Paperwork Elimination and Control Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
Paperwork Elimination and Control Act of 1980 - Includes independent regulatory agencies within the definition of the term "agency" for purposes of provisions of Federal law regarding the coordination of Federal reporting services. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to provide for increased communication between the Government and the small business community with respect to Federal information collection activities. Directs the Director to require each agency to include on each of its information collection forms: (1) the expiration date of such form; (2) a registration number; (3) a statement as to whether the information collection is required by law, voluntary, or a requirement for obtaining a benefit administered by the agency; and (4) the name and toll-free telephone number of an agency representative who shall be designated by the agency head to provide assistance concerning the agency's information collection activities. Requires the Director to consult with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and to establish guidelines which provide for: (1) differing information collection requirements that take into account the resources available to small businesses; (2) exemptions to small businesses from certain requirements; and (3) consolidated or simplified requirements for small businesses. Requires the Director to develop and maintain a Federal Business Requirements Locator System to serve as the authoritative register of all Government information collection and recordkeeping requirements. Directs the Director to: (1) promulgate rules requiring each agency head to submit a data profile of each existing and proposed information collection and recordkeeping requirement; (2) compare submitted data profiles to profiles in the System and notify agency officials and members of the public, upon request, of the results; and (3) provide any person, upon request, with a list of requirements applicable to a certain type of business. Requires the use of data profiles to: (1) identify duplicative requirements; (2) locate existing information and promote agency sharing of information; (3) provide a central coordination mechanism for information collection activities; (4) catalog requirements by types of industries; and (5) monitor the total requirements imposed on the public by the Government so that such paperwork may be reduced. Directs the head of each agency to submit, annually, an analysis of the agency's information collection activities to the Director with the agency's request for appropriations submitted under the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921. Requires the Director to publish in the Federal Register: (1) a summary of such analysis with a notice soliciting public comments; (2) a summary of comments received; and (3) a statement explaining the Director's determination regarding any issue raised by a comment disagreeing with data or conclusions of the analysis.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 5, 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 May 5, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
- 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?
ALVIN BALDUS (D-WI) introduced it on May 5, 1980. 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 May 5, 1980, 16977 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16977 days ago, on May 5, 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