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 fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To restore State sovereignty, and to dedicate excess grant 
funds to deficit reduction. 
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 ‘‘Restoration of State 
Sovereignty Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES 
THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY WAIVE. 
(a) RETENTION OF RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES.—No 
officer, employee, or other authority of the Federal Gov-
ernment shall enforce against an authority of a State, nor 
shall any authority of a State have any obligation to obey, 
any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving Fed-
eral financial assistance under a grant program estab-
lished under Federal law, nor shall such program operate 
within a State, unless the legislature of that State shall 
have by law expressly approved that program and, in doing 
so, have waived the State’s rights and authorities to act 
inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed 
by the Federal Government as a condition of receiving 
that assistance. 
(b) AMENDMENT OF TERMS OF RECEIPT OF FED-
ERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—An officer, employee, or 
other authority of the Federal Government may release 
Federal financial assistance under a grant program estab-
lished under Federal law to a State only after the legisla-
ture of the State has by law expressly approved the pro-
gram (as described in subsection (a)) or amended the re-
quirements imposed by the Federal Government as condi-
tions of receiving that assistance. In the case of amend-
ments made by a State pursuant to the preceding sen-
tence, such an officer, employee, or other authority may 
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not release such Federal financial assistance to the extent 
that any such amendments are inconsistent with the Fed-
eral law under which the assistance is provided. 
(c) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN GRANT PROGRAMS.— 
Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply with respect to 
any grant program under either of the following: 
(1) The Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 
(2) Title 38, United States Code. 
(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH BIENNIAL 
LEGISLATURES.—In the case of a State with a biennial 
legislature— 
(1) during a year in which the State legislature 
does not meet, subsections (a) and (b) shall not 
apply; and 
(2) during a year in which the State legislature 
meets, subsections (a) and (b) shall apply, and, with 
respect to any grant program established under Fed-
eral law during the most recent year in which the 
State legislature did not meet, the State may by law 
expressly disapprove the grant program, and, if such 
disapproval occurs, an officer, employee, or other au-
thority of the Federal Government may not release 
any additional Federal financial assistance to the 
State under that grant program. 
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(e) DEFINITION OF STATE AUTHORITY.—As used in 
this section, the term ‘‘authority of a State’’ includes any 
administering agency of the State, any officer or employee 
of the State, and any local government authority of the 
State. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies in each 
State beginning on the 90th day after the end of the first 
regular session of the legislature of that State that begins 
5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
shall continue to apply in subsequent years until otherwise 
provided by law. 
SEC. 3. DEDICATION OF SAVINGS TO DEFICIT REDUCTION. 
(a) STATEMENT OF EXCESS GRANT FUNDS.—Upon 
the determination of an officer, employee, or other author-
ity of the Federal Government under section 2(b) that 
Federal financial assistance under a grant program may 
not be released to a State for a fiscal year, the officer, 
employee, or other authority shall prepare a statement of 
the determination and the amount of excess grant funds 
involved, provide the statement to the Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget, and include the state-
ment on the official public Internet website of the Federal 
department or agency involved. 
(b) RESCISSION OF EXCESS GRANT FUNDS.—Upon 
the receipt of a statement under subsection (a) by the Di-
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rector of the Office of Management and Budget, the 
amount involved shall be rescinded from the funds made 
available for the grant program in the applicable appro-
priation Act for the fiscal year. All such rescinded 
amounts shall be used only for reducing the deficit in the 
budget of the Government for that fiscal year. 
(c) OMB ANNUAL REPORT.—Within 30 days after 
the end of each fiscal year, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall submit to the Committees 
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, and include on its official public Internet website, 
a report specifying the total amount of rescissions made 
during the fiscal year under subsection (b) and delineating 
the rescissions by appropriation Acts, accounts, and pro-
grams, projects, and activities. 
(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH BIENNIAL 
LEGISLATURES.—In the case of a State with a biennial 
legislature, any statement required under subsection (a) 
shall be prepared only with respect to a fiscal year during 
which the State legislature meets. 
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SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF STATE WITH BIENNIAL LEGISLA-
TURE. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘State with a biennial legisla-
ture’’ means a State the legislature of which meets every 
other year. 
Æ 
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