47 U.S.C. § 1423 — Public safety Interoperability Board

(a) Establishment There is established within the Commission an advisory board to be known as the “Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability”. (b) Membership (1) In general (A) Voting members Not later than 30 days after February 22, 2012 , the Chairman of the Commission must appoint 14 voting members to the Interoperability Board, of which— (i) 4 members must be representatives of wireless providers, of which— (I) 2 members must be representatives of national wireless providers; (II) 1 member must be a representative of regional wireless providers; and (III) 1 member must be a representative of rural wireless providers; (ii) 3 members must be representatives of equipment manufacturers; (iii) 4 members must be representatives of public safety entities, of which— (I) at least 1 member must be a representative of management level employees of public safety entities; and (II) at least 1 member must be a representative of employees of public safety entities; (iv) 3 members must be representatives of State and local governments, chosen to reflect geographic and population density differences across the United States; and (v) all members must have specific expertise necessary to develop technical requirements under this section, such as technical expertise, public safety communications expertise, and commercial network experience. (B) Non-voting member The Assistant Secretary must appoint 1 non-voting member to the Interoperability Board. (2) Period of appointment (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), members of the Interoperability Board must be appointed for the life of the Interoperability Board. (B) Removal for cause A member of the Interoperability Board may be removed for cause upon the determination of the Chairman of the Commission. (3) Vacancies Any vacancy in the Interoperability Board must not affect the powers of the Interoperability Board, and must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. (4) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson The Interoperability Board must select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the members of the Interoperability Board. (5) Quorum A majority of the members of the Interoperability Board must make up a quorum. (c) Duties of the Interoperability Board (1) Development of technical requirements Not later than 90 days after February 22, 2012 , the Interoperability Board, in consultation with the NTIA, NIST, and the Office of Emergency Communications of the Department of Homeland Security, must— (A) develop recommended minimum technical requirements to ensure a nationwide level of interoperability for the nationwide public safety broadband network; and (B) submit to the Commission for review under paragraph (3) recommended minimum technical requirements described in subparagraph (A). (2) Consideration In developing recommended minimum technical requirements under paragraph (1), the Interoperability Board must base the recommended minimum technical requirements on the commercial standards for Long Term Evolution (LTE) service. (3) Approval of recommendations (A) In general Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Interoperability Board submits recommended minimum technical requirements under paragraph (1)(B), the Commission must approve the recommendations, with any revisions it deems necessary, and transmit such recommendations to the First Responder Network Authority. (B) Review Any actions taken under subparagraph (A) must not be reviewable as a final agency action. (d) Travel expenses The members of the Interoperability Board must be allowed travel expenses, including a daily allowance instead of meal and living costs, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Interoperability Board. (e) Exemption from chapter 10 of title 5 Chapter 10 of title 5 must not apply to the Interoperability Board. (f) Termination of authority The Interoperability Board must end 15 days after the date on which the Commission transmits the recommendations to the First Responder Network Authority under subsection (c)(3)(A).