Nuclear Release Notice Act of 2006
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. 637.
Nuclear Release Notice Act of 2006 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to promulgate regulations requiring certain civilian nuclear power facilities to provide notice of any release to the environment of fission products or other radioactive substances.
Directs the NRC to consider requiring licensees of such facilities to give notice of any release: (1) within 24 hours after it happens; (2) to the NRC and state and county governments in which the facility is located if an unplanned release exceeds allowable limits for normal operation, is not subject to more stringent NRC requirements or enters into the environment, and may cause drinking water sources to exceed a maximum radioactive contaminant level; and (3) to such state and county governments if the unplanned release reaches the environment by a path otherwise not allowed or recognized by the facility's operating license but falls within the allowable limits for normal operation.
Declares that this Act does not provide to any state or county that receives such notice regulatory jurisdiction over a licensee of such a facility.
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 September 25, 2006. 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 September 25, 2006: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 637.
- 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 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 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?
Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced it on March 1, 2006, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 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 March 1, 2006, 7498 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7290 days ago, on September 25, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 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