A bill to extend certain authorities of the Secretary of the Interior with respect to water resources research and development and saline water conversion research and development programs, and for other purposes.
Latest action. public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) 96-457.
(Senate agreed to House amendment with an amendment) Amends the Water Research and Development Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1981 and 1982 for: (1) water resources research and technology institutes and other qualified institutions; (2) water resources studies; (3) water research and development of saline waters; and (4) other water resources programs under such Act. Removes the limitation on the number of desalting plants demonstrating the engineering and economic viability of membrane and phase-change desalting processes to be constructed by the Secretary of the Interior. Specifies conditions such plants must meet. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct such demonstrations by means of cooperative agreements with non-Federal public entities. Requires reports to Congress concerning such plants to include information on how the proposed plant differs from others already constructed. Revises the terms of proposed contracts or cooperative agreements between the Secretary and a non-Federal entity to require such entity to provide between 15 and 35 percent of the total cost of the demonstration (presently such entity must pay all costs). Limits the Secretary's participation in the operation and maintenance of such demonstrations to four years. Repeals the requirement that the proposed contracts provide for a future right of the Federal Government to re-enter the facility. Increases the authorization of appropriations for such demonstration plants for the four year period of Federal participation in such costs, effective in fiscal year 1978. Authorizes the Secretary, when appropriations have been made for the commencement or continuation of design, construction, or operation and maintenance of any demonstration plan, to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements for miscellaneous services, materials and supplies, and construction, which may cover such periods of time as the Secretary may consider necessary but in which the liability of the United States shall be contingent upon appropriations being made therefor.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Senate agreed to House amendment with amendment" stage on September 24, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Public Law 96-457.
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Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
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The record's latest action, on October 15, 1980: Public Law 96-457.
How likely is it to become law?
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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 has no outstanding steps 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?
MAURICE GRAVEL (D-AK) introduced it on August 2, 1979. 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 August 2, 1979, 17253 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16813 days ago, on October 15, 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
- SenatePublic Law 96-457.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action