[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7867 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7867

   To amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to require the 
 Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish a limit 
 for the total amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs that may 
          be imposed in a fiscal year, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 5, 2024

   Mr. Fallon (for himself, Mr. Comer, and Ms. Foxx) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Accountability, 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 amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to require the 
 Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish a limit 
 for the total amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs that may 
          be imposed in a fiscal year, 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 ``Renewing Efficiency in Government by 
Budgeting Act'' or the ``REG Budgeting Act''.

SEC. 2. REGULATORY BUDGETING.

    (a) Regulatory Budgeting.--Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4; 15 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 210. REGULATORY BUDGETING.

    ``(a) Limit for the Amount of Additional Unfunded Regulatory Costs 
That May Be Imposed Each Fiscal Year.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--On or before September 30 of 
                each fiscal year, the Director shall establish--
                            ``(i) a limit on the amount of additional 
                        unfunded regulatory costs that may be imposed 
                        collectively by the heads of all agencies in 
                        the next fiscal year; and
                            ``(ii) as part of the limit established 
                        under clause (i), a limit on the amount of 
                        additional unfunded regulatory costs that may 
                        be imposed individually by the head of each 
                        agency in the next fiscal year.
                    ``(B) Additional matters related to limit.--The 
                Director may require as part of a limit under 
                subparagraph (A), that cumulative unfunded regulatory 
                costs be reduced, including for the purpose of 
                offsetting any additional unfunded regulatory costs 
                that may be imposed by the heads of agencies during the 
                fiscal year for which the limit is established.
                    ``(C) Congressional approval.--The Director may not 
                establish a limit under subparagraph (A) that allows 
                the head of an agency to impose an additional unfunded 
                regulatory cost unless Congress approves such limit.
            ``(2) Reports.--
                    ``(A) Agency-wide limit.--Not later than 7 days 
                after establishing a limit under paragraph (1)(A)(i), 
                the Director shall--
                            ``(i) submit a report that identifies the 
                        limit established, and contains a reasoned 
                        statement of the basis and purpose of 
                        establishing such limit, to the appropriate 
                        congressional committees; and
                            ``(ii) publish the report on the website 
                        designated under subparagraph (D).
                    ``(B) Agency-specific limit.--Not later than 7 days 
                after establishing a limit under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) 
                with respect to an agency, the Director shall--
                            ``(i) submit a report that identifies the 
                        limit established, and contains a reasoned 
                        statement of the basis and purpose of 
                        establishing such limit, to--
                                    ``(I) the appropriate congressional 
                                committees; and
                                    ``(II) each standing committee with 
                                jurisdiction under the rules of the 
                                House of Representatives or the Senate 
                                to report a bill to amend the 
                                provisions of law under which the head 
                                of the agency is authorized to 
                                promulgate rules; and
                            ``(ii) publish the report on the website 
                        designated under subparagraph (D).
                    ``(C) Prohibition on promulgating certain rules 
                until submission of report to appropriate congressional 
                committees.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The head of an agency 
                        may not finalize a rule that imposes an 
                        additional unfunded regulatory cost until the 
                        Director submits to the appropriate 
                        congressional committees the reports required 
                        by subparagraph (A)(i) and subparagraph (B)(i) 
                        for the fiscal year in which the rule would be 
                        finalized.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--The prohibition under 
                        clause (i) shall not apply to any rule with 
                        respect to which the President issues an 
                        Executive order stating that the rule should 
                        take effect because the rule is--
                                    ``(I) necessary--
                                            ``(aa) because of an 
                                        emergency, including an 
                                        imminent threat to health or 
                                        safety;
                                            ``(bb) for the enforcement 
                                        of criminal laws; or
                                            ``(cc) for national 
                                        security; or
                                    ``(II) being issued pursuant to a 
                                law implementing an international trade 
                                agreement.
                    ``(D) Designation of website.--Not later than 90 
                days after the date of the enactment of this 
                subsection, the Director shall designate a website 
                through which the Director will publish reports in 
                accordance with subparagraphs (A) and (B).
    ``(b) Rules Resulting in Limit Being Exceeded.--
            ``(1) Congressional approval.--If the promulgation of any 
        individual rule would result in a limit established under 
        subsection (a)(1)(A) being exceeded, the rule may not go into 
        effect during the fiscal year in which the rule is promulgated 
        unless and until Congress approves such rule during such fiscal 
        year.
            ``(2) Notification.--In the case that the head of an agency 
        determines that finalizing a rule may result in the amount of 
        additional unfunded regulatory costs imposed by the head of the 
        agency during that fiscal year to exceed a limit established 
        under subsection (a)(1)(A), the head of the agency--
                    ``(A) shall submit, before promulgating a general 
                notice of a final rule with respect to such rule, a 
                notification to the Director that includes--
                            ``(i) a justification for exceeding such 
                        limit as a result of such rule;
                            ``(ii) by how much the limit will be 
                        exceeded as a result of such rule; and
                            ``(iii) whether the head of the agency 
                        identified or considered any alternatives to 
                        such rule that would have imposed a lesser 
                        amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs, 
                        and if so, how much less such amount would have 
                        been; and
                    ``(B) may not promulgate such rule until the head 
                of the agency receives from the Director a notification 
                under paragraph (3)(C) with respect to such rule.
            ``(3) Determination by director.--After receiving a 
        notification under paragraph (2), the Director shall--
                    ``(A) determine whether finalizing such rule during 
                that fiscal year will result in a limit established 
                under subsection (a)(1)(A) being exceeded;
                    ``(B) determine whether the Director agrees with 
                the determination of the head of the agency that such 
                rule should be finalized notwithstanding such limit; 
                and
                    ``(C) submit a written notification to the head of 
                the agency on the determinations made under 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B).
            ``(4) Report to congress.--In the case that the Director 
        determines under paragraph (3)(B) that the Director agrees with 
        a determination by the head of an agency to finalize a rule 
        that will result in a limit established under subsection 
        (a)(1)(A) being exceeded, not later than 7 days after the 
        Director submits a notification to the head of an agency under 
        paragraph (3)(C) with respect to such determination, the 
        Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees, each standing committee with jurisdiction under the 
        rules of the House of Representatives or the Senate to report a 
        bill to amend the provision of law under which the rule is to 
        be promulgated, and the Comptroller General, a notification 
        regarding such determination by the Director that includes--
                    ``(A) the information provided by the head of the 
                agency to the Director under paragraph (2)(A) with 
                respect to such rule; and
                    ``(B) a reasoned statement of the basis and purpose 
                of such determination.
    ``(c) Statement Regarding Additional Unfunded Regulatory Costs.--In 
publishing a general notice of a final rule, the head of an agency 
shall include in such notice a statement that includes--
            ``(1) whether the rule will result in the amount of 
        additional unfunded regulatory costs imposed by the agency 
        during the fiscal year in which the rule is finalized to exceed 
        a limit established under subsection (a)(1)(A); and
            ``(2) in the case that the rule will result in the amount 
        of additional unfunded regulatory costs imposed by the agency 
        during the fiscal year in which the rule is finalized to exceed 
        a limit established under subsection (a)(1)(A)--
                    ``(A) by how much the limit will be exceeded as a 
                result of the rule;
                    ``(B) a justification for exceeding such limit as a 
                result of the rule;
                    ``(C) whether the agency identified or considered 
                any alternatives to the rule that would have imposed a 
                lesser amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs, 
                and if so, how much less such amount would have been;
                    ``(D) that the head of the agency submitted a 
                notification to the Director under subsection (b)(2); 
                and
                    ``(E) the determinations made by the Director under 
                subsection (b)(3) with respect to such rule.
    ``(d) Annual Report.--On or before October 30 of each fiscal year, 
the Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on the administration by the Director of the limits established 
under subsection (a)(1)(A) for the prior fiscal year, including--
            ``(1) whether the total amount of additional unfunded 
        regulatory costs imposed by all agencies in the prior fiscal 
        year met or exceeded the limit established under clause (i) of 
        such subsection;
            ``(2) whether the total amount of additional unfunded 
        regulatory costs imposed by the head of each agency in the 
        prior fiscal year met or exceeded the limit established for 
        such costs under clause (ii) of such subsection;
            ``(3) a detailed statement that--
                    ``(A) identifies by how much, and as a result of 
                finalizing which rule or rules, any such limit was 
                exceeded; and
                    ``(B) includes a justification for exceeding any 
                such limit as a result of finalizing such rule or 
                rules;
            ``(4) a list of each rule with respect to which the 
        Director determined under subsection (b)(3)(B) that the 
        Director agreed with a determination by the head of an agency 
        to finalize the rule notwithstanding a limit established under 
        subsection (a)(1)(A).
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Additional unfunded regulatory cost.--The term 
        `additional unfunded regulatory cost' means an unfunded 
        regulatory cost that had not been required to be incurred by a 
        State, local, or Tribal government, or the private sector, as a 
        result of a Federal mandate in a rule during any preceding 
        fiscal year.
            ``(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        `appropriate congressional committees' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
                of the House of Representatives; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
            ``(3) Cost.--The term `cost' means--
                    ``(A) a direct cost; or
                    ``(B) a quantifiable cost that can be estimated 
                using the methods and concepts described in Office of 
                Management and Budget Circular A-4 issued on September 
                17, 2003.
            ``(4) Cumulative unfunded regulatory costs.--The term 
        `cumulative unfunded regulatory costs' means all costs required 
        to be incurred by a State, local, or Tribal government, or by 
        the private sector as a result of all Federal mandates included 
        in rules during all preceding fiscal years.
            ``(5) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            ``(6) Unfunded regulatory cost.--The term `unfunded 
        regulatory cost' means a cost required to be incurred by a 
        State, local, or Tribal government, or by the private sector, 
        as a result of a Federal mandate included in a rule.''.
    (b) Analysis of Whether Rule Exceeds Budget.--Section 202 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4; 2 U.S.C. 1532) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) an analysis of whether the proposed rule or final 
        rule, as applicable, may or will result in the total amount of 
        additional unfunded regulatory costs (as that term is defined 
        in section 210) imposed by the head of the agency during the 
        fiscal year in which the rule is issued exceeding a limit 
        established under section 210(a)(1)(A)(ii) for the agency.''; 
        and
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection (a)'' each 
        place such term appears and inserting ``paragraphs (1) through 
        (5) of subsection (a)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--Notwithstanding section 209 of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4; 15 U.S.C. 1531 note), 
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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