United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1983
Enterprise Zone Act of 1983 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of enterprise zones by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for purposes of extending the tax incentives and regulatory flexibility measures provided by this Act. Specifies that State and local governments shall nominate areas for such designation. Limits the designation of enterprise zones to 75 nominated areas per year over three years (one third of which such designations shall remain in effect. Specifies that the Secretary may designate such zones only if: (1) the area is within the jurisdiction of the local government; (2) the boundary of the area is continuous; (3) the area has a population of at least 4,000 if any portion thereof is located within a standard metropolitan statistical area (with a population of at least 50,000) or 1,000 otherwise, or is within an Indian reservation; and (4) the area meets specified unemployment and poverty requirements. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action which may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, or receiving commitments of private entities to assist employees and residents of the area. Terminates the authority of the Secretary to designate enterprise zones on June 30, 1986, or three years after the publication of regulations pertaining to such zones, whichever is later. Describes areas to which preference shall be given in deciding to designate enterprise zones. Exempts enterprise zones from certain requirements relating to Federal environmental policy. Requires the Secretary to prepare and submit to the Congress every four years a report on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation. Requires that any property tax reduction effected by a local government under the terms of this Act be disregarded for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State or local government for Federal assistance or benefits. States that designation of an enterprise zone shall not give displaced persons from such an area any rights or benefits under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Allows a three year carryback and 15 year carryover of such credit. Sets the amount of such credit at ten percent of the increase in payroll (taking into account a maximum of $15,000 in wages per year per employee) plus 50 percent of the wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers for the first three years of the enterprise zone designation. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Disallows a deduction for the portion of wages taken into account for such credit. Allows employees located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to five percent of qualified wages earned per year (taking into account a maximum of $9,000 in wages per year). Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investment in certain tangible property located in enterprise zones. Limits such credit to five percent for zone personal property and ten percent for new zone construction property, including rental property. Requires that the property subject to such credit be predominantly used in the zone, be purchased after zone designation, and not be acquired from relatives or related corporations. Requires the recapture of such credit upon early disposition of the property. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle C: Reduction in Capital Gain Tax Rates - Eliminates the capital gains tax on property of corporations acquired after the enterprise zone designation and used in a zone business. Qualifies certain low-income rental housing located in an enterprise zone for such treatment. Permits property to remain qualified for purposes of the revised capital gains treatment after a designation of an enterprise zone has terminated. Exempts gain from the sale or exchange of property used in a business in an enterprise zone from the computation of the minimum tax. Allows noncorporate taxpayers to deduct from gross income 100 percent of any net capital gain from qualified enterprise zone property. Subtitle D: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Provides that limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt industrial development bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property. Provides that the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to industrial development bonds the proceeds of which are used to finance facilities in such enterprise zones. Subtitle E: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified businesses (as defined in Title II of this Act), governments, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon the request of a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations which pertain to the carrying out of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve such request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in continuing the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement (including the Davis-Bacon Act and Fair Labor Standards Act) or which would present a danger to the public health and safety. Provides that such waivers or modifications of a rule shall remain in effect as long as the zone designations remain in effect. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Board to consider on a priority basis, and expedite the processing of, applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. States that to the maximum extent practicable foreign-trade zones should be established within enterprise zones.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
World War I Veterans Service Pension Act - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to pay (in addition to any pension already paid) a monthly pension of $150 to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements and to certain surviving spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1983
Creates a presumption of service-connected disability for compensation purposes for any veteran who was exposed to radiation or toxic chemicals while actively serving in the armed forces and who is now suffering from a disability or disorder symptomatic of such exposure. Maintains such presumption even in the absence of records. Entitles to disability or death compensation and to dependency and indemnity compensation any children of such a veteran with a disability or defect which may reasonably be determined to have been caused by genetic damage in the veteran. Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to carry out a comprehensive program to screen veterans who may have been exposed to radiation or toxic chemicals during their active service to determine whether they incurred a disease or disability from such exposure. Requires the Administrator to provide outreach and counseling services. Directs the Administrator to establish a research and training program in the diagnosis and treatment of disabilities caused by exposure to radiation. Requires the establishment of a centralized registry of claims before the Veterans Administration or other agencies arising out of actual or possible exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals. Requires the Administrator to include in the annual report to Congress a comprehensive report on the administration and implementation of such screening and research activities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1983
Title I: Consumer Credit - Consumer Debtor Bankruptcy Amendments Act of 1983 - Amends the Bankruptcy Code to permit a bankruptcy court to dismiss a case or suspend all proceedings if it determines that a debtor whose debts are primarily consumer debts does not need the provisions of the chapter under which relief has been sought and the granting of relief under such chapter would be a substantial abuse of its provisions. Requires the Clerk of each Federal judicial district to compile statistics regarding debtors where debts are primarily consumer debts. Requires the bankruptcy judge to convene, and permits such judge to preside at, any meeting of creditors and to perform such additional judicial duties as may be required. Declares that the value of the creditor's interest in the estate's interest in consumer goods property shall be determined in light of the purpose of the valuation and of the proposed disposition or use of such property, and in conjunction with any hearing on such disposition or use or on a plan effecting such creditor's interest. Declares that the value of consumer goods which the debtor seeks to redeem in liquidation shall be presumed to be the established resale market price, if such market exists. Permits the court to utilize other methods of valuation if no such market exists or if the court determines that resale value is inappropriate in light of the property's proposed use or disposition. Requires the debtor in bankruptcy cases to file a statement of estimated income and expenses for the year following filing of his petition. Requires the debtor, if the schedule of assets and liabilities include consumer debts secured by property of the estate, to file and serve upon each creditor holding such security and upon the trustee, a statement expressing the debtor's intention with respect to retention or surrender of the collateral. Requires the debtor, at or before the meeting of creditors provided for by such title, to perform his intention with regard to such secured creditors. Requires that the notice of meeting of the creditors be accompanied by a copy of the statement of estimated income and expenses and that the debtor supply the clerk of the court, upon the filing of the petition, with enough copies of such statement to accommodate the listed creditors. Requires individuals filing for bankruptcy in joint or consolidated cases to elect either the Federal or State exemptions. Places an aggregate limit of $3,000 on the value of the exemption with regard to household goods and personal effects. Prohibits the debtor from utilizing the unused dollar value of the homestead exemption to exempt additional property not explicitly provided for by such Act. Repeals the provisions of such Act which currently authorize the debtor to avoid nonpurchase money security interest in property. Presumes nondischargeable any debt incurred on or within 40 days before the date of the filing of a petition under such title. Allows for rebuttal of such presumption. Allows creditors to enforce liens which have not been avoided in bankruptcy. Permits reaffirmation of consumer debts subject to the debtor's right to rescind any such agreement within 60 days or until a discharge is received, whichever occurs later. Declares that at the meeting of creditors the court shall inform the debtor of the nature and effect of a discharge and of any reaffirmation of debt. Prohibits the custodian from being an assignee under a general assignment for the benefit of the debtor's creditors that was appointed or took possession more than 120 days before the date of the filing of the petition. Permits the trustee or the court, however, to require such an assignee to file an accounting. Limits the trustee's power to avoid liens or recover payments made within 90 days of the filing of the petition in bankruptcy (within one year in the case of an insider) unless the creditor had reasonable cause to believe the debtor was insolvent. Permits the court, upon notice and hearing, to require a creditor to accept payments in redemption of the value of a claim secured by a nonpossessory, nonpurchase money security interest in tangible personal property, over a reasonable period not to exceed five years, if such tangible personal property consists of specified household goods and tools of the debtor's trade. Permits the court, upon notice and hearing, to avoid any lien in whole or in part, if the court finds;: (1) that the debtor has no reasonable ability to pay the redemption value of such property out of anticipated future income; and (2) the enforcement of such lien would impose undue hardship on the debtor. Allows a creditor, upon 10 days notice to the debtor and codebtor, to collect any portion of a debt from the codebtor which is not being paid by the debtor through the adjustment of debts of such debtor with a regular income. Requires payments under an adjustment of debts payment plan to commence within thirty days after the filing of the plan. Provides for the return of such funds after deducting the costs of administration if no plan is confirmed. Provides for the separate classification of codebtor claims and non-dischargeable claims and authorizes payment of them under an adjustment of debts payment plan. Allows a debtor to choose such a repayment plan of up to five years. Bases such repayment upon the debtor's ability to repay out of future income after taking into account the basic living necessities for the debtor and dependents. Provides for an early discharge of debts where a reasonable portion of unsecured claims are paid. Permits a hardship discharge of otherwise non-dischargeable debts to the extent the debtor attempted to pay such debts under an adjustment of debts payment plan, but was prevented from so doing by unforeseen circumstances. Title II: Agricultural Produce - Agricultural Produce Bailment Bankruptcy Amendments Act of 1983 - Requires bankruptcy courts to give priority to allowed unsecured claims of farmers arising from the sale or conversion of farm produce to or by a debtor who operates a farm produce storage facility. Specifies that such sale or conversion must have occurred within 180 days before the filing of the petition or before the cessation of the debtor's business, whichever occurs first. Limits the payment of any such claim to $2,000 per individual. Permits a bankruptcy court to expedite the procedures for determining interests in and the disposition of grain and proceeds held by debtors who own or operate grain storage facilities. Requires the court to expedite such procedures if requested by a trustee or a claimant. Sets forth factors for the court to consider before deciding whether to shorten the time periods for procedures. Lists the procedures which may be expedited. Specifies administration details. Title III: Miscellaneous - Declares that if any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid the provisions of every other part and their application shall not be affected thereby. Makes the provisions of this Act effective 90 days after enactment. Declares that the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to cases pending before the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1983
Amends the Federal Power Act to exempt conduit hydroelectric facilities from the requirements for the development of water power and resources under such Act. Permits the operator of such a facility to apply for a license under such Act for the exempt facility.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1983
Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate, and maintain the Santa Margarita project in California. States that the project shall consist of the Fallbrook and DeLuz Dams and Reservoirs, pipelines, regulation facilities, or other facilities required to provide water to the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton. States that appropriation of construction funds is contingent upon a secretarial determination of economic justification and environmental acceptability based upon studies in progress. Requires that any modifications of the plan for certain purposes be implemented only with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Navy. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to determine certain interest rates related to the project. Requires the Secretary to enter into contracts with certain entities, including the Department of the Navy, for the delivery of project water and for repayment of the reimbursable construction costs. Requires certain proceeds from the sale of surplus project water to be credited to the Department of the Navy. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1983
Federal Anti-Tampering Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it a Federal offense to maliciously cause or attempt to cause injury or death to any person, or injury to any business' reputation, by adulterating a food, drug, cosmetic, hazardous substance or other product. Provides for a prison term of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000, or if personal injury or death results, a prison term of up to life. Establishes a separate offense, with similar penalties, for any person who willfully or maliciously conveys false information concerning an attempt at such adulteration if injury, fear of injury, or death results or if a governmental or commercial recall occurs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1983
Amends the Automobile Dealers Day in Court Act to prohibit a manufacturer from selling, leasing, or offering to sell or lease any passenger car, truck, or stationwagon to any person (or any other dealer) at a price lower than the price at which the same model is sold to its franchised dealers. Prohibits a manufacturer from imposing restrictions on some purchasers of automobiles, but not others. Requires that all rebates, discounts, refunds or other promotional inducement or benefit be provided to all ultimate purchasers of the same model of motor vehicle during the same period of time. Establishes an exception to the Act for the sale of automobiles to Federal, State or local governmental units. Applies this Act to importers of covered motor vehicles who import directly or through distributorships. Allows an automobile dealer to recover reasonable attorneys fees resulting from an action under this Act. Limits standing for a cause of action for termination of an agreement under this Act to dealers who comply with all reasonable provisions of the franchise agreement in question.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1983
Energy Conservation Daylight Saving Act of 1983 - Amends the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to start daylight saving time the first Sunday in March rather than the last Sunday of April. Continues a State's right to preempt such time changes. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to make necessary adjustments in the operation of daytime standard amplitude modulation broadcast stations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1983
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for taking or attempting to take property by force, violence, or intimidation from either a pharmacy or a person registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Increases the penalties if any person's life is endangered by use of a dangerous weapon or if any person is assaulted or killed during the commission of such offense. Directs the Attorney General to report to Congress on the enforcement of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Housing Finance Opportunity Act of 1983 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to permit the continued issuance of tax-exempt (interest excluded from gross income) mortgage revenue bonds after December 31, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1983
Bail Reform Act of 1983 - Repeals the Bail Reform Act of 1966 and sets forth new bail procedures. Authorizes a judicial officer to consider the safety of any person or the community when making a pretrial release determination. Establishes as a mandatory release condition that the person not commit a Federal, State, or local crime during release. Authorizes pretrial release upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond. Expands the discretionary release conditions to require that the defendant: (1) maintain employment or an educational program; (2) avoid contact with an alleged victim or potential witness; (3) report to a law enforcement or pretrial service agency; (4) comply with a curfew; (5) refrain from possessing a firearm or using alcohol or narcotic drugs; (6) undergo medical treatment; (7) forfeit designated property upon failure to appear; and (8) return to custody at specified hours. Authorizes a judicial officer to order the detention for up to ten days of a person who is presently on pretrial release for a felony under Federal, State, or local law or on probation or parole or release pending sentencing or appeal for any offense, if no conditions will assure his appearance and the safety of the community and any other person. Provides for the detention of an alien whose presence in the United States is not under color of law. Authorizes a judicial officer to order the pretrial detention of a person upon finding that: (1) no condition will reasonably assure such person's appearance and the safety of any other person and the community; and (2) there is a substantial probability that the person committed the offense. Requires that a detention hearing be held in any case involving: (1) a crime of violence; (2) any offense punishable by life imprisonment or death; (3) a narcotics offense punishable by at least ten years imprisonment; or (4) any offense committed after the person has been convicted of two or more offenses for which a hearing is mandated. Permits the government or the court