United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1996
Fair Trade Practices Act of 1996 - Directs the President to report annually to the Congress the identities of: (1) foreign persons and concerns that engage in certain foreign corrupt trade practices; and (2) foreign countries that do not have in effect or do not enforce laws similar to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. Authorizes the President to impose specified sanctions upon countries that are not making a good faith effort to enact or enforce such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1996
Pharmaceutical Equity Act of 1996 - Extends for a two-year period the term of any patent in force on September 24, 1984, and on this Act's effective date, that claims a drug product or a method of using or manufacturing it from the product's expiration date if: (1) an exemption became effective for the drug product before September 24, 1984; (2) the regulatory review period for such product exceeded 120 months or 60 months, as appropriate. Provides that during such extensions, the rights in the extended patents shall be the same as those that existed before their expirations, thereby guarding against patent infringements during the extensions. Requires: (1) the patentee to notify the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks of such patent extended number; and (2) the Commissioner to confirm the patent extension by placing a notice thereof in the official file of the patent and to publish an appropriate notice in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
DOE Reports Elimination and Streamlining Act of 1996 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to repeal reporting and study requirements with respect to: (1) process-oriented industrial energy efficiency; (2) industrial insulation and audit guidelines; (3) vibration reduction technologies; (4) potential financial investments by electric utilities in electric batteries for motor vehicle; (5) the National Advanced Material Program Plan; and (6) the Alaska Federal- Civilian Energy Efficiency Swap Act of 1980. Changes the frequency of the report on the status of advanced coal-based technologies from biennial to once in six years, and that of the report on the electric motor vehicle comprehensive plan from annual to biennial. Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal provisos regarding the use of a concurrent resolution of the Congress (legislative veto) and related reports with respect to foreign distribution of special nuclear material. Amends the Continental Scientific Drilling and Exploration Act to change the current annual report on the scientific drilling program to a periodic joint report to the Congress by specified Federal agencies. Amends the Steel and Aluminum Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988, and the DOE Metal Casting Competitiveness Research Act of 1990, to require incorporation of the annual report on steel and aluminum and metal casting research and development activities in the President's annual budget submission. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to convert the National Energy Policy Plan from a biennial report to a quadrennial report. Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the Energy Security Act to repeal authorizations for the Office of Subseabed Disposal Research, and the Office of Alcohol Fuels, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
National Motor Vehicle Safety, Antitheft, Title Reform, and Consumer Protection Act of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to require States, in licensing a passenger motor vehicle whose ownership has been transferred, to disclose on the certificate of title whenever records indicate that such vehicle was previously issued a title that contained a term or symbol signifying that it was "salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or that it has been damaged by flood. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring each State in licensing such vehicles to apply specified uniform standards, procedures, and methods for the issuance and control of motor vehicle titles and for information to be contained on such titles. Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly and willfully to: (1) make false statements on an application for a motor vehicle title; (2) fail to apply for a salvage title when such application is required; (3) alter, forge, or counterfeit a certificate of title, a nonrepairable vehicle certificate, a certificate verifying an anti-theft inspection or an anti-theft and safety inspection, or a required decal affixed to a passenger motor vehicle; (4) falsify the results of an inspection; (5) offer to sell any salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle as a rebuilt salvage vehicle; or (6) conspire to commit any of these acts. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Amends the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire specified property, including property that contains the Big Oak Island archaeological site, to be added to the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge. Renames the Refuge the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Commends Operation Sail and encourages its continuation into the next millennium. Encourages all individuals to join in the celebration of the 224th birthday of the United States of America and the international camaraderie that Operation Sail and the International Naval Review will foster.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
Commission on Retirement Income Policy Act of 1996 - Establishes the Commission on Retirement Income Policy to study and report to the President and Congress on: (1) trends in retirement savings in the United States; (2) existing Federal incentives and programs to encourage and protect such savings; and (3) new Federal incentives and programs needed for such purpose. Requires the Commission to address specified issues and to include in its recommendation measures addressing specified needs of future retirees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1996
