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Law· HRH.R. 1654 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle A: Authorizations Subtitle B: Limitations and Special Authority Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1999 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Subtitle A: Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2002 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for: (1) the International Space Station (with restrictions); (2) launch vehicle and payload operations; (3) science, aeronautics, and technology; (4) mission support; (5) the Inspector General. (Sec. 106) Limits the total authorization of appropriations for NASA for each of FY 2000, 2001, and 2002. (Sec. 107) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for aviation systems capacity. Subtitle B: Limitations and Special Authority - Sets forth limitations on, and special authorities (with prior notice to the Congress) for, the use of funds for the construction of new facilities and the repair, rehabilitation, or modification of existing facilities. (Sec. 124) Specifies limitations on: (1) the obligation of unauthorized appropriations in FY 2000 through 2002; and (2) the amount of funds that may be used for scientific consultations or extraordinary expenses. (Sec. 126) Earmarks a specified amount of the appropriations authorized for Earth Science for FY 2001 and 2002 for the Commercial Remote Sensing Program at Stennis Space Center for commercial data purchases, unless NASA has integrated data purchases into the procurement process for Earth science research. (Sec. 127) Directs the Administrator to solicit comment on the potential impact of the participation of a foreign entity as a supplier of the spacecraft, spacecraft system, or launch system for a space mission and to consider U.S. national interests before entering into an obligation for such mission. (Sec. 128) Prohibits the obligation of any funds authorized by this Act: (1) for the definition, design, or development of an inflatable space structure to replace any International Space Station components scheduled for launch in the Assembly Sequence released by NASA on February 22, 1999; and (2) for FY 2000 for the definition, design, or development of such a space structure capable of accommodating humans in space. (Sec. 129) Prohibits any funds authorized by this Act from being used to create a Government-owned corporation to perform the functions that are the subject of the Consolidated Space Operations Contract. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the Chief Financial Officer for NASA, before any funds may be obligated for Phase B of a project that is projected to cost over $100 million, to conduct an independent cost analysis of such project and report the results to Congress. (Sec. 202) Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to require: (1) the President to submit to the Congress the annual aeronautics and space report in May (currently, January); and (2) such report to address activities on a fiscal (currently, calendar) year basis. (Sec. 203) Directs NASA: (1) to purchase commercially available space goods and services to the fullest extent feasible; and(2) not to conduct activities that preclude or deter commercial space activities, except for national security or public safety reasons. (Sec. 205) Bars NASA from entering into any agreement or contract with a foreign government that grants such government the right to recover profit in the event that the agreement or contract is terminated. (Sec. 207) Directs the Administrator to arrange for an independent study to reassess and establish priorities of all Phase III and Phase IV Space Shuttle upgrades that: (1) are safety related; (2) may have functional or technological applicability to reusable launch vehicles; and (3) have a payback period within the next 12 years. (Sec. 208) Directs the Administrator to develop a plan for the integration of research, development, and experimental demonstration activities in the aeronautics transportation technology and space transportation technology areas, without losing unique capabilities which support NASA's defined missions. (Sec. 209) Requires the Administrator to ensure consistent NASA usage of specified definitions of: (1) commercialization; (2) commercial purchase; (3) commercial use of Federal assets; (4) contract consolidation; and (5) privatization. (Sec. 210) Directs the Administrator to: (1) arrange for an independent study to identify and evaluate the potential benefits and costs of the broadest possible range of commercial and scientific applications which are enabled by the launch of Space Shuttle external tanks into Earth orbit and retention in space; and (2) conduct an internal agency study of what improvements to the current Space Shuttle external tank and other in-space transportation or infrastructure capability requirements would be required for the safe and economical use of such external tank for any or all of the applications identified. (Sec. 211) Requires the Administrator to exclude from consideration for grant agreements made by NASA after FY 1999 any person who received funds (other than due to membership in a class specified by law for which assistance is awarded to class members according to a formula) appropriated for a fiscal year after FY 1999 under a grant agreement from any Federal funding source for a project that was not subjected to a competitive, merit-based award process, except as specifically authorized by this Act. Makes such an exclusion effective for a period of five years after receipt of such Federal funds. (Sec. 212) Requires the Administrator to provide notice to the House and Senate Science Committees and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on reprogramming and reorganization matters. (Sec. 213) Amends the Unitary Wind Tunnel Plan Act of 1949 to include hypersonic wind tunnel construction within the scope of covered research and development facilities. (Sec. 214) Directs the Administrator to establish a Human Space Flight Commercialization-Technology program of ground-based and space- based research and development in innovative technologies and to include a plan for the implementation of the program as part of NASA's budget request to the Congress for FY 2001.
Bill· SS. 914 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Combined Sewer Overflow Control and Partnership Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require each permit, order, or decree issued under such Act for a discharge from a combined storm and sanitary sewer to conform to the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy signed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on April 11, 1994. Authorizes the Administrator, notwithstanding specified compliance schedules and permit limitations, to issue or execute a permit, order, or decree for discharges from such sewers that includes a schedule for compliance with a long-term control plan for a term of up to 15 years. Provides for extensions of such term, as appropriate. Declares that no permit, order, or decree issued under the Act should require compliance with water quality based requirements contained in a long-term control plan under the Control Policy unless the Administrator has completed the water quality standards-designated use review process called for in the Control Policy. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to municipalities for planning, design, and construction of facilities to intercept, transport, control, or treat combined storm and sanitary sewer flows. Directs the Administrator to report biennially to Congress on recommended funding levels for the two fiscal years following the date of a report on activities relating to combined storm and sanitary sewer flows. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004.
Bill· SS. 920 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Federal Maritime Commission Authorization Act of 1999 - Authorizes appropriations to the Federal Maritime Commission for FY 2000 and 2001.
Bill· SS. 930 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
Ivanpah Valley Airport Public Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to Clark County, Nevada, on behalf of the Department of Aviation of Clark County certain real property in Ivanpah Valley, Nevada, for the development of an airport facility and related infrastructure if: (1) the Department conducts an airspace assessment to identify any potential adverse effect on access to the Las Vegas basin under visual flight rules that would result from the construction and operation of a commercial or primary airport, or both, on the land to be conveyed; (2) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration certifies to the Secretary that the assessment is thorough and alternatives have been developed to address each adverse effect identified in such assessment; and (3) the Department enters into an agreement with the Secretary to retain ownership of Jean Airport and to maintain and develop such Airport as a general aviation airport. Requires, at the Department's option, conveyance of land in parcels over 20 years as may be required for phased construction and development. States that the proceeds of the sale of each parcel shall be deposited in the special account established under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 and disposed of by the Secretary as provided in that Act. Withdraws the conveyed lands from mineral entry under: (1) the General Mining Law of 1872; and (2) the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to consult with the Secretary in the development of an airspace management plan for the Ivanpah Valley Airport that, to the extent practicable and without adversely affecting safety considerations, restricts aircraft arrivals and departures over the Mojave National Preserve, California.
Bill· HRH.R. 1648 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1999
State Infrastructure Banks for Schools Act of 1999 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to enter into cooperative agreements with States for the establishment of State infrastructure banks and multistate infrastructure banks for making loans to: (1) local educational agencies to build or repair public elementary or secondary schools; or (2) public libraries to build or repair library facilities. Grants the consent of the Congress for States to enter into interstate compacts to establish such multistate infrastructure banks. Prescribes funding guidelines under which the Secretary of the Treasury is directed to make grants to State infrastructure banks and multistate infrastructure banks to provide initial capital for such loans. Authorizes appropriations for grants to States for the initial capitalization of infrastructure banks.
Bill· HRH.R. 1595 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Safe and Sober Streets Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2003, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that considers as intoxicated an individual who has an alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or greater while operating a motor vehicle in such State. Allows funds withheld from a State during FY 2003 to be available for up to three fiscal years after such date (to allow a State to meet such requirement within such period), but allows no grace period with respect to funds withheld during the subsequent fiscal years.
Bill· HRH.R. 1597 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1999
Deadly Driver Reduction and Burton H. Greene Memorial Act - Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2003, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that provides the following minimum sentences: (1) for a first conviction of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, revocation of the driver's license for six months, imposition of a $500 fine, and an assessment of the individual's degree of alcohol abuse and treatment; (2) for a first conviction of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .16 or greater, revocation of the individual's license for six months, or two years if the individual refused to take a breath test to determine the individual's blood alcohol concentration at the time of arrest, imposition of a requirement prohibiting the individual from operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .05 or greater for five years, impoundment or immobilization of the individual's motor vehicle for 30 days, requiring the installation of an ignition interlock system on the individual's motor vehicle for 180 days, imposition of a $750 fine, ten days' imprisonment or 60 days' community service, and assessment of the individual's degree of alcohol abuse and treatment; (3) for a third conviction for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, revocation of license for one year, or two years if the individual refused to take a breath test, imposition of a requirement prohibiting the individual from operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .05 or greater for five years, impoundment or immobilization of the individual's motor vehicle for 60 days, requiring the installation of an ignition interlock system on the individual's motor vehicle for one year, imposition of a $1,000 fine, ten days' imprisonment or 60 days' community service, and assessment of the individual's degree of alcohol abuse and treatment; and (4) for a third or subsequent conviction for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or for a second such conviction if the individual's first conviction was for operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .16 or greater, permanent revocation of the individual's license (without exception). Allows funds withheld from a State during FY 2003 to be available for up to three fiscal years after such date (to allow a State to meet such requirement within such period), but allows no grace period with respect to funds withheld during the subsequent fiscal years.
Law· SS. 893 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Amends Federal shipping law to subject an individual to income tax liability in the State where such individual resides with respect to income derived by the individual while: (1) engaged as a pilot on a vessel performing duties in more than one State; or (2) performing regularly-assigned duties as a master, officer, or crewman on a vessel operating on the navigable waters of more than one State.
Bill· HRH.R. 1572 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1999
Digital Signature Act of 1999 - Directs a Federal agency, to the extent that it recognizes a written signature as authenticating a document, to recognize a digital signature as authenticating an equivalent electronically formatted document. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop digital signature infrastructure guidelines and standards for use by Federal agencies to enable those agencies to utilize digital signatures in a manner that is: (1) sufficiently secure to meet the needs of those agencies and the public; and (2) interoperable to the maximum extent possible. Requires the Director to: (1) ensure the development of such guidelines and standards in coordination with the efforts of the National Policy Panel for Digital Signatures (established by this Act); and (2) make available to such agencies and the public an evaluation of the conformance of commercially available digital signature infrastructure products and other such products used by those agencies with such guidelines and standards. Directs the Director to: (1) establish minimum technical criteria for use of electronic certification and management systems by Federal agencies; (2) establish a program for evaluating conformance of electronic certification and management systems developed for use by Federal agencies or available for such use with such criteria; and (3) maintain and make available to Federal agencies a list of those systems conforming to such criteria. Directs the Panel to develop: (1) model practices and procedures for certification authorities for ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and security of operations associated with issuing and managing digital certificates; (2) standards for ensuring consistency among jurisdictions that license such authorities; and (3) audit standards for such authorities. Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology to provide administrative support to the Panel and report to Congress on the Panel's recommendations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1551 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1999
Civil Aviation Research and Development Authorization Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize FY 2000 and 2001 appropriations for certain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) research and development (R&D) programs. Requires the Department of Transportation's (DOT) annual budget request for the FAA to identify all of the activities carried out by it within the categories of basic research, applied research, and development, as classified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11. Requires the FAA's national aviation research plan to include, among other things, a highlight of the R&D technology transfer activities that promote technology sharing among government, industry, and academia through the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. Directs the Administrators of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the FAA to submit jointly to Congress an integrated civil aviation safety R&D plan. Directs the Administrator of the FAA to exclude from consideration for a FAA grant any person (except certain members of a recipient class) who received grant funds from a Federal funding source for a project that was not subjected to a competitive, merit-based award process. Sets forth congressional notice requirements with respect to reprogramming of FAA funds or reorganization of any FAA program.
Bill· HRH.R. 1557 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1999
Maritime Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Transportation for: (1) operations and training activities; and (2) the costs of guaranteed loans authorized by the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as well as for administrative expenses related to loan guarantee commitments. (Sec. 3) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to revise loan guarantee escrow fund provisions. Establishes a Treasury fund to hold related collateral, and provides for Secretary-obligor reserve funds. (Sec. 4) Exempts certain foreign-origin dry bulk and breakbulk cargo vessels that have transferred to United States flag registry from the three-year restriction on carrying U.S.- procured, furnished, or financially supported cargo (including agricultural cargo) (Sec. 5) Extends war risk insurance authority. (Sec. 6) Reduces specified United States Maritime Administration reporting requirements. (Sec. 7) Amends Federal law to state that ownership the vessel "Jeremiah O'Brien" shall belong to the National Liberty Ship Memorial, Inc., rather than the United States Maritime Administration.
Bill· HRH.R. 1558 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1999
Panama Canal Commission Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 - Authorizes the Panama Canal Commission to make expenditures from the Panama Canal Revolving Fund for the operation, maintenance, improvement, and administration of the Panama Canal for FY 2000 through noon on December 31, 1999, at which point responsibility for such activities will be transferred to the Republic of Panama by authority of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977. Limits to $100,000 the amount to be so expended for official reception and representation expenses. Allows the use of available funds for the purchase and transportation to the Republic of Panama of passenger motor vehicles, limiting the per-vehicle purchase price to $26,000. Authorizes the Office of Transition Administration to use funds from the Panama Canal Commission Dissolution Fund to close out Commission affairs.
Bill· SS. 872 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1999
Municipal Solid Waste Interstate Transportation and Local Authority Act of 1999 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit a landfill, incinerator, or other enterprise that received municipal solid waste (MSW) before this Acts's enactment (facility) from receiving out-of-State MSW for disposal unless the waste is received pursuant to a new (entered into on or after enactment of this Act) or existing (entered into before January 1, 1999) host community agreement or certain other State authorization. Sets forth requirements for owners or operators seeking to receive such waste who are subject to existing host community agreements. Requires owners or operators to make specified information regarding a facility available before seeking authorization to receive such waste pursuant to a new host community agreement. Sets forth requirements for authorization for receipt of such waste for facilities: (1) not subject to such agreements that have received State permits issued before this Act's enactment that authorize the receipt of such waste; (2) that submit documentation of the receipt of such waste during 1993; or (3) located in the same bi-State level A metropolitan statistical area as the one in which the waste is generated. Bars the receipt of such waste at any time the State determines that a facility is not in compliance with specified Federal and State laws and regulations, including those relating to facility design and operation, and where noncompliance constitutes a threat to human health or the environment. Authorizes States to limit the quantity of out-of-State MSW received annually at each facility and affected local governments that have not executed a host community agreement with a particular facility to limit the amount received at such a facility. Prohibits limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Sets the limitation amount for any facility that began receiving documented out-of-State MSW before enactment of this Act at the amount received during 1993. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of such waste on the basis of State of origin. Authorizes States in which facilities received more than 650,000 tons of out-of-State MSW in 1993 to establish limits on the quantity of such waste authorized to be received by facilities receiving such waste in 1993 in declining percentages of the 1993 quantity. Requires notification of such proposed limits by a State to each State from which MSW was received in 1993. Prohibits a State from exercising the authority for general MSW limits if it exercises the authority for limits provided under this paragraph. Allows States to impose cost recovery surcharges on the processing or disposal of out-of-State MSW in the State. Prescribes conditions for such surcharges and requires them to be used to fund solid waste management programs administered by the State or political subdivision that incurs costs for which the surcharge is collected. Requires owners or operators of facilities receiving out-of-State MSW and of transfer stations receiving such waste for temporary storage to annually report to the State the quantity and State of origin of such waste (and State of destination in the case of transfer stations) received during the preceding year. Directs States to publish annual reports on the quantity of such waste received for disposal and transfer in the State. (Sec. 3) Allows a State to deny a permit for the construction or operation of a facility (or a major modification thereto) if: (1) the State has approved a State or local comprehensive MSW management plan developed under Federal or State law; and (2) such denial is based on a determination that there is no local or regional need for the facility in the State. Allows States to provide by law that a permit for the construction, operation, or expansion of a facility include an annual limitation of not less than 20 percent on the total quantity of out-of-State MSW relative to the total waste received by the facility. Allows a facility with specific authorization to receive a specific quantity of out-of-State MSW pursuant to an existing host community agreement to receive that quantity, notwithstanding the foregoing State requirement. Requires percentage limitations to be uniform for all facilities and not discriminate against out-of-State MSW on the basis of place of origin. Permits States to exercise either the authority to deny permits or to impose percentage limits, but not both authorities in any calendar year. ( Sec. 4) Authorizes States to establish annual limits on the amount of out-of-State construction and demolition waste that may be received at landfills. Sets forth requirements for States seeking such authorization. Requires facilities receiving such waste to report to the State the quantity and State of origin of such waste. Authorizes States in which facilities receive such waste to decrease the quantity that may be received at each facility to an annual percentage of the base year quantity, beginning in 2001. Defines "base year quantity" as the annual quantity of such waste received in the year 2000 or 1999 (if the State has determined the quantity received in 1999 in which case limits may be imposed starting in the year 2000). (Sec. 5) Authorizes States or political subdivisions to exercise flow control authority to direct the movement of MSW and recyclable materials voluntarily relinquished by the owner or generator (recyclables) to particular waste management or recyclables facilities designated as of the suspension date (defined below) if: (1) the waste and recyclables are generated within the jurisdictional boundaries of the State or subdivision, determined as of the suspension date; (2) such authority is imposed through the adoption or execution of a law, regulation, or other legally binding provision or official act that was in effect on the suspension date, or was in effect prior to the issuance of an injunction or other court order based on a ruling that the law or provision violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, or was in effect immediately prior to suspension of the law or official act by legislative or administrative action expressly because of such an injunction or court order; and (3) the State or subdivision has for one or more of such designated facilities, on or before the suspension date, presented eligible bonds for sale, made certain official preparations for such sale, or executed a legally binding contract or agreement for delivery of, and payment or liability for, a minimum quantity of waste or recyclables. (The "suspension date" is either: May 16, 1994; the date of an injunction or court order based on a ruling that a law or other official act violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution; or the date of a suspension or partial suspension of a law or official act expressly because of the existence of an injunction or court order described above.) Limits the exercise of flow control authority to the classes or categories of materials to which such authority was applicable on the suspension date or, in the case of a facility that was not yet in operation on such date, to those clearly identified by the State or political subdivision to be flow controlled to the facility. Sets dates for expiration of such authority. Prohibits a State or political subdivision from requiring any person to transport, or deliver for transportation, such waste or materials to any active portion of a MSW landfill unit if contamination of such portion is a basis for listing on the National Priorities List established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, unless the person has been indemnified by the government or the owner-operator against all liability under that Act with respect to such materials. Imposes limitations on the use of revenues derived by a State or political subdivision from the exercise of flow control authority. Provides for the enforceability under State law of certain legally binding interim contracts that obligate the delivery of a minimum quantity of MSW or recyclables to a designated facility and obligate the State or political subdivision to pay or be liable for such materials. Allows a State to exercise flow control authority over MSW if, on or before January 1, 1984, the State: (1) adopted regulations under a State law that required or directed the transportation, management, or disposal of such waste from residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial sources to specifically identified waste management facilities and applied those regulations to every political subdivision; and (2) subjected the facilities to the jurisdiction of a State public utilities commission. Permits States or political subdivisions that meet such requirements to exercise flow control authority over all classes and categories of MSW that were subject to flow control on May 16, 1994, by directing MSW from any waste management facility that was designated as of such date to any other facility in the State without regard to whether the political subdivision in which the MSW is generated had designated the particular facility or had issued required bonds or entered into a required contract. Provides for expiration of such authority. Lists additional conditions under which: (1) solid waste districts or political subdivisions of a State may exercise flow control authority for 20 years after enactment of this Act; and (2) a facility will be treated as having been designated, as of May 16, 1994, for the exercise of flow control authority by all members of a consortium of political subdivisions. Prohibits recovery of damages or costs in a claim against a State or local government, or official or employee thereof, based on the exercise of flow control authority on or before May 16, 1994. (Sec. 6) Provides that no action by a State or affected local government under an amendment made by this Act shall be considered to impose an undue burden on interstate commerce or to impair, restrain, or discriminate against interstate commerce.
Bill· HRH.R. 1507 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1999
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Freedom of Travel Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to grant 30 additional slot (arrival and departure space) exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in order to enable air carriers to provide daily nonstop air transportation using noise-compliant aircraft between it and an airport that is more than 1,250 miles away if the Secretary finds that the exemptions will: (1) result in air transportation service with domestic network benefits in areas that are more than 1,250 miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; and (2) increase domestic travel options for communities that are more than 1,250 miles from such airport. Provides exemption limitations, including a limitation of no more than two exemptions per hour between 7: 00 a.m. and 9: 59 p.m. for slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Requires exemption decisions to be made by the Secretary within 120 days of application.
Bill· SS. 837 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Auto Choice Reform Act of 1999 - Authorizes motor vehicle insurers to offer a choice between the personal injury protection and tort maintenance systems described by this Act. Deems persons who fail to select a type of insurance to have elected insurance under the tort maintenance system in effect in the State of residence. Authorizes the State official with jurisdiction over insurance rates for motor vehicles to establish a program to ensure that consumers are adequately informed concerning: (1) the comparative cost of insurance under the personal injury protection and tort maintenance systems; and (2) the benefits, rights, and obligations of the insurers and insureds under such systems. Requires insurers to provide such information to a consumer before the consumer chooses insurance. Provides that this Act supersedes any inconsistent State law, subject to specified exceptions. (Sec. 6) Describes minimum requirements of the personal injury protection system, including a waiver of certain tort claims and provisions for third party liability. Makes the insurer liable for the primary payment of benefits to cover economic loss, with specified reductions if an individual receives workers' compensation or disability benefits, in cases where a personal injury protection insurer and a collateral source are obligated to pay benefits for the same economic loss. Describes late payment penalties for insurers and authorized policy deductibles and exclusions. (Sec. 7) Describes minimum requirements of the tort maintenance system, including coverage at a level equivalent to that required under the applicable State financial responsibility law for bodily injury liability. (Sec. 8) Subjects tort maintenance insureds involved in accidents with another person to applicable State law for injury except that, based on fault, such person may, upon submission of proof of insurance, recover from, or be liable to, any personal injury protection insured for uncompensated economic loss. Permits personal injury protection insureds: (1) injured in an accident to recover only for economic loss without regard to fault; and (2) involved in an accident with another insured to recover based on fault from the other insured for uncompensated economic loss. Describes compensation rights of personal injury protection insureds with respect to accidents involving uninsured motorists or those under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs or driving with intent to cause injury. Prohibits uninsured motorists from recovering from such insureds for noneconomic loss. Sets forth provisions regarding the reimbursement rights of personal injury protection insurers and collateral sources. Prohibits multiple recovery of losses arising out of accidents. Applies the choice-of-law principles applicable under the law of the State of competent jurisdiction with respect to claims relating to accidents involving persons from different States. Requires claims for personal injury protection benefits to be filed no later than two years after the economic loss that is the subject of the claim is incurred unless otherwise provided by State law. Sets forth limitations on policy nonrenewals, cancellations, and premium increases with respect to persons making benefit claims. (Sec. 10) Applies this Act to a State, subject to certain requirements, unless the State: (1) by a specified date, enacts a statute that declares that this Act shall not apply to the State; or (2) finds that average premiums will not be reduced by an average of at least 30 percent for persons choosing the personal injury protection system.
Bill· HRH.R. 1475 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
Auto Choice Reform Act of 1999 - Authorizes motor vehicle insurers to offer a choice between the personal injury protection and tort maintenance systems described by this Act. Deems persons who fail to select a type of insurance to have elected insurance under the tort maintenance system in effect in the State of residence. Authorizes the State official with jurisdiction over insurance rates for motor vehicles to establish a program to ensure that consumers are adequately informed concerning: (1) the comparative cost of insurance under the personal injury protection and tort maintenance systems; and (2) the benefits, rights, and obligations of the insurers and insureds under such systems. Requires insurers to provide such information to a consumer before the consumer chooses insurance. Provides that this Act supersedes any inconsistent State law, subject to specified exceptions. (Sec. 6) Describes minimum requirements of the personal injury protection system, including a waiver of certain tort claims and provisions for third party liability. Makes the insurer liable for the primary payment of benefits to cover economic loss, with specified reductions if an individual receives workers' compensation or disability benefits, in cases where a personal injury protection insurer and a collateral source are obligated to pay benefits for the same economic loss. Describes late payment penalties for insurers and authorized policy deductibles and exclusions. (Sec. 7) Describes minimum requirements of the tort maintenance system, including coverage at a level equivalent to that required under the applicable State financial responsibility law for bodily injury liability. (Sec. 8) Subjects tort maintenance insureds involved in accidents with another person to applicable State law for injury except that, based on fault, such person may, upon submission of proof of insurance, recover from, or be liable to, any personal injury protection insured for uncompensated economic loss. Permits personal injury protection insureds: (1) injured in an accident to recover only for economic loss without regard to fault; and (2) involved in an accident with another insured to recover based on fault from the other insured for uncompensated economic loss. Describes compensation rights of personal injury protection insureds with respect to accidents involving uninsured motorists or those under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs or driving with intent to cause injury. Prohibits uninsured motorists from recovering from such insureds for noneconomic loss. Sets forth provisions regarding the reimbursement rights of personal injury protection insurers and collateral sources. Prohibits multiple recovery of losses arising out of accidents. Applies the choice-of-law principles applicable under the law of the State of competent jurisdiction with respect to claims relating to accidents involving persons from different States. Requires claims for personal injury protection benefits to be filed no later than two years after the economic loss that is the subject of the claim is incurred unless otherwise provided by State law. Sets forth limitations on policy nonrenewals, cancellations, and premium increases with respect to persons making benefit claims. (Sec. 10) Applies this Act to a State, subject to certain requirements, unless the State: (1) by a specified date, enacts a statute that declares that this Act shall not apply to the State; or (2) finds that average premiums will not be reduced by an average of at least 30 percent for persons choosing the personal injury protection system.
Bill· HRH.R. 1480 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Water Resources Projects Title II: General Provisions Title III: Project-Related Provisions Title IV: Studies Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions Water Resources Development Act of 1999 - Title I: Water Resources Projects - Authorizes projects for navigation, flood control, environmental restoration, recreation, hurricane and storm damage reduction, ecosystem restoration, and navigation mitigation in Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Virginia, Minnesota, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Texas. Authorizes projects for water resources development and conservation and related purposes, subject to a final report from the Army Corps of Engineers, in Alaska, California, Delaware and New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington, Texas, and Washington. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of the Army to conduct studies and carry out small flood control projects in California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Missouri. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small bank stabilization projects in Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small navigation projects in Arkansas, California, Guam, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, and New York. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small environmental restoration projects in California, Illinois, and Virginia. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out aquatic ecosystem restoration projects in California, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Title II: General Provisions - Amends the Flood Control Act of: (1) 1948 to allow the construction of both small structural and nonstructural projects and to increase from $5 million to $7 million the maximum amount to be expended for any single project; (2) 1960 to provide that certain fee collection limitations shall not apply to funds voluntarily contributed by State and local governments and non-Federal public agencies for expanding the scope of services requested by such entities; and (3) 1936 to authorize the Secretary to use funds contributed by States and other political subdivisions for environmental restoration (currently, only flood control) work. (Sec. 204) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to require that technologies selected for demonstration at a sediments decontamination project in the New York-New Jersey Harbor be intended to result in practical end-use products. Requires the Secretary to assist such project to ensure the availability of sufficient quantities of contaminated material. Increases the authorization of appropriations for such project to reflect costs for technology testing and commercialization and the development of full-scale processing facilities within the Harbor. (Sec. 205) Amends the River and Harbor Act of 1958 to: 1) include arundo within a comprehensive program for the control of aquatic growth; and (2) increase the annual authorization of appropriations for such program. Encourages the Secretary, under such program, to utilize contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants with colleges and universities and other non-Federal entities. (Sec. 206) Requires the Secretary to enter into continuing contracts with respect to a water resources project if initiation of construction has occurred but sufficient funds are not available to complete the project. (Sec. 207) States that competitive bid requirements applicable to certain defense contracts shall not apply with respect to a contract, agreement, or grant entered into between the Secretary and Marshall University or Juniata College in support of the Army civil works program. (Sec. 208) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of: (1) 1996 to permit studies undertaken by the Secretary concerning the Pacific region to include flood damage reduction and environmental restoration; (2) 1996 to extend through FY 2003 the Everglades and South Florida Ecosystem Restoration program; (3) 1992 to allow nonprofit entities to serve as the non-Federal interest for projects for beneficial uses of dredged material; (4) 1986 to require non-Federal interests to pay 25 percent of construction costs of a harbor project which has a depth in excess of 20 feet but not in excess of 53 (currently, 45) feet; (5) 1996 to allow nonprofit entities to serve as the non-Federal interest for aquatic ecosystem restoration projects and for watershed management, restoration, and development projects; and (6) 1996 to include for such watershed projects certain additional areas in California, Illinois, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Florida. (Sec. 214) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct projects to reduce flood hazards and restore the natural functions and values of rivers throughout the United States. Requires appropriate studies. Requires non-Federal interests to pay 35 percent of the cost of any environmental restoration or nonstructural flood control project carried out. Outlines project selection criteria, policies, and procedures. Requires a report to specified congressional committees. Provides a cost limitation of $30 million on any single project. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 215) Authorizes the Secretary to review and report to specified congressional committees on Corps implementation of the shoreline management program. (Sec. 216) Authorizes the Secretary to provide to State and local governments assistance for remediation, restoration, or reuse when such action will contribute to the conservation of water and related resources of drainage basins and watersheds. Encourages the beneficial use of dredged material in connection with such assistance. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 217) Amends the River and Harbor Act of 1968 to authorize additional shore damage mitigation activities for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, as well as Palm Beach County, Florida, and Galveston County, Texas. (Sec. 218) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to provide the non-Federal share of construction costs for projects for periodic shore nourishment. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit a fee charge to a State or local government for the use of Outer Continental Shelf sand, gravel, and shell resources. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on the state of U.S. shorelines; and (2) establish a national coastal databank for data on the geophysical and climatological characteristics of such shorelines. (Sec. 219) Amends the: (1) Flood Control Act of 1960 to direct the Secretary to coordinate with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other appropriate agencies to ensure that flood control projects and plans are complementary and integrated; and (2) Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to extend through December 31, 2003, the authority to sell annual passes for the use of recreation facilities. (Sec. 221) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with non-Federal public bodies and nonprofit entities for facilitating collaborative efforts for environmental protection and restoration, natural resources conservation, and recreation in connection with the development, operation, and management of Army water resources projects. Requires a report. (Sec. 222) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to provide for the calculation of benefits for a proposed project for nonstructural flood damage reduction. Allows current flood control projects to be reevaluated to consider nonstructural alternatives. (Sec. 223) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to include certain lakes and ponds in California and New Hampshire as authorized projects under the lakes program. (Sec. 224) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of: (1) 1996 to allow non-Federal interests to carry out construction under flood control projects only if the Secretary approves such construction after reviewing construction studies and design documents; and (2) 1986 to limit the non-Federal share of first costs which may be satisfied through in-kind contributions in connection with fish and wildlife mitigation projects. (Sec. 226) Expresses the sense of Congress that all equipment and products purchased with funds made available under this Act should be American made. (Sec. 227) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of: (1) 1996 to authorize a shoreline protection project at Captiva Island, Florida; and (2) 1990 to reduce from 50 to 35 percent of project costs the required non-Federal share for removing contaminated sediments from U.S. navigable waters. Title III: Project-Related Provisions - Modifies projects for flood control, navigation, habitat restoration, water supply, shoreline protection, shore protection and harbor mitigation, beach erosion control, storm damage reduction and shoreline erosion protection, recreation, pedestrian access features, hurricane protection, levees, environmental infrastructure, mitigation of fish and wildlife losses, watersheds, canal system restoration, environmental restoration, and rediversion (together with certain study or report requirements and adjustments or extensions of authorization of appropriations, in some cases) in the Missouri River, Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, California, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and West Virginia and Pennsylvania. (Sec. 363) Reauthorizes projects for flood control, shore protection, storm damage reduction, and navigation in Arkansas and Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan, North Dakota, and Tennessee. (Sec. 364) Deauthorizes navigation projects in Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. (Sec. 365) Modifies: (1) a project for flood damage reduction on the American and Sacramento Rivers, California; and (2) a flood control project in Martin, Kentucky. Title IV: Studies - Directs the Secretary to conduct studies with respect to specified projects in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois and Wisconsin, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, the Great Lakes, and the Chesapeake Bay. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to complete remaining portions of Natural Resources Conservation Service flood control projects at Llagas Creek, California, and Thornton Reservoir, Illinois. (Sec. 502) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to authorize appropriations for construction assistance for specified projects in Georgia, New Jersey, and Virginia. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to review sediment dredging technologies and to select the technology that will increase the effectiveness of removing contaminated sediments and significantly reduce contamination of the water column. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to provide safety assistance at specified dams in California, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 505) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to authorize nonprofit public or private entities to contribute all or a portion of the costs of Great Lakes remedial action plans. (Sec. 506) Authorizes the Secretary to undertake a program for the control of sea lampreys in and around waters of the Great Lakes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 507) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of: (1) 1996 to add specified areas in Florida, Louisiana, and Washington under a program for the maintenance of navigation channels; (2) 1986 to increase the amount authorized to conduct measurements of Lake Michigan diversions; and (3) 1986 relating to the Upper Mississippi River environmental management program to include an applied research program, require program evaluation every six years, increase and extend through FY 2009 its authorization of appropriations, and require information on habitat needs assessments to be included in required reports. (Sec. 510) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to extend through FY 2003 the authorization of appropriations for a monitoring program for the Atlantic coast of New York. (Sec. 511) Authorizes the Secretary, in evaluating water control management, to consider a regionalized water control management plan, but prohibits the implementation of such plan until a report is submitted to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 512) Adds specified projects in California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas to those eligible for the beneficial use of dredged material under the Water Resources Development Act of 1992. (Sec. 514) Authorizes the Secretary, at full Federal expense, to complete a comprehensive report for environmental restoration and protection along the Lower Missouri River between Gavins Point Dam and the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. (Sec. 515) Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement projects for fish screens, fish passage devices, and other similar measures to mitigate adverse impacts associated with irrigation system water diversions by local governmental entities in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho. (Sec. 516) Directs the Secretary to use, and encourage the use of, innovative treatment technologies for watershed and environmental restoration and protection projects involving water quality. (Sec. 517) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to add specified projects in the regional Atlanta, Georgia, watershed and Paterson and Passaic Valley, New Jersey, to authorized environmental restoration projects. (Sec. 518) Directs the Secretary to expedite completion of required reports in connection with projects in California and Florida. (Sec. 519) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a pilot project to restore natural water depths in specified portions of the Dog River, Alabama; (2) repair and rehabilitate a levee in Elba, Alabama, and Geneva, Alabama; and (3) perform operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation on 37 miles of levees in and around Augusta and Devalls Bluff, Arkansas. (Sec. 522) Directs the Secretary to survey, and provide technical, planning, and design assistance for, watershed management, restoration, and development on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. (Sec. 524) Directs the Secretary to: (1) reallocate approximately 31,000 additional acre-feet of Beaver Lake, Arkansas, to water supply storage; (2) construct the Beaver Lake trout hatchery by September 30, 2002; (3) provide technical assistance in the study, design, and implementation of measures for flood damage reduction and environmental restoration and protection in the Santa Ana River watershed, California; (4) carry out a project for flood control at Rush Creek, California; and (5) provide technical assistance in the study, design, and implementation of environmental restoration and protection of the Salton Sea, California. (Sec. 528) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) prepare special area management plans in Orange and San Diego Counties, California, for providing information regarding aquatic resources; and (2) modify a cooperative agreement with the Santa Cruz Port District, California, to reflect unanticipated additional dredging efforts and to extend such agreement for ten years. (Sec. 531) Provides a maximum Federal expenditure with respect to a hurricane and storm damage reduction project at Point Beach, Milford, Connecticut. (Sec. 532) Authorizes the Secretary to apply a specified computer model to assist non-Federal interests in developing strategies for improving water quality in the Lower St. Johns River basin, Florida. (Sec. 533) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) carry out certain environmental restoration and resource protection activities to restore Lake Allatoona and the Etowah River in Georgia; and (2) provide technical assistance for reconstruction of the Mayo's Bar Lock and Dam, Coosa River, Rome, Georgia. (Sec. 535) Directs the Secretary to study and report on development of a comprehensive flood impact response modeling system for the Coralville Reservoir and the Iowa River watershed, Iowa. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 536) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out additional construction assistance projects in Georgetown and Olney, Illinois. (Sec. 537) Directs the Secretary to offer Kansas the right to purchase water storage in Kanapolis Lake, Kansas, at a predetermined price. (Sec. 538) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to increase the authorization of appropriations for: (1) environmental assistance to non-Federal interests in southern and eastern Kentucky; and (2) flood control and improvements to rainfall drainage systems in Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Tammany Parishes, Louisiana. (Sec. 540) Authorizes the Secretary to study and provide technical assistance for flood damage reduction activities in Snug Harbor, Maryland. (Sec. 541) Authorizes the Secretary to determine if the spillage or dredged materials that were removed as part of the navigation project for the Inland Waterway from Delaware River to the Chesapeake Bay is a significant impediment to navigation and, if so, to conduct additional dredging to permit navigation on the Elk River near Welch Point, Maryland. Requires a related water supply damage study. (Sec. 542) Directs the Secretary to investigate contamination of the well system in West View Shores, Cecil County, Maryland, and, if necessary, provide alternative water supplies. (Sec. 543) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to revise technical assistance, consultation, and funding requirements with respect to water quality restoration projects in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. (Sec. 544) Authorizes the Secretary to provide up to $300,000 for alternative transportation arising as a result of the operation, maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation of the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge. (Sec. 545) Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration project to improve water quality in the vicinity of St. Louis, Missouri. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 546) Authorizes the Secretary to compile and disseminate information on floods and flood damages, and provide technical assistance regarding floodplain management, for Beaver Branch of the Big Timber Creek, New Jersey. (Sec. 547) Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to the International Joint Commission and the St. Lawrence River Board of Control for studies on the effects of fluctuating water levels along the shorelines of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River in New York. (Sec. 548) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into cooperative agreements to investigate, develop, and support measures for sediment management and reduction of contaminant sources which affect navigation in the Port of New York-New Jersey and the environmental conditions of the New York-New Jersey Harbor estuary; and (2) construct a project for shoreline protection at Sea Gate Reach, Coney Island, New York. (Sec. 550) Directs the Secretary to provide planning, design, and technical assistance to non-Federal interests for identifying and mitigating sources of contamination at Woodlawn Beach, New York. (Sec. 551) Directs the Secretary to assist in a project for developing maps identifying 100- and 500-year old flood inundation areas in the State of New York. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 552) Directs the Secretary to determine if water quality deterioration and sedimentation of the White Oak River, North Carolina, are the results of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway navigation project and, if so, to undertake mitigation efforts. (Sec. 553) Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance for the removal of military ordnance from the Toussaint River in Ottawa County, Ohio. (Sec. 554) Directs the Secretary to accept from the State of Oklahoma an amount representing its obligation for water supply storage at Sardis Reservoir in Oklahoma. (Sec. 555) Waives a required repayment by the Waurika Project Master Conservancy District for the construction of water conveyance facilities. (Sec. 556) Directs the Secretary to conduct a feasibility study for carrying out a riverbank stabilization project on the south bank of the Willamette River in Skinner Butte Park in Eugene, Oregon. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 557) Directs the Secretary, the FEMA Director, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies to assist the State of Oregon in developing and implementing a comprehensive basin-wide strategy in the Willamette River basin in order to improve water quality, reduce flood hazards, ensure economic activity, and restore fish and wildlife habitat. (Sec. 558) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assist in water-related environmental infrastructure projects in Bradford and Sullivan Counties, Pennsylvania; (2) reimburse the non-Federal interest a limited amount for architect and engineering costs in connection with the Erie Harbor basin navigation project, Pennsylvania; and (3) conduct a breakwater-dock combination at the entrance to Seven Points' Harbor, Pennsylvania. (Sec. 560) Directs the Secretary to mitigate shoreline damages in connection with the project for navigation, Point Marion Lock and Dam, Pennsylvania. (Sec. 562) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to authorize environmental restoration assistance to non-Federal interests in southeastern Pennsylvania. (Sec. 563) Authorizes the Secretary to prepare a watershed plan for the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna watershed. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 564) Directs the Secretary to study whether erosion and additional storm damage near Aguadilla Harbor, Puerto Rico, are the results of a Federal navigation project and, if so, to take mitigation measures. (Sec. 565) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to require a report from the Secretary to Congress in connection with recurring flooding and related problems near Pierre and Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. (Sec. 566) Directs the Secretary to provide technical, planning, and design assistance to non-Federal interests in developing integrated water management plans and projects that will serve Texas cities, counties, water agencies, and planning regions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 567) Authorizes the Secretary to design and construct a shore protection project: (1) in Jefferson, Chambers, and Galveston Counties, Texas, including the beneficial use of dredged material from Federal navigation projects; and (2) along Galveston Beach, Texas. (Sec. 569) Directs the Secretary to construct a navigation and storm protection project at Packery Channel, Mustang Island, Texas. (Sec. 570) Authorizes specified water resources development projects in West Virginia. (Sec. 571) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a research program to manage peak flood flows in urbanized watersheds in New Jersey. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 572) Amends the Flood Control Act of 1928 to increase the annual salary of members of the Mississippi River Commission. (Sec. 573) Authorizes the Secretary to cooperate with specified Federal officials in the development of a management strategy to address problems associated with toxic microorganisms and the resulting degradation of ecosystems in tidal and nontidal wetlands and waters of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 574) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 2000 through 2003, to withhold 100 percent of the fees collected at selected recreation sites, and to use such funds for backlogged repair and maintenance projects and for interpretation, signage, habitat or facility enhancement, resource preservation, annual operation and maintenance, and law enforcement related to public use at such sites. (Sec. 575) Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical, planning, and design assistance to Federal and non-Federal interests for carrying out projects to address water quality problems caused by drainage and related activities from abandoned and inactive non-coal mines. Authorizes the maintenance of a technology database for the reclamation of abandoned mines. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 576) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct pilot projects for the beneficial use of waste tire rubber. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 577) Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1976 to extend until January 1, 2005, the authority of the EPA Administrator to designate sites for the dumping of nontoxic or nonhazardous wastes. (Sec. 578) Directs the Secretary, subject to certain conditions and requirements, to convey real property in: (1) Pike County, Missouri, to Holnam, Inc.; (2) Osage County, Oklahoma, to qualified buyers (with a right of notice to previous owners); (3) Lake Hugo, Oklahoma, to Choctaw County Industrial Authority in Oklahoma; (4) Marshall County, Oklahoma, to the State of Oklahoma for public park and recreation purposes; (5) Leflore County, Oklahoma, to the Summerfield Cemetery Association in Oklahoma; (6) Dexter, Oregon, to the Dexter Sanitary District; (7) the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake, South Carolina, to the State of South Carolina for fish and wildlife purposes; (8) Charleston, South Carolina, to a qualified buyer; (9) Clarkston, Washington, to the Port of Clarkston; and (10) Matewan, West Virginia, to the town of Matewan. (Sec. 579) Designates the: (1) eight-mile creek in Paragould, Arkansas, as the Francis Bland Floodway Ditch; and (2) bridge over lock and dam number 4 on the Arkansas River in Arkansas as the Lawrence Blackwell Memorial Bridge. (Sec. 580) Directs the Secretary to study increasing surcharge flood control storage at the Folsom Dam and Reservoir by replacing spillway gates and raising the dam and embankment. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study opportunities to increase the available water supply storage there due to such actions. Requires the Secretary of the Army to plan, design, and construct alternative transportation to replace Folsom Dam Road. (Sec. 581) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) amend a specified contract entered into with the Placer County Water Agency to provide for the diversion and delivery of water from the Sacramento River; (2) design and construct facilities, including fish screens, for the diversion of Central Valley Project water to Placer County; (3) design, construct, or expand facilities for a pumping station to be used by the Agency to divert and pump water from the American River; and (4) design and construct gates and other facilities at Hell Hole Dam and Reservoir to enable the Agency to provide flood protection for lands and inhabitants adjacent to the American River downstream of Folsom Dam. Directs the Secretary to: (1) enter into a municipal and industrial water supply contract with the El Dorado Irrigation District to provide a specified annual amount of water, by way of diversion from Folsom Lake or water upstream on the American River or its tributaries; and (2) design and construct facilities needed to retrofit such District's current diversion infrastructure in order to provide the diversion capacity needed. Directs the Secretary to: (1) design and construct necessary facilities to provide for the diversion, transportation, treatment, and storage of a specified amount of water annually from the American River for the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District; (2) provide specified funds to the San Juan Water District for a study of water diversion facility conjunctive use opportunities within Placer and Sacramento Counties, California, and to implement a specified pilot project; (3) design and construct improvements to diversion, pumping, and transport facilities at Folsom Dam in order to pump additional water to Roseville, the San Juan Water District, Folsom, and the Placer County Water Agency; (4) contract with San Joaquin County, California, for diversion of water at the American River Nimbus diversion facility for the development of recharge projects within the East San Joaquin County Recharge Project (with an authorized $100 million loan to such County for such purpose); and (5) make available annually a specified amount of water for South Sacramento County agriculture and water users. Directs the Secretary to provide water resource grants to implement projects to provide water supply benefits to areas cited under this section. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Outlines implementation requirements, including environmental compliance. Directs the Secretary to contract with the State of California to undertake studies to determine opportunities to increase the available water supply and water storage capacity within specified California areas. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to administer Central Valley Project water contracts on the American River. (Sec. 582) Provides for the allocation of funds authorized to be appropriated under sections 580 and 581, above, during various fiscal years. (Sec. 583) Directs the Secretary of the Army to take emergency action to protect Wallops Island, Virginia, from damaging coastal storms. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 814 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Activities to Improve the Quality of Child Care Subtitle A: Child Care Quality Improvement Incentive Program Subtitle B: Increased Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards Subtitle C: Distribution of Information about Quality Child Care Title II: Expanding Professional Development Opportunities Title III: Expanding Youth Development Opportunities During Non-School Hours Title IV: Expanding Child Care Subsidy for Low-Income Families Creating Healthy Opportunities and Improving Child Education and Support Act - CHOICES Act - Title I: Activities to Improve the Quality of Child Care - Subtitle A: Child Care Quality Improvement Incentive Program - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (the Secretary) to establish a program to award grants to States to help fund activities to improve the quality of child care. (Sec. 103) Allocates funds to the States (tribal organizations, and U.S. territories and possessions) based on a specified formula, and a minimum allocation for small States. (Sec. 104) Requires States, as a condition of receiving such grant funds, to: (1) certify that, since 1995, they have not reduced the scope of State child care standards requirements, or further limited State licensing requirements with respect to the types of child care providers required to be licensed, or otherwise restricted the application of such licensing requirements; (2) comply with the provisions of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (CCDBGA); (3) expend at least 80 percent of the funds allocated to the State for child care matching funds under the Social Security Act program of temporary assistance to needy families (TANF); and (4) make a ten percent non-Federal matching fund contribution from State or local public sources or private donations. (Sec. 105) Sets forth various authorized uses of grant funds to improve the quality of child care within a State, including supplementing child care provider salaries, assistance to small businesses desiring to provide child care assistance to employees, expansion of resource and referral services, educational and training scholarship for child care providers, increasing subsidies for recipients under CCDBGA, subsidizing child care for special needs children, conducting background checks, and increasing the monitoring of child care providers. (Sec. 107) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Increased Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards - Amends CCDBGA to: (1) provide a bonus for States that effectively enforce existing State laws and regulations regarding the inspection of child care facilities; and (2) decrease administrative funds for States that do not adequately enforce such State child care inspection requirements. Subtitle C: Distribution of Information About Quality Child Care - Directs the Secretary to: (1) award competitive contracts to qualified entities to collect and disseminate information on the importance of high quality child care, conduct a public awareness campaign promoting such care, and provide technical assistance to States, local governments, private nonprofit child care organizations, child care credentialing or accreditation entities, child care providers, and parents; (2) develop a mechanism for the collection and dissemination of statistical data on the supply and demand for child care services; and (3) award competitive grants to improve their procedures and methods to child care credentialing and accreditation entities that have been providing such services to child care providers for not more than ten years. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Expanding Professional Development Opportunities - Directs the Secretary to establish a child care training infrastructure using the Internet and existing distance learning resources to provide high quality, interactive skills training for child care providers. (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Reserves at least ten percent of the authorized funds, within the child care training infrastructure, to establish and operate a revolving loan fund to enable child care providers to purchase computers and other equipment to access the child care training infrastructure through no-interest loans. Title III: Expanding Youth Development Opportunities During Non-School Hours - Establishes various programs that provide care for school-aged children during the non-school hours, and that focus on youth development. (Sec. 303) Directs the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of HHS to award grants to eligible States for quality non-school hours programs for school-aged children and youth. (Sec. 304) Allocates funds to States (and certain U.S. territories and possessions) based on the numbers of youth aged five through 17 and of children qualifying for free or reduced-price school lunches, with a minimum allocation for small States. (Sec. 305) Requires an applicant State to designate the regions (administrative regions or political subdivisions) to which it will allocate grant funds. (Sec. 306) Requires State allocation of funds to such regions based on numbers of five to 17-year-olds and of children qualifying for free or reduced-price school lunches. Directs the State to use the funds allocated to each region to award competitive grants to local entities in that region. Requires grant preference to be given to entities that assure such funds will be used for a non-school hours program with: (1) activities designed to remove barriers to availability of non-school hours child care; and (2) a variety of youth activities in a cohesive network that coordinates public and private resources. (Sec. 307) Sets forth grant application requirements for local entities. (Sec. 308) Requires local entities to use grant funds for activities that: (1) meet the child care needs of working parents during the non-school hours including before- and after-school, weekends, school holidays, vacation periods and other non-school hours; (2) activities that will promote at least two youth development competencies (social, physical, emotional, moral or cognitive); and (3) designed to reduce risk factors, increase youth protective factors, and assis-- in youth acquistion of skills and competencies for transition from childhood to adulthood. Authorizes local entities to use grant funds for activities for youth, including various specified types of programs and other locally determined programs. Requires local entities to use at least 50 percent of grant funds to subsidize the cost of participation in the non-school hours program for low-income youth. (Sec. 309) Directs the Assistant Secretary to: (1) establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of funded activities; (2) coordinate the grant program with similar activities in other Federal agencies; (3) provide appropriate training and technical assistance to States and local entities; and (4) terminate funding for States or entities upon determining that they fail to comply with the requirements of this title. (Sec. 310) Requires grantee State Governors to designate an entity to administer the State grant activities under this title. Requires grantee States to: (1) establish mechanisms for receiving program advice and input from service providers and recipients; (2) review, monitor, assist, and enforce program compliance; and (3) provide technical assistance. (Sec. 311) Requires activities funded under this title to be coordinated with activities receiving funds from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act. (Sec. 312) Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Expanding Child Care Subsidy for Low-Income Families - Amends CCDBGA to double the amount of an authorization of appropriations for CCDBGA programs. (Sec. 402) Requires assurances that specified uses of automated payment systems under CCDBGA: (1) not limit parental choice; and (2) facilitate the prompt, accurate payment of child care providers. Revises the portion of CCDBGA funds which may be used for low-income families who are not TANF qualified recipients of child care subsidies. Establishes separate State subsidy rates dependent upon the age of the child, the setting of the child care services (home, center, group), special needs, and geographic location. Requires States to reduce any State-required parental co-payment by the amount of the difference between the child care subsidy provided and 85 percent of the State-established market rate for that child. (Sec. 403) Authorizes States receiving CCDBGA funds to use automated systems, including electronic benefit transfer systems for: (1) monitoring or tracking child care attendance or otherwise conducting data collection under CCDBGA; (2) ensuring prompt and accurate payment for child care services under CCDBGA; or (3) other purposes that increase State efficiency in administering such funds.
Bill· SS. 810 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Caring for America's Children Act - Title I: Tax Benefits for Families with Children - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the Dependent Care Tax Credit (DCTC) by: (1) increasing the amount of allowable expenses from $2,400 to $3,600 for one dependent, and from $4,800 to $6,000 for two or more; (2) increasing the maximum percentage of the allowable employment-related expenses to 40 percent; (3) raising the adjusted gross income level receiving the maximum percentage to $50,000; and (4) permitting educational programs and third party transportation costs to be counted as allowable expenses. (Sec. 102) Increases the Child Tax Credit from $500 per year to $900 per year. (Sec. 103) Increases the dollar contribution limit in the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) to $7,000 a year for two or more dependents. Permits contributions to DCAP accounts during pregnancy, usable for one year after the birth of a child. Permits the use of DCAP funds to pay a spouse or grandparent to care for a pre-school aged child at home. Establishes a DCAP for Federal employees. (Sec. 104) Permits parents to choose between the DCTC, Child Tax Credit, and the DCAP for each dependent child (each tax benefit mutually exclusive for each child). (Sec. 105) Revises the Home Office tax deduction to permit parents to care for a dependent child within the home office space and maintain the "exclusive use" designation for the home office tax deduction. (Sec. 106) Amends title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) the Social Security Act to require States to include the cost of child care in the calculation of child support orders. Title II: Activities to Improve the Quality of Child Care - Subtitle A: Encouraging Business Involvement in Child Care - Establishes a child care tax credit for employers up to $150,000 a year ($250,000 a year with respect to three or more company child care facilities in different locations) in allowable employee-related child care expenses such as the construction or renovation of facilities and employee subsidies. (Sec. 202) Extends the charitable tax deduction for contributions of scientific property used for research to include the contribution of scientific and computer equipment, transportation services, qualified employee volunteer time, and the use of facilities and equipment to public schools and child care providers. Subtitle B: Child Care Quality Improvement Incentive Program - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State grant program to fund activities designed to improve the quality of child care. (Sec. 213) Allocates funds to the States (based on the Child Care and Development formula). (Sec. 214) Requires States, in order to receive grant funds, to: (1) certify that the State has not reduced the scope of State child care requirements since 1995; (2) be in compliance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant; and (3) have expended at least 80 percent of the funds allocated to the State for child care matching funds under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) (TANF). Sets the Federal share of the cost of State activities at 90 percent. (Sec. 215) Authorizes a State to use grant funds for specified activities designed to improve the quality of child care, including: (1) supplements to child care provider salaries; (2) assistance to small businesses desiring to provide child care assistance to employees; (3) expansion of resource and referral services, educational and training scholarship for child care providers; (4) increased subsidies for Child Care and Development Block Grant recipients; (5) subsidies for child care for special needs children; and (6) background checks and increasing the monitoring of child care providers. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Increased Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (CCDBGA) to provide for: (1) a bonus for States which effectively enforce existing state law and regulations regarding the inspection of child care facilities; and (2) a decrease in CCDBG administrative funds for States which do not adequately enforce State child care inspection requirements. Subtitle D: Distribution of Information About Quality Child Care - Directs the Secretary, through the award of competitive contracts, to: (1) provide technical assistance and disseminate information on high quality child care to parents, local governments, child care organizations, and child care providers; and (2) conduct a public awareness campaign promoting quality child care. (Sec. 231) Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a mechanism for the collection and dissemination of information on the supply and demand for child care services; and (4) award competitive grants to existing child care credentialing or accreditation entities to assist them in improving their procedures and methods. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Expanding Professional Development Opportunities - Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible organizations to develop and operate technology-based child care training infrastructures utilizing the Internet and existing distance learning resources to provide high quality, interactive skills training for child care providers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Directs the Chief Executive Project Officer to use at least ten percent of the authorized funds, within the child care training infrastructure, to establish and operate a revolving fund to make no-interest loans to enable child care providers to purchase computers and other equipment to access the child care training infrastructure. Title IV: Expanding Youth Development Opportunities During the Non-School Hours - Directs the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of HHS to award grants to States for the Federal share (80 percent) of the cost of establishing programs that provide care for school-aged children during the non-school hours. (Sec. 408) Requires the use of grant funds for activities that: (1) meet the child care needs of working parents during the non-school hours, including before- and after-school, weekends, school holidays, and vacation periods; (2) will promote at least two youth development competencies (social, physical, emotional, moral or cognitive); (3) are designed to increase youth protective factors and reduce risk factors; and (4) include leadership development, delinquency prevention, sports and recreation, arts and cultural activities, character development, tutoring and academic enrichment, mentoring, and other locally determined programs. Requires that at least 50 percent of the funds made available to an entity be used to subsidize the cost of participation in the non-school hours program for low-income youth. (Sec. 409) Directs the Assistant Secretary to: (1) establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of funded activities; (2) coordinate the grant program with similar activities in other Federal agencies; (3) provide appropriate training and technical assistance to States and local entities; and (4) terminate funding for States or entities which fail to comply with the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 410) Requires the Governor of each State to designate an entity to administer the grant activities. (Sec. 412) Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Child Care in Federal Facilities - Federal Employees Child Care Act - Requires any Federal agency operating, or entity contracting with a Federal agency to operate, a child care facility primarily for the use of Federal employees (including executive and judicial branch employees) to comply with child care standards no less stringent than those required of other child care facilities in the same geographical area within six months, and within three years with those established by a child care accreditation entity. (Sec. 503) Requires the Administrator of General Services to establish an interagency council to facilitate cooperation and sharing of best practices, and develop and coordinate policy, regarding the provision of child care, including the provision of areas for nursing mothers and other lactation support facilities and services, in the Federal Government. (Sec. 504) Directs the Administrator and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to evaluate jointly for Congress of child care services in executive, legislative, or judicial facilities. (Sec. 505) Authorizes Federal agencies to use appropriated funds to subsidize or otherwise assist lower income Federal employees meet the costs of child care provided through contract or on-site. (Sec. 506) Amends Federal law to re-authorize the Trible Amendment which permits federal facilities to provide on-site child care services. Authorizes Federal agencies to conduct pilot projects on innovative approaches to providing employee child care services. Requires criminal background checks for employees of child care facilities located in Federal facilities. Title VI: Expanding Child Care Subsidy for Low-Income Families - Amends the CCDBGA to increase the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 602) Requires a State CCDBG plan to assure that the use of automated payment systems will not limit parental choice and will facilitate the prompt, accurate payment of child care providers. Requires a State to ensure that 70 percent (currently, a substantial portion) of CCDBG funds are used for low-income families who are not TANF-qualified recipients of child care subsidies. Requires States to ensure maximum parental choice of child care providers by establishing separate subsidy rates dependent upon the age of the child, the setting of the child care services (home, center, group), special needs, and geographic location. Requires States to reduce any required parental co-payment by the amount of the difference between the market rate and any State child care subsidy that is less than 85 percent of such market rate. Title VII: Construction and Renovation of Child Care Facilities - Subtitle A: Community Development Block Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize the use of Community Development Block Grant funds to renovate or construct child care facilities. Subtitle B: Mortgage Insurance For Child Care Facilities - Amends title II of the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure mortgages on new and rehabilitated child care facilities, as well as fire safety equipment loans to such facilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 712) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to insure mortgages for the purchase or refinancing of existing child care facilities. (Sec. 713) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on the secondary mortgage markets to determine: (1) whether markets exist for purchase of mortgages eligible for insurance under the National Housing Act; (2) whether the market will affect the availability of credit for development of child care facilities; and (3) the extent to which the market will provide credit enhancement for loans for such facilities. (Sec. 714) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to award competitive grants to eligible private, nonprofit intermediary organizations to provide technical and financial assistance to child care providers for the renovation, construction, and purchase of child care facilities. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1471 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Money Laundering Prevention Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to specified congressional committees on private banking activities in the United States. (Sec. 4) Amends Federal banking law to direct the Secretary to prescribe regulations which require financial institutions to maintain all accounts in such a way as to ensure that: (1) the the name of the account holder and the number of the account are associated with all account activity of such holder; and (2) all such information is available for purposes of account supervision and law enforcement. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to develop criteria for identifying areas outside the United States in which money laundering activities are concentrated, designate such areas as high-intensity money laundering areas, provide a written notice to each insured depository institution and each depository institution holding company that controls an insured depository institution of the identity of the country designated, and provide a written warning that there is a concentration of money laundering activity in such country. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the court to double the sentence of fine, imprisonment, or both, that could be otherwise imposed if the person commits the violation with respect to a transaction involving a person in, a relationship maintained for a person in, or a transport of a monetary instrument involving a foreign country, knowing that a designation of the foreign country as a high-intensity money laundering area was in effect at the time of the violation. (Sec. 7) Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to direct that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: (1) take into consideration the effectiveness of the company in combating and preventing money laundering activities, including in overseas branches; (2) not consider any application (regarding acquisition of bank shares or assets) involving any company which is the subject of any pending Federal investigation of possible money laundering or other related financial crimes, or pending Federal prosecution for such crimes, until such investigation or prosecution is completed and a finding is made, with an exception; and (3) disapprove any such application involving a company which has been found criminally or civilly liable for such a crime during the five-year period preceding consideration of such application by the Board.
Bill· HRH.R. 1430 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Caring for America's Children Act - Title I: Tax Benefits for Families with Children - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the Dependent Care Tax Credit (DCTC) by: (1) increasing the amount of allowable expenses from $2,400 to $3,600 for one dependent, and from $4,800 to $6,000 for two or more; (2) increasing the maximum percentage of the allowable employment-related expenses to 40 percent; (3) raising the adjusted gross income level receiving the maximum percentage to $50,000; and (4) permitting educational programs and third party transportation costs to be counted as allowable expenses. (Sec. 102) Increases the Child Tax Credit from $500 per year to $900 per year. (Sec. 103) Increases the dollar contribution limit in the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) to $7,000 a year for two or more dependents. Permits contributions to DCAP accounts during pregnancy, usable for one year after the birth of a child. Permits the use of DCAP funds to pay a spouse or grandparent to care for a pre-school aged child at home. Establishes a DCAP for Federal employees. (Sec. 104) Permits parents to choose between the DCTC, Child Tax Credit, and the DCAP for each dependent child (each tax benefit mutually exclusive for each child). (Sec. 105) Revises the Home Office tax deduction to permit parents to care for a dependent child within the home office space and maintain the "exclusive use" designation for the home office tax deduction. (Sec. 106) Amends title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) the Social Security Act to require States to include the cost of child care in the calculation of child support orders. Title II: Activities to Improve the Quality of Child Care - Subtitle A: Encouraging Business Involvement in Child Care - Establishes a child care tax credit for employers up to $150,000 a year ($250,000 a year with respect to three or more company child care facilities in different locations) in allowable employee-related child care expenses such as the construction or renovation of facilities and employee subsidies. (Sec. 202) Extends the charitable tax deduction for contributions of scientific property used for research to include the contribution of scientific and computer equipment, transportation services, qualified employee volunteer time, and the use of facilities and equipment to public schools and child care providers. Subtitle B: Child Care Quality Improvement Incentive Program - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State grant program to fund activities designed to improve the quality of child care. (Sec. 213) Allocates funds to the States (based on the Child Care and Development formula). (Sec. 214) Requires States, in order to receive grant funds, to: (1) certify that the State has not reduced the scope of State child care requirements since 1995; (2) be in compliance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant; and (3) have expended at least 80 percent of the funds allocated to the State for child care matching funds under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) (TANF). Sets the Federal share of the cost of State activities at 90 percent. (Sec. 215) Authorizes a State to use grant funds for specified activities designed to improve the quality of child care, including: (1) supplements to child care provider salaries; (2) assistance to small businesses desiring to provide child care assistance to employees; (3) expansion of resource and referral services, educational and training scholarship for child care providers; (4) increased subsidies for Child Care and Development Block Grant recipients; (5) subsidies for child care for special needs children; and (6) background checks and increasing the monitoring of child care providers. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Increased Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (CCDBGA) to provide for: (1) a bonus for States which effectively enforce existing state law and regulations regarding the inspection of child care facilities; and (2) a decrease in CCDBG administrative funds for States which do not adequately enforce State child care inspection requirements. Subtitle D: Distribution of Information About Quality Child Care - Directs the Secretary, through the award of competitive contracts, to: (1) provide technical assistance and disseminate information on high quality child care to parents, local governments, child care organizations, and child care providers; and (2) conduct a public awareness campaign promoting quality child care. (Sec. 231) Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a mechanism for the collection and dissemination of information on the supply and demand for child care services; and (4) award competitive grants to existing child care credentialing or accreditation entities to assist them in improving their procedures and methods. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Expanding Professional Development Opportunities - Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible organizations to develop and operate technology-based child care training infrastructures utilizing the Internet and existing distance learning resources to provide high quality, interactive skills training for child care providers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Directs the Chief Executive Project Officer to use at least ten percent of the authorized funds, within the child care training infrastructure, to establish and operate a revolving fund to make no-interest loans to enable child care providers to purchase computers and other equipment to access the child care training infrastructure. Title IV: Expanding Youth Development Opportunities During the Non-School Hours - Directs the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of HHS to award grants to States for the Federal share (80 percent) of the cost of establishing programs that provide care for school-aged children during the non-school hours. (Sec. 408) Requires the use of grant funds for activities that: (1) meet the child care needs of working parents during the non-school hours, including before- and after-school, weekends, school holidays, and vacation periods; (2) will promote at least two youth development competencies (social, physical, emotional, moral or cognitive); (3) are designed to increase youth protective factors and reduce risk factors; and (4) include leadership development, delinquency prevention, sports and recreation, arts and cultural activities, character development, tutoring and academic enrichment, mentoring, and other locally determined programs. Requires that at least 50 percent of the funds made available to an entity be used to subsidize the cost of participation in the non-school hours program for low-income youth. (Sec. 409) Directs the Assistant Secretary to: (1) establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of funded activities; (2) coordinate the grant program with similar activities in other Federal agencies; (3) provide appropriate training and technical assistance to States and local entities; and (4) terminate funding for States or entities which fail to comply with the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 410) Requires the Governor of each State to designate an entity to administer the grant activities. (Sec. 412) Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Child Care in Federal Facilities - Federal Employees Child Care Act - Requires any Federal agency operating, or entity contracting with a Federal agency to operate, a child care facility primarily for the use of Federal employees (including executive and judicial branch employees) to comply with child care standards no less stringent than those required of other child care facilities in the same geographical area within six months, and within three years with those established by a child care accreditation entity. (Sec. 503) Requires the Administrator of General Services to establish an interagency council to facilitate cooperation and sharing of best practices, and develop and coordinate policy, regarding the provision of child care, including the provision of areas for nursing mothers and other lactation support facilities and services, in the Federal Government. (Sec. 504) Directs the Administrator and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to evaluate jointly for Congress of child care services in executive, legislative, or judicial facilities. (Sec. 505) Authorizes Federal agencies to use appropriated funds to subsidize or otherwise assist lower income Federal employees meet the costs of child care provided through contract or on-site. (Sec. 506) Amends Federal law to re-authorize the Trible Amendment which permits federal facilities to provide on-site child care services. Authorizes Federal agencies to conduct pilot projects on innovative approaches to providing employee child care services. Requires criminal background checks for employees of child care facilities located in Federal facilities. Title VI: Expanding Child Care Subsidy for Low-Income Families - Amends the CCDBGA to increase the authorization of appropriations. (Sec. 602) Requires a State CCDBG plan to assure that the use of automated payment systems will not limit parental choice and will facilitate the prompt, accurate payment of child care providers. Requires a State to ensure that 70 percent (currently, a substantial portion) of CCDBG funds are used for low-income families who are not TANF-qualified recipients of child care subsidies. Requires States to ensure maximum parental choice of child care providers by establishing separate subsidy rates dependent upon the age of the child, the setting of the child care services (home, center, group), special needs, and geographic location. Requires States to reduce any required parental co-payment by the amount of the difference between the market rate and any State child care subsidy that is less than 85 percent of such market rate. Title VII: Construction and Renovation of Child Care Facilities - Subtitle A: Community Development Block Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize the use of Community Development Block Grant funds to renovate or construct child care facilities. Subtitle B: Mortgage Insurance For Child Care Facilities - Amends title II of the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure mortgages on new and rehabilitated child care facilities, as well as fire safety equipment loans to such facilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 712) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to insure mortgages for the purchase or refinancing of existing child care facilities. (Sec. 713) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on the secondary mortgage markets to determine: (1) whether markets exist for purchase of mortgages eligible for insurance under the National Housing Act; (2) whether the market will affect the availability of credit for development of child care facilities; and (3) the extent to which the market will provide credit enhancement for loans for such facilities. (Sec. 714) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to award competitive grants to eligible private, nonprofit intermediary organizations to provide technical and financial assistance to child care providers for the renovation, construction, and purchase of child care facilities. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1448 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1999
Airspace Redesign Enhancement Act of 1999 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to redesign expeditiously the airspace over the New Jersey-New York metropolitan area by a specified time. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· SS. 800 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and any agency or entity to which the FCC delegates such authority to designate 911 as the universal emergency telephone number within the United States for reporting an emergency to appropriate authorities and requesting assistance. Applies such designation to both wireline and wireless telephone service. Directs the FCC to provide appropriate transition periods for areas in which 911 is not currently an emergency number. Requires the FCC to encourage and support efforts by States to deploy comprehensive end-to-end emergency communications infrastructure and programs based on coordinated statewide plans. Requires appropriate consultation with regard to such deployment. Provides immunity from liability, to the same extent as provided to local telephone exchange companies, for providers of wireless 911 service. Provides immunity for users of wireless 911 service to the same extent as provided to users of 911 service that is not wireless. Provides immunity for public safety answering points (emergency dispatchers). Authorizes telecommunications carriers to provide call location information concerning a user of a commercial mobile service to: (1) emergency dispatchers and emergency service personnel in order to respond to the user's call; (2) the user's legal guardian or family member in an emergency situation that involves the risk of death or serious physical harm; or (3) providers of information or data base management services solely for assisting in the delivery of emergency services. Requires a customer's express prior authorization for disclosure to any other person. Requires telephone exchange service providers to provide both listed and unlisted subscriber information to providers of emergency and emergency support services.
Bill· HRH.R. 1426 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Money Laundering Prevention Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to specified congressional committees on private banking activities in the United States. (Sec. 4) Amends Federal banking law to direct the Secretary to prescribe regulations which require financial institutions to maintain all accounts in such a way as to ensure that: (1) the the name of the account holder and the number of the account are associated with all account activity of such holder; and (2) all such information is available for purposes of account supervision and law enforcement. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to develop criteria for identifying areas outside the United States in which money laundering activities are concentrated, designate such areas as high-intensity money laundering areas, provide a written notice to each insured depository institution and each depository institution holding company that controls an insured depository institution of the identity of the country designated, and provide a written warning that there is a concentration of money laundering activity in such country. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the court to double the sentence of fine, imprisonment, or both, that could be otherwise imposed if the person commits the violation with respect to a transaction involving a person in, a relationship maintained for a person in, or a transport of a monetary instrument involving a foreign country, knowing that a designation of the foreign country as a high-intensity money laundering area was in effect at the time of the violation. (Sec. 7) Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to direct that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: (1) take into consideration the effectiveness of the company in combating and preventing money laundering activities, including in overseas branches; (2) not consider any application (regarding acquisition of bank shares or assets) involving any company which is the subject of any pending Federal investigation of possible money laundering or other related financial crimes, or pending Federal prosecution for such crimes, until such investigation or prosecution is completed and a finding is made, with an exception; and (3) disapprove any such application involving a company which has been found criminally or civilly liable for such a crime during the five-year period preceding consideration of such application by the Board.
