[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 13 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 13

    To institute accountability in the Federal regulatory process, 
    establish a program for the systematic selection of regulatory 
                  priorities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 21 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

   Mr. Hatch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
           referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To institute accountability in the Federal regulatory process, 
    establish a program for the systematic selection of regulatory 
                  priorities, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Regulatory Accountability Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) the overall cost of Federal regulation in the United 
        States has risen to well over $400,000,000,000 per year;
            (2) this regulatory burden is paid by individual citizens 
        and their families in the form of a ``hidden tax'' because 
        intermediaries have no options that do not pass these 
        expenditures to individuals;
            (3) the most recent data reveals that the ``hidden tax'' 
        paid by the citizens of this Nation now exceeds $4,100 annually 
        for each household;
            (4) left unchecked, this ``hidden tax'' will increase by 50 
        percent between now and the year 2000; and
            (5) it is in the best interests of the American people to 
        have the Federal Government devise a systematic way to account 
        for the new regulatory costs that taxpayers are forced to 
        absorb and to have this financial burden better controlled.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish that each 
agency shall, as a mandatory requirement for the issuance of--
            (1) any proposed regulation--
                    (A) thoroughly assess and document the anticipated 
                benefits, reasonable alternative approaches, and all 
                foreseeable compliance costs of each approach; and
                    (B) assess, and include in all proposed regulatory 
                actions, a range of possible offsets for the costs; and
            (2) any final regulation--
                    (A) have selected the most cost-effective 
                alternative; and
                    (B) for a period of 3 years following enactment, 
                have fully offset all foreseeable costs through 
                revocation or revision of one or more existing 
                regulations.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``agency'' has the same meaning given such 
        term in section 3502(1) of title 44, United States Code, 
        excluding those agencies specified in section 3502(10) of title 
        44, United States Code; and
            (2) the term ``regulation'' or ``rule'' means any agency 
        statement of general applicability and future effect designed 
        to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or 
        describing the procedure or practice requirements of an agency, 
        but does not include--
                    (A) administrative actions governed by the 
                provisions of sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United 
                States Code;
                    (B) regulations issued with respect to a military 
                or foreign affairs function of the United States; or
                    (C) regulations related to agency organization, 
                management, or personnel.

SEC. 4. MANDATORY REQUIREMENT FOR THE ISSUANCE OF NEW REGULATION.

    In taking any regulatory action, each agency shall strictly adhere 
to the following requirements:
            (1) Administrative regulatory decisions shall be based on 
        substantial evidence on the public record documenting--
                    (A) the ability of an action to result in specific, 
                reasonably anticipated benefits;
                    (B) all alternative regulatory approaches, 
                including performance-based approaches, that will 
                result in the benefits documented under subparagraph 
                (A); and
                    (C) all foreseeable costs that can reasonably be 
                expected to flow, directly or incidentally, from each 
                approach documented under subparagraph (B).
            (2) No final regulatory actions may be taken unless the 
        specific benefits resulting from a specific regulatory approach 
        documented under paragraph (1) clearly outweigh the costs 
        documented under paragraph (1).
            (3) Agencies shall--
                    (A) for all proposed new regulatory actions that 
                will generate any cost, propose a range of position 
                revisions to, or revocation of, one or more exciting 
                regulations, that can reasonably be expected to fully 
                offset the reasonably anticipated costs of such 
                proposed regulatory action; and
                    (B) fully offset the costs documented under 
                paragraph (1) through revision to, or revocation of, 
                existing Federal regulation.

SEC. 5. EXEMPTION.

    The requirements of section 4(3) shall not apply in the case of 
regulatory actions for which the President includes in the Federal 
Register, accompanying the regulatory action, a statement of waiver 
that fully outlines the reasons and needs for waiving the requirements 
of section 4(3) because of emergency need for such specific regulatory 
action and includes a timetable for satisfying the requirements of 
section 4 at the earliest possible date thereafter.

SEC. 6. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.

    (a) In General.--Three years following the date of enactment of 
this Act, the President shall provide for independent evaluation of the 
regulatory process and the effect of regulations on the different areas 
of the economy, including--
            (1) business startups and viability;
            (2) employment, including job creation, compensation, and 
        employment of foreign nationals by United States firms;
            (3) international trade and competitiveness with foreign 
        entities;
            (4) research and development;
            (5) impact on State and local governments; and
            (6) direct Federal spending for enforcement of regulations.
    (b) Study Focus.--The evaluation required by this section shall 
also include a study of--
            (1) the effect of the regulatory cost cap imposed by this 
        Act;
            (2) the methodologies used by regulatory agencies to 
        estimate the cost of a rule or regulation; and
            (3) the use of alternative regulatory approaches described 
        in section 4(1)(B).
    (c) OMB.--The Office of Management and Budget shall carry out the 
provisions of this section.
    (d) Funding.--Notwithstanding section 1346 of title 31, United 
States Code, the President is authorized to transfer up to $50,000 from 
the funds available to any agency for administrative purposes to the 
Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of carrying out this 
section.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE; SUNSET PROVISION.

    (a) Effective Date.--The provisions of this Act shall take effect 
upon the date of enactment of this Act, except that the effective date 
for regulations or rules promulgated pursuant to a law enacted after 
the date that is 2 years before the date of enactment of this Act and 
not later than the date of enactment of this Act shall be 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Sunset.--The requirements of section 4(3) shall cease to have 
effect on the date that is 3 years following the date of enactment of 
this Act.

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