Customs Enforcement and Market Access Act of 1996 - Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), whenever the United States negotiates a protocol for accession of a country to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to negotiate for inclusion in that protocol: (1) provisions for effective market access to that country's domestic markets for U.S. textile and apparel products; and (2) provisions allowing the suspension or revocation of paragraph 14 (relating to increasing import levels based on growth rates) of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, if the country has failed to enforce such market access provisions. Requires negotiation of bilateral agreements containing similar provisions with countries that are not WTO members. (Sec. 3) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the USTR to identify annually, report to the Congress, and publish in the Federal Register the names of priority foreign countries that deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons producing or selling textile or apparel products. (Sec. 4) Establishes in the Treasury a Textile Global Competitiveness Research Fund, consisting in part of fines levied under this Act, and whose amounts shall be available: (1) for programs aimed at enhancing the international competitiveness of the United States textile and apparel manufacturers; and (2) to the Customs Service for the enforcement of laws governing trade in textile and apparel goods. (Sec. 5) Directs the USTR to take necessary steps to negotiate a quota agreement with any non-WTO country whose exports to the United States exceed $100 million annually, or are creating serious damage or the actual threat of it to the U.S. textile and apparel industry. Specifies: (1) a quota formula for new textile agreements with non-WTO countries which already have a textile agreement with the United States; and (2) provisions for inclusion in the accession protocol of countries acceding to the WTO. (Sec. 6) Requires the USTR to ensure that any protocol under negotiation for accession to the WTO of a non-WTO country with a textile import bilateral agreement with the United States, as well as any subsequent agreement, provides for a reduction in the quantity of that country's textile and apparel goods that may be imported into the United States if the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) determines that the bilateral agreement is being circumvented and that inadequate or no measures are being taken by that country to take action against such circumvention. (Sec. 7) Prescribes specified Customs Service enforcement actions and penalties (including fines, seizure, and forfeiture) for violations of customs laws involving textile and apparel goods. (Sec. 10) Directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish a Division on Textile Enforcement. (Sec. 11) Requires withdrawal of preferential tariff or quota treatment (unilateral trade concessions) from the textile and apparel goods of any country: (1) demonstrating a consistent pattern of circumventing textile agreements with United States; (2) refusing to cooperate in investigations; (3) failing to provide adequate enforcement of intellectual property rights with respect to textile and apparel goods; or (4) failing to provide fair and equitable market access for U.S. textile and apparel goods.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
Harold Hughes Commission on Alcoholism Act - Establishes the Harold Hughes Commission on Alcoholism to study: (1) existing Federal agencies and programs related to alcoholism; (2) public education, both directly by governmental agencies and by governmental agencies working with private sector groups; (3) physician instruction; (4) unmet research needs; and (5) treatment effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1996
Mollie Beattie Alaska Wilderness Area Act - Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to designate that portion of the Artic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness located in the Brooks Range as the Mollie Beattie Alaska Wilderness Area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to place a monument in honor of Mollie Beattie's contributions to fish, wildlife, and waterfowl conservation and management at the entrance of the Area or another suitable location designated by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 - Makes Federal criminal code prohibitions against, and penalties for, damaging religious property or obstructing any person's free exercise of religious beliefs applicable where: (1) the property is damaged because of its racial or ethnic character; and (2) the offense is in, or affects, interstate commerce. (Currently such provisions apply only where: (1) the property is damaged because of its religious character; (2) the defendant, in committing the offense, travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in interstate or foreign commerce; and (3) the loss exceeds $10,000.) Prohibits intentionally defacing, damaging, or destroying religious real property (or attempting to do so) because of the race, color, religious, or ethnic characteristics of any individual associated with such property. Increases penalties for violations of such provisions where bodily injury results or where such acts include the use, or attempted or threatened use, of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire. Includes within the definition of "religious property" fixtures or religious objects contained within a place of religious worship. Sets a seven-year statute of limitation for the prosecution, trial, or punishment of a person for any noncapital offense under such provisions. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to use up to $5 million of the credit subsidy provided under the General and Special Risk Insurance Fund for guaranteed loans to financial institutions in connection with loans made to assist certain tax exempt religious or other organizations that have been damaged by arson or terrorism. Authorizes appropriations to the Departments of the Treasury and Justice, including the Community Relations Service, to increase personnel to investigate, prevent, and respond to potential violations of this Act and Federal explosives prohibitions. Reauthorizes the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. Commends those individuals and entities that have responded with funds to assist in the rebuilding of places of worship that have been victimized by arson. Encourages the private sector to continue such efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Department of Energy Standardization Act of 1996 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to repeal certain procedural guidelines governing: (1) rules publication and notice requirements; and (2) rule promulgation accompanied by explanation. Amends the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 to repeal certain requirements for the conduct of advisory committees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1996
Deepwater Port Modernization Act - Amends the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 to revise the term "deepwater port" to include a fixed or floating manmade structure (other than a vessel) that is located beyond the territorial sea and off the U.S. coast which is used as a port or terminal for the transportation of oil from the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Eliminates: (1) certain utilization and transfer restrictions on deepwater ports; and (2) a certain antitrust precondition with respect to the licensing of such ports. Authorizes the Secretary to exempt a person from certain information requirements with respect to the issuance of a deepwater port license. Repeals the restriction on the issuance of a deepwater port license requiring that the Secretary of Transportation first receive opinions from the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission as to whether such action would adversely affect competition, restrain trade, promote monopolization, or otherwise contravene the antitrust laws. Requires a deepwater port, among other things, to accept, transport, or convey without discrimination all oil delivered to it. Directs the Secretary to prescribe and enforce marine protection and navigational safety procedures with respect to a deepwater port through the operations manual of a deepwater port licensee. (Currently, such procedures are enforced by regulation.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1996
Department of Energy Class Action Lawsuit Act - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to bar a class action suit against any person indemnified by the United States under the Act (Department of Energy contractors) with respect to any claim for a nonphysical injury (emotional distress, mental or emotional harm, or diminution of property value) arising from a nuclear incident or precautionary evacuation regardless of when it occurred. Provides that the exclusive remedy for any claim for medical monitoring in a public liability action against such contractors shall be medical monitoring by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Declares that no court may grant a remedy for a medical monitoring claim except in the case of an extraordinary nuclear occurrence, or as provided under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Bars the award of punitive damages against such contractors with respect to a nuclear incident or precautionary evacuation regardless of: (1) the date of occurrence; or (2) the statutory authority under which the agreement of indemnification was entered. Declares this Act applicable to any public liability action pending on the date of its enactment, or commenced on or after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Amends the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 to: (1) extend, upon request of the Government of the Marshall Islands, certain agricultural and food assistance programs for the Bikini and Enewetak people, for another five years; and (2) ensure on an ongoing basis that the commodities provided reflect the population changes that have occurred since the effective date of the Compact. Repeals the mandate that the Secretary of the Interior transfer administration of the American Memorial Park (in Saipan) to the government of the Northern Mariana Islands. Amends the Organic Act of Guam to provide for transfer of Federal excess real property by the Administrator of General Services to the government of Guam. Repeals a limitation upon the use of specified land conveyed to the government of Guam. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend State treatment with respect to certain drug enforcement programs to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Amends the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands to provide that: (1) the physical absence of the Governor from the territory while on official business shall not be construed as a "temporary absence" involving a surrender of authority and power; (2) Virgin Islands revenue bonds, instead of the current priority for payment, shall have a parity lien with every other subsequently issued obligation; and (3) specified advanced refundings rules of the Internal Revenue Code shall not apply to advance refunding bonds issued by the Virgin Islands after specified dates. Establishes the Commission on the Economic Future of the Virgin Islands to make recommendations to the President and the Congress on policies and programs for a secure and self-sustaining future for the local economy of the Virgin Islands through 2020, as well as the Federal role in providing for that future. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Temporary Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1996 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide temporary assistance for certain livestock producers. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to obligate specified funds for 1996 livestock feed emergencies. Requires a report on the use of certain commodity reserves for livestock assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1996
