[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1363 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1363

     To protect consumers by prohibiting the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating as final certain 
       energy-related rules that are estimated to cost more than 
   $1,000,000,000 and will cause significant adverse effects to the 
                                economy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2013

  Mr. Heller introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To protect consumers by prohibiting the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating as final certain 
       energy-related rules that are estimated to cost more than 
   $1,000,000,000 and will cause significant adverse effects to the 
                                economy.

    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 ``Energy Consumers Relief Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Covered energy-related rule.--The term ``covered 
        energy-related rule'' means a rule of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency that--
                    (A) regulates any aspect of the production, supply, 
                distribution, or use of energy or provides for that 
                regulation by States or other governmental entities; 
                and
                    (B) is estimated by the Administrator or the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget to 
                impose direct costs and indirect costs, in the 
                aggregate, of more than $1,000,000,000.
            (3) Direct costs.--The term ``direct costs'' has the 
        meaning given the term in chapter 8 of the document of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency entitled ``Guidelines for 
        Preparing Economic Analyses'' and dated December 17, 2010.
            (4) Indirect costs.--The term ``indirect costs'' has the 
        meaning given the term in chapter 8 of the document of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency entitled ``Guidelines for 
        Preparing Economic Analyses'' and dated December 17, 2010.
            (5) Rule.--The term ``rule'' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION AGAINST FINALIZING CERTAIN ENERGY-RELATED RULES 
              THAT WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECTS TO THE 
              ECONOMY.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Administrator shall 
not promulgate as final any covered energy-related rule if the 
Secretary determines under section 4(d) that the rule will result in 
significant adverse effects to the economy.

SEC. 4. REPORTS AND DETERMINATIONS PRIOR TO PROMULGATING AS FINAL 
              CERTAIN ENERGY-RELATED RULES.

    (a) In General.--Before promulgating as final any covered energy-
related rule, the Administrator shall carry out the activities 
described in subsections (c) through (d).
    (b) Report to Congress.--For each covered energy-related rule, the 
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report (and transmit a copy to 
the Secretary) containing--
            (1) a copy of the rule;
            (2) a concise general statement relating to the rule;
            (3) an estimate of the total costs of the rule, including 
        the direct costs and indirect costs of the rule;
            (4) an estimate of--
                    (A) the total benefits of the rule; and
                    (B) when those benefits are expected to be 
                realized;
            (5) a description of the modeling, the assumptions, and the 
        limitations due to uncertainty, speculation, or lack of 
        information associated with the estimates under paragraph (4);
            (6) an estimate of the increases in energy prices, 
        including potential increases in gasoline or electricity prices 
        for consumers, that may result from implementation or 
        enforcement of the rule; and
            (7) a detailed description of the employment effects, 
        including potential job losses and shifts in employment, that 
        may result from implementation or enforcement of the rule.
    (c) Initial Determination on Increases and Impacts.--The Secretary, 
in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the 
Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, shall prepare 
an independent analysis to determine whether the covered energy-related 
rule will cause--
            (1) any increase in energy prices for consumers, including 
        low-income households, small businesses, and manufacturers;
            (2) any impact on fuel diversity of the electricity 
        generation portfolio of the United States or on national, 
        regional, or local electric reliability;
            (3) any adverse effect on energy supply, distribution, or 
        use due to the economic or technical infeasibility of 
        implementing the rule; or
            (4) any other adverse effect on energy supply, 
        distribution, or use (including a shortfall in supply and 
        increased use of foreign supplies).
    (d) Subsequent Determination on Adverse Effects to the Economy.--If 
the Secretary determines, under subsection (c), that the rule will 
result in an increase, impact, or effect described in that subsection, 
then the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, the 
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, and the Administrator of 
the Small Business Administration, shall--
            (1) determine whether the rule will result in significant 
        adverse effects to the economy, taking into consideration--
                    (A) the costs and benefits of the rule and 
                limitations in calculating those costs and benefits due 
                to uncertainty, speculation, or lack of information; 
                and
                    (B) the positive and negative impacts of the rule 
                on economic indicators, including those related to 
                gross domestic product, unemployment, wages, consumer 
                prices, and business and manufacturing activity; and
            (2) publish the results of that determination in the 
        Federal Register.
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