I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3277
To ensure congressional approval of the amount of compliance costs imposed
on the private sector by regulations issued under new or reauthorized
Federal laws.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 18, 1996
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. DELAY, Mr. CLINGER,
Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. PETER-
SON of Minnesota, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. WICKER, Mr. STOCKMAN,
Mr. HERGER, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. FUNDERBURK, Mr. WELLER, Mr.
COBLE, Mr. PARKER, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky, Mr.
LAUGHLIN, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. LARGENT, Mr. EMERSON, Mr.
DEAL of Georgia, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr.
HOSTETTLER, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. COBURN, Mr. COOLEY of Oregon,
Mr. FIELDS of Texas, Mr. GEKAS, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. COMBEST,
Mr. ARCHER, Mr. TAUZIN, and Mr. DAVIS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Over-
sight, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To ensure congressional approval of the amount of compli-
ance costs imposed on the private sector by regulations
issued under new or reauthorized Federal laws.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory Account-
ability Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: REQUIREMENT
FOR CONGRESS TO APPROVE REGULATORY
COSTS THAT MAY BE IMPOSED UNDER NEW
AND REAUTHORIZED FEDERAL REGULATORY
LAWS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 421 of the Congressional
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
658) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (7) (relating to the definition
of the term ‘‘Federal private sector mandate’’) by in-
serting ‘‘a controlled Federal private sector mandate
described in paragraph (14)(B) or a’’ after
‘‘means’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(14) CONTROLLED FEDERAL PRIVATE SECTOR
MANDATE.—The term ‘controlled Federal private
sector mandate’ means—
‘‘(A) a Federal private sector mandate that
will result in costs for the private sector of
$100,000,000 or more; or
‘‘(B) a provision in legislation, that author-
izes appropriations to implement or enforce a
Federal private sector mandate under an exist-
ing Federal law that will result in the imposi-
tion on the private sector, after the first date
for which appropriations are authorized under
the provision, of $100,000,000 or more in costs.
‘‘(15) CONTROLLED
PRIVATE
REGULATORY
LEGISLATION.—The term ‘controlled private regu-
latory legislation’ means a bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that con-
tains a controlled Federal private sector mandate.
‘‘(16) REGULATORY
COST
AUTHORIZATION.—
The term ‘regulatory cost authorization’ means a
statement of a dollar amount of costs incurred by
the private sector that are authorized to result from
regulations that—
‘‘(A) implement or enforce a controlled
Federal private sector mandate, in the case of
a controlled Federal private sector mandate de-
scribed in paragraph (14)(A); or
‘‘(B) implement or enforce a Federal pri-
vate sector mandate with respect to which ap-
propriations are authorized by a controlled Fed-
eral private sector mandate described in para-
graph (14)(B).
‘‘(17) COSTS.—In paragraphs (14) and (16) of
this section and section 424(b)(4) only, the term
‘costs’ means the reasonably quantifiable costs, in-
cluding social, environmental, and economic, that are
expected to result directly or indirectly from imple-
mentation of, or compliance with, a rule or an alter-
native to a rule.’’.
(b) REQUIREMENT
FOR REGULATORY COST AU-
THORIZATION.—Section 425(a) of the Congressional
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
658d(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2) by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(3) any controlled private regulatory legisla-
tion, unless the legislation specifies a regulatory cost
authorization—
‘‘(A) in the case of a controlled Federal
private sector mandate described in section
421(14)(A), for each controlled Federal private
sector mandate contained in the legislation; and
‘‘(B) in the case of a controlled Federal
private sector mandate described in section
421(14)(B), for each Federal private sector
mandate with respect to which appropriations
are authorized by the controlled Federal private
sector mandate.’’.
(c) REQUIREMENT FOR CBO SCORING OF COSTS OF
CONTROLLED FEDERAL PRIVATE SECTOR MANDATES.—
Section 424(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impound-
ment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658c(b)) is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(4) CONTROLLED FEDERAL PRIVATE SECTOR
MANDATES.—In addition to the other information
required by this subsection, the Director shall pre-
pare and include in the statement—
‘‘(A) an identification of each controlled
Federal private sector mandate in the bill or
joint resolution; and
‘‘(B) for each controlled Federal private
sector mandate identified under subparagraph
(A)—
‘‘(i) in the case of a controlled Federal
private sector mandate described in section
421(14)(A), an estimate of the costs that
will be incurred by the private sector under
the controlled Federal private sector man-
date; or
‘‘(ii) in the case of a controlled Fed-
eral private sector mandate described in
section 421(14)(B), an estimate of the
costs that will be incurred by the private
sector, after the first date for which appro-
priations are authorized under the man-
date, to comply with each Federal private
sector mandate with respect to which ap-
propriations are authorized by the con-
trolled Federal private sector mandate.’’.
SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON PRIVATE REGULATORY COSTS EX-
CEEDING CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION.
(a) RULES EXCEEDING REGULATORY COST AUTHOR-
IZATION NOT EFFECTIVE.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, and except as provided in subsection
(d)—
(1) the total amount of costs that are required
to be incurred by the private sector to comply with
covered regulations issued under a covered law may
not exceed the regulatory cost authorization for that
covered law; and
(2) a proposed covered regulation shall not take
effect unless the Director has published in the Fed-
eral Register a certification under this section that
implementation of the regulation will not violate
paragraph (1).
(b) SCORING
OF
COVERED
REGULATIONS
BY
OMB.—
(1) SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT.—Before issu-
ing a final covered regulation, the head of an agency
shall submit the proposed covered regulation to the
Director with a request that the Director certify
under this section that implementation of the regula-
tion will not violate subsection (a)(1).
(2) ISSUANCE OR DENIAL OF CERTIFICATION.—
Not later than 90 days after receiving a request for
certification under paragraph (1) for a proposed cov-
ered regulation, the Director shall—
(A) after publication of notice and an op-
portunity for public comment, estimate the
costs that would be incurred by the private sec-
tor in complying with the regulation;
(B) determine whether implementation of
the regulation would violate subsection (a)(1);
and
(C) publish in the Federal Register the es-
timate under subparagraph (A) and—
(B) is a Federal private sector mandate
that may be implemented or enforced using
amounts appropriated under the authority of a
provision which, when considered by Congress
as legislation, was a controlled Federal private
sector mandate under section 421(14)(B) of
that Act.
(2) COVERED
REGULATION.—The term ‘‘cov-
ered regulation’’ means a regulation issued under
the authority of a covered law after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget.
(4) REGULATORY COST AUTHORIZATION.—(A)
Subject to subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘regulatory
cost authorization’’ has the meaning given that term
is section 421 of the Congressional Budget and Im-
poundment Control Act of 1974, as amended by sec-
tion 2 of this Act.
(B) In the case of a covered law for which there
is not a regulatory cost authorization as defined in
that section, the regulatory cost authorization for
the covered law is deemed to be zero.
(5) MISCELLANEOUS
TERMS.—Each of the
terms ‘‘costs’’, ‘‘Federal private sector mandate’’,
and ‘‘private sector’’ has the meaning given that
term in section 421 of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as amended by
section 2 of this Act.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on January 4, 1997.
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