United States Tourism Organization Act - Establishes: (1) the National Tourism Board to develop a national travel and tourism strategy for increasing U.S. tourism; and (2) the United States Tourism Organization as a non-Federal nonprofit organization to implement the national travel and tourism strategy developed by the Board. Requires the Secretary of State to cooperate with the Organization and place a high priority on implementing its recommendations. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Federal trade promotion plan of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to reflect Board recommendations. Makes the Chairman of the Organization a member of the TPCC. Terminates the Organization and the Board if a plan for the long-term financing of the Organization has not been implemented two years after its incorporation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1996
Revises the purpose of the National Park Foundation to: (1) include developing and implementing means of securing funds from the private sector; and (2) exclude the acceptance and administering of private gifts on behalf of the National Park Service. Grants the Foundation exclusive authority to license or authorize persons to use any trademark, symbol, likeness, or slogan to represent that an individual, company, or particular good or service is an official sponsor or supporter of the National Park System (NPS), the Service, or any NPS unit. Subjects such license or authorization to the prior written approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Prohibits unauthorized persons from using, for commercial purposes, any trademark, symbol, slogan, or related artistic design of the Service. Authorizes the Foundation to license property. Prohibits the Foundation, except as provided in this Act, from: (1) engaging in any business for pecuniary profit or gain; (2) operating any commercial establishment or enterprise within NPS units; or (3) engaging in any lobbying activities concerning NPS management. Requires all of the Foundation's income, net of operating expenses, contributions to local government, and reserves determined necessary or appropriate by its Board to be provided for the Service's benefit. Subjects persons to a civil suit, remedies, and a penalty of $1,000 for each day they unlawfully use the Foundation's name, trademark, symbol, slogan, or any facsimile or simulation thereof for purposes of trade, to induce the sale of goods or services, or to promote commercial activities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1996
Provides for observation of a moment of silence at 9:02 a.m. central daylight time on April 19, 1996, in remembrance of the victims of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Commends the people of Oklahoma and the aid provided by rescuers, Federal agencies, countless volunteers, and Federal employees. Reaffirms trust in our system of justice to ensure that the perpetrators are convicted and punished.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Jackson, Mississippi, as the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Pays tribute to the remarkable life and career of Ronald H. Brown (the late Secretary of Commerce) and to the contributions of all those who perished in the airplane accident on April 3, 1996, while in service to their country on a mission to Bosnia. Extends condolences to the victims' families.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1996
National Invasive Species Act of 1996 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to mandate: (1) regulations to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes through ballast water; and (2) voluntary guidelines to prevent such introduction and spread in U.S. waters by ballast water and other vessel operations. Authorizes mandatory regulations if guideline compliance is inadequate. Provides for enforcement through revocation of clearance and civil and criminal penalties. Encourages negotiations with foreign governments to develop and implement an international program for preventing such introduction and spread in North American waters. Mandates studies of Lake Champlain, the Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, Honolulu Harbor, Prince William Sound, and other waters. Requires annual grants for six years for aquatic nuisance species prevention and control research in the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Establishes a clearinghouse of national data on ballasting practices and compliance with guidelines under this Act. Mandates a ballast water management program for the Navy's seagoing fleet to limit the risk of invasion by nonindigenous species from ballast water. Requires: (1) a ballast water management program to demonstrate technologies and practices to prevent aquatic nonindigenous species from being introduced into and spread through ballast water in U.S. waters; and (2) that the installation and construction of those technologies and practices be performed in a U.S. shipyard or ship repair facility. Modifies: (1) the composition and research priorities of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force; and (2) zebra mussel demonstration program requirements. Requires the Task Force to encourage (including through financial assistance) the development and use of regional coordination panels and similar entities in regions other than the Great Lakes. Provides for interstate (in addition to existing State) aquatic nuisance species management plans, allowing Indian tribes as well as States to participate. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1996
Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 - Authorizes the qualified industry organizations (the National Propane Gas Association, the Gas Processors Association, or successor organizations, or a group of retail marketers or producers who collectively represent at least 25 percent of the volume of propane sold or produced in the United States) to conduct, at their own expense, a referendum among producers and retail marketers for the creation of a Propane Education and Research Council. Directs the Council, if established, to develop programs (including programs to enhance consumer and employee safety and training) and enter into contracts for: (1) propane research and development; (2) consumer education; and (3) payment for program costs with funds collected under this Act. Requires the Council to reimburse the Secretary of Energy annually for any costs incurred by the United States. Authorizes the Council to levy annual assessments on odorized propane, according to prescribed guidelines, to cover program costs. Directs the Council to establish a program to coordinate its operations with any State propane education and research council. Prohibits Council funds from being used for lobbying activities. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to prepare and make available to the Council, the Secretary of Energy (Secretary), and the public, annual analyses of changes in propane prices relative to other energy resources. Requires the Council to restrict its activities to research and development, training, and safety whenever in any year the five-year average rolling price index of consumer grade propane exceeds by more than 10.1 percent the five-year rolling average price composite index of residential electricity, residential natural gas, and refiner price to end users of Number 2 fuel oil. Requires the price of propane to be determined by market forces in all cases. Prohibits the Council from taking action to pass the cost of the annual assessments to consumers. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report biennially to the Congress and the Secretary on whether: (1) operation of the Council, in conjunction with the cumulative effects of market changes and Federal programs, has had an effect on propane consumers, including residential, agriculture, process, and nonfuel users; and (2) there have been long-term and short-term effects on propane prices as a result of Council activities and Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1996
Designates the visitor center at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park located at 419 Rue Decatur in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the Laura C. Hudson Visitor Center.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1996
Requires the Secretary of the Army, as part of the operations and maintenance segment of the project for navigation, Mississippi River Ship Channel, Gulf to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to assume responsibility for periodic maintenance dredging of the Chalmette Slip to a depth of minus 33 feet mean low gulf.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1996
Ward Valley Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the California Department of Health Services specified lands in San Bernardino County, California, known as the Ward Valley Site, upon the tendering to: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury of $500,100 on behalf of California; and (2) the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a written commitment by California to carry out environmental monitoring and protection measures, based on recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, subject to Federal oversight by the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1996
Provides that any individual who performs Operation Joint Endeavor services (United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina) shall be entitled to the same tax benefits under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that are provided to U.S. military personnel who perform service in an area designated by the President as a combat zone. Makes this Act effective for periods beginning on or after December 4, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1996
Commends the men and women who have served or are presently serving in the American Foreign Service and honors those who have given their lives in the line of duty. Designates the first Friday in May 1996 as American Foreign Service Day.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1996
Electricity Competition Act of 1996 - Declares that: (1) the regulatory authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 with respect to cogeneration and small power production shall not apply to any facility which begins commercial operation after the effective date of this Act, except a facility for which a power purchase contract entered into under such authority was in effect on such date); and (2) no electric utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase from or sell electric energy to qualifying cogeneration and small power facilities. (Sec. 4) Mandates that each State regulatory authority initiate proceedings regarding its regulated retail electric utilities to examine and consider: (1) requirements which establish competitive electricity procurement markets that meet specified statutory requirements; (2) a retail access plan which requires all State regulated retail electric utilities to provide nondiscriminatory and unbundled local distribution services to all their electric consumers so that they may choose among competing electric energy suppliers by a certain deadline; and (3) an alternative plan which meets certain statutory requirements. Sets a deadline by which State regulatory bodies must select and begin implementation of competitive electric options. Requires each nonregulated retail electric utility to examine and consider: (1) procedures for the acquisition of new contract electricity and new generating sources that meet specified statutory requirements; (2) a retail access plan which provides nondiscriminatory and unbundled local distribution services to all their electric consumers so that such consumers may choose among competing electric energy suppliers by a certain deadline; and (3) an alternative plan which meets certain statutory requirements. Sets a deadline by which such utilities must select and begin implementation of competitive electric options. (Sec. 5) Permits the procedures established by a State regulatory authority or nonregulated retail electric utility pursuant to this Act to apply to all or part of the new contract electricity and new generating sources to be procured. Sets forth minimum requirements for such new procedures. (Sec. 6) Mandates that the alternative plans adopted pursuant to this Act ensure: (1) that any State regulated retail electric utility within the State may not unduly discriminate in favor of its own or an affiliate's sources of generation supply, or engage in other forms of self-dealing; and (2) that any above market costs of new renewable electric generation are allocated on a non-discriminatory basis to all electric consumers of regulated retail electric utilities within the State, so that no consumer (or class of consumers) is required, without express consent, to subsidize the costs of such new renewable electric generation to the advantage of other consumers. (Sec. 7) Exempts from the requirements of this Act State regulatory authorities and nonregulated retail electric utilities that have adopted analogous procedures. (Sec. 8) Declares that beginning on January 1, 2010, no retail electric utility shall prohibit any electric consumer from purchasing nondiscriminatory and unbundled local distribution service, or otherwise prohibit consumers from choosing among competing electric energy suppliers. Sets forth review and enforcement mechanisms. (Sec. 11) Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize FERC to order, or condition orders upon, the transmission of electric energy to an ultimate consumer if delivery would be accomplished through the provision of unbundled local distribution services under this Act. Declares that a State regulatory authority is not precluded from requiring an electric utility to provide local distribution service to a consumer. Directs FERC to provide for the recovery of all stranded costs incurred by any utility transmitting or distributing electric energy not sold by it or its affiliates, including customer service costs not fully recovered at the time of distribution or transmission. Directs FERC to permit the recovery of all stranded costs to the extent a State or State regulatory authority requiring the provision of unbundled local distribution service has not permitted the recovery of all such costs in rates or lacks authority under State law to permit such recovery. Authorizes FERC to determine rates for the provision of unbundled local distribution service by a utility solely as necessary to permit recovery of stranded costs. Prohibits any retail electric utility (or affiliate) from selling electric energy to or for the benefit of the ultimate consumer if its delivery will be accomplished through the provision of unbundled local distribution service by another utility, unless such retail electric utility is itself providing unbundled local distribution service under this Act. (Sec. 12) Mandates that FERC and State regulatory authorities authorize and ensure the recovery of all costs associated with Federal and State requirements for the decommissioning of nuclear generating units. (Sec. 13) Amends the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 to recognize as a creditor's administrative expense any costs incurred in complying with Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations governing decontamination and decommissioning of licensed nuclear power reactors (regardless of whether such costs are reduced to a fixed amount).
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1995
Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1995 - Amends Federal natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety transportation law to revise the exclusion from the meaning of the term "transporting gas" (thus from coverage by such law) of the gathering of gas in a rural area outside a populated, non-rural area to specified locations outside the limits of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, or village. Extends coverage, however, to the movement of gas through regulated lines, regardless of location. (Sec. 4) Repeals the mandate that Federal minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities to include a requirement that all individuals responsible for the operation and maintenance of pipeline facilities be tested for their qualifications. Requires only that they be qualified. Requires such qualifications to address the ability to recognize and react to abnormal operating conditions that may indicate a dangerous situation or a condition exceeding design limits. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in prescribing minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities, to: (1) consider compliance costs and any comments and recommendations received; (2) prepare a risk assessment document assessing costs and benefits under such standards; and (3) submit each such document to either the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee or the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, as appropriate. Requires such committees, serving as peer review panels, to evaluate and report to the Secretary on such documents. Directs the Secretary to review such evaluations and certify that the incremental benefits of a standard will likely justify its incremental costs. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the application of a standard during an emergency. Requires a report from the Secretary to the Congress on the implementation of the risk assessment requirements of this section. Directs the Secretary, to the extent appropriate and practicable, to update incorporated industry standards that have been adopted as part of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to establish risk management demonstration projects under which owners and operators of gas pipeline and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities voluntarily demonstrate applications of risk management. Authorizes the Secretary, during a demonstration project, to waive the applicability of all or a portion of safety standards that would otherwise apply. Outlines demonstration project requirements. (Sec. 6) Eliminates the application of certain inspection and maintenance requirements to persons who transport gas or hazardous liquids. Repeals the requirement of biennial pipeline facility inspections (leaving their frequency to the Secretary's discretion). (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations that establish criteria by which operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities and gathering lines shall identify each such facility or line that crosses waters where a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists. (Currently, such requirement applies to all navigable waters, regardless of such likelihood.) Requires the Secretary, when identifying an area as unusually sensitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, to consider including locations that are critical to drinking water, as well as critical wetlands, national parks, wilderness and wildlife preservation areas, wild and scenic rivers, and critical habitat areas for threatened or endangered species. Repeals the mandate to consider earthquake and landslide zones, freshwater lakes, rivers and waterways, and river deltas and other areas subject to soil erosion or subsidence from flooding. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the Secretary to adopt industry accepted performance standards for the performance of excess flow valves used to protect lines in a natural gas distribution system. (Sec. 9) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary promote the adoption of measures to improve the safety of customer-owned natural gas service lines. (Sec. 10) Redesignates the one-call notification system as the underground facility damage prevention program. Repeals the requirement for criminal penalties in regulations establishing a one-call notification system with respect to the safety of pipeline facilities. (Sec. 11) Requires the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee to serve as peer review committees. Deems such service to be in compliance with the requirements of other applicable Federal statutes. Requires committee members to be experienced in risk management. Requires at least one of the individuals selected for each committee from the natural gas or hazardous liquid industry and from the general public to have education, background, or experience in risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Requires the Secretary, when presenting each committee each standard proposed for transporting gas and hazardous liquid and for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, to include a risk assessment document and other supporting analyses. Requires each committee to meet with the Secretary at least four times (currently, twice) annually. (Sec. 12) Requires each owner or operator of a natural gas pipeline facility to provide a program for educating the public on the use of an underground facility damage prevention program prior to excavation. Repeals the requirement that persons transporting gas conduct public education programs. (Sec. 13) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into grants and other cooperative agreements with any State, local government, or private entity to carry out pipeline safety programs, including the development, improvement, and promotion of "one-call" damage prevention programs, research, risk assessment, and mapping. (Sec. 14) Deems owners and operators of pipeline facilities who participate in risk management demonstration projects to be in compliance with safety standards or regulatory requirements prescribed under such project. (Sec. 15) Subjects to civil and criminal penalties any person who knowingly and willfully excavates and subsequently damages a pipeline facility and does not report such damage promptly to the operator of the pipeline facility and other appropriate authorities. (Sec. 16) Changes from annual to biennial certain required reports from the Secretary to the Congress concerning gas and hazardous liquid transportation safety requirements. (Sec. 17) Directs the Secretary to make available to the appropriate official of each State the land use recommendations contained in the special report entitled "Pipelines and Public Safety." Requires the evaluation and implementation of recommendations contained in such report. (Sec. 18) Directs the Secretary to analyze and report to the Congress on the assessment of pipeline safety user fees based solely on mileage and the Secretary's determinations with respect to such assessment. (Sec. 19) Prohibits any person from excavating for unauthorized disposal (dumping) of solid waste within the right-of-way of an interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility. (Sec. 20) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct promotional activities relating to prevention of damage to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. (Sec. 22) Extends and increases annually through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs and activities carried out through the Department of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 1995
Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1995 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) to exempt from land disposal restrictions (other than requirements pertaining to applicable specific methods of treatment promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under SWDA) solid waste identified as hazardous based on characteristic alone if such waste: (1) is managed in a treatment system that subsequently discharges to waters of the United States pursuant to a permit issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act), undergoes pretreatment for purposes of compliance with toxic and pretreatment effluent standards of such Act, or is managed under a zero-discharge system that the Administrator determines to be engaging in Clean Water Act-equivalent treatment; (2) no longer exhibits such characteristic prior to land disposal; (3) has met any applicable specific method of treatment promulgated by the Administrator; and (4) would not generate toxic gases, vapors, or fumes due to the presence of cyanide at the point of generation when exposed to pH conditions of a specified range. Requires the Administrator to conduct a study of hazardous waste managed in accordance with this Act to characterize the risks to human health or the environment associated with such management, upon completion of which the Administrator may impose additional requirements or defer management of such risks to other State or Federal programs or authorities. Amends SWDA to exempt from land disposal restrictions solid waste identified as hazardous based on characteristic alone if the waste no longer exhibits a hazardous characteristic at the point of injection into any Class I deep well regulated under safe drinking water provisions of the Public Health Service Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 1995
