National Construction Safety Team Act
PL 107-231 (H.R.4687), enacted 10/01/2002

PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
116 STAT. 1471 
Public Law 107-231 
107th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the establishment of investigative teams to assess building perform-
ance 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. 
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". 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAMS. 
Oct. 1, 2002 
[H.R. 4687] 
National 
Construction 
Safety Team Act. 
15 u s e 7301 
note. 
15 u s e 7301. 
Federal Register, 
publication. 
(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 (in this Act referred to as a "Team") for deployment 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. To the maximum extent practicable, 
the Director shall establish and deploy a Team within 48 hours 
after such an event. The Director shall promptly publish in the 
Federal Register notice of the establishment of each Team. 
(b) PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION; DUTIES.— 
(1) PURPOSE.—^The purpose of investigations by Teams is 
to improve the safety and structural integrity of buildings in 
the United States. 
(2) DUTIES.—A Team shall— 
(A) establish the likely technical cause or causes of 
the building failure; 
(B) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and 
emergency response procedures; 
(C) recommend, as necessary, specific improvements 
to building standards, codes, and practices based on the 
findings made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B); and 
(D) recommend any research and other appropriate 
actions needed to improve the structural safety of buildings, 
and improve evacuation and emergency response proce-
dures, based on the findings of the investigation. 
(c) PROCEDURES.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 3 months after the date Deadline. 
of the enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation 
with the United States Fire Administration and other appro-
priate Federal agencies, shall develop procedures for the 
establishment and deployment of Teams. The Director shall 
116 STAT. 1472 
PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
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 Team; 
(C) prescribing the appropriate size of Teams; 
(D) guiding the disclosure of information under section 
8; 
(E) guiding the conduct of investigations under this 
Act, including procedures for providing written notice of 
inspection authority under section 4(a) and for ensuring 
compliance with any other applicable law; 
(F) identifying and prescribing appropriate conditions 
for the provision by the Director of additional resources 
and services Teams may need; 
(G) to ensure 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) for regular briefings of the public on the status 
of the investigative proceedings and findings; 
(I) guiding the Teams in moving and preserving evi-
dence as described in section 4 (a)(4), (b)(2), and (d)(4); 
(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; and 
(K) regarding such other issues as the Director con-
siders appropriate. 
Federal Register, 
(2) PUBLICATION.—The Director shall publish promptly in 
publication. 
the Federal Register final procedures, and subsequent updates 
thereof, developed under paragraph (1). 
15 use 7302. 
SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF TEAMS. 
Each Team shall be composed of individuals selected by the 
Director and led by an individual designated by the Director. Team 
members shall include at least 1 employee of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology and shall include other experts who 
are not employees of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology, who may include private sector experts, university experts, 
representatives of professional 
organizations with appropriate 
expertise, and appropriate Federal, State, or local officials. Team 
members who are not Federal employees shall be considered Federal 
Government contractors. 
15 use 7303. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES. 
(a) ENTRY AND INSPECTION.—In investigating a building failure 
under this Act, members of a Team, and any other person author-
ized by the Director to support a Team, on display of appropriate 
credentials provided by the Director and written notice of inspection 
authority, may— 
(1) enter property where a building failure being inves-
tigated has occurred, or where building components, materials, 
and artifacts with respect to the building failure are located, 
and take action necessary, appropriate, and reasonable in light 
of the nature of the property to be inspected to carry out 
the duties of the Team under section 2(b)(2) (A) and (B); 
PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
116 STAT. 1473 
(2) during reasonable hours, 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, 
£ind artifacts related to the building failure; and 
(4) move such records, components, materials, and artifacts 
as provided by the procedures developed under section 2(c)(1). 
(b) AVOIDING UNNECESSARY INTERFERENCE AND PRESERVING 
EVIDENCE.—^An inspection, test, or other action taken by a 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 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 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.—^The 
National 
Institute of Standards and Technology shall enter into a memo-
randum of understanding with each Federal agency that may 
conduct or sponsor a related investigation, providing for 
coordination of investigations. 
(4) WITH STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES.—^A Team shall 
cooperate with State and local authorities carrying out any 
activities related to a Team's investigation. 
(d) INTERAGENCY PRIORITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2) or 
(3), a 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 inves-
tigation related to an investigation of a Team, the National 
Transportation Safety Board investigation shall have priority 
over the Team investigation. Such priority shall not otherwise 
Eiffect the authority of the Team to continue its investigation 
under this Act. 
(3) CRIMINAL ACTS.—If the Attorney General, in consulta-
tion with the Director, determines, and notifies the Director, 
that circumstances reasonably indicate that the building failure 
being investigated by a Team may have been caused by a 
criminal act, the Team shall relinquish investigative priority 
to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The relinquishment 
of investigative priority by the Team shall not otherwise affect 
the authority of the Team to continue its investigation under 
this Act. 
(4) PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE.—If a Federal law enforce-
ment agency suspects and notifies the Director that a building 
failure being investigated by a Team under this Act may have 
116 STAT. 1474 
PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
been caused by a criminal act, the Team, in consultation with 
the Federal law enforcement agency, shall take necessary 
actions to ensure that evidence of the criminal act is preserved. 
15 use 7304. 
SEC. 5. BRIEFINGS, HEARINGS, WITNESSES, AND SUBPOENAS. 
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Director or his designee, on 
behalf of a Team, may conduct hearings, administer oaths, and 
require, by subpoena (pursuant to subsection (e)) and otherwise, 
necessary witnesses and evidence as necessary to carry out this 
Act. 
(b) BRIEFINGS.—The Director or his designee (who may be 
the leader or a member of a Team), on behalf of a Team, shall 
hold regular public briefings on the status of investigative pro-
ceedings and findings, including a final briefing after the report 
required by section 8 is issued. 
(c) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—During the course of an investigation 
by a Team, the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
may, 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 or evidence in an 
investigation under this Act may be summoned or required to 
be produced from any place in the United States. A witness sum-
moned under this subsection is entitled to the same fee and mileage 
the witness would have been paid in a court of the United States. 
(e) ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS.—^A subpoena shall be issued only 
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 sub-
poena issued by the Director under this Act, the Attorney General, 
acting on behalf of the Director, may bring a civil action in a 
district court of the United States to enforce the subpoena. 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 as a 
contempt of court. 
15 use 7305. 
SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL POWERS. 
In order to support Teams 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 authori-
ties; 
(4) accept voluntary and uncompensated services; 
(5) accept and use gifts of money and other property, to 
the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts; 
(6) make contracts with nonprofit entities to carry out 
studies related to purpose, functions, and authorities of the 
Teams; and 
PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
116 STAT. 1475 
(7) provide nongovernmental members of the Team reason-
able compensation for time spent carrying out activities under 
this Act. 
SEC. 7. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. 
15 USC 7306. 
(a) GENERAL RULE.—^Except as otherwise provided in this sec- Records, 
tion, a copy of a record, information, or investigation submitted 
or received by a Team shall be made available to the public on 
request and at reasonable cost. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) does not require the release 
of— 
(1) information described by section 552(b) of title 5, United 
States Code, or protected from disclosure by any other law 
of the United States; or 
(2) information described in subsection (a) by the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology or by a Team until 
the report required by section 8 is issued, 
(c) PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.— 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Team, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, and any agency receiving 
information from a 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 provi-
sion of that type of information. 
(d) PUBLIC SAFETY INFORMATION.—A 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. 8. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM REPORT. 
15USC7307. 
Not later than 90 days after completing an investigation, a Deadline. 
Team shall issue a public report which includes— 
(1) an analysis of the likely technical cause or causes of 
the building failure investigated; 
(2) any technical recommendations for changes to or the 
establishment of evacuation and emergency response proce-
dures; 
(3) any 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. 9. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 
ACTIONS. 
After the issuance of a public report under section 8, the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology shall comprehen-
sively review the report and, working with the United States Fire 
Administration and other appropriate Federal and non-Federal 
agencies and organizations— 
(1) conduct, or enable or encourage the conducting of, appro-
priate research recommended by the Team; and 
(2) promote (consistent with existing procedures for the 
establishment of building standards, codes, and practices) the 
15 USC 7308. 
116 STAT. 1476 
PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
appropriate adoption by the Federal Grovemment, and encour-
age the appropriate adoption by other agencies and organiza-
tions, of the recommendations of the 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. 
15 use 7309. 
SEC. 10. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 
ANNUAL REPORT. 
Deadline. 
Not later than February 15 of each year, the Director shall 
transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of Representa-
tives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate a report that includes— 
(1) a summary of the investigations conducted by Teams 
during the prior fiscal year; 
(2) a summary of recommendations made by the Teams 
in reports issued under section 8 during the prior fiscal year 
and a description of the extent to which those recommendations 
have been implemented; and 
(3) a description of the actions taken to improve building 
safety and structural integrity by the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology during the prior fiscal year in 
response to reports issued under section 8. 
15 use 7310. 
SEC. 11. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS.—The Director, in consulta-
tion with the United States Fire Administration and other appro-
priate 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(c)(1) and the reports issued 
under section 8. 
Deadline. 
(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 Team activities, along with rec-
ommendations to improve the operation and effectiveness of 
Teams; and 
(2) an assessment of the implementation of the rec-
ommendations of Teams and of the advisory committee. 
(c) DURATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 14 of the Fed-
eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the advisory com-
mittee established under this section. 
15 use 7311. 
SEC. 12. ADDITIONAL APPLICABILITY. 
The authorities and restrictions applicable under this Act to 
the Director and to Teams shall apply to the activities of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology in response to 
the attacks of September 11, 2001. 
SEC. 13. 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," after "from such investigation". 
PUBLIC LAW 107-231—OCT. 1, 2002 
116 STAT. 1477 
SEC. 14. CONSTRUCTION. 
15 USC 7312. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to confer any authority 
on the National Institute of Standards and Technology to require 
the adoption of building standards, codes, or practices. 
SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
15 USC 7313. 
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is author-
ized to use funds otherwise authorized by law to carry out this 
Act. 
Approved October 1, 2002. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4687: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 107-530 (Comm. on Science). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 148 (2002): 
July 12, considered and passed House. 
Sept. 9, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Sept. 17, House concurred in Senate amendment.