Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1664
Sponsor: Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS]
Introduced: 2003-09-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Accounting
Administrative fees
Administrative remedies
Affiliated corporations
Agricultural labor
Auditing
Commerce
Computer software
Computers
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost effectiveness
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic government information
Environmental Protection
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental assessment
Federal employees
Fees
Finance and Financial Sector
Financial statements
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government procurement
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Health
Internet
Judicial review
Labor and Employment
Law
Licenses
Occupational health and safety
Pesticide pollution
Pesticide regulation
Pesticide residues
Pesticides
Recruiting of employees
Science, Technology, Communications
Small business
Web sites

Summary:
action_date: 2003-09-25
text: 
Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to revise registration and maintenance fee requirements for pesticides. (Fees collected are used to help defray the administrative costs of pesticide regulation.)
 
 Modifies certain timing requirements as they concern the submission of product-specific data and other regulatory action.
 
Increases and then decreases the maximum amount of maintenance fees payable by registrants, including small businesses, through FY 2008, with the highest levels of fees occurring during FY 2005 and 2006. 
 
Extends the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) authority to collect maintenance, but not tolerance, fees through FY 2008. (Maintenance fees are assessed on already registered or reregistered pesticides; tolerance fees are assessed on pesticides used on food or animal feed which are subject to more stringent regulatory requirements.)
 
Directs the Administrator of the EPA to assess and collect covered pesticide registration service fees for applications submitted from FY 2004 onward. (Registration fees would apply to new pesticide applications only.) Provides transitional requirements for pending applications.
 
Sets forth the Administrator's responsibilities concerning the publication and revision of the schedule of registration service fees, including a mandatory increase by FY 2006. 
 
Permits the waiver or reduction of these fees for minor uses or small businesses. Provides for partial fee refunds when an application is withdrawn or at the Administrator's discretion.
 
Establishes the Pesticide Registration Fund in the Treasury to collect registration fees. Limits the use of these funds to associated regulatory costs, except for limited earmarks for worker protection and the review of new inert ingredients. 
 
Makes these funds available only to the extent provided in advance through appropriations acts. Prohibits the assessment of registration fees in any year where the amount appropriated for the Office of Pesticide Programs of the EPA is less than the amount appropriated for that Office for FY 2002.
 
Addresses several issues concerning decision time review periods, including the goal of reducing existing periods, schedule publication requirements, determining their start, and how they are impacted by waiver or reduction requests.
 
Provides for judicial review if the Administrator fails to make a determination on an application before the expiration of the applicable decision time review period.
 
Terminates the registration service fee after FY 2010, with a phase out occuring during the final two years.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2003-09-25
text: Introduced in Senate