zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Bioenergy Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a working group known as the Bioheat and Biopower Initiative to: coordinate research and development relating to biopower and bioheat projects, provide recommendations to USDA and DOE regarding the implementation of this bill, and ensure that grants are awarded using an open and competitive process.

Bioheat is the use of woody biomass to generate heat, and biopower is the use of woody biomass to generate electricity.

DOE must establish: (1) a grant program for projects to support innovation and market development in bioheat and biopower, and (2) working groups to share best practices and collaborate in project implementation.

The Forest Service must establish a grant program to support commercially demonstrated thermally led wood energy technologies. Priority is given to projects proposed by State Wood Energy Teams, which are groups of stakeholders that identify sustainable energy applications for woody biomass.

The bill requires USDA to establish a loan program to support construction of thermally led residential, commercial or institutional, and industrial wood energy systems. The bill also makes these projects eligible for loans under USDA's energy efficiency and conservation loan program.

DOE and the Forest Service must establish a bioheat and biopower research program to advance research on the costs and benefits, recommend policies and investments, assess the feasibility of thermally led district wood energy opportunities, and assist communities pursuing thermally led wood energy opportunities.

Date: 2015-05-12
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2015

Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to extend through FY2020 the authorization for deposit and use of lease revenues under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Makes such funds available to the Department of the Interior for FY2015 and afterwards to implement both the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970.

Directs the Bureau of Land Management to establish priority and variance areas on covered land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects.

Requires Interior to establish a program to improve federal permit coordination with respect to renewable energy projects carried out on public land administered by Interior and not excluded from the development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy (covered land).

Defines "variance area" as covered land that is neither an exclusion area (not suitable for development of renewable energy projects) nor a priority area.

Establishes in the Treasury the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund, to be available in regions affected by the development of wind or solar energy on federal land for: (1) protecting and restoring important fish and wildlife habitat; and (2) ensuring and improving right-of-way access to federal land and water in the impacted region for fishing, hunting, and other forms of outdoor recreation.

Requires the Department of Agriculture as well as Interior to determine the feasibility of carrying out a conservation banking program on federal land.

Denies the rental fee exemption for rights-of-way under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to wind or solar generation projects with a capacity of 20 megawatts or more that are issued a lease, right-of-way, permit, or other authorization.

Date: 2015-05-20
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Energy Storage Promotion and Deployment Act of 2015

This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish national energy storage standards for certain electric power suppliers (utilities) that sell at least 500,000 megawatt hours of electric energy annually. Each supplier must have energy storage devices that have the capacity to provide at least 1% of its annual average peak power demand by 2021 and 2% by 2025. Suppliers must also meet a secondary standard.

Energy storage devices include those used to store energy using pumped hydropower, compressed air, batteries or other electrochemical forms, thermal forms, flywheels, capacitors, and superconducting magnets.

The standards do not apply to rural electric cooperatives or government-owned suppliers.

An energy storage device placed in operation before January 1, 2009, may not be used to achieve compliance with the standards.

The Department of Energy may provide one-year waivers from the deadlines if achieving the standard by the deadline would present undue hardship to the supplier or its ratepayers.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Water Efficiency Innovation Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand its Industrial Assessment Centers program to: (1) provide assessment services to water and wastewater treatment facilities comparable to those for other energy efficiency improvements, and (2) equip the centers with the training and tools necessary to provide technical assistance on energy savings to those facilities.

A center is located at an institution of higher education that: (1) receives funding from DOE; (2) provides an in-depth assessment of small- and medium-sized manufacturer plant sites to evaluate the facilities, services, and manufacturing operations of the plant sites; and (3) identifies opportunities for potential savings for those sites from energy efficiency improvements, waste minimization, pollution prevention, and productivity improvement.

Date: 2015-06-02
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Clean Vehicle Corridors Act 

 Requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to:

 designate at least five Clean Vehicle Corridors along federal highways, interstates, or other contiguous highways after consulting with specified agencies; and encourage the addition of cleaner alternative fuel options and other supporting infrastructure along the corridors and the inclusion of existing and private facilities in the corridor. Defines "cleaner alternative fuels" to include:

 compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (also known as propane), plug-in electric, advanced biofuels, and hydrogen. Authorizes DOT to provide waivers of statutory restrictions for cleaner alternative fuel projects and vehicles along Clean Vehicle Corridors.

