Interstate Transmission Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Energy and Air Quality.
Interstate Transmission Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish, by rule, incentive-based, performance-based, participant-funded, and cost-based rate treatments for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce by public utilities.
Grants FERC jurisdiction over an Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) certified by FERC, regional entities, and all users, owners, and operators of the bulk-power system, for purposes of approving reliability standards and enforcing compliance with this Act.
Prescribes guidelines for ERO certification and reliability standards.
Urges the President to negotiate international agreements with the governments of Canada and Mexico to provide for: (1) effective compliance with reliability standards; and (2) the effectiveness of the ERO in the United States and Canada or Mexico.
Instructs FERC to establish a regional advisory body on the petition of at least two-thirds of the States within a region that have more than one-half of their electric load served within the region.
Exempts Hawaii and Alaska from application of electric reliability standards under this Act.
Repeals the requirement for FERC prior authorization of the disposition of public utility facilities.
Prescribes FERC preferences for the formation of a transmission organization.
Prescribes guidelines for the designation as a national interest electric transmission corridor of any geographic area experiencing or likely to experience electric energy transmission capacity constraints or congestion that adversely affects consumers.
Grants FERC permitting authority for the construction or modification of electric transmission facilities in a national interest electric transmission corridor.
Grants the consent of Congress to three or more contiguous States to enter into an interstate compact establishing regional transmission siting agencies to facilitate siting of future electric energy transmission facilities within such States and to carry out the electric energy transmission siting responsibilities of such States.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat electric transmission property as 15-year property for depreciation income tax deduction purposes under the accelerated cost recovery system.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 5, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 22, 2005: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ALBERT WYNN (D-MD) introduced it on April 5, 2005, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 5, 2005, 7828 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7811 days ago, on April 22, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers