Motor Vehicle Regulatory Improvement Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Motor Vehicle Regulatory Improvement Act of 1979 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to: (1) establish average fuel economy standards for model years 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984; (2) eliminate the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe or modify such standards; (3) eliminate the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration to prescribe rules for the calculation of average fuel economy; and (4) permit credits earned for exceeding the required fuel economy levels for any given model year to be used to offset any penalties such manufacturer may have incurred for the three consecutive model years prior to such year. Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from requiring that any passenger car be equipped with an automatic device or mechanism which enables such car to meet any frontal crash protection requirements prescribed by the Secretary. Amends the Clean Air Act to modify emission standards for carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen from light-duty vehicles and engines manufactured after model year 1979. Establishes a national primary ambient air quality standard with respect to ozone. Permits the Administrator to submit to Congress for approval by June 30, 1985 a proposed national primary ambient air quality standard to take effect on September 30, 1987.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on October 30, 1979. 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 October 30, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- 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 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?
RICHARD LUGAR (R-IN) introduced it on October 30, 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 October 30, 1979, 17117 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17117 days ago, on October 30, 1979.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers