49 U.S.C. § 1140 — Information individuals 1 involved in acci-

Page 177 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 1151 1 So in original. Probably should be preceded by ‘‘for’’. port services’’ for ‘‘emotional care and support’’ and ‘‘passengers involved in the accident and the families of such passengers’’ for ‘‘the families of passengers in- volved in the accident’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(4)(A), substituted ‘‘passengers involved in the accident and the families of such passengers’’ for ‘‘the families of passengers in- volved in the accident’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(4)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘emotional care, psychological care, and fam- ily support services’’ for ‘‘mental health and counseling services’’. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(4)(C), sub- stituted ‘‘passengers involved in the accident and the families of such passengers who have traveled to the lo- cation of the accident’’ for ‘‘the families who have trav- eled to the location of the accident’’ and inserted ‘‘pas- sengers and’’ before ‘‘affected families’’. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(4)(D), inserted ‘‘passengers and’’ before ‘‘families’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(5), amended sub- sec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) re- lated to requests for passenger lists and use of such in- formation. Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(6)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘passengers involved in the accident and the families of such passengers’’ for ‘‘the families of pas- sengers involved in the accident’’. Subsec. (g)(3). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(6)(B), in head- ing, substituted ‘‘prevent certain care and support’’ for ‘‘prevent mental health and counseling’’ and, in text, substituted ‘‘providing emotional care, psychological care, and family support services’’ for ‘‘providing men- tal health and counseling services’’ and inserted ‘‘pas- sengers and’’ before ‘‘families’’. Subsec. (h)(1)(B). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(7)(A), struck out ‘‘National Transportation Safety’’ before ‘‘Board ’’. Subsec. (h)(4). Pub. L. 118–63, § 1215(c)(7)(B), added par. (4). 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1109(d)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘resulting in any loss of life, and for which the National Transportation Safety Board will serve as the lead investigative agency’’ for ‘‘resulting in a major loss of life’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (h)(1). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1109(d)(2), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘The term ‘rail passenger accident’ means any rail passenger disaster resulting in a major loss of life occurring in the provision of— ‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger transpor- tation (as such term is defined in section 24102); or ‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as such term is defined in section 26105) transportation, regardless of its cause or suspected cause.’’ 2015—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–94, § 11316(a)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘telephone number’’ for ‘‘phone number’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 114–94, § 11316(a)(2), substituted ‘‘post-trauma communication with families’’ for ‘‘post trauma communication with families’’. Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 114–94, § 11316(a)(3), substituted ‘‘rail passenger accident’’ for ‘‘railroad passenger acci- dent’’ in pars. (1) and (2). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title V, § 503, Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4899, provided that: ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary [of Transpor- tation], in cooperation with the National Transpor- tation Safety Board, organizations potentially des- ignated under section 1139(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, rail passenger carriers (as defined in sec- tion 1139(h)(2) of title 49, United States Code), and fami- lies which have been involved in rail accidents, shall establish a task force consisting of representatives of such entities and families, representatives of rail pas- senger carrier employees, and representatives of such other entities as the Secretary considers appropriate. ‘‘(b) MODEL PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de- velop— ‘‘(1) a model plan to assist rail passenger carriers in responding to passenger rail accidents; ‘‘(2) recommendations on methods to improve the timeliness of the notification provided by passenger rail carriers to the families of passengers involved in a passenger rail accident; ‘‘(3) recommendations on methods to ensure that the families of passengers involved in a passenger rail accident who are not citizens of the United States re- ceive appropriate assistance; and ‘‘(4) recommendations on methods to ensure that emergency services personnel have as immediate and accurate a count of the number of passengers onboard the train as possible. ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 16, 2008], the Secretary shall transmit a report to the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation containing the model plan and rec- ommendations developed by the task force under sub- section (b).’’ § 1140. Information individuals 1 involved in acci- dents and families of such individuals In the course of an investigation of an acci- dent described in section 1131(a)(1), except an aircraft accident described in section 1136 or a rail passenger accident described in section 1139, the Board may, to the maximum extent prac- ticable, ensure that individuals involved in acci- dents and the families of such individuals, and other individuals the Board deems appropriate— (1) are informed as to the roles, with respect to the accident and the post-accident activi- ties, of the Board; (2) are briefed, before any public briefing, about the accident, its causes, and any other findings from the investigation; and (3) are individually informed of and allowed to attend any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the accident. (Added Pub. L. 115–254, div. C, § 1109(e)(1), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3435; amended Pub. L. 118–63, title XII, § 1215(e), May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1430.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2024—Pub. L. 118–63 substituted ‘‘individuals involved in accidents and families of such individuals’’ for ‘‘for families of individuals involved in accidents’’ in section catchline and ‘‘individuals involved in accidents and the families of such individuals’’ for ‘‘the families of in- dividuals involved in the accident’’ in introductory pro- visions in text. SUBCHAPTER IV—ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES § 1151. Aviation enforcement (a) CIVIL ACTIONS BY BOARD.—The National Transportation Safety Board may bring a civil