[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1755 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1755

  To provide for reimbursing the States for the cost incurred by the 
     States in implementing the Border Smog Reduction Act of 1998.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 1999

  Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for reimbursing the States for the cost incurred by the 
     States in implementing the Border Smog Reduction Act of 1998.

    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 ``Border Smog Reduction Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Clean Air Act provides for the establishment of 
        national primary ambient air quality standards. The standards 
        are Federal regulatory provisions, but are implemented, 
        maintained, and enforced under State plans.
            (2) The States incur costs in administering such plans. In 
        the case of ozone nonattainment areas, the States incur 
        increased administrative costs because the Clean Air Act 
        requires the operation of inspection and maintenance programs 
        to control vehicle emissions. Even greater administrative costs 
        are incurred for serious, severe, or extreme ozone 
        nonattainement areas, as the States are required to have 
        enhanced inspection and maintenance programs.
            (3) For a State that borders a foreign country, an 
        additional factor in the problem of ozone nonattainment is 
        presented by vehicles that enter the State from the foreign 
        country and are registered in such country.
            (4) The Border Smog Reduction Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-
        286) was enacted in response to such problem. Notwithstanding 
        estimates of the Congressional Budget Office to the contrary, 
        the States have determined that the implementation of Public 
        Law 105-286 will cause the States to incur significant 
        administrative costs.
            (5) Public Law 105-286 is therefore an unfunded mandate 
        within the spirit of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
        (``UMRA'') (Public Law 104-4), even though State expenditures 
        under Public Law 105-286 may not meet the intergovernmental-
        mandate threshold amount of $50,000,000 established under UMRA 
        regarding the congressional procedural process. UMRA 
        establishes congressional and administrative procedures to 
        control the imposition of Federal mandates on the States and 
        the private sector.
            (6) The Federal Government should make grants to the States 
        in order to reimburse the costs of the States in implementing 
        Public Law 105-286.

SEC. 3. REIMBURSEMENT OF STATES FOR COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING BORDER SMOG 
              REDUCTION ACT OF 1998.

    Of the amounts appropriated for carrying out the Clean Air Act for 
fiscal year 2000 and each subsequent fiscal year, the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency shall make available such sums as 
may be necessary to make grants to the States in amounts sufficient to 
reimburse the States for the costs incurred by the States in 
implementing section 183(h) of the Clean Air Act, as added by section 2 
of the Border Smog Reduction Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-286).
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