National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2010

        [Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2768 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2768

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for
the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2011 and
2012, 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 2010''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) In General.--Section 1118(a) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated for the
purposes of this chapter $98,050,000 for fiscal year 2011 and
$98,050,000 for fiscal year 2012. Such sums shall remain available
until expended.''.
(b) Fees, Refunds, Reimbursements, and Advances.--Section 1118(c)
of such title is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Fees, Refunds, Reimbursements, and Advances.--
``(1) In general.--The Board may impose and collect such
fees, refunds, reimbursements, and advances as it determines to
be appropriate for activities, services, and facilities
provided by or through the Board.
``(2) Receipts credited as offsetting collections.--
Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, any fee, refund,
reimbursement, or advance collected under this subsection--
``(A) shall be credited as offsetting collections
to the account that finances the activities, services,
or facilities for which the fee, refund, reimbursement,
or advance is associated;
``(B) shall be available for expenditure only to
pay the costs of activities, services, or facilities
for which the fee, refund, reimbursement, or advance is
associated; and
``(C) shall remain available until expended.
``(3) Record.--The Board shall maintain an annual record of
collections received under paragraph (2).
``(4) Refunds.--The Board may refund any fee or advance
paid by mistake or any amount paid in excess of that
required.''.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

(a) Definitions.--Section 1101 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``otherwise.'' and inserting ``otherwise, and may
include incidents not involving destruction or damage, but
significantly affecting transportation safety, as the Board may
prescribe or Congress may direct.''.
(b) General Organization.--Section 1111(d) of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``absent'' and inserting
``unavailable''.
(c) Administrative.--Section 1113 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or depositions'' in paragraph (a)(1)
after ``hearings''; and
(2) by inserting ``In the interest of transportation
safety, the Board shall have the authority by subpoena to
summon witnesses and obtain any and all evidence relevant to an
accident investigation conducted under this chapter.'' after
``(2)'' in subsection (a)(2).
(d) Disclosure, Availability, and Use of Information.--Section 1114
of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking the heading for subsection (b) and
inserting ``(b) Trade Secrets; Commercial or Financial
Information.--'';
(2) by inserting ``submitted to the Board in the course of
a Board investigation or study and'' in subsection (b)(1) after
``information'' the first place it appears;
(3) by striking ``title 18'' in subsection (b)(1) and
inserting ``title 18, or commercial or financial
information,'';
(4) by striking ``safety'' in subsection (b)(1)(D) the
first place it appears and inserting ``safety, including
through the issuance of reports of accident investigation or
safety studies and safety recommendations,'';
(5) by inserting ``subparagraphs (A) through (C) of'' after
``under'' in subsection (b)(2);
(6) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the following:
``(4) Each person submitting to the Board trade secrets, commercial
or financial information, or information that could be classified as
controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations shall
appropriately annotate the information to indicate the restricted
nature of the information in order to facilitate proper handling of
such materials by the Board.'';
(7) by striking ``shall'' in paragraph(1)(A) of subsection
(f) and inserting ``may'';
(8) by striking ``information'' in paragraph (2) of
subsection (f) and inserting ``information, or other relevant
information authorized for disclosure under this chapter,'';
and
(9) by adding at the end thereof the following:
``(g) Ongoing Board Investigations.--(1) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, neither the Board, nor any agency receiving
information from the Board, may publicly disclose records related to an
ongoing Board investigation, and such records shall be exempt from
disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5. Notwithstanding the
preceding sentence, the Board may make public specific records relevant
to the investigation, release of which in the Board's judgment is
necessary to promote transportation safety--
``(A) if the Board holds a public hearing on the accident
or incident, at the time of the hearing;
``(B) if the Board does not hold a public hearing, at the
time the Board determines that substantial portions of the
underlying factual reports on the accident or incident, and
supporting evidence, will be placed in the public docket; or
``(C) if the Board determines during an ongoing
investigation or study that circumstances warrant disclosure of
specific factual material and that such material need be placed
in the public docket to facilitate dialogue with other agencies
or instrumentalities, regulatory bodies, industry or industry
groups, or Congress.
``(2) This subsection does not prevent the Board from referring at
any time to evidence from an ongoing investigation in making safety
recommendations.
``(3) In this subsection, the term `ongoing investigation' means
that period beginning at the time the Board is notified of an accident
or incident and ending when the Board issues a final report or brief,
or determines to close an investigation without issuing a report or
brief.''.
(e) Reports and Studies--Section 1116(b) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``carry out'' in paragraph (1) and
inserting ``conduct''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) prescribe requirements for persons reporting
accidents and incidents that may be investigated by the Board
under this chapter;''.
(f) Discovery and Use of Cockpit and Surface Vehicle Recordings and
Transcripts.--Section 1154(a)(1)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``and'' and inserting ``or''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD.

