National Weather Safety Board Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The National Weather Safety Board Act establishes an independent National Weather Safety Board within 180 days. The President appoints at least seven Senate-confirmed members from relevant scientific, meteorological, social-science, academic, and emergency-management backgrounds; no more than four may share a political party. Members serve five-year terms and may be removed only for neglect of duty or malfeasance.
Within 120 days after establishment, the Board must coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers, DHS, FCC, NOAA, and National Weather Service to build a system summarizing a disaster's affected population, severity, and economic impact. Within 14 days after a severe-weather event becomes a covered major disaster, the Board votes whether to investigate. An affirmative quorum vote permits review of relevant federal preparedness, forecasts, warnings, protective decisions, and response.
Investigated agencies must provide requested information, and the Board may issue subpoenas enforceable in federal district court. It must issue a preliminary congressional report within 90 days after the disaster concludes and a final findings-and-recommendations report within 20 months after opening an investigation. A public website must track each recommendation, responsible agency, and implementation status.
Covered disasters include Stafford Act major disasters and severe-weather events causing at least 10 deaths, 100 injuries, or rapid-onset mass casualties. Covered weather includes hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, tornadoes, winter weather, extreme cold, and tsunamis. The Board terminates five years after its final member is confirmed.
Who Benefits and How
Disaster survivors and communities exposed to severe weather benefit from independent review of forecasts, warnings, preparedness, and response. Emergency managers and weather forecasters gain documented lessons and recommendations. Congress receives time-bound findings, and the public gains a transparent implementation tracker. Agencies may use recommendations to reduce future loss of life and property.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Board members and investigative staff must rapidly triage disasters, collect evidence, conduct investigations, issue reports, and maintain the public tracker. NOAA, DHS, FEMA, FCC, Army Corps, and National Weather Service staff must provide data and respond to recommendations. Federal courts may need to enforce subpoenas. The executive branch must nominate and confirm members, establish offices, and fund a temporary independent entity.
Key Provisions
- Establishes an independent National Weather Safety Board within 180 days.
- Requires at least seven Senate-confirmed members with partisan-balance limits.
- Creates a coordinated disaster-information system within 120 days.
- Requires an investigation vote within 14 days of a covered declaration.
- Authorizes agency information demands and judicially enforceable subpoenas.
- Directs preliminary and final reports on preparedness and response.
- Requires a public tracker of recommendations and agency implementation.
- Defines fatality, injury, and mass-casualty thresholds for covered disasters.
- Terminates the Board five years after confirmation of its final member.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a temporary independent National Weather Safety Board to investigate selected severe-weather disasters, compel evidence, report preparedness and response findings, and publicly track agency implementation of recommendations.
Key Policy Areas
Severe Weather, Disaster Response, Independent Investigations, Emergency Management, Weather Forecasting, Congressional Oversight
Primary Purpose
Creates a temporary independent National Weather Safety Board to investigate selected severe-weather disasters, compel evidence, report preparedness and response findings, and publicly track agency implementation of recommendations.
Policy Domains
Section 2 National Weather Safety Board
Identified Gains
- Survivors of covered weather disasters
- Communities exposed to severe weather
- State emergency-management agencies
- Weather forecasting organizations
- Congressional disaster-oversight committees
- Public users of the recommendation tracker
Identified Costs
- National Weather Safety Board members
- National Weather Safety Board investigators
- NOAA disaster-response staff
- FEMA disaster-response staff
- Army Corps disaster-response staff
- Federal Communications Commission emergency staff
- Federal courts enforcing Board subpoenas
- Federal weather-safety board accounts
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Mr. Sorensen introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Army Corps disaster-response staff, Congressional disaster-oversight committees, FEMA disaster-response staff
Positive-direction: Congressional disaster-oversight committees
Negative-direction: Army Corps disaster-response staff, FEMA disaster-response staff, Federal courts enforcing Board subpoenas, Federal weather-safety board accounts, NOAA disaster-response staff, National Weather Safety Board investigators, National Weather Safety Board members
Communities exposed to severe weather, Survivors of covered weather disasters
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "congress"
- → Congressional committees receiving investigation reports
- "safety_board"
- → Independent National Weather Safety Board
- "investigated_entity"
- → Relevant Army Corps, DHS, FEMA, FCC, NOAA, or National Weather Service component
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Five years after the final Board member is confirmed by the Senate.
A severe-weather Stafford Act major disaster or event causing at least 10 fatalities, 100 injuries, or rapid-onset mass casualties.
A hurricane, tropical storm, flood, tornado, winter-weather event, extreme-cold event, or tsunami.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology