I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5128

To strengthen the partnership between the Federal Government and State,

local, and tribal governments, to end the imposition, in the absence

of full consideration by the Congress, of Federal mandates on State,

local, and tribal governments without adequate funding in a manner

that may displace other essential governmental priorities, to better assess

both costs and benefits of Federal legislation and regulations on State,

local, and tribal governments, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 29, 1994

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. TOWNS, and Mr. SHAYS) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on

Government Operations and Rules

A BILL

To strengthen the partnership between the Federal Government and State, local, and tribal governments, to end

the imposition, in the absence of full consideration by

the Congress, of Federal mandates on State, local, and

tribal governments without adequate funding in a manner that may displace other essential governmental priorities, to better assess both costs and benefits of Federal

legislation and regulations on State, local, and tribal

governments, and for other purposes.
2

•HR 5128 IH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Mandates Re5 lief for State and Local Government Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 (a) The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to strengthen the partnership between the

9 Federal Government and States, local governments,

10 and tribal governments;

11 (2) to end the imposition, in the absence of full

12 consideration by Congress, of Federal mandates on

13 States, local governments, and tribal governments

14 without adequate Federal funding, in a manner that

15 may displace other essential governmental priorities;

16 (3) to assist Congress in its consideration of

17 proposed legislation establishing or revising Federal

18 programs containing Federal mandates affecting

19 States, local governments, and tribal governments

20 by—

21 (A) providing for the development of infor22 mation about the nature and size of mandates

23 in proposed legislation, and

24 (B) establishing a mechanism to bring

25 such information to the attention of House of
3

•HR 5128 IH

1 Representatives and the Senate before the

2 House of Representatives or Senate, respec3 tively, votes on proposed legislation;

4 (4) to promote informed and deliberate deci5 sions by Congress on the appropriateness of Federal

6 mandates in any particular instances;

7 (5) to require a point-of-order vote on the con8 sideration in the House of Representatives and the

9 Senate of legislation containing significant Federal

10 mandates; and

11 (6) to improve the quality of Federal regula12 tions affecting States, local governments, and tribal

13 governments and the process by which such regula14 tions are developed, by—

15 (A) requiring that Federal agencies consult

16 with elected and other officials of States, local

17 governments, and tribal governments when de18 veloping regulations; and

19 (B) requiring that Federal agencies pre20 pare and consider better estimates of the budg21 etary impact of Federal regulatory mandates

22 upon States, local governments, and tribal gov23 ernments before adopting such regulations, and

24 ensuring that small governments are given spe25 cial consideration in that process.
4

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this Act:

3 (1) FEDERAL MANDATE DEFINED.—The term

4 ‘‘Federal mandate’’ means—

5 (A) any provision in a bill or joint resolu6 tion before Congress or in a proposed or final

7 Federal regulation that—

8 (i) would impose a duty that is en9 forceable by administrative, civil, or crimi10 nal penalty or by injunction (other than a

11 condition of Federal assistance or a duty

12 arising from participation in a voluntary

13 Federal program, except as stated in sub14 paragraph (B)), upon States, local govern15 ments, or tribal governments, or

16 (ii) would reduce or eliminate the

17 amount of authorization of Federal finan18 cial assistance that will be provided to

19 States, local governments, or tribal govern20 ments for the purpose of complying with

21 any such duty; or

22 (B) any provision in a bill or joint resolu23 tion before Congress or in a proposed or final

24 Federal regulation that relates to a then-exist25 ing Federal program under which $500,000,000

26 or more is provided annually to States, local
5

•HR 5128 IH

1 governments, and tribal governments under en2 titlement authority (as that term is defined in

3 section 3(9) of the Congressional Budget Act of

4 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(9))), if—

5 (i)(I) the bill or joint resolution or

6 regulation would increase the stringency of

7 conditions of assistance to States, local

8 governments, or tribal governments under

9 the program, or

10 (II) would place caps upon, or other11 wise decrease, the Federal Government’s

12 responsibility to provide funding to States,

13 local governments, or tribal governments

14 under the program; and

15 (ii) the States, local governments, or

16 tribal governments that participate in the

17 Federal program lack authority under that

18 program to amend their financial or pro19 grammatic responsibilities to continue pro20 viding required services that are affected

21 by the bill or joint resolution or implement22 ing regulation.

23 (2) DIRECT COSTS DEFINED.—

24 (A) The term ‘‘direct costs’’ means the ag25 gregate estimated amounts that all States, local
6

•HR 5128 IH

1 governments, and tribal governments will be re2 quired to spend in order to comply with a Fed3 eral mandate, or, in the case of a bill or joint

4 resolution referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(ii),

5 the amount of Federal financial assistance

6 eliminated or reduced.

7 (B) Direct cost shall not include amounts

8 that it is estimated that the States, local gov9 ernments, and tribal governments would

10 spend—

11 (i) to comply with or carry out all ap12 plicable Federal, State, local, and tribal

13 laws and regulations adopted before the

14 adoption of the Federal mandate; or

15 (ii) to continue to carry out State,

16 local governmental, and tribal govern17 mental programs established at the time of

18 adoption of the Federal mandate.

19 (C) Direct costs shall not include expendi20 tures to the extent that they will be offset by

21 any direct savings to be enjoyed by the States,

22 local governments, and tribal governments as a

23 result of—

24 (i) their compliance with the Federal

25 mandate; or
7

•HR 5128 IH

1 (ii) other changes in Federal law or

2 regulation that are enacted or adopted in

3 the same bill or joint resolution or pro4 posed or final Federal regulation and that

5 govern the same activity as is affected by

6 the Federal mandate.

7 (D) Direct costs shall be determined on the

8 assumption that States, local governments, and

9 tribal governments will take all reasonable steps

10 necessary to mitigate the costs resulting from

11 the Federal mandate, and will comply with ap12 plicable standards of practice and conduct es13 tablished by recognized professional or trade as14 sociations.

15 (4) AMOUNT OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSIST16 ANCE DEFINED.—The amount of ‘‘Federal financial

17 assistance’’ means—

18 (A) the amount of budget authority (as de19 fined in section 3(2)(A) of the Congressional

20 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(2)(A))) of

21 any Federal grant assistance, and

22 (B) the subsidy amount (as defined as

23 ‘‘cost’’ in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit

24 Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)(a)) of
8

•HR 5128 IH

1 any Federal program providing loan guarantees

2 or direct loans.

3 (5) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—

4 (A) AGENCY DEFINED.—The term ‘‘agen5 cy’’ has the meaning stated in section 551(1) of

6 title 5, United States Code, but does not in7 clude independent regulatory agencies, as de8 fined by section 3502(10) of title 44, United

9 States Code.

10 (B) DIRECTOR DEFINED.—The term ‘‘Di11 rector’’ means the Director of the Congressional

12 Budget Office.

13 (C) LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEFINED.—The

14 term ‘‘local government’’ has the same meaning

15 as in section 6501(6) of title 31, United States

16 Code.

17 (D) REGULATION OR RULE DEFINED.—

18 The term ‘‘regulation’’ or ‘‘rule’’ has the mean19 ing of ‘‘rule’’ as defined in section 601(2) of

20 title 5, United States Code.

21 (E) SMALL GOVERNMENT DEFINED.—The

22 term ‘‘small government’’ means any small gov23 ernmental jurisdiction as defined in section

24 601(5) of title 5, United States Code, and any

25 tribal government.
9

•HR 5128 IH

1 (F) STATE DEFINED.—The term ‘‘State’’

2 has the same meaning as in section 6501(9) of

3 title 31, United States Code.

4 SEC. 4. EXCLUSIONS.

5 Anything in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding,

6 this Act shall not apply to—

7 (1) any provision in a bill or joint resolution be8 fore Congress and any provision in a proposed or

9 final Federal regulation that—

10 (A) enforces Constitutional rights of indi11 viduals;

12 (B) establishes or enforces any statutory

13 rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis

14 of race, religion, gender, national origin, or

15 handicapped or disability status;

16 (C) requires compliance with accounting

17 and auditing procedures with respect to grants

18 or other money or property provided by the

19 United States Government;

20 (D) provides for emergency assistance or

21 relief at the request of any State, local govern22 ment, or tribal government or any official of

23 any of them; or
10

•HR 5128 IH

1 (E) is necessary for the national security

2 or the ratification or implementation of inter3 national treaty obligations; or

4 (2) any legislation that the President designates

5 as emergency legislation and that the Congress so

6 designates in statute.

7 TITLE I—LEGISLATIVE

8 ACCOUNTABILITY AND REFORM

9 SEC. 101. DUTIES OF CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.

10 (a) COMMITTEE REPORT.—

11 (1) REGARDING FEDERAL MANDATES.—When a

12 committee of authorization of the House of Rep13 resentatives or the Senate reports a bill or joint res14 olution of public character that includes any Federal

15 mandate, the committee shall issue a report to ac16 company the bill or joint resolution containing—

17 (A) an analysis, prepared in consultation

18 with the Director, including an identification

19 and description of any Federal mandates in the

20 bill or joint resolution, including the expected

21 direct costs to States, local governments, and

22 tribal governments required to comply with the

23 Federal mandate;

24 (B)(i) a statement of the amount, if any,

25 of increase in authorization of appropriations
11

•HR 5128 IH

1 under existing Federal financial assistance pro2 grams, or of authorization of appropriations for

3 new Federal financial assistance, provided by

4 the bill or joint resolution and usable for activi5 ties of States, local governments, or tribal gov6 ernments subject to the Federal mandates; and

7 (ii) a statement of whether the committee

8 intends that the Federal mandates be partly or

9 entirely unfunded, and, if so, the reasons for

10 that intention;

11 (C) a qualitative, and if possible, a quan12 titative assessment of costs and benefits antici13 pated from the Federal mandate (such as, but

14 not limited to, the enhancement of health and

15 safety and the protection of the natural envi16 ronment);

17 (D) any existing sources of Federal assist18 ance in addition to those identified in subpara19 graph (B)(i) that may assist States, local gov20 ernments, and tribal governments in meeting

21 the direct costs of the Federal mandates; and

22 (E) an identification of one or more of the

23 following: reductions in authorization of existing

24 appropriations, a reduction in direct spending,
12

•HR 5128 IH

1 or an increase in receipts (consistent with the

2 amount identified in subparagraph (B)(i)).

3 (2) REGARDING PREEMPTION.—When a com4 mittee of authorization of the House of Representa5 tives or the Senate reports a bill or joint resolution

6 of public character, the committee report accom7 panying the bill or joint resolution shall contain, if

8 relevant to the bill or joint resolution, an explicit

9 statement of whether or not the bill or joint resolu10 tion is intended to preempt any State, local, or tribal

11 law, and if so, an explanation of the reasons for en12 acting such preemption.

13 (b) SUBMISSION OF BILLS TO THE DIRECTOR.—

14 When a committee of authorization of the House of Rep15 resentatives or the Senate reports a bill or joint resolution

16 of a public character, the committee shall promptly pro17 vide the bill or joint resolution to the Director and shall

18 identify to the Director any Federal mandates contained

19 in the bill or resolution.

20 (c) PUBLICATION OF STATEMENT FROM THE DIREC21 TOR.—Upon receiving a statement (including any supple22 mental statement) from the Director pursuant to section

23 102(c), a committee of the House of Representatives or

24 the Senate shall publish the statement in the committee

25 report accompanying the bill or joint resolution to which
13

•HR 5128 IH

1 the statement relates if the statement is available soon

2 enough to be included in the printed report. If the state3 ment is not published in the report, or if the bill or joint

4 resolution to which the statement relates is expected to

5 be considered by the House of Representatives or the Sen6 ate before the report is published, the committee shall

7 cause the statement, or a summary thereof, to be pub8 lished in the Congressional Record in advance of floor con9 sideration of the bill or joint resolution.

10 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR.

11 (a) STUDIES.—

12 (1) As early as practicable in each new Con13 gress, any committee of the House of Representa14 tives or the Senate which anticipates that the com15 mittee will consider any proposed legislation estab16 lishing, amending, or reauthorizing any Federal pro17 gram likely to have a significant budgetary impact

18 on States, local governments, or tribal governments,

19 including any legislative proposal submitted by the

20 executive branch likely to have such budgetary im21 pact, shall request that the Director initiate a study

22 of the proposed legislation in order to develop infor23 mation that may be useful in analyzing the costs of

24 any Federal mandates and of any unfunded Federal
14

•HR 5128 IH

1 mandates that may be included in the proposed leg2 islation.

3 (2) In conducting the study under paragraph

4 (1), the Director shall—

5 (A) solicit and consider information or

6 comments from elected officials (including their

7 designated representatives) of States, local gov8 ernments, tribal governments, and such other

9 persons as may provide helpful information or

10 comments,

11 (B) consider establishing advisory panels

12 of elected officials (including their designated

13 representatives) of States, local governments,

14 tribal governments, and other persons if the Di15 rector determines, in his discretion, that such

16 advisory panels would be helpful in performing

17 the Director’s responsibilities under this sec18 tion, and

19 (C) consult with the relevant committees of

20 the House of Representatives and of the Sen21 ate.

22 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Director shall, at the re23 quest of any committee of the House of Representatives

24 or of the Senate, consult with and assist such committee

25 in analyzing the budgetary impact of any proposed legisla-
15

•HR 5128 IH

1 tion that may have a significant budgetary impact on

2 State, local, or tribal governments.

3 (c) STATEMENTS ON NONAPPROPRIATIONS BILLS

4 AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS.—

5 (1) REPORTED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLU6 TIONS.—For each bill or joint resolution of a public

7 character reported by any committee of authoriza8 tion of the House of Representatives or of the Sen9 ate, the Director shall prepare and submit to the

10 committee a statement as follows:

11 (A) DIRECT COSTS BELOW THRESHOLD.—

12 If the Director estimates that the direct costs

13 of all Federal mandates in the bill or joint reso14 lution will not equal or exceed $50,000,000 (ad15 justed annually for inflation by the Consumer

16 Price Index) in the fiscal year in which it (as

17 well as any necessary implementing regulation)

18 is to be effective or in any of the 4 fiscal years

19 following such fiscal year, the Director shall so

20 state and shall briefly explain the basis of the

21 estimate.

22 (B) DIRECT COSTS ABOVE THRESHOLD.—

23 If the Director estimates that the direct costs

24 of all Federal mandates in the bill or joint reso25 lution will equal or exceed $50,000,000 (ad-
16

•HR 5128 IH

1 justed annually for inflation by the Consumer

2 Price Index) in the fiscal year in which it (as

3 well as any necessary implementing regulation)

4 is to be effective or in any of the 4 fiscal years

5 following such fiscal year, the Director shall so

6 state and shall briefly explain the basis of the

7 estimate, and—

8 (i) shall include estimates (and shall

9 briefly explain the basis of the estimates)

10 of—

11 (I) the total amount of direct

12 costs of complying with the Federal

13 mandates in the bill or joint resolu14 tion; and

15 (II) the amount, if any, of in16 crease in authorization of appropria17 tions under existing Federal financial

