Regulatory Improvement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3269 To establish an independent advisory committee to review certain regulations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 13, 2019 Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. KIND, and Mr. YOHO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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 establish an independent advisory committee to review certain regulations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory Improve- 4 ment Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3269 IH (1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Regu- 1 latory Improvement Commission established under 2 section 3; 3 (2) the term ‘‘commission bill’’ means a bill 4 consisting of the proposed legislative language of the 5 Commission recommended under section 4(h)(2)(C) 6 and introduced under section 4(i)(1); and 7 (3) the term ‘‘covered regulation’’ means a reg- 8 ulation that has been finalized not later than 10 9 years before the date on which the Commission is es- 10 tablished. 11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 13 legislative branch a commission to be known as the ‘‘Regu- 14 latory Improvement Commission’’. 15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 16 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 17 composed of 9 members, of whom— 18 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 19 President, and shall serve as the Chairperson of 20 the Commission; 21 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 22 majority leader of the Senate; 23 (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 24 minority leader of the Senate; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3269 IH (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 1 Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 2 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 3 minority leader of the House of Representa- 4 tives. 5 (2) DATE.—The appointment of the members 6 of the Commission shall be made not later than 60 7 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 8 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 9 (A) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Commission 10 shall be an individual with expertise and experi- 11 ence in rulemaking, such as past Administra- 12 tors of the Office of Information and Regu- 13 latory Affairs, past chairmen of the Administra- 14 tive Conference of the United States, and other 15 individuals with similar expertise and experi- 16 ence in rulemaking affairs and the administra- 17 tion of regulatory reviews. 18 (B) MEMBERS.—Members appointed to the 19 Commission shall be prominent citizens of the 20 United States with national recognition and a 21 significant depth of experience and responsibil- 22 ities in matters relating to government service, 23 regulatory policy, economics, Federal agency 24 management, public administration, and law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3269 IH (4) LIMITATION.—Not more than 5 members 1 appointed to the Commission may be from the same 2 political party. 3 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem- 4 bers shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any 5 vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but 6 shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint- 7 ment. 8 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 9 the date on which all members of the Commission have 10 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet- 11 ing. 12 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 13 call of the Chairman. 14 (f) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Each meeting of the 15 Commission shall be open to the public, unless a member 16 objects. 17 (g) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commission 18 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members 19 may hold hearings. 20 (h) NONAPPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY 21 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 22 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3269 IH SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 1 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission is to 2 evaluate and provide recommendations for modification, 3 consolidation, or repeal of covered regulations with the 4 aim of reducing compliance costs, encouraging growth and 5 innovation, and improving competitiveness, all while pro- 6 tecting public health and safety. 7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 8 the Commission shall— 9 (1) give priority in its analysis of covered regu- 10 lations to those that— 11 (A) impose disproportionately high costs 12 on a small entity (as defined in section 601 of 13 title 5, United States Code); 14 (B) impose substantial paperwork burdens; 15 or 16 (C) could be strengthened in their effec- 17 tiveness while reducing regulatory costs; 18 (2) solicit and review comments from the public 19 on the covered regulations described this section; 20 and 21 (3) develop a set of covered regulations to mod- 22 ify, consolidate, or repeal to be submitted to Con- 23 gress for an up-or-down vote. 24 (c) PUBLIC COMMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3269 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 1 the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, 2 the Commission shall initiate a process to solicit and 3 collect written recommendations from the general 4 public, interested parties, Federal agencies, and 5 other relevant entities regarding which covered regu- 6 lations should be examined. 7 (2) SUBMISSION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS.—The 8 Commission shall ensure that the process initiated 9 under paragraph (1) allows for recommendations to 10 be submitted to the Commission through the Web 11 site of the Commission or by mail. 12 (3) LENGTH OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.— 13 The period for the submission of recommendations 14 under this subsection shall end 120 days after the 15 date on which the process is initiated under para- 16 graph (1). 17 (4) PUBLICATION.—At the end of the period for 18 the submission of recommendations under this sub- 19 section, all submitted recommendations shall be pub- 20 lished in the Federal Register and on the Web site 21 of the Commission. 22 (d) COMMISSION OUTREACH.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the public comment 24 period described in subsection (c), the Commission 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3269 IH shall conduct public outreach and convene focus 1 groups to better inform the commissioners of the 2 public’s interest and possible contributions to the 3 work of the Commission. 4 (2) FOCUS GROUPS.