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United States · Official source
5,925 records where Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate May 1, 1980, as "National Bicycling Day."
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the standard mileage rate used in computing the charitable deduction for expenses incurred in the operation of a motor vehicle shall be the same as the standard mileage rate established by the Secretary of the Treasury for the business related deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1979
Small Business Innovation Research Act of 1979 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to develop an information program to assure that each qualified small business concern has the opportunity to participate in the Federal agency Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs. Requires the SBA to report annually to the appropriate committees of Congress on the SBIR programs. Requires each Federal agency having an annual research and development budget of more than $100,000,000 to establish an SBIR program where one-half of one percent of its 1980 research and development budget and one percent of its subsequent budgets would be reserved for contract awards to small business firms specifically in connection with the SBIR program. Sets forth responsibilities of each such Federal agency with respect to the administration of an SBIR program as follows: (1) determine categories of projects; (2) issue SBIR solicitations; (3) receive and evaluate proposals; (4) select awardees for SBIR contracts; (5) administer such contracts; (6) make payments to SBIR contractors; and (7) make quarterly reports on the SBIR program to the SBA. Requires each Federal agency with a research and development budget in excess of $20,000,000 to establish goals specifically for awards of contracts for research and development to small business concerns. Allows such agencies to include the value of SBIR contracts in determining whether such goals are met. Prohibits contract awards to small business concerns for research and development which result from competitive or single source selections other than under an SBIR program to be counted as meeting any portion of the percentage requirements established pursuant to this Act. Directs the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in conjunction with the SBA and the National Science Foundation, to issue regulations which shall: (1) provide a simplified acquisition process for the program with SBIR requests for proposals being standardized throughout the Federal Government; and (2) include uniform requirements for patent rights and rights in data.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Limits the increase of total budget outlays of the United States Government during any fiscal year to a percentage equal to the percentage increase in the gross national product during the previous calendar year. Stipulates that if the inflation rate exceeds three percent annually the increase in total outlays shall be reduced by one-fourth the difference between the inflation rate and three percent. Requires any surplus in total revenues received by the Government to be used to reduce the public debt. Allows the limit on total outlays to be changed by a three-quarters vote of both Houses of Congress, or to meet an emergency declared by the President. Continues Federal aid programs to States and local governments for a period of six years. Prohibits Congress authorizing any United States agency from requiring that a State or local government engage in additional or expanded activities without compensation equal to the additional costs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1979
Federal Firearms Law Reform Act of 1979 - Title I: Amendments to Gun Control Act - Amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to redefine: (1) "manufacturer" to mean any person engaged in the "business of manufacturing" (instead of "manufacture" of) firearms or ammunition; and (2) "dealer" to exclude dealers in ammunition and persons engaged in the business of repairing firearms. Adds a new definition, "engaged in the business", with respect to manufacturers, dealers, and importers. Includes as a manufacturer of ammunition a person whose gross sales of his own ammunition exceed $1,000 in any calendar year. Includes as a dealer in firearms a person who deals in firearms as a regular course of business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms. Replaces the current term "crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" with a new definition of "disabling crime." Eliminates certain activities regarding ammunition from the coverage of the current prohibitions. Revises current provisions respecting the interstate sale or transfer of firearms. Revises the current prohibition against selling a firearm or ammunition to certain persons (such as persons under indictment for a felony or addicted to drugs) to apply such prohibition only to persons convicted of a disabling crime. Revises the current prohibition against certain persons transporting a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce to: (1) extend such prohibition to possession or receipt in commerce or affecting commerce of any firearm or ammunition; (2) conform such prohibition to the new "disabling crime" provision; and (3) include as additional categories illegal aliens, persons dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, and persons who have renounced their United States citizenship. Makes the same changes to the current prohibition against certain persons who receive a firearm or ammunition which has been transported in interstate commerce, but applies such prohibition to persons who are employed by specified individuals. Excludes ammunition dealers from the current licensing requirements. Stipulates that the Secretary of the Treasury may revoke a license only where the holder of such license has "knowingly" violated a provision of the Act or regulation. Bars the Secretary from denying or revoking a license on the basis of violations under this Act which are alleged in criminal proceedings instituted against a licensee, but for which such individual has not