18 assistance programs, or of authoriza19 tion of appropriations for new Federal

20 financial assistance, provided by the

21 bill or joint resolution and usable by

22 States, local governments, or tribal

23 governments for activities subject to

24 the Federal mandates;
17

•HR 5128 IH

1 (ii) shall also include estimates, if and

2 to the extent that the Director determines

3 that such estimates are reasonably feasible,

4 of—

5 (I) future costs of Federal man6 dates to the extent that they signifi7 cantly differ from or extend beyond

8 the time period of the estimate re9 ferred to in the first clause of this

10 subparagraph (B); and

11 (II) any disproportionate budg12 etary effects of Federal mandates and

13 of any Federal financial assistance in

14 the bill or joint resolution upon any

15 particular regions of the country or

16 particular States, local governments,

17 tribal governments, or urban or rural

18 or other types of communities; and

19 (iii) shall also state any amounts ap20 propriated in the prior fiscal year to fund

21 the activities subject to the Federal man22 date.

23 (2) AMENDED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS;

24 CONFERENCE REPORTS.—If the Director has pre25 pared a statement that includes the determination
18

•HR 5128 IH

1 described in paragraph (1)(B) for a bill or joint res2 olution, and if that bill or joint resolution is passed

3 in an amended form (including if passed by one

4 House as an amendment in the nature of a sub5 stitute for the language of a bill or joint resolution

6 from the other House) or is reported by a committee

7 of conference in an amended form, the committee of

8 conference shall ensure, to the greatest extent prac9 ticable, that the Director shall prepare a supple10 mental statement for the bill or joint resolution. The

11 requirements of section 103 shall not apply to the

12 publication of any supplemental statement prepared

13 under this subsection.

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Congressional

16 Budget Office to carry out the provisions of this Act, and

17 for no other purpose, $2,300,000 for each of the fiscal

18 years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

19 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The State and Local

20 Cost Estimate Act of 1981, Public Law 97–108, is hereby

21 repealed.

22 SEC. 103. POINT OF ORDER.

23 (a) IN GENERAL IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA24 TIVES OR SENATE.—It shall not be in order in the House

25 of Representatives or Senate to consider any bill or joint
19

•HR 5128 IH

1 resolution that is reported by any committee of authoriza2 tion unless (based upon a ruling of the presiding Officer

3 in the case of the Senate)—

4 (1) a committee has published a statement of

5 the Director in accordance with section 101(c) prior

6 to such consideration; and

7 (2) either—

8 (A) the direct costs of all Federal man9 dates in the bill or joint resolution are esti10 mated not to equal or exceed $50,000,000 (ad11 justed annually for inflation by the Consumer

12 Price Index) in the fiscal year in which it (as

13 well as any necessary implementing regulation)

14 is to be effective or in any of the 4 fiscal years

15 following such fiscal year, or

16 (B)(i) the increase in authorization of ap17 propriations under existing Federal financial

18 assistance programs, or of authorization of ap19 propriations for new Federal financial assist20 ance, provided by the bill or joint resolution and

21 usable by States, local governments, or tribal

22 governments for activities subject to the Fed23 eral mandates is at least equal to the estimated

24 amount of direct costs of the Federal mandates;

25 and
20

•HR 5128 IH

1 (ii) the committee of jurisdiction has iden2 tified in the bill or joint resolution one or more

3 of the following: a reduction in authorization of

4 existing appropriations, a reduction in direct

5 spending, or an increase in receipts (consistent

6 with the amount identified in clause (i).

7 (b) WAIVER.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) may be

9 waived or suspended in the House of Representatives

10 or Senate only by the affirmative vote of a majority

11 of its Members voting.

12 (2) SPECIAL RULE IN THE HOUSE OF REP13 RESENTATIVES.—It shall not be in order in the

14 House of Representatives to consider a rule or order

15 that waives the application of subsection (a) to a bill

16 or joint resolution reported by a committee of au17 thorization.

18 (c) AMENDMENT TO RAISE AUTHORIZATION

19 LEVEL.—Notwithstanding the terms of subsection (a), it

20 shall not be out of order pursuant to this section to con21 sider a bill or joint to which an amendment is proposed

22 and agreed to that would raise the amount of authoriza23 tion of appropriations to a level sufficient to satisfy the

24 requirements of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (a)(2)(C), nor

25 shall it be out of order to consider such an amendment.
21

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 104. ENFORCEMENT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA2 TIVES.

3 (a) MOTIONS TO STRIKE IN THE COMMITTEE OF

4 THE WHOLE.—Clause 5 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the

5 House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end

6 the following:

7 ‘‘(c) In the consideration of any measure for amend8 ment in the Committee of the Whole containing any Fed9 eral mandate (as defined in section 3(1) of the Federal

10 Mandate Accountability and Reform Act of 1994) that

11 does not meet the requirements of sections 103(a)(1) and

12 (2) of that Act, it shall always be in order, unless specifi13 cally waived by terms of a rule governing consideration

14 of that measure, to move to strike such Federal man15 date.’’.