—The focus groups re- 5 quired under paragraph (1) shall include individuals 6 affiliated with the Office of Information and Regu- 7 latory Affairs, the Administrative Conference of the 8 United States, the offices within Federal agencies 9 responsible for small business affairs and regulatory 10 compliance, and, at the discretion of the Commis- 11 sion, other relevant stakeholders from within or out- 12 side the regulatory entities. 13 (e) COMMISSION REVIEW OF PUBLIC COMMENTS.— 14 Not later than 45 days after the date on which the period 15 for the submission of recommendations ends under sub- 16 section (c), the Commission shall convene to review sub- 17 mitted recommendations and to identify covered regula- 18 tions to modify, consolidate, or eliminate. 19 (f) EXAMINATION OF REGULATIONS.— 20 (1) PROCESS FOR EXAMINATION.—In exam- 21 ining covered regulations under this section, the 22 Commission shall determine the effectiveness of indi- 23 vidual covered regulations, by using multiple re- 24 sources, including quantitative metrics, testimony 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3269 IH from industry and agency experts, and research 1 from the staff of the Commission. 2 (2) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after 3 the date on which the Commission convenes under 4 subsection (e), the Commission shall complete a sub- 5 stantial examination of covered regulations. 6 (g) INITIAL REPORT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 8 the date on which the Commission convenes under 9 subsection (e), the Commission shall publish, and 10 make available to the public for comment, a report, 11 which shall include— 12 (A) the findings and conclusions of the 13 Commission for the improvement of covered 14 regulations examined by the Commission; and 15 (B) a list of recommendations for changes 16 to the covered regulations examined by the 17 Commission, which may include recommenda- 18 tions for modification, consolidation, or repeal 19 of such covered regulations. 20 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The report required under 21 paragraph (1) shall be approved by not fewer than 22 5 members of the Commission. 23 (3) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The Commis- 24 sion shall make the report required under paragraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3269 IH (1) available through the Web site of the Commis- 1 sion and in printed form. 2 (4) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—During the 3 90-day period beginning on the date on which the 4 report required under paragraph (1) is published, 5 the Commission shall— 6 (A) solicit comments from the public on 7 such report, using the same process established 8 under subsection (c); and 9 (B) publish any comments received under 10 subparagraph (A) in the Federal Register and 11 the Web site of the Commission. 12 (5) CONSULTATION.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 14 after the date on which the report required 15 under paragraph (1) is published, the Commis- 16 sion shall complete a consultation with the 17 chairman and ranking member of the commit- 18 tees of jurisdiction in the House of Representa- 19 tives and Senate regarding the contents of the 20 report. 21 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The consultation re- 22 quired under subparagraph (A) shall provide— 23 (i) the opportunity for the chair and 24 ranking member of the committees of ju- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3269 IH risdiction to provide substantive feedback 1 or recommendations related to the regu- 2 latory changes contained in the report re- 3 quired under paragraph (1); and 4 (ii) the opportunity for the chair and 5 ranking member of the committees of ju- 6 risdiction to provide recommendations for 7 alternative means of achieving a reduction 8 in regulatory costs while maintaining the 9 same level of benefits to society. 10 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 12 the date on which the 90-day period described in 13 subsection (g)(4) ends, the Commission shall— 14 (A) review any comments received under 15 subsection (g)(4); 16 (B) incorporate any relevant comments re- 17 ceived under subsection (g)(4) into the report 18 required under subsection (g)(1); and 19 (C) submit the revised report to Congress. 20 (2) CONTENTS.—The revised report required to 21 be submitted to Congress under paragraph (1) shall 22 include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3269 IH (A) the findings and conclusions of the 1 Commission for the improvement of covered 2 regulations examined by the Commission; 3 (B) a list of recommendations for changes 4 to the covered regulations examined by the 5 Commission, which may include recommenda- 6 tions for modification, consolidation, or repeal 7 of such covered regulations; and 8 (C) recommended legislative language to 9 implement the recommendations in subpara- 10 graph (B). 11 (i) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF COMMIS- 12 SION REPORT.— 13 (1) INTRODUCTION.—If approved by 5 members 14 of the Commission, as required under subsection 15 (g)(2), the Commission bill shall be introduced in 16 the Senate (by request) on the next day on which 17 the Senate is in session by the majority leader of the 18 Senate or by a Member of the Senate designated by 19 the majority leader of the Senate and shall be intro- 20 duced in the House of Representatives (by request) 21 on the next legislative day by the majority leader of 22 the House or by a Member of the House designated 23 by the majority leader of the House. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3269.IH H3269 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3269 IH (2) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REP- 1 RESENTATIVES.— 2 (A) REFERRAL AND REPORTING.—Any 3 committee of the House of Representatives to 4 which the commission bill is referred shall re- 5 port it to the House without amendment not 6 later than 30 days after the date on which the 7 commission bill is introduced under paragraph 8 (1). If a committee fails to report the commis- 9 sion bill within that period, it shall be in order 10 to move that the House discharge the com- 11 mittee from further consideration of the com- 12 mission bill. Such a motion shall not be in order 13 after the last committee authorized to consider 14 the commission bill reports it to the House or 15 after the House has disposed of a motion to 16 discharge the commission bill. The previous 17 question shall be considered as ordered on the 18 motion to its adoption without intervening mo- 19 tion except 3 hours of debate equally divided 20 and controlled by the proponent and an oppo- 21 nent. If such a motion is adopted, the House 22 shall proceed immediately to consider the com- 23 mission bill in accordance with subparagraphs 24 (B) and (C). A motion to reconsider the vote by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 08 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]