[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 994 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 994

  To require the periodic review and automatic termination of Federal 
                              regulations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 21, 1995

Mr. Chapman (for himself, Mr. Mica, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Deal of Georgia, and 
   Mr. Pete Geren of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight and, in 
    addition, to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the periodic review and automatic termination of Federal 
                              regulations.

    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 Sunset and Review Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To require agencies to regularly review their 
        regulations and make recommendations to terminate, continue in 
        effect, modify, or consolidate those regulations.
            (2) To require agencies to submit those recommendations to 
        the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 
        Affairs and to the Congress.
            (3) To provide for the automatic termination of regulations 
        that are not continued in effect after such review.
            (4) To designate a Regulatory Review Officer within each 
        agency, who is responsible for the implementation of this Act 
        by the agency.

SEC. 3. REVIEW AND TERMINATION OF REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), the 
effectiveness of a regulation issued by an agency shall terminate on 
the applicable termination date under subsection (b), and the 
regulation shall have no force or effect after that termination date, 
unless the head of the agency--
            (1) reviews the regulation in accordance with section 4;
            (2) after the review, and at least 120 days before that 
        termination date, submits to the Congress and publishes in the 
        Federal Register a preliminary report on the findings and 
        proposed recommendations of that review in accordance with 
        section 5(a)(1);
            (3) reviews and considers comments regarding the 
        preliminary report that are transmitted to the agency by the 
        Administrator and appropriate committees of the Congress during 
        the 60-day period beginning on the date of submission of the 
        preliminary report; and
            (4) after the 60-day period beginning on the date of 
        submission of the preliminary report to the Congress, but not 
        later than 60 days before that termination date, submits to the 
        Congress and publishes in the Federal Register--
                    (A) a final report on the review under section 4 in 
                accordance with section 5(a)(2), and
                    (B) a notice extending the effectiveness of the 
                regulation, with or without modifications, as of the 
                end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of that 
                publication.
    (b) Termination Dates.--For purposes of subsection (a), the 
termination date of a regulation is as follows:
            (1) Existing regulations.--For a regulation in effect on 
        the date of the enactment of the Act, the termination date is 
        the last day of the 7-year period beginning on the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (2) New regulations.--For a regulation that first takes 
        effect after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        termination date is the last day of the 3-year period beginning 
        on the date the regulation takes effect.
            (3) Regulations continued in effect.--For a regulation the 
        effectiveness of which is extended under subsection (a), the 
        termination date is the last day of the 7-year period beginning 
        on the date of publication of a notice under subsection (a)(4) 
        for that extension.
    (c) Temporary Extension.--The termination date under subsection (b) 
for a regulation may be delayed by not more than 6 months by the head 
of the agency that issued the regulation if the agency head submits to 
the Congress and publishes in the Federal Register a preliminary report 
that describes modifications that should be made to the regulation.
    (d) Relationship to Other Law.--Section 553 of title 5, United 
States Code, shall not apply to the extension or modification of a 
regulation in accordance with this Act.

SEC. 4. REVIEW OF REGULATIONS BY AGENCY.

    (a) In General.--The head of each agency shall, under the criteria 
set forth in subsection (b)--
            (1) conduct thorough and systematic reviews of all 
        regulations issued by the agency to determine if those 
        regulations are obsolete, inconsistent, or duplicative or 
        impede competition; and
            (2) issue reports on the findings of those reviews, which 
        contain recommendations for--
                    (A) terminating or extending the effectiveness of 
                those regulations;
                    (B) any appropriate modifications to a regulation 
                recommended to be extended; or
                    (C) any appropriate consolidations of regulations.
    (b) Criteria for Review.--The head of an agency shall review, make 
recommendations, and terminate or extend the effectiveness of a 
regulation under this section under the following criteria:
            (1) The extent to which the regulation is outdated, 
        obsolete, or unnecessary.
            (2) The extent to which the regulation or information 
        required to comply with the regulation duplicates, conflicts 
        with, or overlaps requirements under regulations of other 
        agencies.
            (3) The extent to which the regulation impedes competition.
            (4) Whether the benefits to society from the regulation 
        exceed the costs to society from the regulation.
            (5) Whether the regulation is based on adequate and correct 
        information.
            (6) Whether the regulation is worded as simply and clearly 
        as possible.
            (7) Whether the most cost-efficient alternative was chosen 
        in the regulation to achieve the objective of the regulation.
            (8) The extent to which information requirements under the 
        regulation can be reduced, particularly for small businesses.
            (9) Whether the regulation is fashioned to maximize net 
        benefits to society.
            (10) Whether the regulation is clear and certain regarding 
        who is required to comply with the regulation.
            (11) Whether the regulation maximizes the utility of market 
        mechanisms to the extent feasible.
            (12) Whether the condition of the economy and of regulated 
        industries is considered.
            (13) Whether the regulation imposes on the private sector 
        the minimum economic burdens necessary to achieve the purposes 
        of the regulation.
            (14) Whether the total effect of the regulation across 
        agencies has been examined.
            (15) Whether the regulation is crafted to minimize needless 
        litigation.
            (16) Whether the regulation is necessary to protect the 
        health and safety of the public.
            (17) Whether the regulation has resulted in unintended 
        consequences.
            (18) Whether performance standards or other alternatives 
        were utilized to provide adequate flexibility to the regulated 
        industries.
    (c) Requirement to Solicit Comments From the Public and Private 
Sector.--In reviewing regulations under this section, the head of an 
agency shall solicit comments from the public (including the private 
sector) regarding the application of the criteria set forth in 
subsection (b) to the regulation before making determinations under 
this section and sending a report under section 5(a) regarding a 
regulation.

SEC. 5. AGENCY REPORTS.

    (a) Preliminary and Final Reports on Reviews of Regulations.--The 
head of an agency shall submit to the President, the Administrator, and 
the Congress and publish in the Federal Register for each review of a 
regulation under section 4--
            (1) a preliminary report that contains--
                    (A) specific findings of the agency regarding--
                            (i) application of the criteria set forth 
                        in section 4(b) to the regulation;
                            (ii) the need for the function of the 
                        regulation; and
                            (iii) whether the regulation duplicates 
                        functions of another regulation; and
                    (B) proposed recommendations on whether--
                            (i) the effectiveness of the regulation 
                        should terminate or be extended;
                            (ii) the regulation should be modified; and
                            (iii) the regulation should be consolidated 
                        with another regulation; and
            (2) a final report on the findings and recommendations of 
        the agency head regarding extension of the effectiveness of the 
        regulation and any appropriate modifications to the regulation 
        that includes--
                    (A) a full justification of the decision to extend 
                and, if applicable, modify the regulation; and
                    (B) the factual basis for all determinations made 
                with respect to that extension or modification under 
                the criteria set forth in section 4(b).
    (b) Report on Schedule for Reviewing Existing Regulations.--Not 
later than 100 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the head of each agency shall submit to the 
Administrator and the Congress and publish in the Federal Register a 
report stating a schedule for reviewing in accordance with this Act 
regulations issued by the agency before the date of that submission. 
The first schedule shall give priority to reviewing during the 3-year 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act regulations 
that have an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
communities.

SEC. 6. FUNCTIONS OF ADMINISTRATOR.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall--
            (1) review and evaluate each report submitted by the head 
        of an agency under section 5(a), regarding--
                    (A) the quality of the analysis in the reports;
                    (B) whether the agency has properly applied the 
                criteria set forth in section 4(b); and
                    (C) the consistency of the agency action with 
                actions of other agencies; and
            (2) transmit to the head of the agency the recommendations 
        of the Administrator regarding the report.
    (b) Guidance.--The Administrator shall provide guidance to agencies 
on the conduct of reviews and the preparation of reports under this 
Act.

SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF AGENCY REGULATORY REVIEW OFFICERS.

    (a) In General.--The head of each agency shall designate an officer 
of the agency as the Regulatory Review Officer of the agency.
    (b) Functions.--The Regulatory Review Officer of an agency shall--
            (1) be responsible for the implementation of this Act by 
        the agency; and
            (2) report directly to the head of the agency with respect 
        to that responsibility.

SEC. 8. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, an action seeking 
judicial review of an agency action under this Act extending, 
terminating, modifying, or consolidating a regulation may not be 
brought after the 30-day period beginning on the date of the 
publication of a notice under section 3(a)(4) for that action.

SEC. 9. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE CONGRESS NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO 
              COMMENT BEFORE MODIFYING, EXTENDING, OR TERMINATING 
              REGULATION.

    An agency may not modify a regulation or terminate or extend the 
effective period of a regulation, unless the head of the agency--
            (1) submits to the Congress--
                    (A) notice of the proposal to take that action, at 
                least 120 days before the effective date of that 
                action; and
                    (B) notice of the final determination to take that 
                action, at least--
                            (i) 60 days after submitting notice under 
                        subparagraph (A) for the action; and
                            (ii) 60 days before the effective date of 
                        the action; and
            (2) reviews and considers comments submitted to the agency 
        by appropriate committees of the Congress during the 60-day 
        period beginning on the date of submittal of notice under 
        paragraph (1)(A) for the action.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Office.
            (2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.
            (3) Appropriate committee of the congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committee of the Congress'' means with respect to 
        a regulation each standing committee of the Congress having 
        authority under the rules of the House of Representatives or 
        the Senate to report a bill to enact or amend the provision of 
        law under which the regulation is issued.
            (4) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
        Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management 
        and Budget.
            (5) Regulation.--The term ``regulation'' means the whole or 
        a part of an agency statement of general or particular 
        applicability and future effect designed to implement, 
        interpret, or prescribe law or policy, other than such a 
        statement to carry out a routine administrative function of an 
        agency.
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