(a) Evaluation and Audit.--Section 1138(a) of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``conducted at least annually, but
may be''.
(b) Training of Board Employees and Others.--Section 1115(d) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``investigation.'' and inserting
``investigation, including investigation theory and techniques
and transportation safety, to advance Board safety
recommendations.'';
(2) by striking ``training.'' and inserting ``training or
who influence transportation safety through support or adoption
of Board safety recommendations.''; and
(3) by striking ``collections.'' and inserting
``collections under the provisions of section 1118 of this
chapter.''.
(c) Accident Investigation Authority.--Section 1131 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a)(1)(C) and inserting the
following:
``(C) a freight or passenger railroad accident in which
there is a fatality (other than a fatality involving a
trespasser), substantial property damage, or significant injury
to the environment;'';
(2) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in subsection
(a)(1)(E);
(3) by inserting ``or incident'' after ``accident'' each
place it appears in subsection (a)(1)(F);
(4) by striking ``chapter.'' in subsection (a)(1)(F) and
inserting ``chapter;'';
(5) by adding at the end of subsection (a)(1) the
following:
``(G) an accident or incident in response to an
international request and delegation under appropriate
international conventions, coordinated through the Department
of State and accepted by the Board; and
``(H) an incident or incidents significantly affecting
transportation safety, as defined by the Board, under rules and
in such detail as the Board may prescribe.'';
(6) by inserting ``or incident'' after ``accident'' each
place it appears in subsection (a)(3);
(7) by inserting ``or relevant to'' after ``developed
about'' in subsection (a)(3);
(8) by inserting ``and Incident'' after ``Accident'' in the
heading for subsection (e); and
(9) by inserting ``and incident'' in subsection (e) after
``each accident''.
(d) Civil Aircraft and Maritime Accident Investigations.--
(1) In General.--Section 1132 of title 49, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) by inserting ``or have investigated'' in
subsection (a)(1) after ``investigate'';
(B) by striking ``aircraft;'' in subsection
(a)(1)(A) and inserting ``aircraft or a commercial
space launch vehicle;''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Authority of Board Representative.--The Board may, with the
consent of the Secretary, delegate to the Department of Transportation
full authority to obtain the facts of any aviation accident or incident
the Board shall investigate, and the on-scene representative of the
Secretary shall have the full authority of the Board to, on display of
appropriate credentials and written notice of inspection authority,
enter property where an aviation accident has occurred or wreckage from
the accident is located and do anything necessary to gather evidence in
support of a Board investigation, in accordance with such rules as the
Board may prescribe.
``(f) Maritime accident investigations.--The Board may, with the
consent of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating, delegate to the Coast Guard full authority to obtain the
facts of any maritime accident or incident the Board shall investigate,
and the on-scene representative of the Commandant of the Coast Guard
shall have the full authority of the Board to, on display of
appropriate credentials and written notice of inspection authority,
enter property where a maritime accident has occurred or wreckage from
the accident is located and do anything necessary to gather evidence in
support of a Board investigation, in accordance with such rules as the
Board may prescribe.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) The heading for section 1132 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``1132. Civil aircraft and maritime accident investigations''.
(B) The table of contents for chapter 11 of title
49, United States Code, is amended by striking the item
relating to section 1132 and inserting the following:

``1132. Civil aircraft and maritime accident investigations''.
(e) Inspections and Autopsies.--Section 1134 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``officer or employee of the National
Transportation Safety Board--'' in subsection (a) and inserting
``officer, employee, or designee of the National Transportation
Safety Board in the conduct of any accident or incident
investigation or study--'';
(2) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) the
following: ``The Board may download or seize any recording
device and recordings and may require specific information only
available from the manufacturer to enable the Board to read and
interpret any flight parameter or navigation storage device or
media on board the accident aircraft. The provisions of section
1114(b) of this chapter shall apply to matters properly
identified as trade secrets or commercial or financial
information.''; and
(3) by inserting after ``component.'' in subsection (c) the
following: ``The officer or employee may download or seize any
recording device and recordings, and may require the production
of specific information only available from the manufacturer to
enable the Board to read and interpret any operational
parameter or navigation storage device or media on board the
accident vehicle, vessel, or rolling stock. The provisions of
section 1114(b) of this chapter shall apply to matters properly
identified as trade secrets or commercial or financial
information.''.

SEC. 5. AVIATION PENALTIES AND FAMILY ASSISTANCE.

(a) Family Assistance in Commercial Aviation Accidents.--Section
41113(b)(7) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking
``months.'' and inserting ``months and that, prior to destruction of
unclaimed possessions, a reasonable attempt will be made to notify the
family of each passenger within 60 days of any planned destruction
date.''.
(b) Family Assistance in Commercial Aviation Accidents Involving
Foreign Carriers.--Section 41313(c)(7) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by striking ``accident.'' and inserting ``accident and that,
prior to destruction of unclaimed possessions, a reasonable attempt
will be made to notify the family of each passenger within 60 days of
any planned destruction date.''.

SEC. 6. ACCIDENT-RELATED INFORMATION RELEASE POLICY REPORT.

Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
National Transportation Safety Board shall submit to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure a report
describing the policies, procedures, and guidelines used by the Board
in the expedited release of factual accident-related information to
victims and their families, Federal, State, and local accident
investigators and agencies, private or third party investigation
partners, the public, and other stakeholders.

Passed the Senate May 13, 2010.

Attest:

Secretary.
111th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 2768

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for
the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2011 and
2012, and for other purposes.