Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2017
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to broaden the scope of the Act.
Under the Act, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) must study and report on the impact of federal mandates in legislation and estimate their direct costs to state, local, and tribal governments, and the private sector. This bill requires CBO's estimates to include: (1) costs to state, local, or tribal governments participating in a federal assistance program for carrying out changes in conditions of federal assistance that are proposed by legislation, upon the request of certain members of Congress; (2) indirect costs to the private sector, such as foregone profits and costs passed onto consumers and other entities; and (3) costs of rules issued by independent regulatory agencies, except the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Open Market Committee, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
In addition, Congress may raise a substantive point of order when considering legislation that would increase the direct cost of private sector mandates beyond certain limits.
The bill amends the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, including by: (1) transferring certain responsibilities from the Office of Management and Budget to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, (2) establishing criteria to guide agencies in assessing the effects of federal regulatory actions, (3) revising requirements for agency statements accompanying significant regulatory actions, (4) requiring agencies to develop a process that allows impacted private sector parties to provide input on regulatory proposals containing significant federal mandates, and (5) requiring agencies to conduct a retrospective analysis of an existing regulation upon the request of certain members of Congress.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 10, 2017. 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 July 10, 2017: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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?
Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced it on July 10, 2017, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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 July 10, 2017, 3349 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3349 days ago, on July 10, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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