[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2917 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2917

  To restore State sovereignty, and to dedicate excess grant funds to 
                           deficit reduction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2011

   Mr. Culberson (for himself and Mr. Bishop of Utah) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Appropriations, 
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 restore State sovereignty, and to dedicate excess grant funds to 
                           deficit reduction.

    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 ``Restoration of State Sovereignty Act 
of 2011''.

SEC. 2. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY 
              WAIVE.

    (a) Retention of Rights and Authorities.--No officer, employee, or 
other authority of the Federal Government shall enforce against an 
authority of a State, nor shall any authority of a State have any 
obligation to obey, any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving 
Federal financial assistance under a grant program established under 
Federal law, nor shall such program operate within a State, unless the 
legislature of that State shall have by law expressly approved that 
program and, in doing so, have waived the State's rights and 
authorities to act inconsistently with any requirement that might be 
imposed by the Federal Government as a condition of receiving that 
assistance.
    (b) Amendment of Terms of Receipt of Federal Financial 
Assistance.--An officer, employee, or other authority of the Federal 
Government may release Federal financial assistance under a grant 
program established under Federal law to a State only after the 
legislature of the State has by law expressly approved the program (as 
described in subsection (a)) or amended the requirements imposed by the 
Federal Government as conditions of receiving that assistance. In the 
case of amendments made by a State pursuant to the preceding sentence, 
such an officer, employee, or other authority may not release such 
Federal financial assistance to the extent that any such amendments are 
inconsistent with the Federal law under which the assistance is 
provided.
    (c) Exceptions for Certain Grant Programs.--Subsections (a) and (b) 
shall not apply with respect to any grant program under either of the 
following:
            (1) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
            (2) Title 38, United States Code.
    (d) Special Rule for States With Biennial Legislatures.--In the 
case of a State with a biennial legislature--
            (1) during a year in which the State legislature does not 
        meet, subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply; and
            (2) during a year in which the State legislature meets, 
        subsections (a) and (b) shall apply, and, with respect to any 
        grant program established under Federal law during the most 
        recent year in which the State legislature did not meet, the 
        State may by law expressly disapprove the grant program, and, 
        if such disapproval occurs, an officer, employee, or other 
        authority of the Federal Government may not release any 
        additional Federal financial assistance to the State under that 
        grant program.
    (e) Definition of State Authority.--As used in this section, the 
term ``authority of a State'' includes any administering agency of the 
State, any officer or employee of the State, and any local government 
authority of the State.
    (f) Effective Date.--This section applies in each State beginning 
on the 90th day after the end of the first regular session of the 
legislature of that State that begins 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and shall continue to apply in subsequent years 
until otherwise provided by law.

SEC. 3. DEDICATION OF SAVINGS TO DEFICIT REDUCTION.

    (a) Statement of Excess Grant Funds.--Upon the determination of an 
officer, employee, or other authority of the Federal Government under 
section 2(b) that Federal financial assistance under a grant program 
may not be released to a State for a fiscal year, the officer, 
employee, or other authority shall prepare a statement of the 
determination and the amount of excess grant funds involved, provide 
the statement to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
and include the statement on the official public Internet website of 
the Federal department or agency involved.
    (b) Rescission of Excess Grant Funds.--Upon the receipt of a 
statement under subsection (a) by the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, the amount involved shall be rescinded from the 
funds made available for the grant program in the applicable 
appropriation Act for the fiscal year. All such rescinded amounts shall 
be used only for reducing the deficit in the budget of the Government 
for that fiscal year.
    (c) OMB Annual Report.--Within 30 days after the end of each fiscal 
year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit 
to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, and include on its official public Internet website, a 
report specifying the total amount of rescissions made during the 
fiscal year under subsection (b) and delineating the rescissions by 
appropriation Acts, accounts, and programs, projects, and activities.
    (d) Special Rule for States With Biennial Legislatures.--In the 
case of a State with a biennial legislature, any statement required 
under subsection (a) shall be prepared only with respect to a fiscal 
year during which the State legislature meets.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF STATE WITH BIENNIAL LEGISLATURE.

    In this Act, the term ``State with a biennial legislature'' means a 
State the legislature of which meets every other year.
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