S. 2412

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the National

Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003, 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; REFERENCES.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National

Transportation Safety Board Amendments Act of 2000’’.

(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise specifically provided,

whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in

terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision

of law, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section

or other provision of title 49, United States Code.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

Section 1101 is amended to read as follows:

‘‘§ 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.’’.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1113(b)(1)(I) is amended to read as

follows:

‘‘(I) 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.’’.

(b) DEPOSIT OF AMOUNTS.—

(1) Section 1113(b)(2) is amended—

(A) by inserting ‘‘as offsetting collections’’ after ‘‘to

be credited’’; and

(B) by adding after ‘‘Board.’’ the following: ‘‘The Board

shall maintain an annual record of collections received

under paragraph (1)(I) of this subsection.’’.
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(2) Section 1114(a) is amended—

(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Except’’; and

(B) by adding at the end thereof the following:

‘‘(2) The Board shall deposit in the Treasury amounts

received under paragraph (1) to be credited to the appropriation

of the Board as offsetting collections.’’.

(3) Section 1115(d) is amended by striking ‘‘of the ‘National

Transportation Safety Board, Salaries and Expenses’ ’’ and

inserting ‘‘of the Board’’.

SEC. 4. OVERTIME PAY.

Section 1113 is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(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 one-half 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).’’.

SEC. 5. RECORDERS.

(a) COCKPIT VIDEO RECORDINGS.—Section 1114(c) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘VOICE’’ in the subsection heading;

(2) by striking ‘‘cockpit voice recorder’’ in paragraphs (1)

and (2) and inserting ‘‘cockpit voice or video recorder’’; and

(3) by inserting ‘‘or any written depiction of visual information’’ after ‘‘transcript’’ in the second sentence of paragraph

(1).
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(b) SURFACE VEHICLE RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1114 is amended—

(A) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and

(B) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:

‘‘(d) SURFACE VEHICLE RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.—

‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDINGS.—The Board may not

disclose publicly any part of a surface vehicle voice or video

recorder recording or transcript of oral communications by or

among drivers, train employees, or other operating employees

responsible for the movement and direction of the vehicle or

vessel, or between such operating employees and company

communication centers, related to an accident investigated by

the Board. However, the Board shall make public any part

of a transcript or any written depiction of visual information

that the Board decides is relevant to the accident—

‘‘(A) if the Board holds a public hearing on the accident,

at the time of the hearing; or

‘‘(B) if the Board does not hold a public hearing, at

the time a majority of the other factual reports on the

accident are placed in the public docket.

‘‘(2) REFERENCES TO INFORMATION IN MAKING SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.—This subsection does not prevent the Board

from referring at any time to voice or video recorder information

in making safety recommendations.’’.

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first sentence of section

1114(a) is amended by striking ‘‘and (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d),

and (f)’’.

(c) DISCOVERY AND USE OF COCKPIT AND SURFACE VEHICLE

RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1154 is amended—

(A) by striking the section heading and inserting the

following:

‘‘§ 1154. Discovery and use of cockpit and surface vehicle

recordings and transcripts’’;

(B) by striking ‘‘cockpit voice recorder’’ each place it

appears in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘cockpit or surface

vehicle recorder’’;

(C) by striking ‘‘section 1114(c)’’ each place it appears

in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘section 1114(c) or 1114(d)’’;

and

(D) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(6) In this subsection:

‘‘(A) RECORDER.—The term ‘recorder’ means a voice

or video recorder.

‘‘(B) TRANSCRIPT.—The term ‘transcript’ includes any

written depiction of visual information obtained from a

video recorder.’’.

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for

chapter 11 is amended by striking the item relating to section

1154 and inserting the following:

‘‘1154. Discovery and use of cockpit and surface vehicle recordings and transcripts.’’.

SEC. 6. PRIORITY OF INVESTIGATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1131(a)(2) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘(2) An investigation’’ and inserting:
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‘‘(2)(A) Subject to the requirements of this paragraph, an

investigation’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(B) If the Attorney General, in consultation with the

Chairman of the Board, determines and notifies the Board

that circumstances reasonably indicate that the accident

may have been caused by an intentional criminal act, the

Board shall relinquish investigative priority to the Federal

Bureau of Investigation. The relinquishment of investigative priority by the Board shall not otherwise affect the

authority of the Board to continue its investigation under

this section.

‘‘(C) If a Federal law enforcement agency suspects and

notifies the Board that an accident being investigated by

the Board under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) may have been caused by an intentional criminal

act, the Board, in consultation with the law enforcement

agency, shall take necessary actions to ensure that evidence

of the criminal act is preserved.’’.

(b) REVISION OF 1977 AGREEMENT.—Not later than 1 year after

the date of the 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 Act.

SEC. 7. PUBLIC AIRCRAFT INVESTIGATION CLARIFICATION.

Section 1131(d) is amended by striking ‘‘1134(b)(2)’’ and

inserting ‘‘1134 (a), (b), (d), and (f)’’.

SEC. 8. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

Act, the National Transportation Safety Board and the United

States Coast Guard shall revise their Memorandum of Understanding governing major marine accidents—

(1) to redefine or clarify the standards used to determine

when the National Transportation Safety Board will lead an

investigation; and

(2) to develop new standards to determine when a major

marine accident involves significant safety issues relating to

Coast Guard safety functions.

SEC. 9. TRAVEL BUDGETS.

The Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board

shall establish annual fiscal year budgets for non-accident-related

travel expenditures for Board members which shall be approved

by the Board and submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation and to the House of Representatives

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure together with an

annual report detailing the non-accident-related travel of each

Board member. The report shall include separate accounting for

foreign and domestic travel, including any personnel or other

expenses associated with that travel.

SEC. 10. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.

Section 1111 is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and

(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
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‘‘(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

incurred by the Board in providing those services and things

of value.’’.

SEC. 11. IMPROVED AUDIT PROCEDURES.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in consultation with

the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation, shall

develop and implement comprehensive internal audit controls for

its financial programs based on the findings and recommendations

of the private sector audit firm contract entered into by the Board

in March, 2000. The improved internal audit controls shall, at

a minimum, address Board asset management systems, including

systems for accounting management, debt collection, travel, and

property and inventory management and control.

SEC. 12. AUTHORITY OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 11 of subtitle II

is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘§ 1137. Authority of the Inspector General

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the Department

of Transportation, in accordance with the mission of the Inspector

General to prevent and detect fraud and abuse, shall have authority

to review only the financial management, property management,

and business operations of the National Transportation Safety

Board, including internal accounting and administrative control

systems, to determine compliance with applicable Federal laws,

rules, and regulations.

‘‘(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out this section, the Inspector General

shall—

‘‘(1) keep the Chairman of the Board and Congress fully

and currently informed about problems relating to administration of the internal accounting and administrative control systems of the Board;

‘‘(2) issue findings and recommendations for actions to

address such problems; and

‘‘(3) report periodically to Congress on any progress made

in implementing actions to address such problems.

‘‘(c) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—In carrying out this section,

the Inspector General may exercise authorities granted to the

Inspector General under subsections (a) and (b) of section 6 of

the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).

‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Inspector General shall be

reimbursed by the Board for the costs associated with carrying

out activities under this section.’’.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The subchapter analysis for

such subchapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘1137. Authority of the Inspector General.’’.
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SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 1118 is amended to read as follows:

‘‘§ 1118. Authorization of appropriations

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this chapter $57,000,000 for fiscal year 2000,

$65,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and $72,000,000 for fiscal year

2002, such sums to remain available until expended.

‘‘(b) EMERGENCY FUND.—The Board has an emergency fund of $2,000,000 available for necessary expenses of the Board, not

otherwise provided for, for accident investigations. Amounts equal

to the amounts expended annually out of the fund are authorized

to be appropriated to the emergency fund.’’.

SEC. 14. CREDITING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT FLIGHT TIME.

In determining whether an individual meets the aeronautical

experience requirements imposed under section 44703 of title 49,

United States Code, for an airman certificate or rating, the Secretary of Transportation shall take into account any time spent

by that individual operating a public aircraft as defined in section

40102 of title 49, United States Code, if that aircraft is—

(1) identifiable by category and class; and

(2) used in law enforcement activities.

SEC. 15. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

Section 46301(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended

by striking ‘‘46302, 46303,’’ and inserting ‘‘46301(b), 46302, 46303,

46318,’’.

SEC. 16. CONFIRMATION OF INTERIM FINAL RULE ISSUANCE UNDER

SECTION 45301.

The publication, by the Department of Transportation, Federal

Aviation Administration, in the Federal Register of June 6, 2000

(65 FR 36002) of an interim final rule concerning Fees for FAA

Services for Certain Flights (Docket No. FAA–00–7018) is deemed

to have been issued in accordance with the requirements of section

45301(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code.

SEC. 17. AERONAUTICAL CHARTING.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44721 of title 49, United States Code,

is amended—

(1) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (c);

and

(2) by adding at the end of subsection (g)(1) the following:

‘‘(D) CONTINUATION OF PRICES.—The price of any

product created under subsection (d) may correspond to

the price of a comparable product produced by a department

of the United States Government as that price was in

effect on September 30, 2000, and may remain in effect

until modified by regulation under section 9701 of title

31, United States Code.’’; and
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(3) by adding at the end of subsection (g) the following:

‘‘(5) CREDITING AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—Notwithstanding any

other provision of law, amounts received for the sale of products

created and services performed under this section shall be

fully credited to the account of the Federal Aviation Administration that funded the provision of the products or services and

shall remain available until expended.’’.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by subsection

(a) take effect on October 1, 2000.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.