to move for a detention hearing in any other case involving a serious risk of flight or obstruction of justice. Enumerates additional factors to be considered by the judicial officer in making a release determination, including the defendant's past conduct, history of drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history, and the nature and seriousness of the danger to the community or any person. Requires the detention of a person who has appealed his conviction unless the judicial officer finds by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) such person is not likely to flee or pose a danger to another person or property; and (2) the appeal raises a substantial question of law or fact. Requires the detention of a person awaiting sentencing unless the officer finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person is not likely to flee or pose a danger to any other person or the community. Authorizes a U.S. attorney to appeal a release order. Provides additional penalties for failing to appear before the court or surrender for service of sentence as required. Establishes mandatory additional penalties for commission of an offense while on pretrial release. Subjects a person who has been conditionally released and violates a condition of release to revocation of release and prosecution for contempt of court. Grants new authority to law enforcement officers to arrest a person who violates certain pretrial release conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Record Rental Amendment of 1983 - Prohibits the owner of a particular phonorecord of a sound recording from renting, leasing, or lending such recording for commercial advantage unless authorized to do so by the copyright owner.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1983 - Extends copyright protection to mask works. Defines a mask work as a series of related images: (1) having the predetermined, three- dimensional pattern of metallic, insulating, or semiconductor material present or removed from the layers of a semiconductor chip product; and (2) in which the relation of the images to one another is that each image has the pattern of the surface of one form of the chip product. Excludes masks and mask works from the pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works categories. Sets forth the exclusive rights the owner of copyright holds, including the right to: (1) embody the mask work in a mask, a two-dimensional partially transparent and opaque sheet; (2) distribute a mask embodying the mask work; (3) reproduce such work on material intended to be part of the semiconductor chip product; and (4) manufacture and distribute semiconductor chip products incorporating such masks. Sets forth limitations on such exclusive rights, including compulsory licensing, as specified. Sets the copyright term for masks at ten years from first authorized distribution, use, or manufacture. Excludes an innocent purchaser in good faith of a semiconductor chip product from infringement liability. Permits the impoundment and seizure of masks made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Consumer Video Sales Rental Amendment of 1983 - Prohibits the owner of a particular copy of a motion picture or other audiovisual work from renting, leasing, or lending such copy for commercial advantage unless authorized to do so by the copyright owner.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Home Recording Act of 1983 - Amends the copyright law to exempt from liability for infringement of copyright any individual who makes a single video recording of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, or a single audio recording of a musical work or sound recording, in his or her private home solely for private household use. Requires the compulsory licensing of manufacturers and importers of video and audio recording devices and media. Sets forth procedures for: (1) determining royalty fees to be paid by such manufacturers and importers; and (2) distributing such fees to the owners of copyright of audiovisual works included in television transmissions and musical works and sound recordings included in radio or television transmissions or distributed in the form of phonorecords. Provides for the determination of royalty fees by: (1) voluntary negotiation between importers and manufacturers and representatives of copyright owners; or (2) compulsory arbitration when a voluntary agreement is not reached. Specifies criteria to be considered by an arbitration board in determining royalty fees. Authorizes the Register of Copyrights to confirm fees determined under arbitration or, under specified circumstances, to deny such fees and initiate new arbitration proceedings. Provides for the judicial review of the Register's decision. Requires royalty fees to be redetermined every three years. Sets forth penalties for violations of the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1983
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that nothing in the Constitution shall be construed to prohibit prayer in public schools or institutions. States that no person shall be required by the United States or any State to participate in prayer.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit States and local governments to provide statements of tax refunds, credits, and offsets to individuals at any time during the calendar year for which such governments make a return, but not later than January 31 of the year following the year of the return. (Current law requires such statements to be furnished in January of the year following the year of the return.) Eliminates the requirement to furnish such statements with respect to any refunds, credits, or offsets made before January 1, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Insider Trading Sanctions Act of 1983 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to permit the Securities and Exchange Commission, whenever it appears that any person has traded in securities while in possession of material nonpublic information, to seek an order in a district court action requiring the violator, or anyone who aided and abetted the violation, to pay a civil penalty of up to three times the profit gained or loss avoided as a result of the unlawful transaction. Permits the Commission if such person fails to pay such penalty, to refer the matter to the Attorney General who may recover such penalty by action in the appropriate United States District Court. Increases from $10,000 to $100,000 the maximum criminal fine that may be imposed on persons, other than exchanges, who willfully violate the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Regulatory Procedure Act of 1982 - Title I: The Analysis, Management, and Organization of Agency Functions - Requires each executive agency and each independent regulatory agency to include in the notice of a proposed rule an explanation of the agency's determination as to whether the rule is a major rule. Directs each agency, before or upon publishing notice of a proposed rulemaking proceeding for a major rule, to issue statements concerning: (1) the need for the rule; (2) the reasonable alternative approaches; (3) regional differences; (4) the benefits, costs, and effectiveness of the proposed rule and alternatives; (5) the advantages and disadvantages of adopting performance standards rather than design standards; (6) the technical information the agency will rely on in making the rule; and (7) the statutory authority of the agency to regulate any areas previously regulated only by State law. Requires that each agency issue additional statements upon providing notice of the promulgation of a major rule, including an analysis of the extent to which benefits of the rule justify its costs and an explanation of the selection of the rule over less costly alternatives. Directs each agency to: (1) include in the notice of each proposed and final major rule, instructions on how the public may obtain copies of agency statements on such rule; (2) send a copy of all statements required at the notice and publication of a major rule to the President; and (3) include such statements and any technical information considered in the rulemaking file. Requires agencies to provide for oral presentations at informal public hearings as part of the rulemaking proceedings for major rules. Directs agencies to allow cross-examination of persons presenting information if necessary to resolve significant issues of fact. Directs agencies to regulate such public hearings so as to ensure orderly and expeditious proceedings. Allows an agency to delay completing the rulemaking requirements of this Act if it publishes a finding that complying with such requirements before making the rule would be impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. Requires an agency to complete such requirements as soon as practicable after promulgating the rule unless the rule will expire within two years. Sets forth provisions governing the judicial review of agency compliance with rulemaking and rule review requirements of this Act and the President's compliance with oversight requirements. Directs the President to: (1) establish procedures for agency implementation of the requirements of this title; (2) afford the public an opportunity to comment on such procedures before adoption; and (3) monitor, review, and comment on agency compliance with such requirements. Permits the Comptroller General to review agency compliance with this Act. Requires each agency to publish in the Federal Register, semiannually, a regulatory agenda containing a list of all rules the agency expects to propose, promulgate, repeal, modify, or review in the next year and specified information concerning such rules. Requires publication of the agendas of all agencies in a single issue of the Federal Register. Directs each agency to publish for public comment a proposed schedule for the review over a ten-year period of its existing major rules and other rules that may be added by the agency or the President. Directs each agency to publish its responses to public comments upon publishing the final schedule. Requires an agency to include with the publication of a major rule the date, within ten years, by which the rule must be reviewed. Requires agencies to review rules according to such schedule, excluding rules that are no longer considered to be major rules as of the review date. Directs each agency to: (1) publish a notice of the initiation of the review of a rule; (2) describe the costs, benefits, problems, and alternatives to the rule; (3) provide a period for public comment; and either (4) conduct a rulemaking proceeding to repeal or amend the rule; or (5) publish a justification of its decision to continue the rule. Permits the President to extend the review period to 15 years. Allows agencies to alter review schedules if the President agrees. Title II: Reorganizing and Improving Agency Proceedings - Amends the Administrative Procedure Act to eliminate the exemption of rules concerning loans, grants, and benefits from notice and comment rulemaking requirements. Requires that the notice of a proposed rulemaking include: (1) a statement of the objectives of the rule; (2) a statement that the agency seeks proposals from the public of alternative methods; and (3) a statement of where the file of the rulemaking proceeding may be inspected or how file copies may be obtained. Requires an agency to: (1) provide a period of at least 60 days after publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking for the public to submit comments on a proposed rule; and (2) include the agency's response to such comments in the statement published with the adopted rule. Prohibits an agency from relying on any material of central relevance in a rulemaking if the material is not included in the rulemaking file or the public has not had an opportunity to comment on the material. Directs each agency to maintain a public file on each rulemaking proceeding. Allows an agency to exclude from such file any material relied upon which is exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, if a statement of the basis for such exclusion is included. Requires a court reviewing an agency action: (1) not to accord any presumption in favor of or against agency action; (2) in determining questions of law other than statutory jurisdiction, to give the agency's interpretation such weight as it warrants considering the agency's authority under law; (3) in making determinations concerning statutory jurisdiction, to determine whether the action is within the agency's jurisdiction on the basis of the statutory language or other indications of legislative intent; and (4) in determining whether the adoption of a rule is in accordance with law, to consider whether there is substantial support in the rulemaking file for the agency's factual determinations. Declares that when proceedings for review of the same agency action are instituted in two or more courts of appeals within ten days, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall select, by a system of random selection, the court in which the record shall be filed. Authorizes the courts to postpone the effective date of the agency action as necessary to permit designation of the court of record. Prohibits agencies from paying expenses of persons participating or intervening in agency proceedings except as specifically authorized by statute. Requires each agency to submit a copy of each newly promulgated rule (with specified exceptions) to each House of Congress. Prohibits the rule from taking effect if: (1) either House adopts a resolution disapproving it within 60 legislative days after the date the rule is submitted; and (2) the other House does not disagree to such resolution within 65 legislative days after such date. Provides that a rule shall take effect the day after either House disagrees to a resolution disapproving it within such periods. Prohibits an agency from promulgating a new rule identical to a disapproved rule unless a statute is enacted that affects the agency's authority over the subject matter. Authorizes either House to adopt a resolution directing an agency to reconsider an existing rule. Requires an agency to respond to such a resolution by: (1) publishing a notice that the agency reviewed the rule and found that no action is necessary; or (2) initiating appropriate rulemaking proceedings concerning the rule. Provides that a rule which was excluded from congressional review when promulgated must be subjected to congressional review if Congress adopts a resolution for reconsideration of such rule. Exempts rules promulgated pursuant to resolutions of reconsideration from certain rulemaking requirements for major rules under title I of this Act. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for considering such resolutions of disapproval or reconsideration. Amends the rules of the House to establish a Regulatory Review Calendar to which all such resolutions shall be referred. Terminates the force and effect of any existing law governing procedures for the congressional review of agency rules with respect to rules promulgated after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Hobbs Act Amendment of 1983 - Amends the Hobbs Act to establish penalties for obstructing, affecting, or interfering with commerce by willfully injuring, damaging, burning, or destroying to the value of $2,000 or more any real or personal property of any person at or near any place where work or business of an employer or owner is carried on or where such employer or owner transports, stores, or maintains property for business or other purposes. States that such violation, as well as the offense of interfering with commerce by extortion, shall not be nullified or mitigated even if committed in the course of a legitimate labor dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare, for distribution to taxpayers, brief but comprehensive statements which set forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of taxpayers during an audit; (2) the procedures which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may use in enforcing revenue laws; and (3) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal adverse decisions, prosecute refund claims, and file taxpayer complaints. Requires a copy of such statement to accompany any tax forms sent to taxpayers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe criminal penalties for: (1) any investigation by employees of the United States in connection with Federal tax laws which inquires into the beliefs, associations, or activities of any individual or organization which are not directly related to such tax laws; or (2) the maintenance of any records containing information derived from such an investigation. Creates a civil cause of action for any taxpayer aggrieved by a prohibited investigation or by the deprivation of any civil rights. Permits the award of a judgment of costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, to a prevailing taxpayer in any proceeding before the Tax Court. Requires the IRS, upon a taxpayer's request, to conduct any interview regarding a deficiency assessment in the taxpayer's residence or place of business, at a reasonable time convenient to the taxpayer. Requires the officer or employee conducting such interview to warn the taxpayer that: (1) he has a right to remain silent; (2) any statement he makes may be used against him; and (3) he has the right to the presence of an attorney. Exempts certain income producing property from levy for nonpayment of taxes. Makes binding on the Secretary: (1) a tax return prepared for the taxpayer by an officer or employee of the IRS acting in his official capacity to provide such assistance; and (2) information or advice given to the taxpayer by such an officer or employee acting in his official capacity. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to establish, and to report annually to Congress on, a program to provide for a continuing audit and investigation of the efficiency, uniformity, and equity of the administration of the internal revenue laws of the United States. Places the burden of proof, in administrative and judicial proceedings involving the IRS and a taxpayer, upon the IRS. Directs that all property of taxpayers, for purposes of the estate and gift tax, be valued at historical cost (original cost to the taxpayer or the basis of the property if it was not purchased). Prohibits the use in IRS personnel evaluations of amounts collected pursuant to audits or investigations. Requires the annual audit of the tax returns of IRS revenue agents and tax auditors. Requires a court order before property of a taxpayer may be levied upon for the collection of tax.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from ten to 20 percent the investment tax credit for the purchase of American-made automobiles and certain light-duty trucks. Provides that such tax credit shall not be recaptured for vehicles sold after the second full year of use.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Taxpayer Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to subject the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in the collection of taxes, to provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act regarding communication and harassment in connection with debt collection. Prohibits the publication of any tax deficiency which has not been adjudged to be payable by a competent court. Permits individual taxpayers to bring a civil action in a U.S. district court for damages resulting from collection practices prohibited by this Act. Requires a Federal court order before property of a taxpayer may be levied upon for the collection of tax. Specifies that a showing of fraud or malfeasance or a misrepresentation, for purposes of modifying or reconsidering a closing agreement between an individual taxpayer and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be taken into account only if such a showing or misrepresentation is determined by a competent court. Prohibits the Secretary from consenting to extend for more than one year the period for assessment of the income tax liability of any individual taxpayer. Requires the Secretary to prepare, for distribution to taxpayers, brief but comprehensive statements which set forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of taxpayers during an audit; (2) the procedures which the IRS may use in enforcing revenue laws; and (3) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal adverse decisions, prosecute refund claims, and file taxpayer complaints. Requires a copy of such statement to accompany any tax forms sent to taxpayers. Prescribes criminal penalties for: (1) any investigation by employees of the United States in connection with Federal tax laws which inquires into the beliefs, associations, or activities of any individual or organization; or (2) the maintenance of any records containing information derived from such an investigation. Creates a civil cause of action for any taxpayer aggrieved by a prohibited investigation or by the deprivation of any civil rights. Permits the award of a judgment of costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, to a prevailing taxpayer in any proceeding before the Tax Court. Makes binding on the Secretary : (1) a tax return prepared for the taxpayer by an officer or employee of the IRS acting in his official capacity to provide such assistance; and (2) written information or advice given to the taxpayer by such an officer or employee acting in his official capacity. Places the burden of proof, in administrative and judicial proceedings involving the IRS and a taxpayer, upon the IRS. Directs that all property of taxpayers, for purposes of the estate and gift tax, be valued at historical cost (original cost to the taxpayer or the basis of the property if it was not purchased). Prohibits the use in IRS personnel evaluations of amounts collected pursuant to audits or investigations. Precludes the Secretary from exercising any enforcement authority over churches or certain other organizations. Prohibits the audit of any group of taxpayers unless the Secretary has first met certain notice requirements or permitted members of the group to file an amended return. Sets forth conditions which must be met by the IRS before any action is taken to interfere with the property rights of a taxpayer. Requires the IRS, before securing the records of or personal data concerning any taxpayer, to: (1) notify the taxpayer in writing of the demand, the material sought, and the need for the material; (2) have commenced an action in a competent court against the taxpayer; and (3) have justified its need before the court consistent with the discovery rules of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. States that the IRS shall have no authority, in enforcing the tax obligations of any person, which conflicts with rights and privileges granted under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 1982
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 10 percent to 20 percent the investment tax credit for the purchase of American-made automobiles and certain light-duty trucks. Provides that such tax credit shall not be recaptured by reason of any disposition of a qualified vehicle after the second full year of use.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1982
Federal Anti-Tampering Act - Amends the Federal Criminal Code to make it a Federal offense to maliciously cause bodily injury or death to any person by tampering with any article, product, or commodity which is produced or distributed for human use or consumption. Provides for a prison term of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $20,000 if personal injury results, or a prison term of up to life if death results.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1982
Comprehensive Victim and Witness Protection and Assistance Act of 1982 - Amends rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to require that presentence reports contain: (1) information concerning any harm or loss suffered by the victim; (2) information that may aid the court in sentencing; (3) a statement of the circumstances of the commission of the offense; and (4) any prior criminal record of the defendant. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish as offenses "tampering with a witness or an informant" and "retaliating against a witness or an informant." Authorizes the Attorney General to initiate civil proceedings to restrain any harassment of a victim or witness. Authorizes a sentencing court to order the defendant to make restitution. Requires the court to state for the record the reasons for not ordering restitution. Prescribes a procedure for the issuance of restitution orders. Directs the Attorney General to develop Federal guidelines for the fair treatment of crime victims and witnesses. Requires the Attorney General to consider certain objectives in preparing the guidelines, including: (1) ensuring that victims receive prompt social and medical services; (2) giving victims and witnesses notice of important criminal justice proceedings and scheduling changes; (3) arranging for the prosecution to obtain the nonbinding views of victims of serious crimes during such stages as plea bargaining and pretrial release; (4) encouraging employers to continue to pay victims and witnesses for work absences to assist investigations and prosecutions; (5) training law enforcement personnel in victim assistance; and (6) informing victims or witnesses on legal steps for protection from intimidation. Directs the Attorney General to recommend to Congress any laws that are necessary to ensure that no Federal felon derives any profit from the sale of his or her story until any victim of the offense receives restitution. Amends the Bail Reform Act of 1966 to require as a condition of pretrial release that the defendant not commit certain offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1982
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 - Title I: Disposal and Storage of High-Level Radioactive Waste, Spent Nuclear Fuel, and Low-Level Radioactive Waste - Provides that titles I and III of this Act shall not apply to atomic energy defense activities or to facilities connected with such activities. Requires that within two years after enactment of this Act the President shall evaluate the use of repositories to be developed under subtitle A of this Act for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste resulting from atomic energy defense activities and shall arrange for such use, unless the President finds that the development of a repository exclusively for waste from atomic energy defense activities is required. Subjects such a repository to licensing requirements and to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements for the establishment of repositories. Provides that this Act shall apply to repositories not used exclusively for high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel from: (1) atomic energy defense activities; (2) research and development activities of the Secretary of Energy; or (3) both. Requires the Secretary to notify the State in which, or the Indian tribe on whose reservation, a repository for high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel from atomic energy defense activities or from research and development activities of the Secretary is proposed to be located. Entitles the State or Indian tribe involved to rights of participation and consultation with respect to the development of such a repository. Subtitle A: Repositories for Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel - Requires the Secretary, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, to issue general guidelines for the recommendation of repository sites. Sets forth the contents of such guidelines. Requires the Secretary, following the issuance of the guidelines and consultation with affected States, to recommend to the President at least five candidate sites in at least two different geologic media which are suitable for site characterization for repositories for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Requires the Secretary to recommend at least one additional candidate site by February 1, 1985. Requires that each candidate site recommendation be accompanied by an environmental assessment and a basis for the recommendation. Directs the Secretary to notify the Governor of the State in which a candidate site is located or the Indian tribe on whose reservation a candidate site is located. Requires the Secretary to hold public hearings to inform the residents of the area in which a candidate site is located of the proposed recommendation and to receive their comments before making such recommendation to the President. Requires the President to: (1) review each candidate site recommendation; (2) either approve or disapprove the recommendation within 60 days; and (3) transmit such decision to the Secretary and to the appropriate Governor or Indian tribe. Provides that the President's failure to approve or disapprove a candidate site within the 60-day period or to invoke authority to delay the determination shall be considered an approval. Provides that this Act shall not prohibit the Secretary from continuing ongoing or presently planned site characterization at Department of Energy sites for which the location of the principal borehole was approved by August 1, 1982, provided that an environmental assessment is prepared and made available to the public before shafts are sunken at any such site. Prohibits the continuation of site characterization at any such site unless such site is recommended as a candidate site and approved by the President. Requires the Secretary to carry out site characterization activities at each candidate site approved by the President. Requires the Secretary to submit to the NRC and to either the State in which a candidate site is located or the Indian tribe on whose reservation such a site is located for review, before beginning site characterization activities: (1) a general plan for site characterization activities; (2) a description of the possible packaging for the high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel to be emplaced in the repository; and (3) a conceptual repository design that takes into account likely site-specific requirements. Directs the Secretary to make the required site characterization plan available to the public and to hold public hearings on it. Provides for the Secretary to report periodically to the NRC and to the appropriate State or Indian tribe during the conduct of the site characterization activities. Restricts the Secretary's use of radioactive materials during site characterization activities. Requires the Secretary to notify the appropriate State or Indian tribe of a decision to recommend approval of a candidate site upon completion of the public hearings and of the site characterization activities. Authorizes the Secretary to submit such recommendation to the President 30 days or more after such notification. Sets forth procedural requirements with respect to such recommendation. Directs the President to recommend to Congress by March 31, 1987, a site qualified for repository construction. Permits a 12-month extension of the deadline for such recommendation if, before March 31, 1986, the President: (1) decides it is necessary; and (2) sends a report to Congress stating the reasons for the extension. Requires recommendation of another site for a repository if Congress disapproves the President's first recommendation. Directs the Secretary to submit a construction license application for a repository to the NRC and to the appropriate State or Indian tribe if the President's site recommendation becomes effective. Requires the NRC to submit to Congress a status report on such application within one year after its submission by the Secretary and annually thereafter until the construction authorization is granted. Requires that the NRC issue a final decision on such an application by January 1, 1989, or three years after an application is submitted (plus any authorized extension under this Act), whichever occurs later. Directs the Secretary to prepare and update a project decision schedule showing the optimum way to attain the operation of the repository within the time periods specified in this subtitle. Sets forth procedural requirements for Federal agencies which cannot, or fail to, comply with deadlines in the project decision schedule. Requires that a final environmental impact statement accompany any recommendation by the Secretary for site approval by the President. Requires that the environmental impact statement be adopted by the NRC in connection with the issuance of the construction authorization and license for such repository. Makes a site designation effective 60 days after the President recommends such site to Congress, unless the affected Governor or Indian tribe submits to Congress a notice of disapproval of the site designation. Provides that if a notice of disapproval is submitted, a site designation shall not be effective unless Congress passes a resolution of repository siting approval. Authorizes the affected Governor or Indian tribe to submit to Congress a notice of disapproval within 60 days after the President submits a site recommendation to Congress. Directs the Secretary to make grants to each State in which a candidate site for a repository is approved under this Act and to each Indian tribe on whose reservation such a site is approved under this Act, to enable such States and Indian tribes to: (1) determine the potential economic, social, public health and safety, and environmental impacts of the repository; (2) develop a request for impact assistance; (3) monitor, test, evaluate, or research the site characterization programs; (4) provide their residents with information on site characterization activities; and (5) request information from, and make recommendations to, the Secretary with respect to activities under this Act. Limits such grants to 90 percent of the costs incurred by a State and to 100 percent of the costs incurred by an Indian tribe with respect to such activities. Requires the Secretary to provide financial and technical impact assistance, upon request, to any State in which, or to any Indian tribe on whose reservation, there is a site for which the NRC has authorized repository construction. Sets forth reporting requirements with which a State or Indian tribe seeking such assistance must comply. Requires the Secretary to make additional grants to States and local governments in areas where a repository site is approved and to Indian tribes on whose reservation a repository site is approved. Requires that such grants be equal to amounts the States, local governments, and Indian tribes would receive if they were authorized to tax site characterization activities and the development and operation of the repository. Provides for the payment of such grants each fiscal year until such activities, development, and operation are terminated at the site concerned. Sets forth time periods after which Federal grants and impact assistance to States and Indian tribes shall not be available. Provides that such Federal assistance shall be paid out of the Nuclear Waste Fund established by this Act. Requires the Secretary to notify the Governor of the State in which is located an Indian reservation on which a repository site is designated whenever the Secretary is required by this Act to notify or consult with the Indian tribe concerned. Requires that information with respect to the siting, establishment, and operation of a repository be provided upon written request to the appropriate State or Indian tribe. Directs the Secretary to consult and cooperate with the Governors of affected States and with affected Indian tribes to resolve State and tribal concerns regarding the public health and safety, environmental, and economic impacts of any repository. Requires the Secretary to enter into binding written agreements with affected States and Indian tribes under which such information shall be provided and such consultation and cooperation shall be carried out. Sets forth requirements with respect to judicial review of agency actions pursuant to this subtitle. Provides for expedited issuance (to the extent permitted by law) of Federal authorizations required under this subtitle with respect to the characterization of a site or the construction or initial operation of a repository. Exempts NRC authorizations from such requirements. Requires the promulgation of: (1) Environmental Protection Agency standards for the protection of the general environment from offsite releases from radioactive material in repositories; and (2) NRC technical requirements and criteria for reviewing applications for repository construction authorizations, repository operating licenses, and repository closure and decommissioning authorizations. Requires repositories constructed on sites approved under this Act to be designed to permit the retrieval of spent nuclear fuel placed in them. Provides that delivery, and acceptance by the Secretary, of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel at a repository constructed under this Act shall constitute a transfer of title to the waste or spent fuel. Requires the Secretary to give full consideration to the effect of any acquisition of water rights required by the establishment of a repository. Terminates the authority under this subtitle with respect to judicial review and expedited authorizations at the time a repository developed under this subtitle is licensed to receive and possess high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Subtitle B: Interim Storage Program - Directs the Secretary, the NRC, and other Federal officials to encourage and expedite the effective use of available storage and necessary additional storage at civilian nuclear reactor sites. Requires the NRC to establish procedures for licensing technology approved by the NRC for use at civilian nuclear reactor sites. Sets forth the procedural rules which shall govern NRC hearings on applications for licenses or license amendments, filed after the enactment of this Act, to expand spent nuclear fuel storage capacity at civilian nuclear reactor sites. Directs the Secretary to provide up to 1700 metric tons of storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear reactors. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with an owner or generator of spent nuclear fuel to provide storage capacity for the spent fuel if: (1) adequate storage capacity cannot be provided at the nuclear reactor site where the spent fuel is being generated or at any other nuclear reactor site owned by such person; and (2) such person is pursuing licensed alternatives to Federal storage capacity. Authorizes the Secretary to provide up to 100 metric tons of storage capacity for foreign spent nuclear fuel that the United States is required to accept pursuant to international arrangements relating to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Authorizes the Secretary to provide an aggregate of up to 200 metric tons of additional storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear reactors and for foreign spent nuclear fuel. Provides that the provision of 300 or more metric tons of storage capacity at any one Federal site shall require the preparation of an environmental impact statement. Requires the Secretary to prepare and publish: (1) an environmental assessment of the probable impacts of the provision of less than 300 metric tons of storage capacity at a Federal site that requires the modification or expansion of any facility at the site; and (2) a discussion of the actions that can be undertaken to avoid such impacts. Makes such an assessment subject to judicial review. Requires the Secretary to notify the appropriate State or Indian tribe if 300 or more metric tons of storage capacity are to be provided at any Federal site. Authorizes the State or Indian tribe to submit to Congress a notice of disapproval, with respect to the provision of such storage capacity, within 60 days after being notified by the Secretary. Provides that if such a notice of disapproval is submitted to Congress, the proposed provision of 300 or more metric tons of storage capacity at the site involved shall be disapproved unless Congress passes a resolution approving it. Requires the removal of spent nuclear fuel stored under the interim storage program as soon as practicable after a repository developed under this Act becomes available. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on plans to provide storage capacity under this Act. Requires the NRC to establish procedures and criteria for determining the adequacy of spent nuclear fuel storage capacity available to owners or generators of spent nuclear fuel. Provides that the Secretary's acceptance of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste shall not constitute a transfer of title to such fuel or waste. Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a report establishing fees, calculated annually, for storage of spent nuclear fuel. Requires persons entering into storage contracts with the Secretary to pay a pro-rated portion of the storage costs involved. Prohibits the storage of spent nuclear fuel generated or owned by a Federal agency in storage capacity provided under this Act, unless the agency transfers to the Secretary an amount equal to the fees required of any party to a storage contract. Establishes in the Treasury the Interim Storage Fund which shall consist of: (1) receipts from storage contracts; (2) appropriations made by Congress to the fund; and (3) any unexpended balances available on the enactment of this Act for functions or activities related to the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. Authorizes the Secretary to use the fund to cover the costs of the interim storage program, including: (1) the development, licensing, operation, and decommissioning of interim storage facilities; (2) administrative costs; and (3) design, operation, and construction costs of interim facilities. Subtitle C: Monitored Retrievable Storage - Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a proposal for Federal construction of one or more monitored retrievable storage facilities for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Requires that an environment assessment accompany such proposal. Subjects any facility authorized pursuant to this subtitle to licensing by the NRC. Limits the issues which the NRC may consider in reviewing the first licensing application filed by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to make annual impact aid payments from the Interim Storage Fund to the appropriate local governments upon receipt of congressional authorization to construct such a facility. Permits the development in any State of either a repository or a monitored retrievable storage facility, but not both. Subtitle D: Low-Level Radioactive Waste - Requires the NRC to ensure that licensees providing for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste provide adequate financial arrangements to permit disposal site closure and reclamation of sites, structures, and equipment. Authorizes the Secretary to assume title and custody of low-level radioactive waste and the disposal site, upon the owner's request and after termination of the disposal license, if: (1) the NRC's requirements for site closure, decommissioning, and decontamination have been met by the licensee involved; (2) such title and custody will be transferred to the Secretary without cost to the Government; and (3) Federal ownership and management of the site will protect the public health and safety and the environment. Title II: Research, Development, and Demonstration Regarding Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel - Requires the Secretary, within six months after enactment of this Act, to issue general guidelines for the selection of a site for a test and evaluation facility. Requires the Secretary, within one year after enactment of this Act and following promulgation of such guidelines, to identify three or more sites, at least two of which shall be in different geologic media and at least one of which shall be in media other than salt. Provides that the Secretary shall give preference to sites in media that retard aqueous transport of radionuclides. Requires that all sites so identified be more than 15 statute miles from towns with populations of more than 1,000, unless sites contained high-level radioactive waste prior to identification. Requires that each site identification be supported by an environmental assessment. Directs the Secretary to notify the appropriate State or Indian tribe when a site has been identified. Permits the identification of other sites beyond the one-year period. Requires the Secretary to select a site for expanded siting research activities within 30 months after the Secretary has completed site identifications. Directs the Secretary to hold at least one public meeting in the vicinity of identified sites to discuss the activities to be conducted and receive residents' views within six months after site identifications are completed and before siting research activities are begun. Restricts the Secretary's use of radioactive materials during siting research activities. Authorizes the Secretary to take title to the high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, and other radioactive material emplaced in a test and evaluation facility. Grants a State or Indian tribe notified of a test and evaluation facility site identification affecting it the right to participate in a process of consultation and cooperation from the time of such identification throughout the life of the facility. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into written agreements with such a State or Indian tribe to expedite the consultation and cooperation process. Requires Federal agency cooperation in the preparation of necessary reports and the mission plan required by this Act. Requires the Secretary to begin construction of a test and evaluation facility within 64 months of the enactment of this Act to carry out research and provide a demonstration of the technology for geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nulcear fuel. Sets forth the design requirements for such facilities. Requires the Secretary to begin an in situ testing program at such facility within 88 months after enactment of this Act. Provides for the use of existing Department facilities for conducting generically applicable tests with respect to packaging, handling, and emplacement technology for solidified high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear activities. Requires the NRC to carry out a continuing review and analysis of the activities under this title to evaluate the public health and safety impacts of the test and evaluation facility. Directs the NRC to report to the President, the Secretary, and Congress on such activities. Requires the Secretary to prepare an environmental impact statement before conducting tests with radioactive materials at the test and evaluation facility. Requires the NRC to concur in the decontamination and decommissioning of the facility if it is not located at a repository site. Limits the in situ testing program if the faciltiy is not located at a candidate or repository site. Sets forth the termination date for the facility. Requires the Secretary to remove radioactive material from the facility site as soon as the facility is found to be unsuitable for continued operations. Provides for the Secretary to establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with the private sector, for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian nuclear reactor sites. Directs the Secretary to undertake also a cooperative program with civilian nuclear reactors to encourage the development of technology for spent nuclear fuel rod consolidation in existing reactor water storage basins. Requires the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the utilities involved to carry out such programs. Authorizes the establishment of a research and development program for the dry storage of up to 300 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel at Federal facilities. Requires the Secretary to provide spent nuclear fuel for such program from spent nuclear fuel received by the Secretary for storage under subtitle B of this Act. Limits the Federal contribution to the demonstration program to 25 percent of the total costs. Requires the remaining program costs to be covered by the utilities involved or by the Secretary from the Interim Storage Fund. Restricts the use of Department research, development, or demonstration facilities under this title without congressional authorization. Requires the Secretary to pay 75 percent of the costs incurred by a State or Indian tribe which engages in any activity pursuant to a consultation and cooperation agreement with respect to the test and evaluation facility. Requires a State receiving such payment to pay at least one-tenth of such amount to the local governments within the jurisdictional boundaries of which the site involved is located. Provides for the Secretary to report to Congress on the research and development activities necessary to develop the proposal for monitored retrievable storage facilities. Title III: Other Provisions Relating to Radioactive Waste - Requires the Secretary to prepare a mission plan which shall provide an informational basis for carrying out the repository program and the research, development, and demonstration program required under this Act. Requires that the mission plan include scientific, technical, and economic information with respect to repository siting and construction, the test and evaluation facility, and solidification and packaging of high-level radioactive waste spent nuclear fuel. Directs the Secretary to submit a draft mission plan to the States, Indian tribes, the NRC, and other appropriate Government agencies for their comments. Provides for the Secretary to submit the mission plan to the appropriate congressional committees after reviewing any comments received and revising the plan as necessary. Requires that the plan be used at the end of the 30-day period following Congress' receipt of the plan. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress annually on the progress made toward implementation of the plan. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel of domestic origin with owners or generators of such waste and spent fuel. Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a report establishing payment charges per unit of such waste and spent fuel to be calculated annually. Provides that persons entering into disposal contracts with the Secretary and any other persons desiring to dispose of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in repositories developed under this Act shall pay a ratable portion of the disposal costs involved. Prohibits the NRC from issuing or renewing a license for an individual to use a utilization or production facility unless such individual has entered into, or is negotiating with the Secretary for, a disposal contract. Prohibits the disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste by the Secretary in any repository constructed under this Act, unless the owner or generator of such spent fuel or waste has entered into a disposal contract by a specified date. Permits the assignment of the rights and duties of a party to a disposal contract with transfer of title to the spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste involved. Prohibits the disposal of any high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel generated or owned by a Federal agency in a repository constructed under this Act, unless the agency transfers to the Secretary for deposit in the Nuclear Waste Fund an amount equal to the fees required of any party to a disposal contract. Establishes in the Treasury a Nuclear Waste Fund which shall consist of: (1) receipts from disposal contracts; (2) appropriations made by Congress to the fund; and (3) any unexpended balances available on the enactment of this Act for functions or activities related to high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel disposal. Limits the use of the fund to radioactive waste disposal activities under this subtitle. Directs the Secretary to study, and report to Congress on, alternative approaches to managing the construction and operation of all civilian radioactive waste management facilities. Requires the Secretary to make available Federal storage facilities for transuranic waste from decommissioning and decontamination of civilian nuclear facilities and from civilian fuel research and development programs. Authorizes the Secretary to take title to such waste upon receipt. Directs the Secretary to require generators and owners of transuranic waste to enter into contracts providing that they will pay an estimated pro rata share of the costs of disposal in a repository or other facility, in addition to the storage fee. Requires the Secretary to remove the transuranic waste from the storage facilities as soon as practicable after a repository or other facility becomes available. Prohibits the Secretary from accepting title to transuranic waste or accepting additional transuranic waste for disposal two years or more after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from providing storage for transuranic waste on the date on which a repository or other facility becomes available for transuranic waste disposal or six years after the NRC issues final regulations establishing criteria for the licensing of civilian transuranic waste disposal facilities, whichever date occurs first. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to Congress on: (1) the amount of transuranic waste eligible for storage under this Act through December 31, 2000; (2) the amount of private storage capacity available for such waste; (3) the availability of Federal storage capacity for such waste; and (4) the Secretary's plan for disposal of the waste to which title is accepted by the Secretary. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue standards and the NRC to issue final regulations establishing criteria for the licensing of civilian transuranic waste disposal facilities within two years after enactment of this Act. Establishes within the Department of Energy an Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management to carry out the functions of the Secretary under this Act. Requires the Director of the Office to report annually to Congress on the activities and expenditures of the Office. Requires the Comptroller General to make an annual audit of the Office and report the results to Congress. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on whether the test and evaluation facility will be located at a repository site. Requires that site selection and development of the facility be conducted according to the requirements of title I of this Act relating to repository site selection and development if the facility is to be located at a repository site. Prohibits the Secretary from commencing construction of any test and evaluation facility at such a site until the NRC has issued a repository construction authorization for the site involved and the site designation is effective. Prohibits the conversion of a test and evaluation facility into a repository, unless site selection and development of the facility complied with the requirements of title I of this Act relating to repository site selection and development.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1982
Telecommunications for the Disabled Act of 1982 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish regulations to ensure reasonable access to telephone service by persons with impaired hearing. Directs the FCC to require that essential telephones provide internal means for effective use with specially designed hearing aids. Defines "essential telephones" to mean only coin operated telephones, emergency telephones, and other telephones frequently needed by persons using hearing aids. Directs the FCC to establish the necessary technical standards. Directs the FCC to establish the labeling requirements necessary to provide consumers with adequate information on the compatibility between telephones and hearing aids. Directs the FCC, in rulemaking decisions, to consider the costs and benefits to all telephone users, with and without hearing impairments. Directs the FCC to ensure that regulations adopted to implement this Act do not impair development of improved technology. Requires the rules and regulations required by this Act to be completed within one year after enactment. Directs the FCC to review such rules and regulations periodically. Permits common carriers or connecting carriers to provide specialized terminal equipment needed by persons with hearing, speech, vision, or mobility impairments. Permits such carriers to recover in their tariffs for regulated service the costs for such equipment not charged to users of the equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1982
Urges the President to declassify and publicize to the American people existing intelligence information on the military threat to the United States and its allies posed by the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1982
Criminal Justice Reform Act of 1982 - Title I: Offenders with Mental Disease or Defect - Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1982 - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it a defense to a Federal prosecution that at the time of the offense the defendant, as a result of mental disease or defect, lacked the state of mind required as an element of the offense charged. Requires the court to hold a hearing to determine the present mental condition of the defendant. Directs the court to commit such person to the custody of the Attorney General upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect, rendering him mentally incompetent. Directs the Attorney General to hospitalize such person in a suitable facility. Provides that when the defendant has recovered and is able to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him, the court will order his release and set a date for trial. Authorizes a special verdict of "not guilty only by reason of insanity" for any criminal defendant who raises the issue of insanity by notice as provided by Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Provides for the hospitalization of persons found not guilty only by reason of insanity, convicted persons, imprisoned persons, and persons due for release who are found to suffer from mental disease or defect. Allows for discharge when such person is found to have recovered. Requires reimprisonment of any such person for whom a term of prison sentence has not yet expired. Title II Application of the Exclusionary Rule - Exclusionary Rule Application Act of 1982 - Allows evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure to be admissible if the search or seizure was undertaken in a reasonable good faith belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment to the Constitution. Title III: Federal Intervention in State Criminal Proceedings - Federal Intervention Reform Act of 1982 - Conditions consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a State prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the Federal right violated and that : (1) state action precluded assertion of the right; (2) the Federal right did not previously exist; or (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered by reasonable diligence. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 1982
Title I: Federal Tort Claims Amendments - Amends the Federal Tort Claims Act to make a tort claim resulting from a Government employee's negligent act which was within the scope of the employee's office or employment exclusive of any other civil action arising out of the same subject matter. Requires the substitution of the United States as the party defendant upon certification by the Attorney General that the defendant employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment. Makes such certification binding and conclusive. Amends definitions to make such Act applicable to the following agencies and their employees: (1) the Senate; (2) the House of Representatives; (3) U.S. courts; and (4) any agency of the judicial branch. Title II: Constitutional Torts - Provides that the district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions on claims for money damages based on constitutional torts. Establishes a constitutional tort remedy against the United States for an act of a Government employee which the Attorney General certifies was within the scope of such employee's office or employment. Limits recovery to the greater of either: (1) actual damages; or (2) liquidated damages in an amount which is the greater of $2,000 or, in the case of a continuing violation, $200 per day for each violation. Provides that if the conduct giving rise to the tort was done with the malicious intention to cause the deprivation of constitutional rights or with reckless disregard of the plaintiff's constitutional rights, damages shall not be more than $100,000. Authorizes the United States to assert as a defense to a constitutional tort the absolute or qualified immunity of the Government employee, or his or her reasonable good faith belief that his or her conduct was lawful. Requires a claimant before suing the United States for money damages based on a constitutional tort to have first presented the claim to the appropriate Federal agency. Permits either party to request a jury trial. Permits the Attorney General to settle or compromise a constitutional tort claim. Authorizes the award of attorney's fees to a successful claimant. Makes the remedy against the United States provided by the Federal Torts Claims Act and this Act for claims for money damages based on constitutional torts exclusive of any other civil action. Directs the Attorney General, where an action results in a judgment against the United States, to forward the matter to the employing agency for further investigation or disciplinary action. Exempts from tort claims: (1) the Tennessee Valley Authority; (2) the Panama Canal Commission; (3) Federal land banks; (4) Federal intermediate credit banks; and (5) banks for cooperatives. Makes technical and conforming amendments. Title III: Amendments to Other Laws; Applicability of Act - Makes conforming amendments relative to medical malpractice provisions concerning Federal health professionals. Makes additional technical amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1982
Diversity Jurisdiction Reform Act of 1981 - Abolishes diversity of citizenship as a basis of jurisdiction of Federal district courts, but retains as a basis of jurisdiction "alienage," involving foreign states or citizens of foreign states. Increases the amount in controversy requirement in such cases from $10,000 to $25,000. Retains as a basis for Federal jurisdiction statutory interpleader, which includes actions between citizens of different States. Permits venue for a Federal civil action in any judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or in which a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated.
![Official portrait of Rep. Moorhead, Carlos J. [R-CA-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000926_200.jpg)