Environmental Protection Agency Accountability Act of 2015

To rescind funds made available to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency if the Administrator fails to meet certain deadlines. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Environmental Protection Agency Accountability Act of 2015 2. Definition of Administrator In this Act, the term Administrator 3. Interim assessment of regulatory requirements and applicable penalties (a) In general Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall ensure that the requirements described in subsection (b) are satisfied. (b) Requirements The Administrator shall satisfy— (1) section 4 of Executive Order 12866 ( 5 U.S.C. 601 5 U.S.C. 601 (2) section 602 of title 5, United States Code; (3) section 8 of Executive Order 13132 ( 5 U.S.C. 601 (4) section 202(a) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 ( 2 U.S.C. 1532(a) (c) Financial penalty provisions (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), if the Comptroller General of the United States determines that the Administrator fails to satisfy any requirement described in subsection (b), an amount of funding equal to $20,000 per week shall be rescinded from the Office of the Administrator, and once each week thereafter until all the requirements are satisfied. (2) Limitations (A) 1-day grace period Paragraph (1) shall not apply if each requirement listed in subsection (b) is satisfied not later than 1 day after the deadline for the requirement. (B) Maximum amount of rescinded funds No rescission of funds under paragraph (1) shall exceed, in any fiscal year, an amount equal to 7 percent of the funds made available to the Office of the Administrator. (3) Audits In any fiscal year in which any funds are rescinded from the Administrator pursuant to this Act, the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency shall— (A) conduct an audit to assess compliance with the requirements of this paragraph; and (B) not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year during which any funds are rescinded under paragraph (1), submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report describing the reasons why the funds were rescinded, including allocations of resources. (4) Effect of paragraph Nothing in this paragraph affects or limits the application of, or obligation to comply with, any Federal, State, local, or tribal law.

Summary: Environmental Protection Agency Accountability Act of 2015 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to satisfy within 30 days regulatory requirements concerning: improving planning and regulator review under Executive Order 13563, Executive Order 12866, or any successor executive order establishing requirements applicable to the uniform reporting of regulatory and deregulatory agendas; publishing in the Federal Register its regulatory flexibility agendas; certifying compliance with Executive Order 13132 when transmitting any draft final regulation or proposed legislation that has federalism implication to the Office of Management and Budget; and preparing statements to accompany significant regulatory actions. If the EPA fails to satisfy these requirements, financial penalties in the form of funding rescissions will be imposed on the EPA each week until all the requirements are satisfied. In any year in which funds are rescinded, the EPA Inspector General must conduct an audit to assess the EPA's compliance with this Act.