Nuclear Incident Liability Reform Act of 1981
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Nuclear Incident Liability Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require that the amount of financial protection required of a licensee licensed under such Act for purposes of nuclear incidents shall be the maximum amount of liability insurance available from private sources. Provides for periodic redetermination of such amount by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) based on the cost of living (including health care costs). Requires that all licensees required to maintain such financial protection participate in an industry retrospective rating plan under which the deferred premium charged following any nuclear incident shall be an amount required by rules promulgated by the NRC. Authorizes the NRC to make a loan to any licensee unable to meet any assessment of deferred premiums within a reasonable time following any nuclear incident without impairing the provision of electric utility service by such licensee. Repeals statutory requirements with respect to indemnification agreements between the NRC and licensees. Removes statutory limitations on the amount of indemnity the NRC may provide to its own contractors for construction or operation of production or utilization facilities and on the aggregate liability for a single nuclear incident. Removes the exemption for nonprofit educational institutions from the financial protection requirements. Repeals the NRC's authority to: (1) enter into an indemnification agreement in connection with the nuclear ship Savannah; and (2) establish procedures to handle public liability claims. Requires that provisions waiving certain defenses with respect to any nuclear incident be incorporated in insurance policies or contracts furnished as proof of financial protection (currently the NRC may require the incorporation of such waiver provisions in such policies or contracts).
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 3, 1983. 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 June 11, 1984: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- 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 98th Congress (1983-84), 623 of the 10,560 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.9 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?
THEODORE WEISS (D-NY) introduced it on January 3, 1983, and 16 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 13 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
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 January 3, 1983, 16003 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 15478 days ago, on June 11, 1984.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 98th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1985 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