Skip to main content
S. 2496 107th Congress Senate

National Construction Safety Team Act of 2002

Official title: A bill to provide for the establishment of investigative teams to assess building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of a… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to provide for the establishment of investigative teams to assess building performance 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, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 9, 2002 See on congress.gov
Emergency Management Accident preventionAdministrative procedureBuilding constructionBuilding laws
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Building materialsBusiness recordsCommerceConflict of interestsCongressCongressional reporting requirementsCrime and Law EnforcementCriminal investigationDepartment of CommerceEarthquake engineeringEvacuation of civiliansEvidence (Law)Federal advisory bodiesFederal-local relationsFederal-state relationsGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkGovernment publicityGovernmental investigationsLawOffice buildingsPublic meetings of administrative bodiesRescue workResearchScience, Technology, CommunicationsSubpoenaTransportation and Public WorksTransportation safetyWitnesses
Sign in to write a letter

Free account. One morning email at most, only on days something moved. Already have one? Sign in.

This bill died when the 107th Congress ended
It never became law before the 107th Congress (2001–2002) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 9, 2002
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
May 9, 2002
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action May 9, 2002

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service
National Construction Safety Team Act of 2002 - Authorizes the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish National Construction Safety Teams for deployment within 48 hours after events causing the failure of a building that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that posed significant potential for such loss of life.

Requires Teams to: (1) consist of at least one NIST employee and other experts who are not NIST employees; (2) conduct investigations to establish the likely technical cause(s) of the building failure; (3) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures; (4) recommend specific improvements to building standards, codes, and practices; and (5) recommend research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the structural safety of buildings and evacuation and emergency response procedures.

Requires such a Team to coordinate its investigations with any search and rescue efforts being undertaken at the site of the building failure. Requires the Director to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the head of each Federal agency that may conduct or sponsor an investigation related to a Team's investigation. Grants a Team investigation priority over any other investigation of any other Federal agency, with the exception of related investigations conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board or building failures that may have been caused by criminal acts.

Requires: (1) Teams to issue public reports after completing investigations; and (2) the Director to review such reports, to conduct or encourage appropriate recommended research, to promote adoption of Team recommendations by the Federal Government and encourage adoption by other agencies and organizations, to report to Congress on Team investigations and recommendations and on NIST actions in response, and to establish an advisory committee.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 2496: National Construction Safety Team Act of 2002. 107th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/107-S-2496/
MLA
"S. 2496: National Construction Safety Team Act of 2002." 107th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/107-S-2496/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 2496, 107th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/107-S-2496/.
Markdown link
[S. 2496: National Construction Safety Team Act of 2002](https://openamerica.io/bill/107-S-2496/)
Report a problem