[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 908 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 908

To disqualify any individual or business concern who violates a Federal 
  environmental law, or who holds a beneficial business interest in a 
  person who has violated such a law, from being eligible to receive 
certain benefits from the Environmental Protection Agency for a period 
                              of 10 years.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 1993

  Mr. Paxon  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To disqualify any individual or business concern who violates a Federal 
  environmental law, or who holds a beneficial business interest in a 
  person who has violated such a law, from being eligible to receive 
certain benefits from the Environmental Protection Agency for a period 
                              of 10 years.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DENIAL OF EPA BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN PERSONS.

    (a) Ineligibility.--Any person who applies for an Environmental 
Protection Agency benefit is ineligible from receiving the benefit if 
the person has been--
            (1) convicted of violating any Federal environmental law; 
        or
            (2) found by the Administrator to hold, or previously to 
        have held, a beneficial business interest in any business 
        concern which is required to be listed on the person's 
        disclosure statement under section 2 and which has been 
        convicted of violating a Federal environmental law.
    (b) Determination of Ineligibility.--The Administrator shall 
determine whether a person applying for an Environmental Protection 
Agency benefit is ineligible for the benefit by reason of subsection 
(a). Such determination shall be made not later than 6 months after the 
person submits a disclosure statement under section 2.
    (c) Rehabilitation.--The Administrator may not determine that a 
person is ineligible for a benefit by reason of subsection (a)(1) if 
the person demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the 
person has been rehabilitated. Factors that the Administrator may 
consider in reviewing the evidence include the following:
            (1) The nature and responsibilities of the position held by 
        the person.
            (2) The nature and seriousness of the offense.
            (3) The circumstances under which the offense occurred.
            (4) The date of the offense.
            (5) The age of the person when the offense was committed.
            (6) Whether the offense was an isolated or repeated 
        incident.
    (d) Period of Ineligibility.--The ineligibility for benefits under 
this section shall apply for a period, as determined by the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, of not less than 
10 years after the date of the conviction or finding by the 
Administrator under subsection (a).

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.

    (a) Requirement for Submission of Disclosure Statement.--For 
purposes of enforcing section 1, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall require any person who--
            (1) applies for any permit under a Federal environmental 
        law;
            (2) applies for any type of grant or loan from the 
        Environmental Protection Agency;
            (3) in the case of a procurement for goods or services 
        being conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, submits 
        a sealed bid or competitive proposal to the agency in response 
        to a solicitation for bids or request for proposals for the 
        goods or services; or
            (4) applies for any other Environmental Protection Agency 
        benefit;
to submit a disclosure statement as described in subsection (b). Such 
disclosure statement shall be submitted to the Environmental Protection 
Agency at the same time as the application, bid, or proposal is 
submitted.
    (b) Contents of Disclosure Statement.--The following information 
shall be included in the disclosure statement submitted under 
subsection (a):
            (1) In the case of an individual, the full name and 
        business address of the individual. In the case of a business 
        concern, the full name and business address of any officers, 
        directors, partners, or key employees of the business concern 
        and all individuals or business concerns holding any equity in 
        or debt liability of the business concern, or, if the business 
        concern is a publicly traded corporation, all individuals or 
        business concerns holding more than 5 percent of the equity in 
        or debt liability of the business concern.
            (2) The full name and business address of all officers, 
        directors, or partners of any business concern disclosed in the 
        statement and the names and addresses of all individuals or 
        business concerns holding any equity in or debt liability of 
        any business concern so disclosed, or, if the business concern 
        is a publicly traded corporation, all individuals or business 
        concerns holding more than 5 percent of the equity in or debt 
        liability of that business concern.
            (3) The full name and business address of any business 
        concern which collects, transports, treats, stores, or disposes 
        of solid waste or hazardous waste in which the individual or 
        business concern submitting the disclosure statement holds an 
        equity interest.
            (4) A description of the experience and credentials in, 
        including any past or present licenses for, the collection, 
        transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of solid waste 
        or hazardous waste possessed by the individual or business 
        concern, or by any key employee, officer, director, or partner 
        of the business concern.
            (5) A listing and explanation of any notices of violation 
        or prosecution, administrative orders, or license or permit 
        revocations issued by any State or Federal authority, in the 10 
        years immediately preceding the submission of the disclosure 
        statement, which are pending or have resulted in a finding or a 
        settlement of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation 
        relating to the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, 
        or disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste by the individual 
        or business concern, or by any key employee, officer, director, 
        or partner of the business concern.
            (6) A listing and explanation of any judgment of liability 
        or conviction which was rendered, pursuant to any State or 
        Federal statute or local ordinance, against the individual or 
        business concern, or against any key employee, officer, 
        director, or partner of the business concern.
            (7) A listing of any State or local agencies which had 
        regulatory responsibility over the individual or business 
        concern in connection with the individual's or business 
        concern's collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or 
        disposal of solid waste or hazardous waste.
            (8) Any other information the Administrator may require 
        that relates to the competency, reliability, or good character 
        of the individual or business concern.
    (c) Revisions.--Each person that submits a disclosure statement 
under this section shall, if any information required to be included in 
the disclosure statement changes, or if any additional information 
should be added after the submission of the statement, provide that 
information to the Administrator in writing not later than 30 days 
after the change or addition.

SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall enforce section 1 by 
examination of the disclosure statement required under section 2 and by 
such other means, including record and field investigations, as the 
Administrator considers necessary.
    (b) Access Entry.--For purposes of enforcing this Act--
            (1) any officer, employee, or representative of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency may enter at reasonable times 
        any establishment or other place where a person who applies for 
        an Environmental Protection Agency benefit carries out 
        business; and
            (2) any person who applies for an Environmental Protection 
        Agency benefit shall, upon request of any such officer, 
        employee, or representative, furnish information relating to 
        the benefit application and disclosure statement and permit any 
        such officer, employee, or representative at all reasonable 
        times to have access to, and to copy all records relating to, 
        such application and statement.
    (c) Hearing.--Any person who is determined by the Administrator to 
be ineligible for an Environmental Protection Agency benefit under this 
Act shall, upon written request to the Administrator not later than 30 
days after the determination is made, be afforded the opportunity for a 
hearing on the record in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United 
States Code.
    (d) Confidentiality.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
disclosure statements, records, and other information obtained from 
individuals or business concerns under this Act shall be available to 
the public.
    (2) Upon a showing satisfactory to the Administrator by an 
individual or business concern that the public disclosure of a 
disclosure statement, record, or other information obtained under this 
Act would divulge information entitled to protection under section 1905 
of title 18, United States Code, such information shall be considered 
confidential in accordance with the purposes of that section.
    (e) Regulations.--Not later than six months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall prescribe regulations to 
administer and enforce this Act.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Beneficial business interest.--The term ``beneficial 
        business interest'' means any form of monetary interest in a 
        business concern, including an equity interest, debt liability, 
        or other interest, by means of which the holder of the interest 
        may influence, decide, or manage the activities of the business 
        concern.
            (3) Business concern.--The term ``business concern'' means 
        any corporation, firm, joint stock company, association, 
        partnership, trust, or other form of commercial organization.
            (4) Environmental protection agency benefit.--The term 
        ``Environmental Protection Agency benefit'' means any of the 
        following:
                    (A) A permit under a Federal environmental law.
                    (B) Any type of grant or loan awarded by the 
                Administrator pursuant to a Federal environmental law.
                    (C) Any other benefit awarded by the Administrator 
                pursuant to a Federal environmental law that is 
                determined by the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency to be appropriate for inclusion under 
                this Act.
            (5) Federal environmental law.--The term ``Federal 
        environmental law'' includes the following:
                    (A) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).
                    (B) The Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
                Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 
                et seq.).
                    (C) The Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et 
                seq.).
                    (D) The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 
                seq.).
                    (E) The Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 
                2601 et seq.).
            (6) Key employee.--The term ``key employee'' means a person 
        employed by an individual or business concern to carry out 
        supervisory, managerial, or decisionmaking duties.
            (7) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or a 
        business concern.
            (8) Solid and hazardous waste.--The terms ``solid waste'' 
        and ``hazardous waste'' have the meaning given such terms by 
        section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply to any person who applies for an Environmental 
Protection Agency benefit after the expiration of the six-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

                                 <all>