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1111. General organization.

1112. Special boards of inquiry on air transportation safety.

1113. Administrative.

1114. Disclosure, availability, and use of information.

1115. Training.

1116. Reports and studies.

1117. Annual report.

1118. Authorization of appropriations.

1119. Accident and safety data classification and publication.

1131. General authority.

SUBCHAPTER III-AUTHORITY

1132. Civil aircraft accident investigations.

1133. Review of other agency action.

1134. Inspections and autopsies.

1135. Secretary of Transportation's responses to safety recommendations. 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents. 1137. Authority of the Inspector General.

SUBCHAPTER IV-ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES

1151. Aviation enforcement.

1152. Joinder and intervention in aviation proceedings.

1153. Judicial review.

1154. Discovery and use of cockpit and surface vehicle recordings and transcripts. 1155. Aviation penalties.

SUBCHAPTER I-GENERAL

§1101. Definitions

Section 2101(17a) of title 46 and section 40102(a) of this title apply to this chapter. In this chapter, the term "accident" includes damage to or destruction of vehicles in surface or air transportation or pipelines, regardless of whether the initiating event is accidental or otherwise.

SUBCHAPTER II-ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE § 1111. General organization

(a) ORGANIZATION.-The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent establishment of the United States Government.

(b) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.-The Board is composed of 5 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than 3 members may be appointed from the same political party. At least 3 members shall be appointed on the basis of technical qualification, professional standing, and demonstrated knowledge in accident reconstruction, safety engineering, human factors, transportation safety, or transportation regulation.

(c) TERMS OF OFFICE AND REMOVAL.-The term of office of each member is 5 years. An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the predecessor of that individual was appointed, is appointed for the remainder of that term. When the term of office of a member ends, the member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed and qualified. The President may remove a member for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

(d) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.-The President shall designate, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Chairman of the Board. The President also shall designate a Vice Chairman of the Board. The terms of office of both the Chairman and Vice Chairman are 2 years. When the Chairman is absent or unable to serve or when the position of Chairman is vacant, the Vice Chairman acts as Chairman.

(e) DUTIES AND POWERS OF CHAIRMAN.-The Chairman is the chief executive and administrative officer of the Board. Subject to the general policies and decisions of the Board, the Chairman shall

(1) appoint, supervise, and fix the pay of officers and employees necessary to carry out this chapter;

(2) distribute business among the officers, employees, and administrative units of the Board; and

(3) supervise the expenditures of the Board.

(f) QUORUM.-Three members of the Board are a quorum in carrying out duties and powers of the Board.

(g) OFFICES, BUREAUS, AND DIVISIONS.-The Board shall establish offices necessary to carry out this chapter, including an office to investigate and report on the safe transportation of hazardous material. The Board shall establish distinct and appropriately staffed bureaus, divisions, or offices to investigate and report on accidents involving each of the following modes of transportation: (1) aviation.

(2) highway and motor vehicle.

(3) rail and tracked vehicle.

(4) pipeline.

(h) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.-The Chairman shall designate an officer or employee of the Board as the Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer shall

(1) report directly to the Chairman on financial management and budget execution;

(2) direct, manage, and provide policy guidance and oversight on financial management and property and inventory control; and

(3) review the fees, rents, and other charges imposed by the Board for services and things of value it provides, and suggest appropriate revisions to those charges to reflect costs in

curred by the Board in providing those services and things of value.

(i) SEAL.-The Board shall have a seal that shall be judicially recognized.

§ 1112. Special boards of inquiry on air transportation safety

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.-If an accident involves a substantial question about public safety in air transportation, the National Transportation Safety Board may establish a special board of inquiry composed of—

(1) one member of the Board acting as chairman; and

(2) 2 members representing the public, appointed by the President on notification of the establishment of the special board of inquiry.

(b) QUALIFICATIONS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.-The public members of a special board of inquiry must be qualified by training and experience to participate in the inquiry and may not have a pecuniary interest in an aviation enterprise involved in the accident to be investigated.

(c) AUTHORITY.-A special board of inquiry has the same authority that the Board has under this chapter.

§ 1113. Administrative

(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—(1) The National Transportation Safety Board, and when authorized by it, a member of the Board, an administrative law judge employed by or assigned to the Board, or an officer or employee designated by the Chairman of the Board, may conduct hearings to carry out this chapter, administer oaths, and require, by subpena or otherwise, necessary witnesses and evidence.

(2) A witness or evidence in a hearing under paragraph (1) of this subsection may be summoned or required to be produced from any place in the United States to the designated place of the hearing. 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.

(3) A subpena shall be issued under the signature of the Chairman or the Chairman's delegate but may be served by any person designated by the Chairman.

(4) If a person disobeys a subpena, order, or inspection notice of the Board, the Board may bring a civil action in a district court of the United States to enforce the subpena, order, or notice. An action under this paragraph 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 subpena, order, or notice as a contempt of court.

(b) ADDITIONAL POWERS. (1) The Board may

(A) procure the temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants under section 3109 of title 5;

(B) make agreements and other transactions necessary to carry out this chapter without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5);

(C) use, when appropriate, available services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government on a reimbursable or other basis;

(D) confer with employees and use services, records, and facilities of State and local governmental authorities;

(E) appoint advisory committees composed of qualified private citizens and officials of the Government and State and local governments as appropriate;

(F) accept voluntary and uncompensated services notwithstanding another law;

(G) accept gifts of money and other property;

(H) make contracts with nonprofit entities to carry out studies related to duties and powers of the Board; and

(I)1 negotiate and enter into agreements with individuals and private entities and departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, State and local governments, and governments of foreign countries for the provision of facilities, accident-related and technical services or training in accident investigation theory and techniques, and require that such entities provide appropriate consideration for the reasonable costs of any facilities, goods, services, or training provided by the Board.

(2) The Board shall deposit in the Treasury amounts received under paragraph (1)(I) of this subsection to be credited as offsetting collections to the appropriation of the Board. The Board shall maintain an annual record of collections received under paragraph (1)(I) of this subsection.

(c) SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN COPIES TO CONGRESS.-When the Board submits to the President or the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a budget estimate, budget request, supplemental budget estimate, other budget information, a legislative recommendation, prepared testimony for congressional hearings, or comments on legislation, the Board must submit a copy to Congress at the same time. An officer, department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government may not require the Board to submit the estimate, request, information, recommendation, testimony, or comments to another officer, department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government for approval, comment, or review before being submitted to Congress.

(d) LIAISON COMMITTEES.-The Chairman may determine the number of committees that are appropriate to maintain effective liaison with other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, State and local governmental authorities, and independent standard-setting authorities that carry out programs and activities related to transportation safety. The Board may designate representatives to serve on or assist those committees.

(e) INQUIRIES.-The Board, or an officer or employee of the Board designated by the Chairman, may conduct an inquiry to obtain information related to transportation safety after publishing notice of the inquiry in the Federal Register. The Board or designated officer or employee may require by order a department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government, a State or local gov

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ernmental authority, or a person transporting individuals or property in commerce to submit to the Board a written report and answers to requests and questions related to a duty or power of the Board. The Board may prescribe the time within which the report and answers must be given to the Board or to the designated officer or employee. Copies of the report and answers shall be made available for public inspection.

(f) REGULATIONS.-The Board may prescribe regulations to carry out this chapter.

(g) OVERTIME PAY.

(1) IN GENERAL.-Subject to the requirements of this section and notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 5542(a) of title 5, for an employee of the Board whose basic pay is at a rate which equals or exceeds the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 of the General Schedule, the Board may establish an overtime hourly rate of pay for the employee with respect to work performed at the scene of an accident (including travel to or from the scene) and other work that is critical to an accident investigation in an amount equal to one and onehalf times the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee. All of such amount shall be considered to be premium pay.

(2) LIMITATION ON OVERTIME PAY TO AN EMPLOYEE.—An employee of the Board may not receive overtime pay under paragraph (1), for work performed in a calendar year, in an amount that exceeds 15 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the employee for such calendar year.

(3) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF OVERTIME PAY.-The Board may not make overtime payments under paragraph (1) for work performed in any fiscal year in a total amount that exceeds 1.5 percent of the amount appropriated to carry out this chapter for that fiscal year.

(4) BASIC PAY DEFINED. In this subsection, the term "basic pay" includes any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 of title 5 (or similar provision of law) and any special rate of pay under section 5305 of title 5 (or similar provision of law).

(5) ANNUAL REPORT.-Not later than January 31, 2002, and annually thereafter, the Board shall transmit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee a report identifying the total amount of overtime payments made under this subsection in the preceding fiscal year, and the number of employees whose overtime pay under this subsection was limited in that fiscal year as a result of the 15 percent limit established by paragraph (2).

§ 1114. Disclosure, availability, and use of information

(a) GENERAL. (1) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (f) of this section, a copy of a record, information, or investigation submitted or received by the National Transportation Safety Board, or a member or employee of the Board, shall be made available to the public on identifiable request and at reasonable cost. This subsection does not require the release of information described by section 552(b) of title 5 or protected from disclosure by another law of the United States.

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