Requires DOT to: maintain a publicly accessible website containing information and resources for corridors; identify best practices and case studies of communities and complementary programs that have successfully promoted cleaner alternative fuel use in consultation with federal agencies, tribes, states, and Clean Cities; identify existing technical and financial mechanisms available to promote the development of cleaner alternative fuel infrastructure; and collaborate with the Department of Energy (DOE) and all relevant Clean Vehicle Corridor stakeholders to collect data on cleaner alternative fueling station usage patterns. Authorizes: two or more contiguous states to enter into an interstate compact to establish Clean Vehicle Corridor partnerships to facilitate planning for and siting of necessary facilities within those states; and DOT, in consultation with DOE, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to provide technical assistance to interstate compact partnerships.

Date: 2015-06-16
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Low-Income Solar Act

This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a loan and grant program for photovoltaic solar (a method of converting energy from the sun into electricity) installations in low-income and underserved areas for FY2016-FY2030.

Loans must be provided for: (1) community solar facilities that provide solar energy to low-income households, or (2) solar installations at federally subsidized affordable housing at multi-family complexes.

The community solar facilities must: (1) be owned by an organization of electricity consumers that own a share of the facility's solar electricity generation, (2) have a certain a nameplate rating (or power generation capacity), (3) be located in or near a community that uses the electricity generated by the facility, and (4) reserve at least 25% of the electricity generated for low-income households.

Grants must be given for: (1) solar electricity generating facilities installed on properties of eligible, low-income home owners; or (2) new solar projects for low-income households and individuals, including the costs of equipment and job training associated with solar projects.

Date: 2015-07-07
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Promoting Renewable Energy with Shared Solar Act of 2015

This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require an electric utility, upon the request of an electric consumer, to make available to the consumer interconnection service and net billing service for a solar photovoltaic system allocating electricity to multiple individual electric consumers of the utility and meeting other specified characteristics (community solar facility).

Each state regulatory authority and each nonregulated utility must, within specified time limitations, commence consideration of and finally determine ratemaking standards.

The bill makes conforming technical amendments to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Certain ratemaking time limitations set out in PURPA, and requirements in case of a failure to comply with them, shall not apply in the case of any electric utility in a state if before enactment of this Act:

 the state has implemented the standard under this Act (or a comparable one) for the electric utility; the state regulatory authority or the relevant nonregulated electric utility has conducted a proceeding to consider implementation of the standard (or a comparable one) for the electric utility; or the state legislature has voted on the implementation of the standard (or a comparable one).

Date: 2015-07-09
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a 30% tax credit for investment in a qualifying offshore wind facility (an offshore facility using wind to produce electricity), and (2) direct the Department of the Treasury to establish a qualifying credit for offshore wind facilities program to consider and award certifications for investments eligible for such a credit to qualifying offshore wind facility sponsors.

Requires Treasury to review credits allocated under this Act periodically and authorizes Treasury to make additional allocations and reallocations of such credits upon determining that: (1) the limit on the total amount of megawatt capacity for offshore facilities with respect to which credits may be allocated under the program has not been attained, or (2) scheduled placed-in-service dates of previously certified facilities have been significantly delayed and the applicant for certification will not meet the required timeline.

Date: 2015-07-09
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
PTC Elimination Act 

This bill repeals the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind, biomass, trash, geothermal or solar energy facilities). The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that such credit should be allowed to expire and should not be extended.

Date: 2015-10-07
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through March 31, 2016, the income tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel and the excise tax credit for biodiesel fuel mixtures, (2) allow through 2018 a new income and excise tax credit equal to $1.00 for each gallon of biodiesel produced, and (3) provide for an increased credit for small biodiesel producers.

Date: 2015-12-03
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
Lithium Battery Safety Act of 2016

This bill amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to repeal the prohibition against new Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations for the transportation by aircraft of lithium metal cells or batteries or lithium ion cells or batteries that are more stringent than the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, as amended.

DOT shall:

 initiate a comprehensive review of existing and any other applicable regulations regarding the air transportation, including passenger-carrying and cargo aircraft, of lithium batteries and cells; and take any additional action appropriate to mitigate sufficiently the risks posed by lithium batteries and cells to safe air transport. The President shall establish a lithium battery safety working group to promote and coordinate efforts related to the promotion of the safe manufacture, use, and transportation of lithium batteries and cells.

The working group shall research:

 additional ways to decrease the risk of fires and explosions from lithium batteries and cells, additional ways to ensure uniform transportation requirements for both bulk and individual batteries, and new or existing technologies that could reduce the fire and explosion risk of lithium batteries and cells.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Consortia-Led Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Networks Act

This bill requires the Department of Commerce to carry out a grant program for establishing consortia to enhance U.S. economic, environmental, and energy security by promoting domestic research, development, manufacture, and deployment of clean technologies and advanced manufacturing processes. Clean technology means technologies, production processes, or methodologies that:

 produce energy from renewable energy sources; transmit, distribute, or store energy more efficiently; enhance energy efficiency for buildings and industry; enable the development of a Smart Grid (an evolving electric power network that utilizes new information technology systems, including those that enables customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods); produce an advanced or sustainable material with energy or energy efficiency applications; improve energy efficiency for transportation; or enhance water security through improved water management, conservation, distribution, or end use applications.

Date: 2016-05-19
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Offshore Wind Incentives for New Development Act or the Offshore WIND Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax credit for investment in energy property to include a qualified offshore wind property until January 1, 2026. Under the bill, a qualified offshore wind property is an offshore facility that uses wind to produce electricity, excluding certain small wind energy property which uses a small wind turbine to generate electricity.

Date: 2016-06-08
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits for: (1) energy storage technologies, and (2) battery storage technology.

The bill expands the tax credit for investments in energy property to include equipment that: (1) receives, stores, and delivers energy using batteries, compressed air, pumped hydropower, hydrogen storage (including hydrolysis), thermal energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnets, or other technologies identified by the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) has a capacity of at least five kilowatt hours.

The bill also expands the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to include expenditures for battery storage technology that: (1) is installed on or in connection with a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a residence by the taxpayer, and (2) has a capacity of at least three kilowatt hours.

Date: 2016-07-12
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize through FY2019 the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The bill also amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate on January 1, 2017, the tax credit for electricity produced from wind.

Date: 2016-07-12
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Energy
Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify and extend: (1) the income tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel, and (2) the excise tax credit for biodiesel fuel mixtures.

The bill: (1) makes the credits available to domestic producers of the fuels rather than the policy under current law of providing a mixture credit to the blender of the fuel, (2) increases the income tax credit for certain small biodiesel producers, and (3) extends the credits through 2019.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow energy tax credits through 2020 for investments in: (1) qualified biogas property, or (2) qualified manure resource recovery property. The bill also permits new clean renewable energy bonds to be used for such properties.

"Qualified biogas property" comprises a system that: (1) uses anaerobic digesters or other specified processes to convert biomass into a gas which is at least 52% methane, and (2) captures the gas for use as a fuel. The term includes property that cleans and conditions the gas for use as a fuel.

"Qualified manure resource recovery property" comprises a system that uses specified processes to recover the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from a non-treated digestate or animal manure by reducing or separating at least 50% of the nutrients, excluding any reductions during the incineration, storage, composting, or field application of the non-treated digestate or animal manure. The term also includes certain processing equipment.

The Department of the Treasury must enter into an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a study of biogas and report to Congress on the study.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources, to allow a taxpayer to elect the application of such credit to open-loop biomass and trash facilities during the period beginning after December 31, 2016, and ending before January 1, 2018 (in lieu of the 10-year period after the facilities are originally placed in service). The bill limits the aggregate period during which a taxpayer can claim a tax credit with respect to a facility to 10 years.

The bill also modifies the definition of "municipal solid waste" to specify that the term does not include solid waste collected as part of a system which commingles commonly recycled paper with other solid waste which is not commonly recycled at any point from the time of collection through any materials recovery. The bill includes exceptions for incidental and residual waste.

In the case of a facility that produces electricity both from municipal solid waste and other solid waste that is not a qualified energy resource: (1) the facility is a qualified facility if it otherwise meets the requirements for qualified facilities, and (2) the credit only applies to the portion of the electricity produced from municipal solid waste.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
Protection of Military Airfields from Wind Turbine Encroachment Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make new wind facilities located near certain military installations ineligible for the tax credits for: (1) electricity produced from renewable resources, and (2) investments in qualified small wind energy property.

The bill applies to facilities that are originally placed in service after the date of enactment of this bill and are located within a 30-mile radius of: (1) an airfield or airbase that is under the jurisdiction of a military department and in active use; or (2) an air traffic control radar site, weather radar site, or aircraft navigation aid that is owned or operated by the Department of Defense and is a permanent land-based structure at a fixed location.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat the charging of an electric vehicle provided on or near the business premises of the employer as a qualified transportation fringe benefit that is excluded from an employee's gross income. The bill limits the benefit to $175 per month (adjusted for inflation) and specifies requirements for the electric vehicles.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Energy (Alternative & Renewable)
Subject: Taxation
Powder-Crack Cocaine Penalty Equalization Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to eliminate the disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine, with regard to trafficking, possession, importation, and exportation of such substances, by changing the applicable amounts for powder cocaine to those currently applicable to crack cocaine.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
No More Tulias: Drug Law Enforcement Evidentiary Standards Improvement Act of 2007 - Prohibits a state from receiving for a fiscal year any drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grant funds under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, or any amount from any other law enforcement assistance program of the Department of Justice, unless the state does not fund any antidrug task forces for that fiscal year or the state has in effect laws that ensure that: (1) a person is not convicted of a drug offense unless the facts that a drug offense was committed and that the person committed that offense are supported by evidence other than the eyewitness testimony of a law enforcement officer (officer) or individuals acting on an officer's behalf; and (2) an officer does not participate in a antidrug task force unless that officer's honesty and integrity is evaluated and found to be at an appropriately high level. Requires states receiving federal funds under this Act to collect data on the racial distribution of drug charges, the nature of the criminal law specified in the charges, and the jurisdictions in which such charges are made.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Communities Leading Everyone Away From Narcotics Through Online Warning Notification Act 0f 2007 or the CLEAN TOWN Act of 2007 - Requires states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, and federally recognized Indian tribes (jurisdictions) to establish and maintain jurisdiction-wide criminal drug dealer registries. Sets forth requirements for registration and types of information to be included. Requires jurisdictions to provide Internet access to information about each criminal drug dealer listed, with mandatory exemptions for certain confidential information.Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain: (1) a national database at the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be know as the National Criminal Drug Dealer Registry; (2) a National Criminal Drug Dealer Public Internet Site; and (3) Criminal Drug Dealer Management Assistance program.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, to: (1) establish voluntary guidelines, based on the best currently available scientific knowledge, for the remediation of former methampehtamine laboratories, including guidelines regarding preliminary site assessment and the remediation of residual contaminants; (2) consider relevant federal, state, and local requirements in developing the guidelines, the varying types and locations of former methamphetamine laboratories, and the cost of carrying out such guidelines; (3) work with state and local governments and other relevant non-federal agencies in adopting the voluntary guidelines; (4) periodically update such guidelines; and (5) establish a research program to support the development and revision of such guidelines.Directs the Administrator: (1) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act and every third year thereafter, to convene a conference of appropriate state agencies, individuals, and organizations involved in research and other activities directly relating to the environmental or biological impact of former methamphetamine laboratories; (2) to submit a report to Congress that summarizes the proceedings of the conference, including a summary of recommendations and concerns of non-federal participants; and (3) to make such report widely available to the general public.Directs the Administrator to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a study of the status and quality of research on the residual effects of methamphetanmine laboratories and to report to Congress on the uses of such study.Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support a research program to develop: (1) new methamphetamine detection technologies, with an emphasis on field test kits and site detection; and (2) appropriate standard reference materials and validation procedures for methamphetamine detection testing. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2008.

Date: 2007-01-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Environmental protection
Gang Elimination Act of 2007 - Directs the Attorney General to report to Congress on a national strategy to eliminate the illegal operations of National Threat Drug Gangs (i.e., the top three international drug gangs that present the greatest threat to law and order in the United States). Sets forth criteria for the Attorney General to consider in identifying a National Threat Drug Gang, including (1) ties to international terrorist organizations or state-sponsored terrorism; (2) the volume of controlled substances imported or distributed by such gangs; and (3) the threat to children and schools in the United States.

Date: 2007-01-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Crack-Cocaine Equitable Sentencing Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to eliminate specified mandatory minimum penalties relating to the trafficking in, and possession, importation, or distribution of, crack cocaine.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Clean, Learn, Educate, Abolish, Neutralize, and Undermine Production of Methamphetamines Act or the CLEAN-UP of Methamphetamines Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to carry out environmental cleanup and remediation programs involving specified lands that are contaminated with hazardous substances associated with illegal methamphetamine manufacture. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate as hazardous certain byproducts of the methamphetamine production process and expand penalties against laboratory operators; (2) the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration to list byproducts likely to cause long-term environmental harm; (3) the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to provide grants to state and local law enforcement for specified training and equipment acquisition; (4) the EPA Administrator to study the impact of methamphetamine laboratory operation on the environment; and (5) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study contamination issues. Amends: (1) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants to educate students on prevention and treatment of methamphetamine abuse; (2) the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to provide treatment; and (3) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include among permissible grant projects under the "cops on the beat" program hiring personnel and purchasing equipment for enforcement, prosecution, and environmental cleanup. Urges the President to seek commitments from the Canadian government to stem the availability of pseudoephedrine in Canada and its illegal importation into the United States.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Health
Drug Trafficking Elimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to increase prison terms or impose mandatory minimum prison terms for: (1) manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, or possessing certain large amounts of heroin, marihuana, or methamphetamine; (2) importing or exporting such drugs; (3) manufacturing or cultivating a controlled substance on federal property; (4) using hazardous substances on federal land in connection with illegal drug activities; (5) possessing a listed chemical with intent to manufacture a controlled substance; (6) committing a crime of violence during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; (7) engaging in a dangerous drug trafficking organization; (8) distributing controlled substances to persons under age 21 or to a pregnant person; (9) distributing controlled substances in or near schools; and (10) employing or involving persons under age 18 in illegal drug activities.Directs the Attorney General to develop a National Drug Trafficking Enforcement Strategy.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Stop Marketing Illegal Drugs to Minors Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to impose increased prison terms on individuals who manufacture, create, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged, or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to appeal to a person under 21 years or age (or who attempt or conspire to do so). Provides for enhanced penalties for repeat offenses involving the marketing of methamphetamine to minors.

Date: 2007-05-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to expand electronic logbook requirements applicable to sellers and purchasers of listed chemicals (e.g., legal substances used in the production of methamphetamine). Authorizes the Attorney General to make three-year grants to state and local governments to plan, develop, implement, or enhance methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook systems. Establishes a preference for grant recipients who develop electronic logbook systems that are: (1) statewide; (2) capable of real-time capture and transmission of logbook information to law enforcement and regulatory agencies; and (3) designed to share information across jurisdictional boundaries.Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook systems.

Date: 2007-06-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Methamphetamine Kingpin Elimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to expand the threshold criteria for designating an individual as a principal administrator, organizer, or leader of a continuing criminal enterprise involving methamphetamine. Amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to increase the mandatory minimum prison terms for trafficking in methamphetamine. Requires the Attorney General to establish methamphetamine task forces, consisting of federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, to coordinate efforts to combat methamphetamine trafficking.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Combating Terrorism Financing Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) expand prohibitions against conducting monetary transactions over $10,000 for the purpose of engaging in interstate criminal activities; (2) authorize the Attorney General to obtain a 30-day ex parte court order freezing the bank account of any individual arrested or charged for crimes involving the movement of funds into or out of the United States; (3) expand money laundering prohibitions to include monetary transactions; and (4) include monetary transactions involving commingled funds or structured transactions in prosecuting interstate transfers of funds greater than $10,000 for criminal purposes. Includes within the requirement to report monetary transactions exceeding $10,000 blank monetary instruments in bearer form drawn on accounts found to contain more than $10,000.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to increase the amount of a controlled substance or mixture containing a cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine) required for the imposition of mandatory minimum prison terms for crack cocaine trafficking to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.Eliminates the five-year mandatory minimum prison term for first-time possession of crack cocaine. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend, if appropriate, its sentencing guidelines for trafficking in a controlled substance to reflect the use of a dangerous weapon or violence in such crime and the culpability and the role of the defendant in such crime, taking into account certain aggravating and mitigating factors. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to improve drug treatment to offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to establish demonstration programs to reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs by substance abusers while incarcerated and until the completion of parole or court supervision. Increases monetary penalties for drug trafficking and for the importation and exportation of controlled substances. Authorizes appropriations to the Departments of Justice, the Treasury, and Homeland Security for FY2008-FY2009 for the prosecution of, and for supporting the prosecution of, high-level drug offenses.

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Provides that an amendment to the sentencing guidelines promulgated by the U.S. Sentencing Commission with respect to crack cocaine offenses shall apply only to cases pending on and after the effective date of such amendment (i.e., November 1, 2007).

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Human Growth Hormone Restriction Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to classify as a Schedule III controlled substance growth hormone, recombinant human growth hormone, or human growth hormone.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2008 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to eliminate: (1) increased and mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses involving mixtures or substances which contain cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine); and (2) restrictions on judicial authority to grant probation or suspended sentences for certain cocaine offenses.Authorizes appropriations for FY2009-FY2013 for federal pretrial diversion and post conviction drug courts.Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations for FY2009-FY2013 for the drug courts grant program.

Date: 2008-01-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2008 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to require all regulated retail sellers of certain listed chemical products used to make methamphetamine to submit self-certifications of compliance with the requirements of such Act to the Attorney General.Requires the Attorney General to develop a list of all self-certified individuals and make it publicly available on the website of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Prohibits distributors of listed chemical products from selling such products to individuals not currently registered with the DEA. Impose civil penalties for negligent failure to self-certify as required by this Act.

Date: 2008-03-13
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Smuggled Tobacco Prevention Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require manufacturers and importers of tobacco products to legibly print a unique serial number on all packages of tobacco products manufactured or imported for sale or distribution. Imposes marking requirements for exports of tobacco products. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to require additional secure methods of identification or marking of tobacco products. Requires the Secretary to prescribe a system of tobacco tax stamps, meter impressions, or other tax-payment indicia for tobacco products. Requires tobacco products sold on Indian reservations to be visibly and prominently labeled as such.Prohibits the export of tobacco products without the posting of a bond with the Secretary. Extends permit, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements to wholesalers of tobacco products. Establishes new criminal offenses relating to the distribution of tobacco products. Increases the civil penalty for tobacco-related infractions from $1,000 to $10,000. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) extend criminal penalties for contraband cigarettes to tobacco products (i.e., cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco) and define "contraband tobacco product" for purposes of such penalties; (2) establish new unlawful acts relating to tobacco products and machines used to manufacture or package tobacco products; and (3) establish whistleblower protections for employees who provide information about violations relating to contraband tobacco.

Date: 2008-04-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults - Prohibits the imposition of any penalty under an Act of Congress for the possession of marijuana for personal use or for the not-for-profit transfer between adults of marijuana for personal use.Deems the possession of 100 grams or less of marijuana as personal use (one ounce or less for a not-for-profit transfer between adults).Allows the imposition of a civil penalty under the Controlled Substances Act for the public use of marijuana if such penalty does not exceed $100.

Date: 2008-04-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2008 - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) to expand resources for the Project Gunrunner initiative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to identify, investigate, and prosecute firearms trafficking across the U.S.- Mexico border; and (2) provide ATF agents, equipment, and training to assist Mexican law enforcement officers in combating firearms trafficking and other criminal enterprises.

Date: 2008-04-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
High School Sports Anti-Drug Act - Directs the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, to award competitive grants to states to develop and carry out statewide pilot programs that randomly test secondary school students for performance-enhancing drug use. Requires a parent's or guardian's written consent before a student may be tested. Directs grantees to: (1) provide recovery, counseling, and treatment programs for students who test positive for performance-enhancing drug use; and (2) spend at least 10% of grant funds on preventing such drug use.

Date: 2008-06-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Education
Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 15 years for knowingly operating or embarking in any submersible or semisubmersible vessel that is without nationality and that is navigating in, or has navigated into, through, or from, waters beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of that country's territorial sea with an adjacent country, with the intent to evade detection. Grants extraterritorial federal jurisdiction over violations of this Act.Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this Act that a vessel operated at the time of a violation was: (1) a vessel of the Untied States or lawfully registered in a foreign nation; (2) classed by and designated in accordance with the rules of a classification society; (3) lawfully operated in a government-regulated or licensed activity; or (4) equipped with and using an operable automatic identification system, vessel monitoring system, or a long range identification and tracking system. Specifies the documents required to conclusively prove an affirmative defense. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate or amend existing guidelines to provide adequate penalties for violations of this Act.

Date: 2008-06-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Drug Testing Integrity Act of 2008 - Makes it unlawful to knowingly manufacture, market, sell, ship, or otherwise provide to another individual any product with the intent to assist such individual to use such product to defraud a drug test. Defines "defraud a drug test" to mean to: (1) submit a substance that purports to be from an individual other than its actual source, or purports to have been excreted or collected other than when it was actually excreted or collected; or (2) engage in any other conduct with the intent to produce a false or misleading outcome of a test for the presence of a controlled substance. Grants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement powers as a violation of an unfair or deceptive act or practice.

Date: 2008-07-14
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
New York/New Jersey High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Expansion Act of 2008 - Designates the counties of Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence in the state of New York as high-intensity drug trafficking areas and incorporates such counties into the New York/New Jersey high-intensity drug trafficking area program administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Methamphetamine Trafficking Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to reduce the threshold requirements for imposing enhanced criminal penalties on individuals engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise involving methamphetamine.Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S. Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security should address methamphetamine controls in multilateral or bilateral negotiations with foreign countries; and (2) the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration should collaborate with foreign law enforcement officials to combat methamphetamine trafficking into the United States.Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress on problems faced by Indian reservations relating to methamphetamine trafficking and abuse.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Safe Babies Act of 2007 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award a grant to a national early childhood development organization to establish a National Court Teams Resource Center to: (1) promote the well-being of maltreated infants and toddlers and their families; (2) help prevent the recurrence of abuse and neglect of children; (3) promote timely reunification of families or other successful permanency outcomes for maltreated infants and toddlers in foster care; and (4) select, and provide assistance to, local Court Teams created to achieve those goals.Sets forth organization selection criteria and application requirements, including assurance that at least one qualified judge will serve as Judicial Leader of each Court Team receiving assistance.Requires the Center to: (1) develop materials to guide judges in the decision-making process regarding, and to train Court Teams in the appropriate care for, maltreated infants and toddlers; (2) develop a database to track the progress of and to evaluate such Teams; and (3) provide information to communities and courts seeking to adopt the Court Teams approach.Requires Center assistance to each Team to include: (1) direction, coordination, oversight, training, and technical assistance; and (2) providing a Local Community Coordinator to serve as a resource of child development expertise.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Families
Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2008 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to make it unlawful for any adult (at least 18 years of age) to knowingly and intentionally manufacture, create, distribute, or dispense, or to possess with such intent, a Schedule I or II controlled substance that is: (1) combined with a candy product; (2) marketed or packaged to appear similar to a candy product; or (3) modified by flavoring or coloring with the intent to distribute, dispense, or sell it to a person under 21 years of age. Imposes enhanced criminal penalties and a one-year minimum sentence for violations. Exempts any controlled substance that has been approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the drug approval process or that has been altered at the direction of a medical practitioner for a legitimate medical purpose.

Date: 2007-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act of 2008 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to expand written and electronic logbook requirements applicable to sellers and purchasers of listed chemicals (e.g., legal substances used in the production of methamphetamine). Requires retail sellers of listed chemicals to use an electronic logbook or a bound paper book to obtain required information (i.e., name and address of purchaser, date and time of sale, and quantity sold) for sales of listed chemicals. Requires an electronic logbook to capture signatures in an electronic format. Requires a bound paper book to include: (1) a clear line for the purchaser's signature; and (2) a sticker affixed to the book at the time of sale which displays the name of each product sold, the quantity sold, the name and address of the purchaser, and the date and time of the sale or a unique identifier that can be linked to electronic or written information. Requires sellers and purchasers of listed chemicals to verify the accuracy of information entered into an electronic logbook or bound paper book.Requires sellers of listed chemicals to maintain entries in written logbooks or electronic formats for not fewer than two years.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Illegal Drugs)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement