I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2917 

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

reduction. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 

Mr. CULBERSON (for himself and Mr. BISHOP of Utah) 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 2011’’. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2917 IH

1 SEC. 2. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES 

2 THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY WAIVE. 

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

4 officer, employee, or other authority of the Federal Gov5 ernment shall enforce against an authority of a State, nor 

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

7 any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving Fed8 eral financial assistance under a grant program estab9 lished under Federal law, nor shall such program operate 

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

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

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

13 inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed 

14 by the Federal Government as a condition of receiving 

15 that assistance. 

16 (b) AMENDMENT OF TERMS OF RECEIPT OF FED17 ERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—An officer, employee, or 

18 other authority of the Federal Government may release 

19 Federal financial assistance under a grant program estab20 lished under Federal law to a State only after the legisla21 ture of the State has by law expressly approved the pro22 gram (as described in subsection (a)) or amended the re23 quirements imposed by the Federal Government as condi24 tions of receiving that assistance. In the case of amend25 ments made by a State pursuant to the preceding sen26 tence, such an officer, employee, or other authority may 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2917 IH

1 not release such Federal financial assistance to the extent 

2 that any such amendments are inconsistent with the Fed3 eral law under which the assistance is provided. 

4 (c) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN GRANT PROGRAMS.— 

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

6 any grant program under either of the following: 

7 (1) The Individuals with Disabilities Education 

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

9 (2) Title 38, United States Code. 

10 (d) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH BIENNIAL

11 LEGISLATURES.—In the case of a State with a biennial 

12 legislature— 

13 (1) during a year in which the State legislature 

14 does not meet, subsections (a) and (b) shall not 

15 apply; and 

16 (2) during a year in which the State legislature 

17 meets, subsections (a) and (b) shall apply, and, with 

18 respect to any grant program established under Fed19 eral law during the most recent year in which the 

20 State legislature did not meet, the State may by law 

21 expressly disapprove the grant program, and, if such 

22 disapproval occurs, an officer, employee, or other au23 thority of the Federal Government may not release 

24 any additional Federal financial assistance to the 

25 State under that grant program. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2917 IH

1 (e) DEFINITION OF STATE AUTHORITY.—As used in 

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

3 administering agency of the State, any officer or employee 

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

5 State. 

6 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies in each 

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

8 regular session of the legislature of that State that begins 

9 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

10 shall continue to apply in subsequent years until otherwise 

11 provided by law. 

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

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

14 the determination of an officer, employee, or other author15 ity of the Federal Government under section 2(b) that 

16 Federal financial assistance under a grant program may 

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

18 employee, or other authority shall prepare a statement of 

19 the determination and the amount of excess grant funds 

20 involved, provide the statement to the Director of the Of21 fice of Management and Budget, and include the state22 ment on the official public Internet website of the Federal 

23 department or agency involved. 

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

25 the receipt of a statement under subsection (a) by the DiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:51 Sep 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2917.IH H2917

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2917 IH

1 rector of the Office of Management and Budget, the 

2 amount involved shall be rescinded from the funds made 

3 available for the grant program in the applicable appro4 priation Act for the fiscal year. All such rescinded 

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

6 budget of the Government for that fiscal year. 

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

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

9 Management and Budget shall submit to the Committees 

10 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

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

12 a report specifying the total amount of rescissions made 

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

14 the rescissions by appropriation Acts, accounts, and pro15 grams, projects, and activities. 

16 (d) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH BIENNIAL

17 LEGISLATURES.—In the case of a State with a biennial 

18 legislature, any statement required under subsection (a) 

19 shall be prepared only with respect to a fiscal year during 

20 which the State legislature meets. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2917 IH

1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF STATE WITH BIENNIAL LEGISLA2 TURE. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘State with a biennial legisla4 ture’’ means a State the legislature of which meets every 

5 other year. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS