EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015

Summary: EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015  (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to revise the process of selecting members of the Science Advisory Board, guidelines for participation in Board advisory activities, and terms of office. The Board provides scientific advice to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This bill requires the Board to independently provide that advice. Among the revisions to requirements concerning the Board's membership are the following:  a requirement to balance scientific and technical points of view; a set minimum level of representation from state, local, or tribal governments; allowance of affiliation with or representation of entities that may have a potential interest in the Board's advisory activities; conflict of interest restrictions; restrictions on participation in advisory activities involving review of a member's work;  restrictions on appointment of registered lobbyists; and prohibitions on member receipt of current EPA grants or contracts.  The EPA must make public a list of nominees to the Board and accept public comments on the nominees. Reports filed upon the provisional nomination of a member disclosing financial relationships and interests must also be made public. The EPA must provide draft risk or hazard assessments in its regulatory proposals and documents to the Board. The Board's advice and comments must be included in the record regarding any such proposal and published in the Federal Register. The Board's member committees and investigative panels must operate in accordance with the membership, participation, and policy requirements contained in this Act, including new requirements for public participation in advisory activities of the Board. The member committees and investigative panels do not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board and may not report directly to the EPA. The bill imposes additional public participation requirements:  The EPA and the Board must make public all reports and relevant scientific information at the same time they are received by the Board.  The Board must hold public information-gathering sessions to discuss the state of the science related to a major advisory activity.  Prior to convening a member committee or investigative panel, the EPA must accept and address public comments on questions asked of the Board.  The Board, member committees, and investigative panels may not accept a question that unduly narrows the scope of an advisory activity.    The Board must strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, communicate uncertainties, encourage dissenting members to make their views known, conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its activities address the most important scientific issues affecting the EPA, and respond to Congress fully and in a timely manner. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``EPA Science Advisory Board Reform 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD.

