[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2496 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2496

   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, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2002

 Mrs. Clinton (for herself, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Lieberman) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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, 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 Construction Safety Team 
Act of 2002''.

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 for 
deployment within 48 hours 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. The 
Director shall promptly publish in the Federal Register notice of the 
establishment of each National Construction Safety Team.
    (b) Procedures.--
            (1) Development.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with 
        the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration and 
        the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall develop 
        procedures for the establishment and deployment of National 
        Construction Safety 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 National 
                Construction Safety Team;
                    (C) prescribing the appropriate size of National 
                Construction Safety Teams;
                    (D) guiding the disclosure of information under 
                section 8;
                    (E) guiding the conduct of investigations under 
                this Act;
                    (F) identifying, and prescribing appropriate 
                conditions for the provision by the Director of, 
                additional resources and services that a National 
                Construction Safety Team may need;
                    (G) for ensuring 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) requiring regular briefings of the public on 
                the status of the investigative proceeding and 
                findings;
                    (I) guiding the National Construction Safety Teams 
                in the moving and preservation of evidence as described 
                in subsections (a)(4), (b)(2), and (d)(4) of section 5;
                    (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 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.); 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 
        of the procedures, that are developed under paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF TEAMS.

    (a) Team Leader.--Each National Construction Safety Team shall be 
led by an individual designated by the Director.
    (b) Members.--
            (1) In general.--The members of a National Construction 
        Safety Team shall include--
                    (A) at least one employee of the National Institute 
                of Standards and Technology; and
                    (B) others who are experts not employed by the 
                National Institute of Standards and Technology.
            (2) Source of additional members.--The experts referred to 
        in paragraph (1)(B) may include private sector experts, experts 
        from institutions of higher education, representatives of 
        professional organizations with appropriate expertise, and 
        appropriate Federal, State, or local government officials.

SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF TEAMS.

    National Construction Safety Teams shall--
            (1) conduct investigations to establish the likely 
        technical cause or causes of the building failure;
            (2) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and 
        emergency response procedures;
            (3) recommend specific improvements to building standards, 
        codes, and practices based on the findings made pursuant to 
        paragraphs (1) and (2); and
            (4) recommend 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.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Entry and Inspection.--In investigating a building failure 
under this Act, members of a National Construction Safety Team, and any 
other person authorized by the Director to support a National 
Construction Safety Team, upon the display of appropriate credentials 
provided by the Director, 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 do anything necessary to conduct the 
        investigation;
            (2) 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 components, materials, and artifacts as 
        provided by the procedures developed under section 2(b)(1).
    (b) Avoiding Unnecessary Interference and Preserving Evidence.--An 
inspection, test, or other action taken by a National Construction 
Safety 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 National 
        Construction Safety 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 National Construction Safety 
        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.--To provide for the 
        coordination of investigations, the Director shall enter into a 
        memorandum of understanding with the head of each Federal 
        agency that may conduct or sponsor an investigation related to 
        an investigation by a National Construction Safety Team.
    (d) Interagency Priorities.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) or 
        (3), a National Construction Safety 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 a matter under investigation by a National 
        Construction Safety Team, the National Transportation Safety 
        Board investigation shall have priority over the National 
        Construction Safety 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 National Construction 
        Safety Team may have been caused by a criminal act with intent 
        to cause the building failure, the National Construction Safety 
        Team shall relinquish investigative priority to the appropriate 
        Federal law enforcement agency. The relinquishment of 
        investigative priority by the National Construction Safety Team 
        shall not otherwise affect the authority of the Team to 
        continue its investigation under this Act.
            (4) Preservation of evidence.--If the head of a Federal law 
        enforcement agency suspects and notifies the Director that a 
        building failure being investigated by a National Construction 
        Safety Team under this Act may have been caused by a criminal 
        act with intent to cause the building failure, the National 
Construction Safety Team, in consultation with the head of that Federal 
law enforcement agency, shall take actions necessary to ensure that 
evidence of the criminal act is preserved.

SEC. 6. BRIEFINGS, HEARINGS, WITNESSES, AND SUBPOENAS.

    (a) General Authority.--The Director, on behalf of a National 
Construction Safety Team, may conduct hearings, administer oaths, and 
require, by subpoena and otherwise, necessary witnesses and evidence as 
necessary to carry out this Act.
    (b) Briefings.--A National Construction Safety Team shall hold 
regular public briefings on the status of the investigative proceeding 
and findings of the team.
    (c) Public Hearings.--During the course of an investigation by a 
National Construction Safety Team, an official or officials of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology shall, 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 in an investigation under 
this Act may be summoned, and evidence in such an investigation may be 
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 
allowance that the witness would have been paid in a court of the 
United States.
    (e) Issuance of Subpoenas.--A subpoena shall be issued 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, 
order, or inspection notice issued by the Director or a National 
Construction Safety Team under this Act, the Director may bring a civil 
action in a district court of the United States to enforce the 
subpoena, order, or notice. 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, order, or notice as a contempt of court.

SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL POWERS.

    In order to support a National Construction Safety Team 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) make contracts with nonprofit entities to carry out 
        studies related to purpose, functions, and authorities of the 
        National Construction Safety Teams; and
            (6) provide nongovernmental members of the National 
        Construction Safety Team reasonable compensation for time spent 
        carrying out activities under this Act.

SEC. 8. 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 National Construction Safety Team shall be made available to the 
public on request and at reasonable cost.
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not require the release of 
information that--
            (1) is exempt under subsection (b) of section 552 of title 
        5, United States Code, from disclosure under that section; or
            (2) is otherwise protected from disclosure by any other law 
        of the United States.
    (c) Protection of Voluntary Submission of Information.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a National Construction 
Safety Team, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and 
any agency receiving information from a National Construction Safety 
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 National Construction Safety 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. 9. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM REPORT.

    Not later than 90 days after completing an investigation, a 
National Construction Safety Team shall issue a public report which 
includes--
            (1) an analysis of the likely technical cause or causes of 
        the building failure investigated;
            (2) technical recommendations for changes to or the 
        establishment of evacuation and emergency response procedures;
            (3) 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. 10. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ACTIONS.

    After the issuance of a public report under section 9, the Director 
shall comprehensively review the report and, working with the 
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration and the heads of 
other appropriate Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations--
            (1) conduct, or enable or encourage the conduct of, 
        appropriate research recommended by the National Construction 
        Safety Team; and
            (2) promote the appropriate adoption by the Federal 
        Government, and encourage the appropriate adoption by the heads 
        of other agencies and organizations, of the recommendations of 
        the National Construction Safety 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. 11. 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 National 
        Construction Safety Teams during the fiscal year ending in the 
        preceding year;
            (2) a summary of recommendations made by the National 
        Construction Safety Teams in reports issued under section 9 
        during such fiscal year; and
            (3) a description of the actions taken by the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology during such fiscal year 
        in response to reports issued under section 9.

SEC. 12. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment and Functions.--The Director, in consultation 
with the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration and the 
heads of 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(b)(1) and the 
reports issued under section 9.
    (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 the activities of the National 
        Construction Safety Teams, together with recommendations to 
        improve the operation and effectiveness of National 
        Construction Safety Teams; and
            (2) an assessment of the implementation of the 
        recommendations of National Construction Safety 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. 13. ADDITIONAL APPLICABILITY.

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

SEC. 14. 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 of 
2002,'' after ``from such investigation'' in the second sentence.

SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology for carrying out this Act $25,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2005, to remain available until 
expended.
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