Regulatory Accountability Act of 1996

Summary: Regulatory Accountability Act of 1996 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 with regard to Federal mandates to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any new or reauthorized measure (controlled private regulatory legislation) imposing costs on the private sector of $100 million or more (controlled Federal private sector mandate) unless it specifies a regulatory cost authorization for each such mandate of the dollar amount of private sector costs authorized to result from implementing or enforcing regulations.  Requires the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the costs of mandate compliance for each measure reported by an authorization committee. 
Prohibits the total amount of private sector compliance costs from exceeding the regulatory cost authorization for a covered law. Prohibits a proposed covered regulation from taking effect unless the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has certified in the Federal Register that its implementation will not violate the first prohibition.  Exempts from such prohibitions any regulation which the President finds is necessary because of an emergency. Requires such estimates to be publicly available for each covered law.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Regulatory Accountability Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: REQUIREMENT FOR CONGRESS TO 
              APPROVE REGULATORY COSTS THAT MAY BE IMPOSED UNDER NEW 
              AND REAUTHORIZED FEDERAL REGULATORY LAWS.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 421 of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7) (relating to the definition of the 
        term ``Federal private sector mandate'') by inserting ``a 
        controlled Federal private sector mandate described in 
        paragraph (14)(B) or a'' after ``means''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(14) Controlled federal private sector mandate.--The term 
        `controlled Federal private sector mandate' means--
                    ``(A) a Federal private sector mandate that will 
                result in costs for the private sector of $100,000,000 
                or more; or
                    ``(B) a provision in legislation, that authorizes 
                appropriations to implement or enforce a Federal 
                private sector mandate under an existing Federal law 
                that will result in the imposition on the private 
                sector, after the first date for which appropriations 
                are authorized under the provision, of $100,000,000 or 
                more in costs.
            ``(15) Controlled private regulatory legislation.--The term 
        `controlled private regulatory legislation' means a bill, joint 
        resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that 
        contains a controlled Federal private sector mandate.
            ``(16) Regulatory cost authorization.--The term `regulatory 
        cost authorization' means a statement of a dollar amount of 
        costs incurred by the private sector that are authorized to 
        result from regulations that--
                    ``(A) implement or enforce a controlled Federal 
                private sector mandate, in the case of a controlled 
                Federal private sector mandate described in paragraph 
                (14)(A); or
                    ``(B) implement or enforce a Federal private sector 
                mandate with respect to which appropriations are 
                authorized by a controlled Federal private sector 
                mandate described in paragraph (14)(B).
            ``(17) Costs.--In paragraphs (14) and (16) of this section 
        and section 424(b)(4) only, the term `costs' means the 
        reasonably quantifiable costs, including social, environmental, 
        and economic, that are expected to result directly or 
indirectly from implementation of, or compliance with, a rule or an 
alternative to a rule.''.
    (b) Requirement for Regulatory Cost Authorization.--Section 425(a) 
of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 
U.S.C. 658d(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) any controlled private regulatory legislation, unless 
        the legislation specifies a regulatory cost authorization--
                    ``(A) in the case of a controlled Federal private 
                sector mandate described in section 421(14)(A), for 
                each controlled Federal private sector mandate 
                contained in the legislation; and
                    ``(B) in the case of a controlled Federal private 
                sector mandate described in section 421(14)(B), for 
                each Federal private sector mandate with respect to 
                which appropriations are authorized by the controlled 
                Federal private sector mandate.''.
    (c) Requirement for CBO Scoring of Costs of Controlled Federal 
Private Sector Mandates.--Section 424(b) of the Congressional Budget 
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658c(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Controlled federal private sector mandates.--In 
        addition to the other information required by this subsection, 
        the Director shall prepare and include in the statement--
                    ``(A) an identification of each controlled Federal 
                private sector mandate in the bill or joint resolution; 
                and
                    ``(B) for each controlled Federal private sector 
                mandate identified under subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) in the case of a controlled Federal 
                        private sector mandate described in section 
                        421(14)(A), an estimate of the costs that will 
                        be incurred by the private sector under the 
                        controlled Federal private sector mandate; or
                            ``(ii) in the case of a controlled Federal 
                        private sector mandate described in section 
                        421(14)(B), an estimate of the costs that will 
                        be incurred by the private sector, after the 
                        first date for which appropriations are 
                        authorized under the mandate, to comply with 
                        each Federal private sector mandate with 
                        respect to which appropriations are authorized 
                        by the controlled Federal private sector 
                        mandate.''.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON PRIVATE REGULATORY COSTS EXCEEDING CONGRESSIONAL 
              AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) Rules Exceeding Regulatory Cost Authorization Not Effective.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except as provided in 
subsection (d)--
            (1) the total amount of costs that are required to be 
        incurred by the private sector to comply with covered 
        regulations issued under a covered law may not exceed the 
        regulatory cost authorization for that covered law; and
            (2) a proposed covered regulation shall not take effect 
        unless the Director has published in the Federal Register a 
        certification under this section that implementation of the 
        regulation will not violate paragraph (1).
    (b) Scoring of Covered Regulations by OMB.--
            (1) Submission requirement.--Before issuing a final covered 
        regulation, the head of an agency shall submit the proposed 
        covered regulation to the Director with a request that the 
        Director certify under this section that implementation of the 
        regulation will not violate subsection (a)(1).
            (2) Issuance or denial of certification.--Not later than 90 
        days after receiving a request for certification under 
        paragraph (1) for a proposed covered regulation, the Director 
        shall--
                    (A) after publication of notice and an opportunity 
                for public comment, estimate the costs that would be 
                incurred by the private sector in complying with the 
                regulation;
                    (B) determine whether implementation of the 
                regulation would violate subsection (a)(1); and
                    (C) publish in the Federal Register the estimate 
                under subparagraph (A) and--
                            (i) a certification that implementation of 
                        the regulation will not violate subsection 
                        (a)(1); or
                            (ii) a finding that implementation of the 
                        regulation would violate subsection (a)(1).
    (c) Maintenance of Record of Aggregate Costs of Covered 
Regulations.--The Director shall maintain and make publicly available 
for each covered law an estimate of the costs required to be incurred 
by the private sector to comply with each covered regulation in effect 
under the covered law.
    (d) Emergency Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a 
regulation for which the President issues a written finding that the 
regulation is necessary because of an emergency.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered law.--The term ``covered law'' means a 
        provision of law that--
                    (A) is a controlled Federal private sector mandate 
                under section 421(14)(A) of the Congressional Budget 
                and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as amended by 
                section 2 of this Act; or
                    (B) is a Federal private sector mandate that may be 
                implemented or enforced using amounts appropriated 
                under the authority of a provision which, when 
                considered by Congress as legislation, was a controlled 
                Federal private sector mandate under section 421(14)(B) 
                of that Act.
            (2) Covered regulation.--The term ``covered regulation'' 
        means a regulation issued under the authority of a covered law 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            (4) Regulatory cost authorization.--(A) Subject to 
        subparagraph (B), the term ``regulatory cost authorization'' 
        has the meaning given that term is section 421 of the 
        Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as 
        amended by section 2 of this Act.
            (B) In the case of a covered law for which there is not a 
        regulatory cost authorization as defined in that section, the 
        regulatory cost authorization for the covered law is deemed to 
        be zero.
            (5) Miscellaneous terms.--Each of the terms ``costs'', 
        ``Federal private sector mandate'', and ``private sector'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 421 of the Congressional 
        Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as amended by 
        section 2 of this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on January 4, 1997.