been convicted. Imposes as a condition for the inspection or examination of records, documents, and any firearm or ammunition kept by an importer, manufacturer, or dealer pursuant to this Act that the Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that a violation has occurred and that evidence may be found on the premises of such persons. Restricts the firearm information obtained from licensees which the Secretary may make available to State or local governments. Establishes a limited recordkeeping requirement for firearms collectors. Stipulates that the general penalty under this Act shall apply to whoever "willfully" violates any provision. Prohibits, with respect to a person's second or subsequent conviction for illegally using or carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony, the granting of parole before completion of the minimum sentence. Amends the forfeiture provision to subject to seizure any firearm or ammunition "involved in or used" in any violation of the Act (instead of "involved in or used or intended to be used"). Requires a court to award attorney's fees to the prevailing party (other than the United States) in an action or proceeding for the return of seized firearms or ammunition. Allows the court to award such fees in any other action upon a finding that the action was initiated in bad faith. Amends the rulemaking authority of the Secretary to provide that no regulation may require (1) the transfer of records required under this Act to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or (2) the establishment of any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions. Requires a 90-day public comment period for proposed regulations (no period is currently specified). Allows one House of Congress to disapprove by resolution any firearms regulation within 90 days of continuous session of the promulgation of such rule. Set forth procedures for such resolutions. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing any rules identical to regulations disapproved by Congress without the enactment of additional legislation respecting his authority. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing regulations which require purchasers of black powder to complete affidavits or forms attesting to their exemption from certain provisions of the Federal criminal code. Makes any law or regulation promulgated by any State prohibiting the transfer of an unloaded and not readily accessible firearm or ammunition null and void. Title II: Amendments to title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 - Repeals title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (relating to the receipt, possession, or transportation of firearms by felons, veterans dishonorably discharged, mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and persons renouncing their United States citizenship).
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of December 3 through December 9, 1979, as the "Boy Scouts Calendar Distribution Week."
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1979
Social Security Deposit Act of 1979 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct a State to pay to the Secretary of the Treasury, within 30 days following the end of each month, OASDI contributions related to the employment of State employees.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1979
Tax Relief Act of 1979 - Title I: Individual Income Tax Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979 and to make permanent reductions for succeeding years. Provides for cost-of-living adjustments to individual income tax brackets and to the amount of the personal exemption. Provides that the amount of the personal exemption and the zero bracket amount applicable to a taxpayer shall determine whether such taxpayer is required to file an income tax return. Title II: Capital Cost Recovery - Revises the method for determining useful lives of business assets for purposes of computing allowable depreciation deductions. Replaces the asset depreciation range (ADR) method with a schedule of capital cost recovery periods for three classes of business property. Establishes capital cost recovery periods for the following classes of business property: (1) buildings and their structural components, ten years; (2) tangible property, five years; and (3) automobiles, taxis, and light-duty trucks (up to $100,000), three years. Allows a ten percent investment tax credit for buildings and tangible property, and a six percent credit for automobiles, taxis, and light duty trucks. Requires the recapture of depreciation amounts and investment tax credit amounts applicable to assets which are sold or otherwise disposed of prior to the expiration of the capital cost recovery period. Permits a taxpayer to deduct less than the full allowance for capital cost recovery in any taxable year. Permits a carryover to succeeding taxable years of any unused depreciation amounts. Disqualifies capital cost recovery property from the allowance for first year depreciation. Treats amounts claimed as the capital cost recovery of noncorporate lessors as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum tax. Adopts as an accounting practice the "half year convention" under which investments eligible for capital cost recovery treatment or the investment tax credit which are made at any time during the taxable year are deemed to be made in the middle of such year. Title III: Reduction of Payroll Taxes and Long-Range Financial Strengthening of the Social Security System - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to repeal the special increases in the contribution and benefit base, for purposes of determining amount of tax liability, for 1979 through 1981. Limits contribution and benefit bases to a maximum $22,900 in 1979 and 1980. Makes reductions in the social security tax rate and sets forth the tax rate through year 2010. Provides for the partial funding of title XVIII (Medicare), part A (Hospital Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) of the Social Security Act from general revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1979
Designates the period of May 13 through May 19, 1980, as "National Fishing Week."
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1979
Consumer Checking Account Equity Act of 1979 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to authorize member banks in the Federal Reserve System and federally insured nonmember banks to make automatic funds transfers from a savings deposit to a demand deposit pursuant to the written authorization of the depositor to make such transfers in connection with checks or drafts drawn upon the bank. Authorizes federally insured banks and savings and loan associations, State banks and savings and loan associations, savings banks, and mutual savings banks to offer interest-bearing deposits or accounts upon which the depositor may make withdrawals by negotiable instrument for the purpose of making transfers to third parties (NOW accounts). Stipulates that such deposits or accounts may only be held by individuals or nonprofit organizations. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to permit Federal savings and loan associations and Federal mutual savings banks to establish remote service units pursuant to regulations of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Authorizes such associations to extend loans directly related to negotiable order of withdrawal accounts. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to require any institution which has subscribed for the stock of a Federal Home Loan Bank to maintain reserves against its negotiable order of withdrawal accounts pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Board after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prescribes the required form of such balances. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to permit insured credit unions to offer share draft deposits to individuals and nonprofit organizations in accordance with regulations prescribed by the National Credit Union Administration Board. Requires each Federal credit union to maintain reserves against such deposits in amounts and forms prescribed by the Board after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1979
Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit trading in potato (Solanum tuberosum) futures on commodity exchanges.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate August 31, 1980, as "Working Mother's Day."
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1979
Research Modernization Act - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish within the National Institutes of Health a National Center for Alternative Research to develop and coordinate alternative methods of research and testing which do not involve the use of live animals. Directs that the Center will be managed by a Director who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and that the head of any Federal agency which conducts or sponsors research or testing involving the use of live animals shall appoint one employee to serve as a member of the Center. Requires the Center to submit annual plans to the Secretary which shall include: (1) the identification and development of alternative methods of research and testing which do not involve the use of live animals; (2) directives to agencies which conduct or sponsor such research or testing; (3) an evaluation of the activities of the Center; and (4) an evaluation of the extent to which the goals of the plan have been achieved. Requires the Secretary to submit a report annually to Congress summarizing the plan. Requires the Secretary to make and publish in the Federal Register descriptions of alternative methods of testing which meet the regulatory scientific needs of the agencies and which have been reported in summary or plan. Prohibits the use of Federal funds to sponsor research or testing involving the use of live animals if alternative methods have been published in the Federal Register or if such work duplicates work performed by another agency. Requires each agency conducting research involving the use of live animals to: (1) implement a program to develop and utilize alternative methods of research and testing that would reduce or eliminate reliance on the use of live animals; (2) implement a program to develop and utilize methods which minimize or eliminate the pain, suffering, and fear of animals used in such research and testing; and (3) make grants and enter into contracts with educational institutions to establish courses for the training of scientists in methods of research and testing which do not involve the use of live animals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1979
Requires each importer, producer, refiner, distributor, and supplier of crude oil or refined petroleum products to submit monthly reports to the Secretary of Energy on its total refining capacity, the percentage of such capacity currently utilized, its crude oil supplies, the location of such supplies, and its inventory of refined petroleum products. Directs the Secretary to publish such information.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1979
Authorizes the Camp Fire Girls of Cundys Harbor, Maine, to erect a monument on Maine Avenue in the District of Columbia entitled "The Maine Lobsterman. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to select a suitable site for such memorial and makes the Secretary responsible for the maintenance and care of such monument.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1979
Amends the Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings Act of 1976 to increase the labor cost limitations for weatherization materials for which financial assistance may be provided under such Act in areas where the Secretary of Energy determines that there is an insufficient number of volunteers, training participants, and public service workers available to work on weatherization projects. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to waive the requirement relating to assurances that applicants for weatherization assistance will use such funds to supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds where he makes the determination described above. Makes inapplicable the limitation on the amount of weatherization assistance allowed to be used for repair to a dwelling to make such weatherization effective if the State policy advisory council requests the Secretary of Energy to increase such amount.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1979
