Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 1215 (is) To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish headstones or markers for marked graves of, or to otherwise commemorate, certain individuals. [Introduced in Senate] ...S. 1215 (is) To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish headstones or markers for marked graves of, or to otherwise commemorate, certain individuals. [Introduced in Senate] ...
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1214
[Report No. 106-159]
To ensure the liberties of the people by promoting federalism, to
protect the reserved powers of the States, to impose accountability for
Federal preemption of State and local laws, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 10, 1999
Mr. Thompson (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Robb, Mr.
Cochran, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Roth, Mr. Bayh, Mr.
Domenici, Ms. Collins, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Abraham) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred jointly pursuant to
the order of August 4, 1977, to the Committees on the Budget and
Governmental Affairs, with instructions that if one committee reports,
the other committee have thirty days to report or be discharged
September 16, 1999
Reported by Mr. Thompson, with amendments
September 16, 1999
Referred to the Committee on the Budget for a period not to exceed
thirty calendar days
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure the liberties of the people by promoting federalism, to
protect the reserved powers of the States, to impose accountability for
Federal preemption of State and local laws, 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 ``Federalism Accountability Act of
1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Constitution created a strong Federal system,
reserving to the States all powers not delegated to the Federal
Government;
(2) preemptive statutes and regulations have at times been
an appropriate exercise of Federal powers, and at other times
have been an inappropriate infringement on State and local
government authority;
(3) on numerous occasions, Congress has enacted statutes
and the agencies have promulgated rules that explicitly preempt
State and local government authority and describe the scope of
the preemption;
(4) in addition to statutes and rules that explicitly
preempt State and local government authority, many other
statutes and rules that lack an explicit statement by Congress
or the agencies of their intent to preempt and a clear
description of the scope of the preemption have been construed
to preempt State and local government authority;
(5) in the past, the lack of clear congressional intent
regarding preemption has resulted in too much discretion for
Federal agencies and uncertainty for State and local
governments, leaving the presence or scope of preemption to be
litigated and determined by the judiciary and sometimes
producing results contrary to or beyond the intent of Congress;
and
(6) State and local governments are full partners in all
Federal programs administered by those governments.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) promote and preserve the integrity and effectiveness of
our Federal system of government;
(2) set forth principles governing the interpretation of
congressional and agency intent regarding preemption of State
and local government authority by Federal laws and rules;
(3) establish an information collection system designed to
monitor the incidence of Federal statutory, regulatory, and
judicial preemption; and
(4) recognize the partnership between the Federal
Government and State and local governments in the
implementation of certain Federal programs.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act the definitions under section 551 of title 5, United
States Code, shall apply and the term--
(1) ``local government'' means a county, city, town,
borough, township, village, school district, special district,
or other political subdivision of a State;
(2) ``public officials'' means elected State and local
government officials and their representative organizations;
(3) ``State''--
(A) means a State of the United States and an
agency or instrumentality of a State;
(B) includes the District of Columbia and any
territory of the United States, and an agency or
instrumentality of the District of Columbia or such
territory;
(C) includes any tribal government and an agency or
instrumentality of such government; and
(D) does not include a local government of a State;
and
(4) ``tribal government'' means an Indian tribe as that
term is defined under section 4(e) of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
SEC. 5. COMMITTEE OR CONFERENCE REPORTS.
(a) In General.--The report accompanying any bill or joint
resolution of a public character reported from a committee of the
Senate or House of Representatives or from a conference between the
Senate and the House of Representatives shall contain an explicit
statement on the extent to which the bill or joint resolution preempts
State or local government law, ordinance, or regulation and, if so, an
explanation of the reasons for such preemption. In the absence of a
committee or conference report, the committee or conference shall
report to the Senate and the House of Representatives a statement
containing the information described in this section before
consideration of the bill, joint resolution, or conference report.
(b) Content.--The statement under subsection (a) shall include an
analysis of--
(1) the extent to which the bill or joint resolution
legislates in an area of traditional State authority; and
(2) the extent to which State or local government authority
will be maintained if the bill or joint resolution is enacted
by Congress.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO PREEMPTION.
(a) Statutes.--No statute enacted after the effective date of this
Act shall be construed to preempt, in whole or in part, any State or
local government law, ordinance, or regulation, unless--
(1) the statute explicitly states that such preemption is
intended; or
(2) there is a direct conflict between such statute and a
State or local law, ordinance, or regulation so that the two
cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together.
(b) Rules.--No rule promulgated after the effective date of this
Act shall be construed to preempt, in whole or in part, any State or
local government law, ordinance, or regulation, unless--
(1)(A) such preemption is authorized by the statute under
which the rule is promulgated; and
(B) the rule, in compliance with section 7, explicitly
states that such preemption is intended; or
(2) there is a direct conflict between such rule and a
State or local law, ordinance, or regulation so that the two
cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together.
<DELETED> (c) Favorable Construction.--Any ambiguities in this Act,
or in any other law of the United States, shall be construed in favor
of preserving the authority of the States and the people.</DELETED>
SEC. 7. AGENCY FEDERALISM ASSESSMENTS.
(a) In General.--The head of each agency shall--
(1) be responsible for implementing this Act; and
(2) designate an officer (to be known as the federalism
officer) to--
(A) manage the implementation of this Act; and
(B) serve as a liaison to State and local officials
and their designated representatives.
(b) Notice and Consultation With Potentially Affected State and
Local Government.--Early in the process of developing a rule and before
the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency shall
notify, consult with, and provide an opportunity for meaningful
participation by public officials of governments that may potentially
be affected by the rule for the purpose of identifying any preemption
of State or local government authority or other significant federalism
impacts that may result from issuance of the rule. If no notice of
proposed rulemaking is published, consultation shall occur sufficiently
in advance of publication of an interim final rule or final rule to
provide an opportunity for meaningful participation.
(c) Federalism Assessments.--
(1) In general.--In addition to whatever other actions the
federalism officer may take to manage the implementation of
this Act, such officer shall identify each proposed, interim
final, and final rule having a federalism impact, including
each rule with a federalism impact identified under subsection
(b), that warrants the preparation of a federalism assessment.
(2) Preparation.--With respect to each such rule identified
by the federalism officer, a federalism assessment, as
described in subsection (d), shall be prepared and published in
the Federal Register at the time the proposed, interim final,
and final rule is published.
(3) Consideration of assessment.--The agency head shall
consider any such assessment in all decisions involved in
promulgating, implementing, and interpreting the rule.
(4) Submission to the office of management and budget.--
Each federalism assessment shall be included in any submission
made to the Office of Management and Budget by an agency for
review of a rule.
(d) Contents.--Each federalism assessment shall include--
(1) a statement on the extent to which the rule preempts
State or local government law, ordinance, or regulation and, if
so, an explanation of the reasons for such preemption;
(2) an analysis of--
(A) the extent to which the rule regulates in an
area of traditional State authority; and
(B) the extent to which State or local authority
will be maintained if the rule takes effect;
(3) a description of the significant impacts of the rule on
State and local governments;
(4) any measures taken by the agency, including the
consideration of regulatory alternatives, to minimize the
impact on State and local governments; and
(5) the extent of the agency's prior consultation with
public officials, the nature of their concerns, and the extent
to which those concerns have been met.
(e) Publication.--For any applicable rule, the agency shall include
a summary of the federalism assessment prepared under this section in a
separately identified part of the statement of basis and purpose for
the rule as it is to be published in the Federal Register. The summary
shall include a list of the public officials consulted and briefly
describe the views of such officials and the agency's response to such
views.
(f) Judicial Review.--
(1) In general.--Only a State or local government, or its
representative organization, that is adversely affected or
aggrieved by final agency action under this section may file an
action seeking judicial review of compliance with this section.
(2) Limitation of review.--Compliance by an agency with
this section shall be subject to judicial review only--
(A) in connection with review of final agency
action;
(B) in accordance with this subsection; and
(C) in accordance with the limitations on timing,
venue, and scope of review imposed by the statute
authorizing judicial review.
(3) Agency determinations.--Any determination of an agency
whether a federalism assessment shall be prepared under this
section shall be set aside by a reviewing court only upon a
showing that the determination is arbitrary or capricious based
on information available at the time the agency made the
determination.
(4) OMB determinations.--Any determination by the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget that a federalism
assessment shall be prepared under this section, or any failure
to make such determination, shall not be subject to judicial
review.
(5) Federalism assessment.--The federalism assessment
required under this Act shall not be subject to judicial review
separate from review of the final rule to which it applies. The
federalism assessment shall be part of the rulemaking record
and shall be considered by a court to the extent relevant, only
in determining under the statute granting the rulemaking
authority whether the final rule is arbitrary or capricious, an
abuse of discretion, or is unsupported by substantial evidence
where that standard is otherwise provided by law.
(6) Court action.--If any agency fails to perform the
federalism assessment or undertake any consultation, a court
may, giving due regard to prejudicial error, remand or
invalidate the rule. The adequacy of compliance with the
specific requirements of this section shall not otherwise be
grounds for remanding or invalidating a rule under this
section. If the court allows the rule to take effect, the court
shall order the agency to promptly perform the federalism
assessment.
(g) Emergency Exemption.--
(1) In general.--A rule may be adopted without prior
compliance with this section if--
(A) the agency for good cause finds that conducting
the federalism assessment under this section before the
rule becomes effective is impracticable or contrary to
an important public interest; and
(B) the agency publishes the rule in the Federal
Register with such finding and a succinct explanation
of the reasons for the finding.
(2) Compliance.--If a rule is adopted under paragraph (1),
the agency shall comply with this section as promptly as
possible unless the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget determines that compliance would be clearly
unreasonable.
SEC. 8. PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
Section 1115 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
Other Popular 106th Congressional Bills Documents:
|
| GovRecords.org presents information on various agencies of the United States Government. Even though all information is believed to be credible and accurate, no guarantees are made on the complete accuracy of our government records archive. Care should be taken to verify the information presented by responsible parties. Please see our reference page for congressional, presidential, and judicial branch contact information. GovRecords.org values visitor privacy. Please see the privacy page for more information. |
 |