II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2768 

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

the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2010 through 

2014, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 10, 2009 

Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

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

for fiscal years 2010 through 2014, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Transpor5 tation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(a) of title 49, 

8 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap2 propriated for the purposes of this chapter $100,000,000 

3 for fiscal year 2010, $105,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, 

4 $112,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, $118,000,000 for fis5 cal year 2013, and $124,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

6 Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’. 

7 (b) FEES, REFUNDS, REIMBURSEMENTS, AND AD8 VANCES.—Section 1118(c) of such title is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(c) FEES, REFUNDS, REIMBURSEMENTS, AND AD11 VANCES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may impose 

13 and collect such fees, refunds, reimbursements, and 

14 advances as it determines to be appropriate for ac15 tivities, services, and facilities provided by or 

16 through the Board. 

17 ‘‘(2) RECEIPTS CREDITED AS OFFSETTING COL18 LECTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 

19 31, any fee, refund, reimbursement, or advance col20 lected under this subsection— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collec22 tions to the account that finances the activities, 

23 services, or facilities for which the fee, refund, 

24 reimbursement, or advance is associated; 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall be available for expenditure only 

2 to pay the costs of activities, services, or facili3 ties for which the fee, refund, reimbursement, 

4 or advance is associated; and 

5 ‘‘(C) shall remain available until expended. 

6 ‘‘(3) RECORD.—The Board shall maintain an 

7 annual record of collections received under para8 graph (2). 

9 ‘‘(4) REFUNDS.—The Board may refund any 

10 fee or advance paid by mistake or any amount paid 

11 in excess of that required.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1101 of title 49, United 

14 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘otherwise.’’ and in15 serting ‘‘otherwise, and may include incidents not involv16 ing destruction or damage, but significantly affecting 

17 transportation safety, as the Board may prescribe or Con18 gress may direct.’’. 

19 (b) GENERAL ORGANIZATION.—Section 1111(d) of 

20 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘ab21 sent’’ and inserting ‘‘unavailable’’. 

22 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE.—Section 1113 of title 49, 

23 United States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘or depositions’’ in paragraph 

25 (a)(1) after ‘‘hearings’’; and 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘In the interest of transpor2 tation safety, the Board shall have the authority by 

3 subpoena to summon witnesses and obtain any and 

4 all evidence relevant to an accident investigation 

5 conducted under this chapter.’’ after ‘‘(2)’’ in sub6 section (a)(2). 

7 (d) DISCLOSURE, AVAILABILITY, AND USE OF IN8 FORMATION.—Section 1114 of title 49, United States 

9 Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by striking the heading for subsection (b) 

11 and inserting ‘‘(b) TRADE SECRETS; COMMERCIAL

12 OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—’’; 

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘submitted to the Board in the 

14 course of a Board investigation or study and’’ in 

15 subsection (b)(1) after ‘‘information’’ the first place 

16 it appears; 

17 (3) by striking ‘‘title 18’’ in subsection (b)(1) 

18 and inserting ‘‘title 18, or commercial or financial 

19 information,’’; 

20 (4) by striking ‘‘safety’’ in subsection (b)(1)(D) 

21 the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘safety, in22 cluding through the issuance of reports of accident 

23 investigation or safety studies and safety rec24 ommendations,’’; 


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1 (5) by inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through 

2 (C) of’’ after ‘‘under’’ in subsection (b)(2); 

3 (6) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(4) Each person submitting to the Board trade se6 crets, commercial or financial information, or information 

7 that could be classified as controlled under the Inter8 national Traffic in Arms Regulations shall appropriately 

9 annotate the information to indicate the restricted nature 

10 of the information in order to facilitate proper handling 

11 of such materials by the Board.’’; 

12 (7) by striking ‘‘shall’’ in paragraph(1)(A) of 

13 subsection (f) and inserting ‘‘may’’; 

14 (8) by striking ‘‘information’’ in paragraph (2) 

15 of subsection (f) and inserting ‘‘information, or 

16 other relevant information authorized for disclosure 

17 under this chapter,’’; and 

18 (9) by adding at the end thereof the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) ONGOING BOARD INVESTIGATIONS.—(1) Not20 withstanding any other provision of law, neither the 