16 (b) COMMITTEE REPORTS REGARDING ROLL CALL

17 VOTES ON FEDERAL MANDATES.—Clause 2(l)(2) of rule

18 XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amend19 ed by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(C) With respect to each rollcall vote on an amend21 ment regarding any Federal mandate (as defined in sec22 tion 3(1) of the Federal Mandate and Accountability Act

23 of 1994), the total number of votes cast for, and the total

24 number of votes cast against, that amendment and the

25 name of each Member voting for and each Member voting

26 against such amendment, and whether by proxy or in per-
22

•HR 5128 IH

1 son, and the names of those members present but not vot2 ing, shall be included in the committee report.’’.

3 (c) SEVEN-DAY LAYOVER.—Clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI

4 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘(6) A’’ and by inserting insert6 ing ‘‘(6)(A) Except as provided by subdivision (B),’’

7 (2) in its third sentence, by striking ‘‘(A)’’ and

8 inserting ‘‘(i)’’ and by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘(ii)’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(B) A measure or matter reported by any committee

12 that contains any Federal mandate (as defined in section

13 3(1) of the Federal Mandate and Accountability Act of

14 1994) that does not meet the requirements of sections

15 103(a)(1) and (2) of that Act shall not be considered in

16 the House until the seventh calendar day, excluding Satur17 days, Sundays, and legal holidays, on which the report of

18 that committee upon the measure or matter has been

19 available to the Members of the House.’’.

20 (d) COMMITTEE ON RULES REPORTS ON WAIVED

21 POINTS OF ORDER.—Clause 1 of rule XI of the Rules of

22 the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the

23 end the following:

24 ‘‘(e) By January 2 of each odd-numbered year, the

25 Committee on Rules shall submit to the House a report
23

•HR 5128 IH

1 identifying all waivers of points of order relating to Fed2 eral mandates (as defined in section 3(1) of the Federal

3 Mandate Accountability and Reform Act of 1994), includ4 ing an explanation setting forth the following information

5 respecting each such waiver:

6 ‘‘(1) The bill or joint resolution for which the

7 waiver was granted.

8 ‘‘(2) The justification made by the committee

9 requesting the waiver of the need for the waiver.

10 ‘‘(3) An explanation of why the Committee on

11 Rules granted the waiver.

12 ‘‘(4) The economic impact of that bill or joint

13 resolution on State, local, and tribal governments.’’.

14 SEC. 105. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.

15 The provisions of sections 101, 102, 103, and 104

16 are enacted by Congress—

17 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking powers of

18 the House of Representatives and the Senate, and as

19 such they shall be considered as part of the rules of

20 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re21 spectively, and such rules shall supersede other rules

22 only to the extent that they are inconsistent there23 with; and

24 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

25 right of the House of Representatives and the Sen-
24

•HR 5128 IH

1 ate to change such rules at any time, in the same

2 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of

3 any other rule of the House of Representatives or

4 the Senate, respectively.

5 SEC. 106. EFFECTIVE DATE.

6 This title shall apply to bills and joint resolutions re7 ported by a committee on or after October 1, 1995.

8 TITLE II—REGULATORY

9 ACCOUNTABILITY AND REFORM

10 SEC. 201. REGULATORY PROCESS.

11 (a) Each agency shall assess the effects of Federal

12 regulations on States, local governments, and tribal gov13 ernments, including specifically the availability of re14 sources to carry out any mandates in those regulations,

15 and seek to minimize those burdens that uniquely or sig16 nificantly affect such governmental entities, consistent

17 with achieving statutory and regulatory objectives.

18 (b) Each agency shall develop an effective process to

19 permit elected officials (including their designated rep20 resentatives) and other representatives of States, local

21 governments, and tribal governments to provide meaning22 ful and timely input in the development of regulatory pro23 posals containing significant Federal mandates. Such a

24 process shall be consistent with all applicable laws.
25

•HR 5128 IH

1 (c)(1) Before establishing any regulatory require2 ments that might significantly or uniquely affect small

3 governments, agencies shall have developed a plan under

4 which the agency shall—

5 (A) provide notice of the contemplated require6 ments to any potentially affected small governments,

7 (B) seek the views of, and consult with, officials

8 of affected small governments pursuant to sub9 section (b), and

10 (C) inform, educate, and advise small govern11 ments on compliance with the requirements.

12 (2) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated

13 to each agency to carry out the provisions of this section,

14 and for no other purpose, such sums as are necessary.

15 SEC. 202. STATEMENTS TO ACCOMPANY SIGNIFICANT REG16 ULATORY ACTIONS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before promulgating any final

18 rule that includes any Federal mandates upon States, local

19 governments, or tribal governments that may result in the

20 expenditures by States, local governments, or tribal gov21 ernments, in the aggregate, of $100,000,000 or more (an22 nually adjusted by the Consumer Price Index) in any one

23 year, and before promulgating any general notice of pro24 posed rulemaking that is likely to result in promulgation
26

•HR 5128 IH

1 of any such rule, the agency shall prepare a written state2 ment containing—

3 (1) estimates by the agency, including the un4 derlying analysis, of the anticipated costs to States,

5 local governments, and tribal governments of com6 plying with the mandate, and of the extent to which

7 such costs may be paid with funds provided by the

8 Federal Government or otherwise paid through Fed9 eral financial assistance;

10 (2) estimates by the agency, if and to the ex11 tent that the agency determines that such estimates

12 are reasonably feasible, of—

13 (A) the costs of mandates in the regulation

14 that will be borne in various future time peri15 ods; and

16 (B) any disproportionate budgetary effects

17 of the mandates upon any particular regions of

18 the country or particular States, local govern19 ments, tribal governments, or rural or other

20 types of communities;

21 (3) a qualitative, and if possible, a quantative

22 assessment of costs and benefits anticipated from

23 the Federal mandate (such as, but not limited to,

24 the enhancement of health and safety and the pro25 tection of the natural environment); and
27

•HR 5128 IH

1 (4)(A) a description of the extent of the agen2 cy’s prior consultation with elected representatives

3 (including their designated representatives) of the

4 affected States, local governments, and tribal gov5 ernments and of other affected parties, (B) a sum6 mary of the comments and concerns that were pre7 sented by States, local governments, or tribal gov8 ernments either orally or in writing to the agency,

9 (C) a summary of the agency’s evaluation of those

10 comments and concerns, and (D) the agency’s posi11 tion supporting the need to issue the regulation con12 taining the mandate (considering, among other

13 things, the extent to which costs may or may not be

14 paid with funds provided by the Federal Govern15 ment).

16 (b) PROMULGATION.—In promulgating a general no17 tice of proposed rulemaking or a final rule for which a

18 statement under subsection (a) is required, the agency

19 shall include in the promulgation a summary of the infor20 mation contained in the statement.

21 (c) PREPARATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER

22 STATEMENT.—Any agency may prepare any statement re23 quired by subsection (a) in conjunction with or as a part

24 of any other statement or analysis, provided that the state25 ment or analysis satisfies the provisions of subsection (a).
28

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

2 OFFICE.

3 (a) The Director of the Office of Management and

4 Budget shall collect from agencies the statements pre5 pared under section 202 and provide copies of them to

6 the Director of the Congressional Budget Office promptly

7 after promulgation of the general notice of proposed rule8 making or of the final rule for which the statement was

9 prepared.

10 (b) Each agency shall provide to the Director of the

11 Congressional Budget Office such information and assist12 ance as he may reasonably request to assist him in per13 forming his responsibilities under this Act.

14 SEC. 204. PILOT PROGRAM ON SMALL GOVERNMENT FLEXI15 BILITY.

16 (a) The Director of the Office of Management and

17 Budget, in consultation with Federal agencies, shall estab18 lish pilot programs in at least 2 agencies to test innova19 tive, and more flexible regulatory approaches that—

20 (1) reduce reporting and compliance burdens on

21 small governments; and

22 (2) meet overall statutory goals and objectives.

23 (b) The pilot program shall focus on rules in effect

24 or proposed rules, or a combination thereof.
29

•HR 5128 IH

1 TITLE III—JUDICIAL REVIEW

2 SEC. 301. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

3 Any statement or report prepared under this Act, any

4 compliance or noncompliance with the provisions of this

5 Act, and any determination concerning the applicability of

6 the provisions of this act shall not be subject to judicial

7 review. The provisions of this Act shall not create any

8 right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by

9 any person in any administrative or judicial action. No

10 ruling or determination under this act shall be considered

11 by any court in determining the intent of Congress or for

12 any other purpose.

13 TITLE IV—BASELINE STUDY

14 SEC. 401. BASELINE STUDY OF COSTS AND BENEFITS.

15 (a) No later than 6 months after the date of enact16 ment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of the Cen17 sus, in consultation with the Director, shall begin a study

18 to examine the measurement and definition issues involved

19 in calculating the total costs and benefits to States, local

20 governments, and tribal governments of compliance with

21 Federal law. The study shall consider the feasibility of

22 measuring indirect costs and benefits as well as direct

23 costs and benefits of the Federal, State, local, and tribal

24 relationship. The study shall consider how to measure both

25 the direct and indirect benefits of Federal financial assist-
30

•HR 5128 IH

1 ance and tax benefits to States, local governments, and

2 tribal governments.

3 (b) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

4 Bureau of the Census to carry out the purposes of this

5 title, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,000,000 for

6 fiscal year 1996.

7 TITLE V—LIMITATION ON IM8 PLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL

9 MANDATES; REVIEW AND

10 MONITORING OF UNFUNDED

11 FEDERAL MANDATES AND IM12 PLEMENTATION OF ACT

13 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Mandate and

15 Community Assistance Reform Act’’.

16 SEC. 502. REPORT ON UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATES BY

17 ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERN18 MENTAL RELATIONS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Commission on

20 Intergovernmental Relations shall in accordance with this

21 section—

22 (1) investigate and review on a regular basis

23 the role of unfunded Federal mandates in intergov24 ernmental relations and their impact on local, State,
31

•HR 5128 IH

1 and Federal government objectives and responsibil2 ities; and

3 (2) study and make recommendations to the

4 President and the Congress regarding—

5 (A) a process by which State and local gov6 ernments can participate in meeting national

7 domestic objectives without the burden created

8 by unfunded Federal mandates, including rec9 ommendations for funding the Federal man10 dates imposed after the date of the enactment

11 of this Act on State and local governments;

12 (B) allowing flexibility for State and local

13 governments in complying with specific un14 funded Federal mandates for which terms of

15 compliance are unnecessarily rigid or complex;

16 (C) reconciling any 2 or more unfunded

17 Federal mandates which impose contradictory

18 or inconsistent requirements;

19 (D) terminating unfunded Federal man20 dates which are duplicative, obsolete, or lacking

21 in practical utility;

22 (E) suspending, on a temporary basis, un23 funded Federal mandates which are not vital to

24 public health and safety and which compound

25 the fiscal difficulties of State and local govern-
32

•HR 5128 IH

1 ments, including recommendations for trigger2 ing such suspension;

3 (F) consolidating or simplifying unfunded

4 Federal mandates, or the planning or reporting

5 requirements of such mandates, in order to re6 duce duplication and facilitate compliance by

7 State and local governments with those man8 dates; and

9 (G) establishing common Federal defini10 tions or standards to be used by State and local

11 governments in complying with unfunded Fed12 eral mandates that use different definitions or

13 standards for the same terms or principles.

14 Each recommendation under paragraph (2) shall, to the

15 extent practicable, identify the specific unfunded Federal

16 mandate to which the recommendation applies.

17 (b) CRITERIA.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Commission

19 shall establish criteria for making recommendations

20 under subsection (a).

21 (2) ISSUANCE OF PROPOSED CRITERIA.—The

22 Advisory Commission shall issue proposed criteria

23 under this subsection not later than 45 days after

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, and thereafter
33

•HR 5128 IH

1 provide a period of 30 days for submission by the

2 public of comments on the proposed criteria.

3 (3) FINAL CRITERIA.—Not later than 45 days

4 after the date of issuance of proposed criteria, the

5 Advisory Commission shall—

6 (A) consider comments on the proposed

7 criteria received under paragraph (2);

8 (B) adopt and incorporate in final criteria

9 any recommendations submitted in those com10 ments that the Advisory Commission deter11 mines will aid the Advisory Commission in car12 rying out its duties under this section; and

13 (C) issue final criteria under this sub14 section.

15 (c) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad18 visory Commission shall—

19 (A) prepare and publish a preliminary re20 port on its activities under this title, including

21 preliminary recommendations pursuant to sub22 section (a);

23 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no24 tice of availability of the preliminary report;

25 and
34

•HR 5128 IH

1 (C) provide copies of the preliminary re2 port to the public upon request.

3 (2) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Advisory Commis4 sion shall hold public hearings on the preliminary

5 recommendations contained in the preliminary re6 port of the Advisory Commission under this sub7 section.

8 (d) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after

9 the date of the publication of the preliminary report under

10 subsection (c), the Advisory Commission shall submit to

11 the Congress, including the ranking minority party mem12 ber of each of the Committee on Government Operations

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

14 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the President a

15 final report on the findings, conclusions, and recommenda16 tions of the Advisory Commission under this section.

17 SEC. 503. MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Commission shall

19 monitor and evaluate the implementation of this Act, in20 cluding by conducting such hearings, and consulting with

21 such Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, as the

22 Advisory Commission considers appropriate for obtaining

23 information and views about the purpose, implementation,

24 and results of this Act.
35

•HR 5128 IH

1 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Advisory Commission

2 shall submit a report to the President and the Congress

3 every 2 years which—

4 (1) presents the findings of the Advisory Com5 mission under subsection (a); and

6 (2) presents recommendations for improving the

7 implementation of this Act, including regarding any

8 need for amending this Act.

9 SEC. 504. SPECIAL AUTHORITIES OF ADVISORY COMMIS10 SION.

11 (a) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—For purposes of

12 carrying out this title, the Advisory Commission may pro13 cure temporary and intermittent services of experts or

14 consultants under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States

15 Code.

16 (b) DETAIL OF STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

17 Upon request of the Executive Director of the Advisory

18 Commission, the head of any Federal department or agen19 cy may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the person20 nel of that department or agency to the Advisory Commis21 sion to assist it in carrying out this title.

22 (c) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Advisory Commis23 sion may, subject to appropriations, contract with and

24 compensate government and private agencies or persons
36

•HR 5128 IH

1 for property and services used to carry out its duties under

2 this title.

3 SEC. 505. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this title:

5 (1) ADVISORY COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Advi6 sory Commission’’ means the Advisory Commission

7 on Intergovernmental Relations.

8 (2) FEDERAL MANDATE.—The term ‘‘Federal

9 mandate’’—

10 (A) subject to subparagraph (B), means a

11 requirement under Federal statute or regulation

12 that a State or local government, or both, un13 dertake an activity or provide a service; and

14 (B) does not include any Federal statute

15 or regulation that—

16 (i) enforces the constitutional rights

17 of individuals, or

18 (ii) establishes or enforces any statu19 tory prohibition against discrimination on

20 the basis of race, religion, gender, national

21 origin, age, or handicapped or disability

22 status.

23 (3) UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATE.—The

24 term ‘‘unfunded Federal mandate’’ means—
37

•HR 5128 IH

1 (A) a Federal mandate other than one that

2 relates to a program described in subparagraph

3 (B)(i), and—

4 (i) which requires that a State or local

5 government, or both, undertake an activity

6 or provide a service; and

7 (ii) for which the Federal Government

8 does not provide sufficient funds to under9 take such activity or provide such service;

10 or

11 (B) a Federal mandate—

12 (i) that relates to a Federal program

13 under which $500,000,000 or more is pro14 vided annually to State and local govern15 ments under entitlement authority (as de16 fined in section 622(9) of title 2, United

17 States Code),

18 (ii) which requires that a State or

19 local government, or both, undertake an

20 activity or provide a service; and

21 (iii)(I) with respect to which the fail22 ure to undertake such activity or provide

23 such service would result in a reduction of

24 Federal financial or technical assistance to

25 the State or local government; or
38

•HR 5128 IH

1 (II) would impose costs on a State or

2 local government that exceed the amount

3 of Federal financial assistance provided to

4 the State or local government under the

5 program.

6 SEC. 506. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Advi8 sory Commission—

9 (1) to carry out section 502, $500,000; and

10 (2) to carry out section 503, $200,000 for each

11 of fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.

12 TITLE VI—PRIVATE SECTOR

13 COSTS

14 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Private Sector Legis16 lative Analysis Act of 1994’’.

17 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this title—

19 (1) the term ‘‘private sector’’ means individuals,

20 business, labor and employment, agriculture, and

21 nonprofit organizations; and

22 (2) the term ‘‘economic impact’’ means the eco23 nomic cost or benefit to the private sector and to the

24 general public.
39

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 603. ACTION BY THE MAJORITY AND MINORITY LEAD2 ERS.

3 (a) At the beginning of each Congress, the majority

4 leader of the Senate, in cooperation of the minority leader

5 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Represent6 atives, in cooperation with the minority leader of the

7 House of Representatives, shall each prepare a list of

8 major legislative proposals (including those that could be

9 submitted by an agency or official in the executive branch)

10 that the majority leader or Speaker, respectively, be11 lieves—

12 (1) are likely to have a significant economic im13 pact; and

14 (2) are likely to be considered in that House in

15 that Congress.

16 (b) In preparing the list required by subsection (a),

17 the majority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the

18 House of Representatives, and the minority leader of each

19 of the Senate and House shall consult with the chairmen

20 and ranking minority party Members of the committees

21 of that House that are expected to have jurisdiction over

22 legislative proposals included in the list, and with the Di23 rector. The majority leader of the Senate, the Speaker,

24 and the minority leaders shall also consider the availability

25 of resources for the Congressional Budget Office in deter-
40

•HR 5128 IH

1 mining how many legislative proposals should be included

2 in the list.

3 (c) The majority leader of the Senate, the Speaker

4 of the House of Representatives, and the minority leaders

5 of the Senate and House may also include in the list re6 quired by subsection (a) any legislative topics or areas of

7 interest that meet the criteria set forth in subsection

8 (a)(1) and (2), but for which no specific legislative propos9 als have been drafted.

10 (d) No later than the end of the 30-day period begin11 ning on the first day of each Congress, the majority leader

12 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Represent13 atives shall each submit to the Director a list prepared

14 in accordance with subsection (a). Before the adjournment

15 sine die of the 1st session of each Congress, the majority

16 leader and minority leader of the Senate and the Speaker

17 and minority leader of the House of Representatives shall

18 review the list prepared under subsection (a) for that Con19 gress and decide whether to add proposals to, or delete

20 proposals from, that list, or modify proposals in that list.

21 SEC. 604. DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR.

22 (a) Upon receiving a list submitted under section

23 603(d), the Director shall initiate a study of each of the

24 major legislative proposals, legislative topics, and areas of

25 interest in the list for the purposes of studying and esti-
41

•HR 5128 IH

1 mating its economic impact. The objectives of each study

2 shall be to determine an estimate, or range of estimates,

3 of the economic impact of the proposal, topic, or area, in4 cluding—

5 (1) labor market and employment impacts;

6 (2) costs and benefits to the private sector and

7 the general public; and

8 (3) in consultation with relevant Federal agen9 cies, a qualitative, and if possible, a quantitative as10 sessment of costs and benefits to human health,

11 safety, and the natural environment.

12 (b) As part of each study under subsection (a), the

13 Director shall also evaluate and compare congressional

14 committee and Federal agency estimates of the impact of

15 a legislative proposal, topic, or area.

16 (c) If the Director determines that he or she cannot

17 determine a reliable estimate, or range of estimates, under

18 subsection (a), the Director shall so state, with expla19 nation, and shall include in the study the preliminary anal20 ysis upon which the Director based that determination.

21 (d) The Director shall seek to coordinate completion

22 of studies under this section with expected congressional

23 committee action on related legislation.
42

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 605. POINT OF ORDER.

2 It shall not be in order in the House of Representa3 tives or the Senate to consider any bill or joint resolution

4 that is included on the list required by section 603 of this

5 Act for that Congress if that bill or joint resolution is re6 ported by any committee of authorization unless that com7 mittee or the Director has published a study by the Direc8 tor required by section 604, or if such study has not been

9 completed, an explanatory statement setting forth reasons

10 why such study has not yet been completed.

Æ

HR 5128 IH——2

HR 5128 IH——3

HR 5128 IH——4