[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4687 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4687

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
          the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two


                                 An Act


 
   To provide for the establishment of investigative teams to assess 
building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in 
 the wake of any building failure that has resulted in substantial loss 
of life or that posed significant potential of substantial loss of life.

    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 Construction Safety Team 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAMS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (in this Act referred to as the ``Director'') 
is authorized to establish National Construction Safety Teams (in this 
Act referred to as a ``Team'') for deployment after events causing the 
failure of a building or buildings that has resulted in substantial 
loss of life or that posed significant potential for substantial loss 
of life. To the maximum extent practicable, the Director shall 
establish and deploy a Team within 48 hours after such an event. The 
Director shall promptly publish in the Federal Register notice of the 
establishment of each Team.
    (b) Purpose of Investigation; Duties.--
        (1) Purpose.--The purpose of investigations by Teams is to 
    improve the safety and structural integrity of buildings in the 
    United States.
        (2) Duties.--A Team shall--
            (A) establish the likely technical cause or causes of the 
        building failure;
            (B) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and 
        emergency response procedures;
            (C) recommend, as necessary, specific improvements to 
        building standards, codes, and practices based on the findings 
        made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B); and
            (D) recommend any research and other appropriate actions 
        needed to improve the structural safety of buildings, and 
        improve evacuation and emergency response procedures, based on 
        the findings of the investigation.
    (c) Procedures.--
        (1) Development.--Not later than 3 months after the date of the 
    enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the 
    United States Fire Administration and other appropriate Federal 
    agencies, shall develop procedures for the establishment and 
    deployment of Teams. The Director shall update such procedures as 
    appropriate. Such procedures shall include provisions--
            (A) regarding conflicts of interest related to service on 
        the Team;
            (B) defining the circumstances under which the Director 
        will establish and deploy a Team;
            (C) prescribing the appropriate size of Teams;
            (D) guiding the disclosure of information under section 8;
            (E) guiding the conduct of investigations under this Act, 
        including procedures for providing written notice of inspection 
        authority under section 4(a) and for ensuring compliance with 
        any other applicable law;
            (F) identifying and prescribing appropriate conditions for 
        the provision by the Director of additional resources and 
        services Teams may need;
            (G) to ensure that investigations under this Act do not 
        impede and are coordinated with any search and rescue efforts 
        being undertaken at the site of the building failure;
            (H) for regular briefings of the public on the status of 
        the investigative proceedings and findings;
            (I) guiding the Teams in moving and preserving evidence as 
        described in section 4 (a)(4), (b)(2), and (d)(4);
            (J) providing for coordination with Federal, State, and 
        local entities that may sponsor research or investigations of 
        building failures, including research conducted under the 
        Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977; and
            (K) regarding such other issues as the Director considers 
        appropriate.
        (2) Publication.--The Director shall publish promptly in the 
    Federal Register final procedures, and subsequent updates thereof, 
    developed under paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF TEAMS.

