IB 
Union Calendar No. 617 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 50 
[Report No. 115–798, Part I] 
To provide for additional safeguards with respect to imposing Federal 
mandates, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 3, 2017 
Ms. FOXX (for herself and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, Rules, and the Judici-
ary, 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 
JUNE 29, 2018 
Additional sponsors: Mr. PETERSON, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. 
GOSAR 
JUNE 29, 2018 
Reported from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform with an 
amendment 
[Insert the part printed in italic] 
JUNE 29, 2018 
The Committees on the Budget, Rules, and the Judiciary discharged; com-
mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
A BILL 
To provide for additional safeguards with respect to imposing 
Federal mandates, and for other purposes. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
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 ‘‘Unfunded Mandates 
Information and Transparency Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is— 
(1) to improve the quality of the deliberations 
of Congress with respect to proposed Federal man-
dates by— 
(A) providing Congress and the public with 
more complete information about the effects of 
such mandates; and 
(B) ensuring that Congress acts on such 
mandates only after focused deliberation on 
their effects; and 
(2) to enhance the ability of Congress and the 
public to identify Federal mandates that may impose 
undue harm on consumers, workers, employers, 
small businesses, private property owners, and State, 
local, and tribal governments. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
SEC. 3. PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 
STUDIES ON POLICIES INVOLVING CHANGES 
IN CONDITIONS OF GRANT AID. 
Section 202(g) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 (2 U.S.C. 602(g)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL STUDIES.—At the request of 
any Chairman or ranking member of the minority of 
a Committee of the Senate or the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Director shall conduct an assess-
ment comparing the authorized level of funding in a 
bill or resolution to the prospective costs of carrying 
out any changes to a condition of Federal assistance 
being imposed on State, local, or tribal governments 
participating in the Federal assistance program con-
cerned or, in the case of a bill or joint resolution 
that authorizes such sums as are necessary, an as-
sessment of an estimated level of funding compared 
to such costs.’’. 
SEC. 4. CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF DIRECT COSTS TO 
REFLECT CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 
PRACTICE. 
Section 421(3) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 (2 U.S.C. 658(3)(A)(i)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting ‘‘incur 
or’’ before ‘‘be required’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after ‘‘to 
spend’’ the following: ‘‘or could forgo in profits, in-
cluding costs passed on to consumers or other enti-
ties taking into account, to the extent practicable, 
behavioral changes,’’. 
SEC. 5. EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF REPORTING REQUIRE-
MENTS TO INCLUDE REGULATIONS IMPOSED 
BY INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES. 
Paragraph (1) of section 421 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658) is amended by striking 
‘‘, but does not include independent regulatory agencies’’ 
and inserting ‘‘, except it does not include the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal 
Open Market Committee, or the Consumer Financial Pro-
tection Bureau’’. 
SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO REPLACE OFFICE OF MANAGE-
MENT AND BUDGET WITH OFFICE OF INFOR-
MATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS. 
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public 
Law 104–4; 2 U.S.C. 1511 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 103(c) (2 U.S.C. 1511(c))— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET’’ and 
inserting ‘‘OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REG-
ULATORY AFFAIRS’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
(B) by striking ‘‘Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget’’ and inserting ‘‘Ad-
ministrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs’’; 
(2) in section 205(c) (2 U.S.C. 1535(c))— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘OMB’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget’’ and inserting ‘‘Ad-
ministrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs’’; and 
(3) in section 206 (2 U.S.C. 1536), by striking 
‘‘Director of the Office of Management and Budget’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Administrator of the Office of Infor-
mation and Regulatory Affairs’’. 
SEC. 7. APPLYING SUBSTANTIVE POINT OF ORDER TO PRI-
VATE SECTOR MANDATES. 
Section 425(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658d(a)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Federal intergovernmental 
mandates’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal mandates’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘or 424(b)(1)’’ after ‘‘section 
424(a)(1)’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
SEC. 8. REGULATORY PROCESS AND PRINCIPLES. 
Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 201. REGULATORY PROCESS AND PRINCIPLES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall, unless other-
wise expressly prohibited by law, assess the effects of Fed-
eral regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal govern-
ments and the private sector (other than to the extent that 
such regulatory actions incorporate requirements specifi-
cally set forth in law) in accordance with the following 
principles: 
‘‘(1) Each agency shall identify the problem 
that it intends to address (including, if applicable, 
the failures of private markets or public institutions 
that warrant new agency action) as well as assess 
the significance of that problem. 
‘‘(2) Each agency shall examine whether exist-
ing regulations (or other law) have created, or con-
tributed to, the problem that a new regulation is in-
tended to correct and whether those regulations (or 
other law) should be modified to achieve the in-
tended goal of regulation more effectively. 
‘‘(3) Each agency shall identify and assess 
available alternatives to direct regulation, including 
providing economic incentives to encourage the de-
sired behavior, such as user fees or marketable per-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
mits, or providing information upon which choices 
can be made by the public. 
‘‘(4) If an agency determines that a regulation 
is the best available method of achieving the regu-
latory objective, it shall design its regulations in the 
most cost-effective manner to achieve the regulatory 
objective. In doing so, each agency shall consider in-
centives for innovation, consistency, predictability, 
the costs of enforcement and compliance (to the gov-
ernment, regulated entities, and the public), flexi-
bility, distributive impacts, and equity. 
‘‘(5) Each agency shall assess both the costs 
and the benefits of the intended regulation and, rec-
ognizing that some costs and benefits are difficult to 
quantify, propose or adopt a regulation, unless ex-
pressly prohibited by law, only upon a reasoned de-
termination that the benefits of the intended regula-
tion justify its costs. 
‘‘(6) Each agency shall base its decisions on the 
best reasonably obtainable scientific, technical, eco-
nomic, and other information concerning the need 
for, and consequences of, the intended regulation. 
‘‘(7) Each agency shall identify and assess al-
ternative forms of regulation and shall, to the extent 
feasible, specify performance objectives, rather than 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
specifying the behavior or manner of compliance 
that regulated entities must adopt. 
‘‘(8) Each agency shall avoid regulations that 
are inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative with its 
other regulations or those of other Federal agencies. 
‘‘(9) Each agency shall tailor its regulations to 
minimize the costs of the cumulative impact of regu-
lations. 
‘‘(10) Each agency shall draft its regulations to 
be simple and easy to understand, with the goal of 
minimizing the potential for uncertainty and litiga-
tion arising from such uncertainty. 
‘‘(b) REGULATORY ACTION DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘regulatory action’ means any substantive 
action by an agency (normally published in the Federal 
Register) that promulgates or is expected to lead to the 
promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including ad-
vance notices of proposed rulemaking and notices of pro-
posed rulemaking.’’. 
SEC. 9. EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF STATEMENTS TO AC-
COMPANY SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY AC-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 202 of 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1532) is amended to read as follows: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise expressly pro-
hibited by law, before promulgating any general notice of 
proposed rulemaking or any final rule, or within six 
months after promulgating any final rule that was not pre-
ceded by a general notice of proposed rulemaking, if the 
proposed rulemaking or final rule includes a Federal man-
date that may result in an annual effect on State, local, 
or tribal governments, or to the private sector, in the ag-
gregate of $100,000,000 or more in any 1 year, the agency 
shall prepare a written statement containing the following: 
‘‘(1) The text of the draft proposed rulemaking 
or final rule, together with a reasonably detailed de-
scription of the need for the proposed rulemaking or 
final rule and an explanation of how the proposed 
rulemaking or final rule will meet that need. 
‘‘(2) An assessment of the potential costs and 
benefits of the proposed rulemaking or final rule, in-
cluding an explanation of the manner in which the 
proposed rulemaking or final rule is consistent with 
a statutory requirement and avoids undue inter-
ference with State, local, and tribal governments in 
the exercise of their governmental functions. 
‘‘(3) A qualitative and quantitative assessment, 
including the underlying analysis, of benefits antici-
pated from the proposed rulemaking or final rule 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:33 Jun 29, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H50.RH
H50
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS