A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to incorporate certain provisions of the transportation conformity regulations, as in effect on March 1, 1999.
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 430.
Amends the Clean Air Act to permit the implementation of transportation projects that received certain approval even if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency subsequently determines that the conformity of the applicable transportation plan and program to the implementation plan for national air quality standards has lapsed. Describes such approval as approval of plans, specifications, and estimates under Federal highway provisions, certain full funding grant agreements under Federal mass transportation provisions, or equivalent approvals or authorizations. Permits projects that received such approval before March 2, 1999, to be implemented without any additional conformity determination. Authorizes transportation projects for which a review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) has been completed within the two-year period preceding a conformity lapse to be implemented for a period ending not later than one year after the date the lapse commenced. Directs the Administrator to promulgate criteria and procedures for demonstrating and ensuring conformity in the case of transportation plans, programs, and projects. Requires regulations in effect before March 2, 1999, to be in effect as originally promulgated beginning on this Act's enactment and ending on the earlier of the effective date of regulations promulgated under this Act or one year after this Act's enactment. Applies the earlier regulations to any conformity lapse that occurs before the effective date of subsequent regulations but only until the date of promulgation of such regulations. Provides that in the case of a project for which a review under NEPA has been completed, non-Federal funds applied toward right-of-way acquisition or design activities during a period of conformity lapse may be attributed to a State's obligated share of project funding under Federal highway or transportation provisions at such time as a transportation plan or improvement program that includes the project is determined to conform to the implementation plan. Makes certain prohibitions on approval, acceptance, or funding under conformity provisions inapplicable to the funding of any mass transportation project. (Sec. 2) Provides that an area shall not be considered to be out of conformity with an implementation plan for the sole reason that the area is a nonattainment area with respect to an ozone air quality standard promulgated after January 1, 1997, until one year after the date on which the Administrator determines that motor vehicle emissions estimates and reductions contained in an implementation plan (regardless of whether the plan has been approved) are adequate.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on February 2, 2000. 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 2, 2000: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 430.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 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?
CHRISTOPHER BOND (R-MO) introduced it on May 14, 1999, and 22 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 21 Republicans, 1 independent.
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 14, 1999, 9981 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9717 days ago, on February 2, 2000.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers