15 U.S.C. § 7303 — Authorities

Page 2344 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 7302 tion 7307 of this title;’’ in subsec. (c)(1)(d), was executed to subsec. (c)(1)(D), to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 107–231, § 1, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1471, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter and amending section 281a of this title] may be cited as the ‘National Construction Safety Team Act’.’’ § 7302. 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 In- stitute 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 profes- sional organizations with appropriate expertise, and appropriate Federal, State, or local offi- cials. Team members who are not Federal em- ployees shall be considered Federal Government contractors. (Pub. L. 107–231, § 3, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1472.) § 7303. Authorities (a) Entry and inspection In investigating a building failure under this chapter, members of a Team, and any other per- son authorized by the Director to support a Team, on display of appropriate credentials pro- vided by the Director and written notice of in- spection authority, may— (1) enter property where a building failure being investigated has occurred, or where building components, materials, and artifacts with respect to the building failure are lo- cated, and take action necessary, appropriate, and reasonable in light of the nature of the property to be inspected to carry out the du- ties of the Team under section 7301(b)(2)(A) and (B) of this title; (2) during reasonable hours, inspect any record (including any design, construction, or maintenance record), process, or facility re- lated to the investigation; (3) inspect and test any building compo- nents, materials, and artifacts related to the building failure; and (4) move such records, components, mate- rials, and artifacts as provided by the proce- dures developed under section 7301(c)(1) of this title. (b) Avoiding unnecessary interference and pre- serving 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 arti- facts, property, records, process, or facility; and (2) to the maximum extent feasible, pre- serves evidence related to the building failure, consistent with the ongoing needs of the in- vestigation. (c) Coordination (1) With search and rescue efforts A Team shall not impede, and shall coordi- nate 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 re- searchers 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 memorandum of understanding with each Federal agency that may conduct or sponsor a related investiga- tion, providing for coordination of investiga- tions. (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. (5) Civil suits Where practicable, a Team shall cooperate with civil litigants without compromising a Team’s investigation or the evidence preserva- tion activities as described in this section. (d) Investigation 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 or any civil suit or civil action. (2) National Transportation Safety Board If the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation related to an investigation of a Team, the National Trans- portation Safety Board investigation shall have priority over the Team investigation. Such priority shall not otherwise affect the authority of the Team to continue its inves- tigation under this chapter. (3) Criminal acts If the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director, determines, and notifies the Director, that circumstances reasonably indi- cate that the building failure being inves- tigated by a Team may have been caused by a criminal act, the Team shall relinquish inves- tigative priority to the appropriate law en- forcement agency. The relinquishment of in- vestigative priority by the Team shall not otherwise affect the authority of the Team to continue its investigation under this chapter. (4) Preservation of evidence If a Federal law enforcement agency sus- pects and notifies the Director that a building failure being investigated by a Team under this chapter may have been caused by a crimi- nal 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. (Pub. L. 107–231, § 4, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1472; Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title II, § 10246(h), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1494.) Page 2345 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 7306 Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (d)(2) to (4), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 107–231, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1471, known as the Na- tional Construction Safety Team Act, which is classi- fied principally to this chapter. For complete classi- fication of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7301 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10246(h)(1), added par. (5). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10246(h)(2)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘Investigation’’ for ‘‘Interagency’’ in heading. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10246(h)(2)(B), inserted ‘‘or any civil suit or civil action’’ after ‘‘Federal agen- cy’’. § 7304. Briefings, hearings, witnesses, and sub- poenas (a) General authority The Director or his designee, on behalf of a Team, may conduct hearings, administer oaths, and require, by subpoena (pursuant to sub- section (e)) and otherwise, necessary witnesses and evidence as necessary to carry out this chapter. (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 proceedings and findings, including a final briefing after the report re- quired by section 7307 of this title 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 chapter may be summoned or re- quired to be produced from any place in the United States. A witness summoned under this subsection is entitled to the same fee and mile- age 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 sig- nature of the Director but may be served by any person designated by the Director. (f) Failure to obey subpoena If a person disobeys a subpoena issued by the Director under this chapter, the Attorney Gen- eral, 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 busi- ness. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to comply with the subpoena as a contempt of court. (Pub. L. 107–231, § 5, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1474.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a), (d), and (f), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 107–231, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1471, known as the National Con- struction Safety Team Act, which is classified prin- cipally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7301 of this title and Tables. § 7305. Additional powers In order to support Teams in carrying out this chapter, the Director may— (1) procure the temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants under sec- tion 3109 of title 5; (2) request the use, when appropriate, of available services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of a department, agency, or instru- mentality 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 authorities; (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, func- tions, and authorities of the Teams; and (7) provide nongovernmental members of the Team reasonable compensation for time spent carrying out activities under this chapter. (Pub. L. 107–231, § 6, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1474.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 107–231, Oct. 1, 2002, 116 Stat. 1471, known as the National Construction Safety Team Act, which is classified principally to this chap- ter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7301 of this title and Tables. § 7306. Disclosure of information (a) General rule Except as otherwise provided in this section, 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 reason- able cost. (b) Exceptions Subsection (a) does not require the release of— (1) information described by section 552(b) of title 5 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 re- quired by section 7307 of this title is issued. (c) Protection of voluntary submission of infor- mation Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Team, the National Institute of Standards and