Sec. 7. Appointment and organization
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The Board shall be composed of 7 members, who shall, in accordance with paragraph
(2)and subject to paragraph (3), be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall appoint the initial 7 members of the Board from among a list of 14 individuals provided by both houses of Congress, of which— the majority leader of the Senate shall provide the names of 4 individuals; the minority leader of the Senate shall provide the names of 3 individuals; the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall provide the names of 4 individuals; and the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall provide the names of 3 individuals. In making appointments under this paragraph, the President shall consult with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and relevant professional associations and leaders in the private sector. Any vacancy of the Board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, except that subparagraph
(A)shall not apply. Of the 7 members appointed under paragraph (1)— not more than 4 members may be appointed from the same political party; all members shall be appointed on the basis of technical qualification, professional standing, and demonstrated knowledge in emergency management, fire management, emergency medical services, public-health, engineering, social science, or behavioral science; a minimum of 2 members shall have experience working at the State or municipal level in 1 of the fields described in subparagraph (B); and a minimum of 2 members shall have demonstrated professional experience working with populations that have historically been more vulnerable to incidents because of their race, color, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term of office of each member shall be 5 years. An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the predecessor of that individual was appointed is appointed for the remainder of that term. When the term of office of a member ends, the member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed and confirmed. The President may remove a member only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Immediately upon removing a member of the Board, the President shall issue a public statement that details how the actions of the removed member met the criteria of this paragraph. The President shall designate, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a member appointed under subsection
(b)to serve as the Chairperson of the Board. The President shall designate a member appointed under subsection
(b)to serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Board and if the Chairperson is absent or unable to serve, or if the position of Chairperson is vacant, the Vice Chairperson shall act as the Chairperson. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall each serve in such position for a term of 3 years. The Chairperson shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the Board. Subject to the general policies and decisions of the Board, the Chairperson shall— appoint and supervise officers and employees, other than regular and full-time employees in the immediate offices of another member, necessary to carry out this Act; fix the pay of officers and employees necessary to carry out this Act; distribute business among the officers, employees, and administrative units of the Board; and supervise the expenditures of the Board. Subject to paragraphs
(2)and (3), 4 members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for purposes of carrying out the duties and powers of the Board, subject to the limitations in the remainder of this subsection. Not less than 1 representative from each party shall be present for a quorum to be established. Either the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson shall be present for a quorum to be established. The Board shall establish such offices as are necessary to carry out this Act, which may include offices responsible for— operations; science and methodology; review and evaluation; communications; external coordination; or technical assistance. The Board shall establish an office to review and make recommendations to mitigate and prevent the loss of life, or human or economic injury for vulnerable populations, including populations that may be more vulnerable because of their race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status, or other demographic characteristics that the Board may determine appropriate. The office established under paragraph
(1)shall— provide recommendations to the Board for incidents to review in accordance with section 4(b)(4) that do not otherwise meet the requirements of section 4(b); determine and maintain a list specific demographic, economic, social, and health characteristics of populations that historically have shown to be disproportionately impacted by incidents; during a review conducted by the Board, provide research and analysis on how the incident impacts populations that the Office determines to be disproportionately impacted; provide recommendations for each review conducted by the Board and for each report developed under section 6 on actions that can be taken to reduce the impact to populations that are found to be disproportionately impacted under clause (ii); and provide training, and establish training requirements, for Board members and staff in the fields of diversity, inclusion, and equity in consultation with organizations specializing in those fields. In establishing offices under this subsection, the Board may establish regional offices across the United States to facilitate collaboration, coordination, and the dissemination of findings, recommendations, and best practices to State, Tribal, and local governments and the private sector in such regions as the Board determines appropriate. Each office established under this subsection shall enable the Board to review, report on, and issue recommendations to prevent the loss of life, human injury, and economic injury and deliver technical assistance to disseminate best practices in accordance with this Act. The Chairperson shall designate an officer or employee of the Board to serve as the Chief Financial Officer, who shall— report directly to the Chairperson on financial management and budget execution; direct, manage, and provide policy guidance and oversight on financial management and property and inventory control; and review the fees, rents, and other charges imposed by the Board for services and things of value it provides and suggest appropriate revisions to those charges to reflect costs incurred by the Board in providing those services and things of value. Each member of the Board shall appoint and supervise regular and full-time employees in his or her immediate office as long as any such employee has been approved for employment by the designated agency ethics official under the same guidelines that apply to all employees of the Board. With respect to an individual appointed under paragraph (1)— the member of the Board making the appointment shall determine which grade of the General Schedule most closely corresponds with respect to the duties and functions of the position to which the individual is appointed; and during the period of the appointment— the individual shall be compensated at the appropriate rate of pay for the grade of the General Schedule with respect to which the determination is made under subparagraph (A); and for the purposes of title 5, United States Code, and the rules issued under that title, the individual shall be considered to be an employee, as that term is defined in section 5331(a) of title 5, United States Code. Except for the Chairperson, the appointment authority in paragraph
(1)shall be limited to the number of full-time equivalent positions, in addition to 1 senior professional staff position at a level not to exceed the GS–15 level of the General Schedule and 1 administrative staff position, allocated to each member of the Board through the annual budget and allocation process of the Board. Upon request of the Board, the head of an agency described in subparagraph (B), or any other Federal department or agency that the Board may request, may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Board to assist the Board in carrying out the duties of the Board under this Act. For purposes of subparagraph (A), the following are agencies described in this subparagraph: The Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service. The Department of Defense, including the Army Corps of Engineers. The Department of Health and Human Services. The National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Coast Guard. The National Transportation Safety Board. The National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Government Accountability Office. The Department of the Interior, including the United States Geological Survey. Any Office of the Inspector General. The Small Business Administration. The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Department of Agriculture. The Board may enter into agreements with State, local, and Tribal governments and relevant nonprofit institutions of higher education and research institutions to request staff, with specialized experience that the Board determines relevant, to be detailed to the Board, on a reimbursable basis, and shall consult with relevant associations and organizations of those entities in developing an efficient process for requesting and receiving detailed staff. The Board shall ensure that any staff members detailed to the Board under this paragraph are compensated equitably and shall pay differences in salaries based on the experience of said staff and in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management. Any staff member detailed to the Board under this section shall be detailed for a term of 1 year and such detail may be extended for not more than 2 1-year terms. Under this subsection— not more than 25 percent of the total number of staff members working for the Board at any time may be detailees or otherwise nonpermanent staff; a detailee shall serve as an adviser or supplemental professional staff in any office established by the Board under subsection (g); and a detailee may not— determine any final findings or recommendations; and be the sole decisionmaker in review or evaluation methodologies. The Board shall have a seal that shall be judicially recognized. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Board shall be considered an agency for purposes of section 552b of title 5, United States Code. Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5, United States Code, a majority of the members may hold a meeting that is not open to public observation to discuss official agency business, if— no formal or informal vote or other official agency action is taken at the meeting; each individual present at the meeting is a member or an employee of the Board; at least 1 member of the Board from each political party is present at the meeting, if applicable; the General Counsel of the Board is present at the meeting; and the records of the meeting, including the names of the individuals in attendance, time, place, and summary to be as thorough as the Board determines to be prudent, are posted publicly and online. Except as provided under subparagraphs
(C)and (D), not later than 2 business days after the conclusion of a meeting under subparagraph (A), the Board shall make available to the public, in a place easily accessible to the public— a list of the individuals present at the meeting; and a summary of the matters, including key issues, discussed at the meeting, except for any matter the Board properly determines may be withheld from the public under section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. If the Board properly determines a matter may be withheld from the public under section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code, the Board shall provide a summary with as much general information as possible on each matter withheld from the public. If a discussion under subparagraph
(A)directly relates to an active review, the Board shall make the disclosure under subparagraph
(B)on the date the Board adopts the final report. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to limit the applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, with respect to a meeting of the members other than that described in this paragraph. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed— to limit the applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, with respect to any information which is proposed to be withheld from the public under subparagraph (B)(ii); or to authorize the Board to withhold from any individual any record that is accessible to that individual under section 552a of title 5, United States Code.