Congratulates Frederick P. Hitz on his five-year anniversary as the first statutory Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General. Expresses support for the Office of the CIA Inspector General.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1995
Antimicrobial Pesticide Registration Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to exclude: (1) bacteria from the definition of "fungus"; and (2) liquid chemical sterilant products for use on a critical or semi-critical medical or dental device from the definition of "pesticide." Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) coordinate data requirements, test protocols, timetables, and standards of review and reduce burdens and redundancy caused to the registrant, whenever data in support of a pesticide registration is requested by one or more State or Federal agencies; and (2) develop a process to identify and assist in alleviating future disparities between Federal and State data requirements. Provides, with respect to the labeling of an antimicrobial pesticide product, that: (1) a registrant may modify the labeling to include relevant information on the product's efficacy, composition, or container or other characteristics unrelated to a pesticidal claim or activity; (2) such labeling shall not be false or misleading or in conflict with statements required as a condition of registration and be substantiated upon request; (3) modifications shall be subject to a notification and approval process; and (4) different cautionary statements for use dilutions may be included in the labeling upon approval of the Administrator. Directs the Administrator, to the maximum extent practicable, to identify and evaluate changes to the process for registration of antimicrobial pesticides that will reduce current time periods for review. Details rulemaking requirements regarding the review of such pesticides. Requires an annual report to the Congress on measures taken to effect such changes. Exempts from applicability of certain FIFRA storage, disposal, transportation, and container requirements household, industrial, or institutional antimicrobial products that are not subject to regulation under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, unless the Administrator determines that their application is necessary to prevent an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1995
Uniformed Services Medicare Subvention Demonstration Project Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a demonstration project (project) to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with reimbursement, under provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for health services provided through DOD to certain Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries. Requires the project to be conducted in one or more regions in which the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) has been implemented. Allows such project to be conducted for up to two years. Requires such Secretaries to jointly submit to the Congress a first annual report and a final report containing specified information concerning project participants and such project's effects on military medical care access, readiness, and training. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to DOD from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (HHS trust funds) representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs such Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a base level of TRICARE coverage required in a geographic region for eligibility under the project; (2) determine baseline costs of such care and coverage; and (3) establish upper reimbursement limits. Directs the Secretary of Defense to waive the enrollment fee for individuals enrolled in a TRICARE program participating in the project. Establishes in the Treasury the Medicare Subvention Fund (Fund) for providing payments to the HHS Secretary for reimbursement of the HHS trust funds and for the payment of all expenses related to the participation of Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries in excess of the base level established under this Act, as well as administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 and 1998 for deposit into the Fund to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 1995
Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for one additional Federal judge for the middle district, and one less judge for the eastern district, of Louisiana.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 1995
Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for one additional Federal judge for the middle district, and one fewer Federal judge for the eastern district, of Louisiana.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 1995
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to establish and construct the National Center for Sickle Cell Disease Research at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and for related facilities and equipment at such Center. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 1995
Diabetes Research Act of 1995 - Authorizes appropriations, in addition to any other authorization of appropriations, for the conduct and support of diabetes research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Requires that, of the amounts appropriated under this authorization, the NIH reserve a specified amount for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the remainder for the other national research institutes.
![Official portrait of Sen. Johnston, J. Bennett [D-LA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000189_200.jpg)