21 Board, nor any agency receiving information from the 

22 Board, may publicly disclose records related to an ongoing 

23 Board investigation, and such records shall be exempt 

24 from disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5. Not25 withstanding the preceding sentence, the Board may make 


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1 public specific records relevant to the investigation, release 

2 of which in the Board’s judgment is necessary to promote 

3 transportation safety— 

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

5 accident or incident, at the time of the hearing; 

6 ‘‘(B) if the Board does not hold a public hear7 ing, at the time the Board determines that substan8 tial portions of the underlying factual reports on the 

9 accident or incident, and supporting evidence, will be 

10 placed in the public docket; or 

11 ‘‘(C) if the Board determines during an ongoing 

12 investigation or study that circumstances warrant 

13 disclosure of specific factual material and that such 

14 material need be placed in the public docket to facili15 tate dialogue with other agencies or instrumental16 ities, regulatory bodies, industry or industry groups, 

17 or Congress. 

18 ‘‘(2) This subsection does not prevent the Board from 

19 referring at any time to evidence from an ongoing inves20 tigation in making safety recommendations. 

21 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘ongoing investiga22 tion’ means that period beginning at the time the Board 

23 is notified of an accident or incident and ending when the 

24 Board issues a final report or brief, or determines to close 

25 an investigation without issuing a report or brief.’’. 


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1 (e) REPORTS AND STUDIES—Section 1116(b) of title 

2 49, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘carry out’’ in paragraph (1) 

4 and inserting ‘‘conduct’’; and 

5 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) prescribe requirements for persons report8 ing accidents and incidents that may be investigated 

9 by the Board under this chapter;’’. 

10 (f) DISCOVERY AND USE OF COCKPIT AND SURFACE

11 VEHICLE RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.—Section 

12 1154(a)(1)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘and’’ and inserting ‘‘or’’. 

14 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD. 

15 (a) EVALUATION AND AUDIT.—Section 1138(a) of 

16 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘con17 ducted at least annually, but may be’’. 

18 (b) TRAINING OF BOARD EMPLOYEES AND OTH19 ERS.—Section 1115(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘investigation.’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘investigation, including investigation theory and 

23 techniques and transportation safety, to advance 

24 Board safety recommendations.’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘training.’’ and inserting ‘‘train2 ing or who influence transportation safety through 

3 support or adoption of Board safety recommenda4 tions.’’; and 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘collections.’’ and inserting ‘‘col6 lections under the provisions of section 1118 of this 

7 chapter.’’. 

8 (c) ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION AUTHORITY.—Section 

9 1131 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (a)(1)(C) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) a freight or passenger railroad accident in 

13 which there is a fatality (other than a fatality involv14 ing a trespasser), substantial property damage, or 

15 significant injury to the environment;’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

17 subsection (a)(1)(E); 

18 (3) by inserting ‘‘or incident’’ after ‘‘accident’’ 

19 each place it appears in subsection (a)(1)(F); 

20 (4) by striking ‘‘chapter.’’ in subsection 

21 (a)(1)(F) and inserting ‘‘chapter;’’; 

22 (5) by adding at the end of subsection (a)(1) 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(G) an accident or incident in response to an 

25 international request and delegation under approVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:00 Nov 11, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2768.IS S2768

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1 priate international conventions, coordinated through 

2 the Department of State and accepted by the Board; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(H) an incident or incidents significantly af5 fecting transportation safety, as defined by the 

6 Board, under rules and in such detail as the Board 

7 may prescribe.’’; 

8 (6) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)–(D) or (F)’’ 

9 in subsection (a)(2)(A) and inserting ‘‘any of sub10 paragraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (1)’’; 

11 (7) by inserting ‘‘or incident’’ after ‘‘accident’’ 

12 each place it appears in subsection (a)(3); 

13 (8) by inserting ‘‘or relevant to’’ after ‘‘devel14 oped about’’ in subsection (a)(3); 

15 (9) by inserting ‘‘AND INCIDENT’’ after ‘‘ACCI16 DENT’’ in the heading for subsection (e); and 

17 (10) by inserting ‘‘and incident’’ in subsection 

18 (e) after ‘‘each accident’’. 

