[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2931 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2931

   To amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to provide for 
 regulatory impact analyses for certain rules and consideration of the 
    least burdensome regulatory alternative, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 2014

Mr. Portman (for himself and Mr. Crapo) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to provide for 
 regulatory impact analyses for certain rules and consideration of the 
    least burdensome regulatory alternative, 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 ``Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act 
of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The public has a right to know the benefits and costs 
        of regulation. Effective regulatory programs provide important 
        benefits to the public, including protecting the environment, 
        worker safety, and human health. Regulations also impose 
        significant costs on individuals, employers, and State, local, 
        and tribal governments, diverting resources from other 
        important priorities.
            (2) Better regulatory analysis and review should improve 
        the quality of agency decisions, increasing the benefits and 
        reducing unwarranted costs of regulation.
            (3) Disclosure and scrutiny of key information underlying 
        agency decisions should make the Federal Government more 
        accountable to the public it serves.

SEC. 3. REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSES FOR CERTAIN RULES.

    (a) Regulatory Impact Analyses for Certain Rules.--Section 202 of 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1532) is amended--
            (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
        following:

``SEC. 202. REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSES FOR CERTAIN RULES.'';

            (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively;
            (3) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `cost' means the cost 
of compliance and any reasonably foreseeable indirect costs, including 
revenues lost as a result of an agency rule subject to this section.
    ``(b) In General.--
            ``(1) Regulatory impact analysis required.--Before 
        promulgating any proposed or final rule that may have an annual 
        effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more (adjusted for 
        inflation), or that may result in the expenditure by State, 
        local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, of 
        $100,000,000 or more (adjusted for inflation) in any 1 year, 
        each agency shall prepare and publish in the Federal Register 
        an initial and final regulatory impact analysis.
            ``(2) Initial regulatory impact analysis.--The initial 
        regulatory impact analysis required under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) accompany the notice of proposed rulemaking; 
                and
                    ``(B) be open to public comment.
            ``(3) Final regulatory impact analysis.--The final 
        regulatory impact analysis required under paragraph (1) shall 
        accompany the final rule.
    ``(c) Content.--The initial and final regulatory impact analysis 
under subsection (b) shall include--
            ``(1)(A) an analysis of the anticipated benefits and costs 
        of the rule, which shall be quantified to the extent feasible;
            ``(B) an analysis of the benefits and costs of a reasonable 
        number of regulatory alternatives within the range of the 
        agency's discretion under the statute authorizing the rule, 
        including alternatives that--
                    ``(i) require no action by the Federal Government; 
                and
                    ``(ii)(I) use incentives and market-based means to 
                encourage the desired behavior;
                    ``(II) provide information based upon which the 
                public can make choices; or
                    ``(III) employ other flexible regulatory options 
                that permit the greatest flexibility in achieving the 
                objectives of the statute authorizing the rule; and
            ``(C) an explanation of how the rule complies with the 
        requirements of section 205;
            ``(2) an assessment of the extent to which--
                    ``(A) the costs to State, local, and tribal 
                governments may be paid with Federal financial 
                assistance (or otherwise paid for by the Federal 
                Government); and
                    ``(B) Federal resources are available to carry out 
                the rule;
            ``(3) estimates of--
                    ``(A) any disproportionate budgetary effects of the 
                rule upon any particular--
                            ``(i) regions of the United States;
                            ``(ii) State, local, or tribal governments;
                            ``(iii) types of communities, including 
                        urban or rural communities; or
                            ``(iv) segments of the private sector; and
                    ``(B) the effect of the rule on job creation or job 
                loss, which shall be quantified to the extent feasible; 
                and
            ``(4)(A) a description of the extent of the agency's prior 
        consultation under section 204 with elected representatives of 
        each affected State, local, or tribal government;
            ``(B) a summary of the comments and concerns that were 
        presented to the agency orally or in writing by State, local, 
        or tribal governments; and
            ``(C) a summary of the agency's evaluation of the comments 
        and concerns described in subparagraph (B).'';
            (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``subsection (a)'' and inserting ``subsection (b)''; and
            (5) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``subsection (a)'' each place that term appears and inserting 
        ``subsection (b)''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 202 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 202. Regulatory impact analyses for certain rules.''.

SEC. 4. LEAST BURDENSOME OPTION OR EXPLANATION REQUIRED.

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 is amended by 
striking section 205 (2 U.S.C. 1535) and inserting the following:

``SEC. 205. LEAST BURDENSOME OPTION OR EXPLANATION REQUIRED.

    ``Before promulgating any proposed or final rule for which a 
regulatory impact analysis is required under section 202, the agency 
shall--
            ``(1) identify and consider a reasonable number of 
        regulatory alternatives within the range of the agency's 
        discretion under the statute authorizing the rule, including 
        alternatives required under section 202(c)(1)(B); and
            ``(2) from the alternatives described under paragraph (1), 
        select the least costly, most cost-effective, or least 
        burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives of the 
        statute.''.

SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF APPLICATION TO INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 421(1) of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658(1)) is amended by 
striking ``, but does not include independent regulatory agencies''.
    (b) Exemption for Monetary Policy.--The Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 5 the following:

``SEC. 6. EXEMPTION FOR MONETARY POLICY.

    ``Nothing in title II, III, or IV shall apply to rules that concern 
monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open Market Committee.''.

SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    Title IV of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 is amended by 
striking section 401 (2 U.S.C. 1571) and inserting the following:

``SEC. 401. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    ``(a) In General.--For a rule that is subject to section 202, a 
person aggrieved by final agency action in adopting the rule is 
entitled to judicial review of the agency's compliance with section 
202(b), 202(c)(1), or 205 with respect to the rule.
    ``(b) Scope of Review.--Chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, 
shall govern the scope of judicial review under subsection (a).
    ``(c) Jurisdiction.--Each court that has jurisdiction to review a 
rule for compliance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, or 
under any other provision of law, shall have jurisdiction to review a 
claim brought under subsection (a) of this section.
    ``(d) Relief Available.--In granting relief in an action under this 
section, the court shall order the agency to take remedial action 
consistent with chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, including 
remand and vacatur.''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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