Smaller Enterprise Regulatory Improvement Act - Amends the Small Business Act to require each Federal agency to publish semiannually an agenda of those rules which may be proposed during the upcoming six-month period affecting a substantial number of small business concerns and small organizations. Defines "small organizations" to include unincorporated businesses, sheltered workshops, nonprofit enterprises which are not dominant in their fields and such other groups and enterprises as each Federal agency shall establish by rule. Requires each published agenda to be transmitted to the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for comments. Directs each Federal agency to endeavor to provide notice of each agenda to affected small enterprises by means other than publication in the Federal Register. Directs each Federal agency to publish a written analysis prior to the issuance of any rule affecting a substantial number of small business concerns and organizations which considers: (1) the effect of such rule on small enterprises and competition; (2) whether an exemption could be provided such small enterprises; (3) whether lesser compliance standards could be adopted for small enterprises; and (4) the expected nature of reporting and recordkeeping requirements necessitated by such rule. Requires each Federal agency to issue a rule containing an exemption or differing compliance standards for such small business concerns and organizations if it is lawful, desirable, and feasible to do so. States that such small enterprises shall be given an opportunity to participate in agency rulemaking. Requires each agency to review its existing rules and prepare an analysis for purposes of eliminating those rules which are most burdensome to small businesses and organizations. Permits any agency to perform the analyses required by this Act in conjunction with any other analysis required by law. Declares that such other analysis shall not in itself satisfy the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1979
Designates April 10, 1980, as "ORT Centennial Day" to salute the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1979
Capital Cost Recovery Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the method for determining useful lives of business assets for purposes of computing allowable depreciation deductions. Replaces the asset depreciation range (ADR) method with a schedule of capital cost recovery periods for three classes of business property. Establishes capital cost recovery periods for the following classes of business property: (1) buildings and their structural components, ten years; (2) tangible property, five years; and (3) automobiles, taxis, and light-duty trucks (up to $100,000), three years. Allows a ten percent investment tax credit for buildings and tangible property, and a six percent credit for automobiles, taxis, and light duty trucks. Requires the recapture of depreciation amounts and investment tax credit amounts applicable to assets which are sold or otherwise disposed of prior to the expiration of the capital cost recovery period. Permits taxpayer to deduct less than the full allowance for capital cost recovery in any taxable year. Permits a carryover to succeeding taxable years of any unused depreciation amounts. Disqualifies capital cost recovery property from the allowance for first year depreciation. Treats amounts claimed as the capital cost recovery of noncorporate lessors as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum tax. Adopts as an accounting practice the "half year convention" under which investments eligible for capital cost recovery treatment or the investment tax credit which are made at any time during the taxable year are deemed to be made in the middle of such year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1979
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal of appropriate design to Bryan Lewis Allen, the first aviator to cross the English Channel in a self-powered plane. Authorizes appropriations of up to $15,000 to strike such medal. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike bronze duplicates of such medal for sale to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1979
Establishes uniform national weight and length limitation on the Interstate Highway Systems until the Secretary of Energy has certified to Congress that there are adequate amounts of middle distillate fuel to meet national requirements for home heating, agricultural production, transportation, and industrial uses.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1979
Family Welfare Improvement Act - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to set forth a new formula for determining the amount of payments to a State under such part. Provides: (1) for an annual cost-of-living increase in such amount; and (2) that such amount shall be changed in accordance with a State's population increase or decrease. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to each State with an "excess unemployment percentage" greater than zero, as determined according to this Act, a supplemental grant based on a specified formula. Permits a State to require any individual whose needs are taken into account in determining AFDC eligibility to work as a condition of AFDC eligibility. Establishes a five year, eight State demonstration project in which payments made to participating States pursuant to the AFDC program may be used without regard to the requirements and limitations otherwise applicable under the AFDC program. Directs the Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations to report to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare concerning such project.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1979
Requires a ten percent reduction in the number of civilian employees of the executive branch from the number of such employees on September 30, 1977, to be attained through attrition by September 30, 1984. Limits the percentage of low level positions which may be involved in such reduction. States that the reduction of positions among agencies shall be proportionate to the size of each agency's work force. Requires a similar reduction in the work force of the legislative branch. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report annually to Congress on work force reductions in the executive branch. Requires the Director of the Federal Judicial Center to submit to Congress recommendations for similar reductions in the Judicial branch.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify a replacement oil boiler whose energy savings cost can reasonably be expected to exceed its cost over a ten year period for the investment tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1979
Replacement Motor Fuels Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to promote the development and use of replacement fuels in the United States to replace gasoline used as a motor fuel with replacement motor fuel containing the maximum percentage of alcohol, or other liquid produced from coal, oil, shale, or other substances as is economically and technically feasible. Directs the Secretary to determine with respect to replacement fuels: the most suitable raw materials for their production, the nature of the distribution systems and production processes of such fuels, the technical and economic feasibility of including liquids extracted from oil shale and coal in such program, and the technical and economic feasibility of reaching goal of replacing 20 percent of the gasoline used as a motor fuel with replacement fuels by the year 1992. Directs the Secretary to set production goals for replacement fuels for each of calendar years through 1981 through 1987. Sets forth the manner of determining the percentage of replacement fuel by volume to be contained in the total quantity of gasoline and replacement fuel sold annually in commerce in the United States in calendar years 1981 through 1990, and directs the Secretary to issue a rule setting the minimum percentage replacement fuel to be sold for year 1981 through 1986 by any refiner. by any refiner. Sets forth provisions for the enforcement of such requirements. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1980 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1979
Forest Fuel Utilization Act of 1979 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants through the rural forestry assistance program of the Forest Service to States for the employment of additional State foresters or equivalent State officials. Requires the Secretary to determine the number of woodlot owners in each State. Authorizes the Secretary to make forest fuel utilization training programs available to State foresters, or equivalent State officials, in States in which forest growth is underutilized and in which there is a potential for the utilization of wood as a fuel in place of oil. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan to increase the assistance and information provided to the Forest Service by the Department of Energy; and (2) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to develop a plan to increase the managerial assistance and information provided to small woodlot owners and wood fuel distributors and marketers by the Small Business Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1979
Authorizes the Camp Fire Girls of Cundys Harbor, Maine, to erect a monument on Maine Avenue in the District of Columbia entitled "The Maine Lobsterman. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to select a suitable site for such memorial and makes the Secretary responsible for the maintenance and care of such monument.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1979
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit an air carrier which is the sole certificated carrier to an eligible point to reduce its level of service to such point below the level of essential air transportation until January 1, 1982. Allows the Civil Aeronautics Board to require air carriers which have terminated or reduced their service below such level between January 1, 1979, and the enactment of this Act, to provide essential air transportation services to such a point until January 1, 1982. Requires the Board to compensate any air carrier for losses incurred in complying with this Act. Directs the Board by March 1, 1982, to prepare and submit to Congress a report setting forth data on the number of persons and the type and weight of property transported by certificated air carriers providing service pursuant to this Act and to any large air traffic hub.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income up to $500 ($1,000 for married individuals filing jointly) of the interest earned on savings accounts in a bank, savings and loan association, or credit union. Requires a gradual phase-in of the maximum amount of the exclusion between 1980 and 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1979
Directs the Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to study: (1) the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric potential of former industrial sites and millraces; and (2) the conversion of such sites to small hydroelectric projects serving rural areas or communities. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to local public agencies or cooperatives for such rehabilitations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional investment tax credit for equipment used to produce electrical energy from hydroelectric power at existing small dams.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1979
State and Local Government Cost Estimate Act of 1979 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act to require the Congressional Budget Office, for every bill or resolution reported in the House or Senate, to prepare and submit (along with its regular estimate of the Federal cost involved) an estimate of the costs which would be incurred by State and local governments in carrying out or complying with such bill or resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the seven-day period beginning October 7, 1979, as "National Port Week."
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to tax income of married individuals filing tax returns separate from their spouses at the same rates applicable to unmarried individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that disability insurance benefits for an individual having a terminal illness shall begin with the first month during all of which such individual has such illness. Defines the term "terminal illness" to mean, a medically determinable physical impairment which is expected to result in death within the next 12 months.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that exclusive territorial arrangements made as a part of a licensing agreement for the manufacture, distribution, or sale of a trademarked soft drink product are lawful under the antitrust laws provided such product is in substantial and effective competition with other products of the same general class. Prohibits recovery in private actions under the Clayton Act based on territorial provisions in a trademark licensing agreement prior to a final determination that such provisions are unlawful.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1979
Wind Energy Systems Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1979 - Declares it to be the policy of the United States and the purpose of this Act to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for converting wind energy into electricity. Sets as a goal of such program the attainment of a total megawatt capacity of at lease 500 megawatts from wind energy systems by fiscal year 1986 and the reduction of the average cost of electricity produced by such systems to a level competitive with conventional energy sources. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to enter into such contracts and make such grants as may be necessary or appropriate for the development of wind energy systems for commercial production and utilization. Directs the Secretary to enter into arrangements with appropriate Federal agencies to carry out projects and activities with respect to Federal facilities as may be appropriate for the demonstration of wind energy systems which are suitable and effective for use in such facilities. Sets forth criteria for selection of programs consistent with the purposes of this Act. Directs the Secretary to monitor, collect and evaluate data and information, and conduct studies and investigations relating to wind energy systems and programs. Directs the Secretary to assure that information relating to programs, projects and other activities conducted under this Act are widely disseminated to Federal, State, and local authorities, relevant segments of the economy, the scientific community and the public, so as to promote the use of wind energy to the maximum extent feasible. Directs the Secretary to assure that small businesses will have adequate opportunities to participate in the programs conducted under this Act to the maximum extent practicable. Authorizes the appropriation of $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1980 to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1979
Amends the Federal Power Act to permit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to enter into agreements with States under which State authorities may exercise the licensing authority of the Commission with respect to small hydroelectric projects at existing dams.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify expenditures for woodburning stoves for the 15 percent residential energy conservation credit.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1979
Independent Contractor Tax Status Clarification Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify standards for determining whether certain individuals qualify as independent contractors for purposes of social security taxation. Treats an individual as an independent contractor if such individual: (1) controls the total number of his work hours; (2) does not maintain a principal place of business, or if he does, such place of business is not provided, or provided rent-free, by the person for whom such individual performs services; (3) has substantial investment in his business and earns income based upon sales or output rather than upon number of hours worked; and (4) performs services pursuant to a written contract and is provided written notice of his responsibility with respect to income and self-employment taxes. Amends Title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for service performed by an individual who qualifies as an independent contractor under the standards established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1979
Intergovernmental Fiscal Assistance Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Public Works Employment Act of 1976 to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, through a targeted fiscal assistance program, to make annual payments for fiscal years 1979 and 1980 to local governments with local unemployment rates at or above six percent. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose. Sets forth formulas and procedures for allocations to local governments under such program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to determine or assign unemployment rates necessary to the Secretary of the Treasury's administration of all the antirecession provisions of such Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Bureau of the Census, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to provide other necessary information. Sets forth formulas and procedures for allocations to the governments of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands under both the targeted fiscal assistance and the antirecession fiscal assistance programs. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, through an antirecession fiscal assistance program, to make payments to territorial governments and to State and local governments with unemployment rates at or above five percent. Suspends such payments whenever the seasonally adjusted rate of national unemployment is below six and one-half percent. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose during each of the seven succeeding calendar quarters beginning in 1979. Stipulates that a portion of the total amount of such appropriations is to be determined according to a formula based on the seasonally adjusted rate of national unemployment. Sets forth formulas and procedures for allocations to eligible State and local governments and to specified territorial governments.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President negotiate for the creation of a Peace Development Fund to implement a Middle East peace.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include displaced homemakers as a targeted group for whom the new employee credit is available. Defines "displaced homemaker" as an individual who: (1) has not worked in the labor force for a substantial number of years but has provided unpaid services in the home for family members; (2) has been dependent on public assistance or the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; and (3) is unemployed or underemployed and has encountered difficulty in obtaining suitable employment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the first Sunday of September following Labor Day of each year as "National Grandparents Day."
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of May 13 through May 20, 1979, as "International Hunger Project Week."
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1979
Senior Citizens Health Insurance Reform Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to institute a program of voluntary certification for health insurance policies sold in supplementation of medicare. Sets forth minimum standards for such certification with respect to liability, cancellation, reasonableness of premium charge, and economic benefit to the insured. Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) misrepresentations in connection with such certification; (2) the sale of specified types of duplicate insurance; and (3) certain activities in connection with the sale of insurance policies in States which have not approved such policies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Agricultural Land Protection Act - Title I: Federal Agency Compliance - Requires the interpretation and administration of the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States in accordance with a recognition of the rights and responsibilities of private landholders in making land use decisions, and the rights and responsibilities of State and local governments in developing public policies regarding non-Federal land use. Directs Federal agencies to consider the retention of agricultural land for agricultural purposes when they make decisions which impact directly or indirectly on private, and State and local government public land, as well as on Federal land. Requires all such Federal agencies to review their administrative procedures, especially those regarding land acquisition and management, in order to bring them into conformity with the policies and purposes of this Title. Title II: Study Committee on Protection of Agricultural Land - Establishes a Study Committee on Protection of Agricultural Land to study: (1) agricultural land in the United States; (2) the effects of industrial development, climate and other factors on the productivity of such land; (3) the acquisition of such land by persons not engaged in agricultural activities; and (4) methods of protecting and improving such land, and of reducing the amount of it being converted to nonagricultural uses. Requires a final report of the Committee's findings, conclusions and recommendations to the President and to Congress by July 1, 1983. Title III: Demonstration Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, during a three-year period, to provide financial and technical assistance to States and local governments for the development, demonstration, and testing of methods of reducing the quantity of agricultural land (including such land in and around urban areas) being converted from agricultural uses to nonagricultural uses. Limits such financial assistance to not more than 50 percent of the cost of preparing, establishing, demonstrating, conducting, and testing two such reduction projects. Title IV: Technical Assistance Program - Directs the Secretary, through the Soil Conservation Service, to provide States and local governments with: (1) technical assistance concerning methods of protecting agricultural land and reducing its conversion to nonagricultural uses; and (2) financial assistance (not to exceed 50 percent of costs) to enable such governments to develop plans to implement such methods. Title V: General Provisions - Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal years 1980 through 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the carryover basis provisions enacted by the Tax Reform Act of 1976 which provide that beneficiaries receiving property from a decedent's estate will retain the decedent's basis in the property. Restores prior law which "stepped up" or "stepped down" the property's basis to its market value at the time of death without imposing tax consequences on the appreciation or depreciation the property underwent while held by the decedent.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1979
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a specified sum to a named individual in satisfaction of a claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1979
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to reduce the rates of duty for certain fish netting and fish nets.