    Each Team shall be composed of individuals selected by the Director 
and led by an individual designated by the Director. Team members shall 
include at least 1 employee of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology and shall include other experts who are not employees of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, who may include private 
sector experts, university experts, representatives of professional 
organizations with appropriate expertise, and appropriate Federal, 
State, or local officials. Team members who are not Federal employees 
shall be considered Federal Government contractors.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Entry and Inspection.--In investigating a building failure 
under this Act, members of a Team, and any other person authorized by 
the Director to support a Team, on display of appropriate credentials 
provided by the Director and written notice of inspection authority, 
may--
        (1) enter property where a building failure being investigated 
    has occurred, or where building components, materials, and 
    artifacts with respect to the building failure are located, and 
    take action necessary, appropriate, and reasonable in light of the 
    nature of the property to be inspected to carry out the duties of 
    the Team under section 2(b)(2) (A) and (B);
        (2) during reasonable hours, inspect any record (including any 
    design, construction, or maintenance record), process, or facility 
    related to the investigation;
        (3) inspect and test any building components, materials, and 
    artifacts related to the building failure; and
        (4) move such records, components, materials, and artifacts as 
    provided by the procedures developed under section 2(c)(1).
    (b) Avoiding Unnecessary Interference and Preserving Evidence.--An 
inspection, test, or other action taken by a Team under this section 
shall be conducted in a way that--
        (1) does not interfere unnecessarily with services provided by 
    the owner or operator of the building components, materials, or 
    artifacts, property, records, process, or facility; and
        (2) to the maximum extent feasible, preserves evidence related 
    to the building failure, consistent with the ongoing needs of the 
    investigation.
    (c) Coordination.--
        (1) With search and rescue efforts.--A Team shall not impede, 
    and shall coordinate its investigation with, any search and rescue 
    efforts being undertaken at the site of the building failure.
        (2) With other research.--A Team shall coordinate its 
    investigation, to the extent practicable, with qualified 
    researchers who are conducting engineering or scientific (including 
    social science) research relating to the building failure.
        (3) Memoranda of understanding.--The National Institute of 
    Standards and Technology shall enter into a memorandum of 
    understanding with each Federal agency that may conduct or sponsor 
    a related investigation, providing for coordination of 
    investigations.
        (4) With state and local authorities.--A Team shall cooperate 
    with State and local authorities carrying out any activities 
    related to a Team's investigation.
    (d) Interagency Priorities.--
        (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), a 
    Team investigation shall have priority over any other investigation 
    of any other Federal agency.
        (2) National transportation safety board.--If the National 
    Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation related 
    to an investigation of a Team, the National Transportation Safety 
    Board investigation shall have priority over the Team 
    investigation. Such priority shall not otherwise affect the 
    authority of the Team to continue its investigation under this Act.
        (3) Criminal acts.--If the Attorney General, in consultation 
    with the Director, determines, and notifies the Director, that 
    circumstances reasonably indicate that the building failure being 
    investigated by a Team may have been caused by a criminal act, the 
    Team shall relinquish investigative priority to the appropriate law 
    enforcement agency. The relinquishment of investigative priority by 
    the Team shall not otherwise affect the authority of the Team to 
    continue its investigation under this Act.
        (4) Preservation of evidence.--If a Federal law enforcement 
    agency suspects and notifies the Director that a building failure 
    being investigated by a Team under this Act may have been caused by 
    a criminal act, the Team, in consultation with the Federal law 
    enforcement agency, shall take necessary actions to ensure that 
    evidence of the criminal act is preserved.

SEC. 5. BRIEFINGS, HEARINGS, WITNESSES, AND SUBPOENAS.

    (a) General Authority.--The Director or his designee, on behalf of 
a Team, may conduct hearings, administer oaths, and require, by 
subpoena (pursuant to subsection (e)) and otherwise, necessary 
witnesses and evidence as necessary to carry out this Act.
    (b) Briefings.--The Director or his designee (who may be the leader 
or a member of a Team), on behalf of a Team, shall hold regular public 
briefings on the status of investigative proceedings and findings, 
including a final briefing after the report required by section 8 is 
issued.
    (c) Public Hearings.--During the course of an investigation by a 
Team, the National Institute of Standards and Technology may, if the 
Director considers it to be in the public interest, hold a public 
hearing for the purposes of--
        (1) gathering testimony from witnesses; and
        (2) informing the public on the progress of the investigation.
    (d) Production of Witnesses.--A witness or evidence in an 
investigation under this Act may be summoned or required to be produced 
from any place in the United States. A witness summoned under this 
subsection is entitled to the same fee and mileage the witness would 
have been paid in a court of the United States.
    (e) Issuance of Subpoenas.--A subpoena shall be issued only under 
the signature of the Director but may be served by any person 
designated by the Director.
    (f) Failure To Obey Subpoena.--If a person disobeys a subpoena 
issued by the Director under this Act, the Attorney General, acting on 
behalf of the Director, may bring a civil action in a district court of 
the United States to enforce the subpoena. An action under this 
subsection may be brought in the judicial district in which the person 
against whom the action is brought resides, is found, or does business. 
The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to comply 
with the subpoena as a contempt of court.

SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL POWERS.

    In order to support Teams in carrying out this Act, the Director 
may--
        (1) procure the temporary or intermittent services of experts 
    or consultants under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code;
        (2) request the use, when appropriate, of available services, 
    equipment, personnel, and facilities of a department, agency, or 
    instrumentality of the United States Government on a reimbursable 
    or other basis;
        (3) confer with employees and request the use of services, 
    records, and facilities of State and local governmental 
    authorities;
        (4) accept voluntary and uncompensated services;
        (5) accept and use gifts of money and other property, to the 
    extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts;
        (6) make contracts with nonprofit entities to carry out studies 
    related to purpose, functions, and authorities of the Teams; and
        (7) provide nongovernmental members of the Team reasonable 
    compensation for time spent carrying out activities under this Act.

SEC. 7. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.

    (a) General Rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, a 
copy of a record, information, or investigation submitted or received 
by a Team shall be made available to the public on request and at 
reasonable cost.
    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not require the release of--
        (1) information described by section 552(b) of title 5, United 
    States Code, or protected from disclosure by any other law of the 
    United States; or
        (2) information described in subsection (a) by the National 
    Institute of Standards and Technology or by a Team until the report 
    required by section 8 is issued.
    (c) Protection of Voluntary Submission of Information.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Team, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, and any agency receiving 
information from a Team or the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, shall not disclose voluntarily provided safety-related 
information if that information is not directly related to the building 
failure being investigated and the Director finds that the disclosure 
of the information would inhibit the voluntary provision of that type 
of information.
    (d) Public Safety Information.--A Team and the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology shall not publicly release any information 
it receives in the course of an investigation under this Act if the 
Director finds that the disclosure of that information might jeopardize 
public safety.

SEC. 8. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM REPORT.

    Not later than 90 days after completing an investigation, a Team 
shall issue a public report which includes--
        (1) an analysis of the likely technical cause or causes of the 
    building failure investigated;
        (2) any technical recommendations for changes to or the 
    establishment of evacuation and emergency response procedures;
        (3) any recommended specific improvements to building 
    standards, codes, and practices; and
        (4) recommendations for research and other appropriate actions 
    needed to help prevent future building failures.

SEC. 9. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ACTIONS.

    After the issuance of a public report under section 8, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology shall comprehensively review the 
report and, working with the United States Fire Administration and 
other appropriate Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations--
        (1) conduct, or enable or encourage the conducting of, 
    appropriate research recommended by the Team; and
        (2) promote (consistent with existing procedures for the 
    establishment of building standards, codes, and practices) the 
    appropriate adoption by the Federal Government, and encourage the 
    appropriate adoption by other agencies and organizations, of the 
    recommendations of the Team with respect to--
            (A) technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response 
        procedures;
            (B) specific improvements to building standards, codes, and 
        practices; and
            (C) other actions needed to help prevent future building 
        failures.

SEC. 10. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT.

    Not later than February 15 of each year, the Director shall 
transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives 
and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report that includes--
        (1) a summary of the investigations conducted by Teams during 
    the prior fiscal year;
        (2) a summary of recommendations made by the Teams in reports 
    issued under section 8 during the prior fiscal year and a 
    description of the extent to which those recommendations have been 
    implemented; and
        (3) a description of the actions taken to improve building 
    safety and structural integrity by the National Institute of 
    Standards and Technology during the prior fiscal year in response 
    to reports issued under section 8.

SEC. 11. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment and Functions.--The Director, in consultation 
with the United States Fire Administration and other appropriate 
Federal agencies, shall establish an advisory committee to advise the 
Director on carrying out this Act and to review the procedures 
developed under section 2(c)(1) and the reports issued under section 8.
    (b) Annual Report.--On January 1 of each year, the advisory 
committee shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of 
Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate a report that includes--
        (1) an evaluation of Team activities, along with 
    recommendations to improve the operation and effectiveness of 
    Teams; and
        (2) an assessment of the implementation of the recommendations 
    of Teams and of the advisory committee.
    (c) Duration of Advisory Committee.--Section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the advisory committee 
established under this section.

SEC. 12. ADDITIONAL APPLICABILITY.

    The authorities and restrictions applicable under this Act to the 
Director and to Teams shall apply to the activities of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology in response to the attacks of 
September 11, 2001.

SEC. 13. AMENDMENT.

    Section 7 of the National Bureau of Standards Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 1986 (15 U.S.C. 281a) is amended by inserting ``, or from 
an investigation under the National Construction Safety Team Act,'' 
after ``from such investigation''.

SEC. 14. CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to confer any authority on 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology to require the 
adoption of building standards, codes, or practices.

SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology is authorized to 
use funds otherwise authorized by law to carry out this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.