I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5903 

To restore State sovereignty, and to dedicate excess grant funds to deficit 

reduction. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2010 

Mr. CULBERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 

Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To restore State sovereignty, and to dedicate excess grant 

funds to deficit reduction. 

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 ‘‘Restoration of State 

5 Sovereignty Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES 

7 THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY WAIVE. 

8 (a) RETENTION OF RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES.—No 

9 officer, employee, or other authority of the Federal GovVerDate Mar 15 2010 16:33 Jul 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5903.IH H5903

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1 ernment shall enforce against an authority of a State, nor 

2 shall any authority of a State have any obligation to obey, 

3 any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving Fed4 eral financial assistance under a grant program estab5 lished under Federal law, nor shall such program operate 

6 within a State, unless the legislature of that State shall 

7 have by law expressly approved that program and, in doing 

8 so, have waived the State’s rights and authorities to act 

9 inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed 

10 by the Federal Government as a condition of receiving 

11 that assistance. 

12 (b) AMENDMENT OF TERMS OF RECEIPT OF FED13 ERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—An officer, employee, or 

14 other authority of the Federal Government may release 

15 Federal financial assistance under a grant program estab16 lished under Federal law to a State only after the legisla17 ture of the State has by law expressly approved the pro18 gram (as described in subsection (a)) or amended the re19 quirements imposed by the Federal Government as condi20 tions of receiving that assistance. In the case of amend21 ments made by a State pursuant to the preceding sen22 tence, such an officer, employee, or other authority may 

23 not release such Federal financial assistance to the extent 

24 that any such amendments are inconsistent with the Fed25 eral law under which the assistance is provided. 


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1 (c) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN GRANT PROGRAMS.— 

2 Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply with respect to 

3 any grant program under either of the following: 

4 (1) The Individuals with Disabilities Education 

5 Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

6 (2) Title 38, United States Code. 

7 (d) DEFINITION OF STATE AUTHORITY.—As used in 

8 this section, the term ‘‘authority of a State’’ includes any 

9 administering agency of the State, any officer or employee 

10 of the State, and any local government authority of the 

11 State. 

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies in each 

13 State beginning on the 90th day after the end of the first 

14 regular session of the legislature of that State that begins 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall con16 tinue to apply in subsequent years until otherwise provided 

17 by law. 

18 SEC. 3. DEDICATION OF SAVINGS TO DEFICIT REDUCTION. 

19 (a) STATEMENT OF EXCESS GRANT FUNDS.—Upon 

20 the determination of an officer, employee, or other author21 ity of the Federal Government under section 2(b) that 

22 Federal financial assistance under a grant program may 

23 not be released to a State for a fiscal year, the officer, 

24 employee, or other authority shall prepare a statement of 

25 the determination and the amount of excess grant funds 


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1 involved, provide the statement to the Director of the Of2 fice of Management and Budget, and include the state3 ment on the official public Internet website of the Federal 

4 department or agency involved. 

5 (b) RESCISSION OF EXCESS GRANT FUNDS.—Upon 

6 the receipt of a statement under subsection (a) by the Di7 rector of the Office of Management and Budget, the 

8 amount involved shall be rescinded from the funds made 

9 available for the grant program in the applicable appro10 priation Act for the fiscal year. All such rescinded 

11 amounts shall be used only for reducing the deficit in the 

12 budget of the Government for that fiscal year. 

13 (c) OMB ANNUAL REPORT.—Within 30 days after 

14 the end of each fiscal year, the Director of the Office of 

15 Management and Budget shall submit to the Committees 

16 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Senate, and include on its official public Internet website, 

18 a report specifying the total amount of rescissions made 

19 during the fiscal year under subsection (b) and delineating 

20 the rescissions by appropriation Acts, accounts, and pro21 grams, projects, and activities. 

Æ 


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