Clean Air Act Amendments of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1979 - Title I: Clean Air Act Amendments - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to amend certain regulations to require gasoline retail outlets to offer a blend of unleaded gasoline and alcohol which contains not less than ten percent alcohol, if supplies of such a blend are reasonably available. Stipulates circumstances in which such requirement may be waived. Prohibits the Administrator from imposing a prohibition on the use of alcohol as a fuel unless such imposition will, taken as a whole, result in better air quality than would be the case if no such prohibition were imposed. Title II: Gasohol Motor Fuel - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to promote the use of alcohol-blended fuels in the United States. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with other specified Secretaries, to study: (1) the most suitable raw materials, other than petroleum or natural gas, for the production of alcohol motor fuel; and (2) the nature of the alcohol motor fuel distribution systems and the various production processes, using feedstock other than petroleum and natural gas. Directs the Secretary, within six months after the completion of the study, to establish goals for the production of alcohol motor fuel in the United States in each of the calendar years 1982 through 1991, beginning with one percent by volume of the projected consumption of gasoline used as motor fuel in 1982, and culminating with ten percent of the corresponding projected consumption in 1991. Specifies a similar schedule for refiners for the blending of alcohol and gasoline for motor fuel over the same period of time. Instructs the Secretary to determine goals which are technically and economically feasible, and which result in steady progress toward meeting the goal set for 1991. Requires annual reports from refiners to the Secretary. Establishes a civil penalty of $1.00 per gallon of fuel sold that is not in compliance with such requirements. Requires any person constructing a facility to distill alcohol for motor fuel to use fuel sources which are renewable. Title III: Alcohol Production Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction, for income tax purposes, with respect to the amortization of any qualified alcohol-producing facility based on a period of 60 months. Defines such a facility as a tangible property used in producing alcohol (the primary use of which is fuel or other petroleum substitution) from coal or biomass. Specifies a formula for determining the amount of such deduction.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 28, 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 March 28, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 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?
LARRY PRESSLER (R-SD) introduced it on March 28, 1979, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Republicans.
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 28, 1979, 17333 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17333 days ago, on March 28, 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