A bill to amend the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to prohibit the use of oil or natural gas by certain existing powerplants, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amends the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Energy to prohibit specified powerplants from using petroleum and natural gas as a primary energy source by December 31, 1990. Authorizes such powerplants to use coal with a sulfur content of up to 2.5 percent notwithstanding other provisions of law. Requires any powerplant which seeks an exemption from a prohibition on the use of petroleum or natural gas on the basis of its plan to cease operations to also demonstrate that it will be replaced by a powerplant which does not use such fuel sources. Repeals the authority of the Secretary to grant a temporary exemption in the public interest. Repeals the authority to extend a temporary exemption granted to maintain reliability of service. Prohibits any temporary exemption from extending beyond 1989. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency or the appropriate State pollution control agency to certify that the use of coal by a powerplant would cause regional pollution to exceed national standards despite the use of the best available control technology in order for such powerplant to be eligible for a permanent exemption on the use of petroleum. Requires any exempted powerplant to reduce its use of petroleum and natural gas. Directs the Secretary to extend grants to the operators of the powerplants required by this Act to cease using petroleum and natural gas in order to defray ten percent of the cost of their converting to an alternate energy source. Prevents any value received under a Federal or State grant or tax credit from being included within an operator's conversion costs. Authorizes appropriations for such grants, limiting such authority to advance provisions in appropriations Acts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to treat such fuel conversion expenses as deductible, noncapital expenditures. Prohibits a taxpayer from including any amounts received through a grant by the Secretary within such conversion expenses. States that any such election shall not affect the determination of a taxpayer's entitlement to an investment tax credit.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 13, 1980. 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 February 13, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
AUSTIN MURPHY (D-PA) introduced it on February 13, 1980, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 6 Democrats.
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 February 13, 1980, 17011 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17011 days ago, on February 13, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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