    (a) Independent Advice.--Section 8(a) of the Environmental 
Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 
U.S.C. 4365(a)) is amended by inserting ``independently'' after 
``Advisory Board which shall''.
    (b) Membership.--Section 8(b) of the Environmental Research, 
Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
4365(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b)(1) The Board shall be composed of at least nine members, one 
of whom shall be designated Chairman, and shall meet at such times and 
places as may be designated by the Chairman.
    ``(2) Each member of the Board shall be qualified by education, 
training, and experience to evaluate scientific and technical 
information on matters referred to the Board under this section. The 
Administrator shall ensure that--
            ``(A) the scientific and technical points of view 
        represented on and the functions to be performed by the Board 
        are fairly balanced among the members of the Board;
            ``(B) at least ten percent of the membership of the Board 
        are from State, local, or tribal governments;
            ``(C) persons with substantial and relevant expertise are 
        not excluded from the Board due to affiliation with or 
        representation of entities that may have a potential interest 
        in the Board's advisory activities, so long as that interest is 
        fully disclosed to the Administrator and the public and 
        appointment to the Board complies with section 208 of title 18, 
        United States Code;
            ``(D) in the case of a Board advisory activity on a 
        particular matter involving, or for which the Board has 
        evidence that it may involve, a specific party, no Board member 
        having an interest in the specific party shall participate in 
        that activity;
            ``(E) Board members may not participate in advisory 
        activities that directly or indirectly involve review or 
        evaluation of their own work, unless fully disclosed to the 
        public and the work has been externally peer-reviewed;
            ``(F) Board members shall be designated as special 
        Government employees;
            ``(G) no registered lobbyist is appointed to the Board; and
            ``(H) a Board member shall have no current grants or 
        contracts from the Environmental Protection Agency and shall 
        not apply for a grant or contract for 3 years following the end 
        of that member's service on the Board.
    ``(3) The Administrator shall--
            ``(A) solicit public nominations for the Board by 
        publishing a notification in the Federal Register;
            ``(B) solicit nominations from relevant Federal agencies, 
        including the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the 
        Interior, and Health and Human Services;
            ``(C) solicit nominations from--
                    ``(i) institutions of higher education (as defined 
                in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); and
                    ``(ii) scientific and research institutions based 
                in work relevant to that of the Board;
            ``(D) make public the list of nominees, including the 
        identity of the entities that nominated each, and shall accept 
        public comment on the nominees;
            ``(E) require that, upon their provisional nomination, 
        nominees shall file a written report disclosing financial 
        relationships and interests, including Environmental Protection 
        Agency grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other 
        financial assistance, that are relevant to the Board's advisory 
        activities for the three-year period prior to the date of their 
        nomination, and relevant professional activities and public 
        statements for the five-year period prior to the date of their 
        nomination; and
            ``(F) make such reports public, with the exception of 
        specific dollar amounts, for each member of the Board upon such 
        member's selection.
    ``(4) Disclosure of relevant professional activities under 
paragraph (3)(E) shall include all representational work, expert 
testimony, and contract work as well as identifying the party for which 
the work was done.
    ``(5) Except when specifically prohibited by law, the Agency shall 
make all conflict of interest waivers granted to members of the Board, 
member committees, or investigative panels publicly available.
    ``(6) Any recusal agreement made by a member of the Board, a member 
committee, or an investigative panel, or any recusal known to the 
Agency that occurs during the course of a meeting or other work of the 
Board, member committee, or investigative panel shall promptly be made 
public by the Administrator.
    ``(7) The terms of the members of the Board shall be three years 
and shall be staggered so that the terms of no more than one-third of 
the total membership of the Board shall expire within a single fiscal 
year. No member shall serve more than two terms over a ten-year 
period.''.
    (c) Record.--Section 8(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365(c)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or draft risk or hazard 
                assessment,'' after ``at the time any proposed'';
                    (B) by striking ``formal''; and
                    (C) by inserting ``or draft risk or hazard 
                assessment,'' after ``to the Board such proposed''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or draft risk or hazard 
                assessment,'' after ``the scientific and technical 
                basis of the proposed''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following: ``The 
                Board's advice and comments, including dissenting views 
                of Board members, and the response of the Administrator 
                shall be included in the record with respect to any 
                proposed risk or hazard assessment, criteria document, 
                standard, limitation, or regulation and published in 
                the Federal Register.''.
    (d) Member Committees and Investigative Panels.--Section 8(e)(1)(A) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365(e)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: ``These member committees and investigative panels--
                            ``(i) shall be constituted and operate in 
                        accordance with the provisions set forth in 
                        paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b), in 
                        subsection (h), and in subsection (i);
                            ``(ii) do not have authority to make 
                        decisions on behalf of the Board; and
                            ``(iii) may not report directly to the 
                        Environmental Protection Agency.''.
    (e) Public Participation.--Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365) 
is amended by amending subsection (h) to read as follows:
    ``(h)(1) To facilitate public participation in the advisory 
activities of the Board, the Administrator and the Board shall make 
public all reports and relevant scientific information and shall 
provide materials to the public at the same time as received by members 
of the Board.
    ``(2) Prior to conducting major advisory activities, the Board 
shall hold a public information-gathering session to discuss the state 
of the science related to the advisory activity.
    ``(3) Prior to convening a member committee or investigative panel 
under subsection (e) or requesting scientific advice from the Board, 
the Administrator shall accept, consider, and address public comments 
on questions to be asked of the Board. The Board, member committees, 
and investigative panels shall accept, consider, and address public 
comments on such questions and shall not accept a question that unduly 
narrows the scope of an advisory activity.
    ``(4) The Administrator and the Board shall encourage public 
comments, including oral comments and discussion during the 
proceedings, that shall not be limited by an insufficient or arbitrary 
time restriction. Public comments shall be provided to the Board when 
received. The Board's reports shall include written responses to 
significant comments offered by members of the public to the Board.
    ``(5) Following Board meetings, the public shall be given 15 
calendar days to provide additional comments for consideration by the 
Board.''.
    (f) Operations.--Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365) is further 
amended by amending subsection (i) to read as follows:
    ``(i)(1) In carrying out its advisory activities, the Board shall 
strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, and, 
in the event the Board feels compelled to offer policy advice, shall 
explicitly distinguish between scientific determinations and policy 
advice.
    ``(2) The Board shall clearly communicate uncertainties associated 
with the scientific advice provided to the Administrator or Congress.
    ``(3) The Board shall ensure that advice and comments reflect the 
views of the members and shall encourage dissenting members to make 
their views known to the public, the Administrator, and Congress.
    ``(4) The Board shall conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its 
advisory activities are addressing the most important scientific issues 
affecting the Environmental Protection Agency.
    ``(5) The Board shall be fully and timely responsive to 
Congress.''.

SEC. 3. RELATION TO THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed as supplanting the requirements of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

SEC. 4. RELATION TO THE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed as supplanting the requirements of the Ethics in Government 
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).

            Passed the House of Representatives March 17, 2015.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.