        experience in disasters and posttrauma communication with 
        families, which shall have primary responsibility for 
        coordinating the emotional care and support of the families of 
        passengers involved in the accident.
    ``(b) Responsibilities of the Board.--The Board shall have primary 
Federal responsibility for--
            ``(1) facilitating the recovery and identification of 
        fatally injured passengers involved in an accident described in 
        subsection (a); and
            ``(2) communicating with the families of passengers 
        involved in the accident as to the roles of--
                    ``(A) the organization designated for an accident 
                under subsection (a)(2);
                    ``(B) Government agencies; and
                    ``(C) the rail passenger carrier involved,
        with respect to the accident and the post-accident activities.
    ``(c) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The 
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 
have the following responsibilities with respect to the families of 
passengers involved in the accident:
            ``(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in 
        coordination with the disaster response team of the rail 
        passenger carrier involved.
            ``(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide 
        an environment in which the families may grieve in private.
            ``(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the 
        location of the accident, to contact the families unable to 
        travel to such location, and to contact all affected families 
        periodically thereafter until such time as the organization, in 
        consultation with the director of family support services 
        designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), determines 
        that further assistance is no longer needed.
            ``(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in 
        consultation with the families.
    ``(d) Passenger Lists.--
            ``(1) Requests for passenger lists.--
                    ``(A) Requests by director of family support 
                services.--It shall be the responsibility of the 
                director of family support services designated for an 
                accident under subsection (a)(1) to request, as soon as 
                practicable, from the rail passenger carrier involved 
                in the accident a list, which is based on the best 
                available information at the time of the request, of 
                the names of the passengers that were aboard the rail 
                passenger carrier's train involved in the accident. A 
                rail passenger carrier shall use reasonable efforts, 
                with respect to its unreserved trains, and passengers 
                not holding reservations on its other trains, to 
                ascertain the names of passengers aboard a train 
                involved in an accident.
                    ``(B) Requests by designated organization.--The 
                organization designated for an accident under 
                subsection (a)(2) may request from the rail passenger 
                carrier involved in the accident a list described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            ``(2) Use of information.--The director of family support 
        services and the organization may not release to any person 
        information on a list obtained under paragraph (1) but may 
        provide information on the list about a passenger to the family 
        of the passenger to the extent that the director of family 
        support services or the organization considers appropriate.
    ``(e) Continuing Responsibilities of the Board.--In the course of 
its investigation of an accident described in subsection (a), the Board 
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the families of 
passengers involved in the accident--
            ``(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the 
        accident and any other findings from the investigation; and
            ``(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend 
        any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the 
        accident.
    ``(f) Use of Rail Passenger Carrier Resources.--To the extent 
practicable, the organization designated for an accident under 
subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities with the rail 
passenger carrier involved in the accident to facilitate the reasonable 
use of the resources of the carrier.
    ``(g) Prohibited Actions.--
            ``(1) Actions to impede the board.--No person (including a 
        State or political subdivision) may impede the ability of the 
        Board (including the director of family support services 
        designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an 
        organization designated for an accident under subsection 
        (a)(2), to carry out its responsibilities under this section or 
        the ability of the families of passengers involved in the 
        accident to have contact with one another.
            ``(2) Unsolicited communications.--No unsolicited 
        communication concerning a potential action for personal injury 
        or wrongful death may be made by an attorney (including any 
        associate, agent, employee, or other representative of an 
        attorney) or any potential party to the litigation to an 
        individual (other than an employee of the rail passenger 
        carrier) injured in the accident, or to a relative of an 
        individual involved in the accident, before the 45th day 
        following the date of the accident.
            ``(3) Prohibition on actions to prevent mental health and 
        counseling services.--No State or political subdivision may 
        prevent the employees, agents, or volunteers of an organization 
        designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) from 
        providing mental health and counseling services under 
        subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period beginning on the date of 
        the accident. The director of family support services 
        designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1) may extend 
        such period for not to exceed an additional 30 days if the 
        director determines that the extension is necessary to meet the 
        needs of the families and if State and local authorities are 
        notified of the determination.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) Rail passenger accident.--The term `rail passenger 
        accident' means any rail passenger disaster occurring in the 
        provision of--
                    ``(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 
                transportation (as such term is defined in section 
                24102); or
                    ``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as 
                such term is defined in section 26105) transportation,
        regardless of its cause or suspected cause.
            ``(2) Rail passenger carrier.--The term `rail passenger 
        carrier' means a rail carrier providing--
                    ``(A) interstate intercity rail passenger 
                transportation (as such term is defined in section 
                24102); or
                    ``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as 
                such term is defined in section 26105) transportation,
        except that such term shall not include a tourist, historic, 
        scenic, or excursion rail carrier.
            ``(3) Passenger.--The term `passenger' includes--
                    ``(A) an employee of a rail passenger carrier 
                aboard a train;
                    ``(B) any other person aboard the train without 
                regard to whether the person paid for the 
                transportation, occupied a seat, or held a reservation 
                for the rail transportation; and
                    ``(C) any other person injured or killed in the 
                accident.
    ``(i) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this 
section may be construed as limiting the actions that a rail passenger 
carrier may take, or the obligations that a rail passenger carrier may 
have, in providing assistance to the families of passengers involved in 
a rail passenger accident.
    ``(j) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--
            ``(1) General rule.--This section (other than subsection 
        (g)) shall not apply to a railroad accident if the Board has 
        relinquished investigative priority under section 1131(a)(2)(B) 
        and the Federal agency to which the Board relinquished 
        investigative priority is willing and able to provide 
        assistance to the victims and families of the passengers 
        involved in the accident.
            ``(2) Board assistance.--If this section does not apply to 
        a railroad accident because the Board has relinquished 
        investigative priority with respect to the accident, the Board 
        shall assist, to the maximum extent possible, the agency to 
        which the Board has relinquished investigative priority in 
        assisting families with respect to the accident.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1137 the 
following:

``1138. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger 
                            accidents.''.

SEC. 202. RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF 
              PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Part C of subtitle V of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

                    ``CHAPTER 251--FAMILY ASSISTANCE

``Sec.
``25101.  Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in 
                            rail passenger accidents.

``Sec. 25101.  Plans to address needs of families of passengers 
              involved in rail passenger accidents
    ``(a) Submission of Plans.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this section, each rail passenger carrier shall 
submit to the Secretary of Transportation and the Chairman of the 
National Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of 
the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger accident 
involving a train of the rail passenger carrier and resulting in a 
major loss of life.
    ``(b) Contents of Plans.--A plan to be submitted by a rail 
passenger carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the 
following:
            ``(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free 
        telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle calls from 
        the families of the passengers.
            ``(2) A process for notifying the families of the 
        passengers, before providing any public notice of the names of 
        the passengers, either by utilizing the services of the 
        organization designated for the accident under section 
        1138(a)(2) of this title or the services of other suitably 
        trained individuals.
            ``(3) An assurance that the notice described in paragraph 
        (2) will be provided to the family of a passenger as soon as 
        the rail passenger carrier has verified that the passenger was 
        aboard the train (whether or not the names of all of the 
        passengers have been verified) and, to the extent practicable, 
        in person.
            ``(4) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will 
        provide to the director of family support services designated 
        for the accident under section 1138(a)(1) of this title, and to 
        the organization designated for the accident under section 
        1138(a)(2) of this title, immediately upon request, a list 
        (which is based on the best available information at the time 
        of the request) of the names of the passengers aboard the train 
        (whether or not such names have been verified), and will 
        periodically update the list. The plan shall include a 
        procedure, with respect to unreserved trains and passengers not 
        holding reservations on other trains, for the rail passenger 
        carrier to use reasonable efforts to ascertain the names of 
        passengers aboard a train involved in an accident.
            ``(5) An assurance that the family of each passenger will 
        be consulted about the disposition of all remains and personal 
        effects of the passenger within the control of the rail 
        passenger carrier.
            ``(6) An assurance that if requested by the family of a 
        passenger, any possession of the passenger within the control 
        of the rail passenger carrier (regardless of its condition) 
        will be returned to the family unless the possession is needed 
        for the accident investigation or any criminal investigation.
            ``(7) An assurance that any unclaimed possession of a 
        passenger within the control of the rail passenger carrier will 
        be retained by the rail passenger carrier for at least 18 
        months.
            ``(8) An assurance that the family of each passenger or 
        other person killed in the accident will be consulted about 
        construction by the rail passenger carrier of any monument to 
        the passengers, including any inscription on the monument.
            ``(9) An assurance that the treatment of the families of 
        nonrevenue passengers will be the same as the treatment of the 
        families of revenue passengers.
            ``(10) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will 
        work with any organization designated under section 1138(a)(2) 
        of this title on an ongoing basis to ensure that families of 
        passengers receive an appropriate level of services and 
        assistance following each accident.
            ``(11) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will 
        provide reasonable compensation to any organization designated 
        under section 1138(a)(2) of this title for services provided by 
        the organization.
            ``(12) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will 
        assist the family of a passenger in traveling to the location 
        of the accident and provide for the physical care of the family 
        while the family is staying at such location.
            ``(13) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will 
        commit sufficient resources to carry out the plan.
            ``(14) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will 
        provide adequate training to the employees and agents of the 
        carrier to meet the needs of survivors and family members 
        following an accident.
            ``(15) An assurance that, upon request of the family of a 
        passenger, the rail passenger carrier will inform the family of 
        whether the passenger's name appeared on any preliminary 
        passenger manifest for the train involved in the accident.
    ``(c) Limitation on Liability.--A rail passenger carrier shall not 
be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court 
arising out of the performance of the rail passenger carrier in 
preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing information 
concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted by the 
rail passenger carrier under subsection (b), unless such liability was 
caused by conduct of the rail passenger carrier which was grossly 
negligent or which constituted intentional misconduct.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the terms `rail passenger accident' and `rail 
        passenger carrier' have the meanings such terms have in section 
        1138 of this title; and
            ``(2) the term `passenger' means a person aboard a rail 
        passenger carrier's train that is involved in a rail passenger 
        accident.
    ``(e) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this 
section may be construed as limiting the actions that a rail passenger 
carrier may take, or the obligations that a rail passenger carrier may 
have, in providing assistance to the families of passengers involved in 
a rail passenger accident.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for subtitle V of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item 
relating to chapter 249 the following new item:

``251. FAMILY ASSISTANCE...................................    25101''.
                                 <all>