Consumer Bounty 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 Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.
Consumer Bounty Act - Directs courts to require defendants to pay a minimum of $10,000 to prevailing plaintiffs in civil actions brought under specified citizen suit provisions of: (1) the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); (2) the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977; (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act); (4) the Safe Drinking Water Act; (5) the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972; (6) the Noise Control Act of 1972; (7) the Energy Policy and Conservation Act; (8) the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (9) the Clean Air Act; (10) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); (11) the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978; (12) the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; (13) the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; and (14) pipeline safety laws.
Makes multiple defendants in such actions jointly and severally liable.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 20, 2012. 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 January 2, 2013: Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.
- 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH) introduced it on December 20, 2012. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 December 20, 2012, 5059 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5046 days ago, on January 2, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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