19 (d) CIVIL AIRCRAFT AND MARITIME ACCIDENT IN20 VESTIGATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1132 of title 49, 

22 United States Code, is amended— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘or have investigated’’ in 

24 subsection (a)(1) after ‘‘investigate’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘aircraft.’’ in subsection 

2 (a)(1)(A) and inserting ‘‘aircraft or commercial 

3 space launch vehicle.’’; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY OF BOARD REPRESENTATIVE.—The 

6 Board may, with the consent of the Secretary, delegate 

7 to the Department of Transportation full authority to ob8 tain the facts of any aviation accident or incident the 

9 Board shall investigate, and the on-scene representative 

10 of the Secretary shall have the full authority of the Board 

11 to, on display of appropriate credentials and written notice 

12 of inspection authority, enter property where an aviation 

13 accident has occurred or wreckage from the accident is 

14 located and do anything necessary to gather evidence in 

15 support of a Board investigation, in accordance with such 

16 rules as the Board may prescribe. 

17 ‘‘(f) MARITIME ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS.—The 

18 Board may, with the consent of the Secretary of the de19 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, delegate 

20 to the Coast Guard full authority to obtain the facts of 

21 any maritime accident or incident the Board shall inves22 tigate, and the on-scene representative of the Com23 mandant of the Coast Guard shall have the full authority 

24 of the Board to, on display of appropriate credentials and 

25 written notice of inspection authority, enter property 


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1 where a maritime accident has occurred or wreckage from 

2 the accident is located and do anything necessary to gath3 er evidence in support of a Board investigation, in accord4 ance with such rules as the Board may prescribe.’’. 

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (A) The heading for section 1132 of title 

7 49, United States Code, is amended to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 1132. Civil aircraft and maritime accident inves10 tigations’’. 

11 (B) The table of contents for chapter 11 of 

12 title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

13 striking the item relating to section 1132 and 

14 inserting the following: 

‘‘1132. Civil aircraft and maritime accident investigations’’. 

15 (e) INSPECTIONS AND AUTOPSIES.—Section 1134 of 

16 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘officer or employee of the Na18 tional Transportation Safety Board—’’ in subsection 

19 (a) and inserting ‘‘officer, employee, or designee of 

20 the National Transportation Safety Board in the 

21 conduct of any accident or incident investigation or 

22 study—’’; 

23 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) 

24 the following: ‘‘The Board may download or seize 

25 any recording device and recordings and may require 


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1 specific information only available from the manu2 facturer to enable the Board to read and interpret 

3 any flight parameter or navigation storage device or 

4 media on board the accident aircraft. The provisions 

5 of section 1114(b) of this chapter shall apply to 

6 matters properly identified as trade secrets or com7 mercial or financial information.’’; and 

8 (3) by inserting after ‘‘component.’’ in sub9 section (c) the following: ‘‘The officer or employee 

10 may download or seize any recording device and re11 cordings, and may require the production of specific 

12 information only available from the manufacturer to 

13 enable the Board to read and interpret any oper14 ational parameter or navigation storage device or 

15 media on board the accident vehicle, vessel, or roll16 ing stock. The provisions of section 1114(b) of this 

17 chapter shall apply to matters properly identified as 

18 trade secrets or commercial or financial informa19 tion.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. AVIATION PENALTIES AND FAMILY ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) FAMILY ASSISTANCE IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION

22 ACCIDENTS.—Section 41113(b)(7) of title 49, United 

23 States Code is amended by striking ‘‘months.’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘months and that, prior to destruction of unclaimed 

25 possessions, a reasonable attempt will be made to notify 


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1 the family of each passenger within 60 days of any 

2 planned destruction date.’’. 

3 (b) FAMILY ASSISTANCE IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION

4 ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FOREIGN CARRIERS.—Section 

5 41313(c)(7) of title 49, United States Code is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘accident.’’ and inserting ‘‘accident and that, 

7 prior to destruction of unclaimed possessions, a reasonable 

8 attempt will be made to notify the family of each pas9 senger within 60 days of any planned destruction date.’’. 

Æ 


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