Bill· HRH.R. 1417 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1999
Single Standard of Aviation Safety Act - Amends Federal aviation law to subject to Federal Aviation Administration safety regulation both nonmilitary government aircraft and military aircraft transporting civilians (including persons who operate such aircraft).
Bill· HRH.R. 1378 (106th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1999
Amends Federal pipeline safety law to authorize appropriations for FY 2001 and 2002 for: (1) gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs; and (2) State grants to carry out such programs.
Bill· SS. 747 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to declare that it is U.S. rail transportation policy to: (1) encourage and promote effective competition within the rail industry; and (2) discourage artificial barriers to interchange and car supply which can impede competition between shortline, regional, and Class I carriers and block effective rail service to shippers. (Sec. 3) Extends from 30 days to 60 days (including an additional 60 day extension, but no longer than 18 months unless the Board requests an extension from Congress) the period of time that the Surface Transportation Board may direct the handling, routing, and movement of rail carrier traffic during emergency situations involving congestion of traffic, unauthorized cessation of operations, or other failure of traffic movement. (Sec. 4) Directs the Board to: (1) review rules and procedures applicable to rate complaints and other complaints filed with it by small shippers; and (2) identify, and reduce or eliminate, any such rules or procedures that are unduly burdensome to them; and (3) notify specified congressional committees that such changes in the rules and procedures are appropriate. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the Board from considering evidence of product or geographic competition when making market dominance determinations in rail rate proceedings. (Sec. 6) Amends U.S. rail transportation policy to eliminate a requirement that the Board make a determination with respect to what are adequate revenues for rail carriers in the promotion of a safe and efficient rail transportation system. Requires the Board, in order to facilitate the process by which it gives due consideration to the policy that rail carriers shall earn adequate revenues, to convene a three-member panel of outside experts to make recommendations as to an appropriate methodology by which the adequacy of a carrier's revenues should be considered. (Sec. 7) Provides for situations in which a shipper and rail carrier enter into a contract for transportation that requires a through route with the connecting carrier and there is no reasonable alternative route that can be constructed without the connecting carrier' participation. Requires a connecting carrier in such a situation, upon request, to establish a through route and a contract rate (bottleneck rate) for such transportation unless the connecting carrier shows that: (1) the interchange requested is not operationally feasible; or (2) the through route would significantly impair the connecting carrier's ability to serve its other traffic. Requires contract rate complaints to be limited to the rate that applies to the portion of the through route not governed by the contract. (Sec. 8) Directs the Board to promulgate regulations adopting a simplified dispute resolution mechanism that will expedite (with a minimum of discovery) the arbitration of disputes before the Board (other than rate reasonableness cases that would be decided under constrained market pricing principles). (Sec. 9) Requires the Board, in proceedings which involve the merger or control of at least two Class I railroads, to consider, among other things, means and methods to encourage and expand competition between and among rail carriers in the affected region or the national rail system. Authorizes the Board to impose conditions to encourage and expand such competition, provided that they do not cause substantial harm to the benefits of the transaction to the affected carriers or the public. (Sec. 10) Authorizes the Board to grant temporary access relief to a rail carrier to through routes or terminal facilities in order to remedy inadequate rail service. (Sec. 11) Excludes agreements affecting only the transportation of household goods from the requirement that Board approval of route and rate agreements between motor carriers expire within three years of such approval unless renewed. (Sec. 12) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 13) Requires Senate confirmation with respect to the appointment of the Board Chairman.
Bill· SS. 722 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Amends Federal aviation law, with respect to the automatic stay of administrative orders pending appeal, to provide for the immediate application, upon determination of an emergency by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, of orders relating to the amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of aviation safety certificates, unless the Administrator, upon inquiry by the National Transportation Safety Board, cannot prove the existence of an emergency.
Bill· SS. 716 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
21st Century Safe and Sound Communities Act - Title I: Increased Placement of Juveniles in Appropriate Correctional Facilities - Directs the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to make grants to qualifying States to assist them in planning, establishing, and operating secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, and other facilities and programs for violent juveniles and serious chronic juvenile offenders adjudicated as having committed one or more offenses. Outlines grant application and distribution requirements. Requires each facility or program funded to contain an evaluation component developed under guidelines established by the Administrator, including outcome measures. Authorizes the Administrator to require grant recipients to report on evaluation results. Requires the provision of technical assistance and training to grant recipients. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000. Reduces by a proportionate amount the authorization of appropriations for such fiscal year under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (VCCLEA). (Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to report to Congress regarding the possible use of performance-based criteria in evaluating and improving the effectiveness of such facilities and programs. (Sec. 104) Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) to: (1) permit shared staff for adults and juveniles; (2) expand the conditions under which juveniles may be temporarily detained in adult jails; and (3) require staff who work with both detained juveniles and adults to be trained and certified to work with juveniles. Title II: Reducing Youth Access to Firearms - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any licensed firearms manufacturer, importer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any handgun to any person (other than another licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer) unless the transferee is provided with a locking device for such handgun. Provides exceptions (U.S. Government or State departments, agencies, and law enforcement officers). Provides civil penalties and other administrative remedies (license suspension or revocation) for violations. (Sec. 202) Makes it unlawful for any person: (1) to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or reasonably believing that such person has committed an act of juvenile delinquency; and (2) who has committed such an act to ship, transport, possess, or receive any firearm or ammunition. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to expand the number of: (1) city and county law enforcement agencies that, through the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII), submit identifying information concerning firearms recovered during criminal investigations of individuals under age 25; and (2) criminal investigations of illegal firearms traffickers identified through YCGII. Authorizes program grant awards to States, cities, and counties. Directs the Secretary to establish a system through which State and local law enforcement agencies, through on-line computer technology, can promptly access YCGII information and provide firearms-related information to the Secretary. Requires a report to the congressional appropriations committees concerning such on-line access and the types and sources of firearms recovered under the program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005. (Sec. 204) Provides civil and criminal penalties for the sale or delivery of a handgun or ammunition to, or possession or use of a handgun or ammunition by, a juvenile. (Sec. 205) Directs the Attorney General (AG) and the Secretary to designate not less than ten local jurisdictions in which to enforce aggressively Federal laws designed to prevent the possession by criminals of firearms, authorizing the use of Federal personnel for such purpose. Outlines program criteria and priorities. Requires a joint annual report to the congressional judiciary committees, as well as an evaluation of the program's effectiveness. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004. Title III: Consolidation of Programs for At-Risk Youth - Repeals specified Federal crime prevention programs, including JJDPA provisions relating to State challenge grants and mentoring and Community Services Block Grant Act provisions relating to the National Youth Sports Program. (Sec. 303) Requires the appropriate entities (the Attorney General, with respect to certain anticrime programs established under this title and JJDPA and the Secretary of Education, with respect to the 21st Century Learning Centers Program established under this title) to jointly formulate and publish a unified national crime prevention and evaluation strategy (including appropriate studies) that will result in timely reports to Congress and State and local governments regarding the impact and effectiveness of authorized programs (programs created under this title and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Challenge Grants for At-Risk Children Program under the JJDPA). Outlines evaluation requirements, requiring no less than five and not more than ten percent of funds appropriated to each authorized program to be used for such evaluation and research. (Sec. 304) Amends the JJDPA to: (1) include Indian tribes within the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Challenge Grants for At-Risk Children Program; (2) add as authorized Program activities after-school programs, the teaching of life skills, accountability and responsibility education, restitution and community service activities, and other services or activities to reduce or prevent truancy, school violence, and juvenile crime; (3) revise eligibility requirements for units of local government receiving grant assistance to implement the Program; and (4) increase and extend for FY 2000 through 2004 the authorization of appropriations for such Program. (Sec. 305) Establishes in the Justice Department an Executive Office for Weed and Seed Programs, to implement and administer a multidisciplinary approach to weeding out crime and for seeding services and activities that promote: (1) safety and security; (2) the prevention of crime and juvenile delinquency; and (3) community revitalization. Authorizes the AG to award grants to units of general local government, State and local agencies, and private nonprofit agencies and organizations to implement such activities. Outlines authorized weeding and seeding activities, with certain grant priorities. Directs the AG to target communities that have been severely distressed by crime and delinquency but to also ensure the equitable geographic distribution of grant awards. Provides grant application requirements. Requires the evaluation of Weed and Seed programs and authorizes the AG to conduct necessary investigations and inspections. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations for such programs. (Sec. 306) Amends the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act to increase and extend through FY 2004 the authorization of appropriations for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. (Sec. 307) Repeals specified Federal gang prevention programs under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 and the JJDPA. Authorizes the Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services to jointly make grants to public agencies and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions for a unified gang prevention and intervention program. Provides grant requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004. (Sec. 308) Directs the Administrator to make a grant to the National Collaboration for Youth, for each of FY 2000 through 2004, if the appropriate Collaboration official submits an application meeting specified requirements. Directs the Collaboration to use grant funds to enter into contracts with local boards (established under this section) or community-based youth service organizations, local public educational agencies, and private schools for the establishment of community-based youth crime prevention programs conducted by community-based youth service organizations. Establishes: (1) a National Board to decide on the use of grant funds; and (2) local boards for each community wishing to enter into a contract with the National Board for the distribution of grant funds (requiring each local board to submit a local plan for providing or expanding community-based youth crime prevention programs in their community). Outlines grant application requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004. (Sec. 309) Directs the Ounce of Prevention Council to report to Congress on the elimination of duplication and inefficiency in the structure and operation of Federal juvenile crime and delinquency prevention programs. Title IV: Juvenile Crime Control and Accountability Block Grants - Authorizes the Administrator (subject to the availability of appropriations) to make grants to States for use by States and units of local government in planning, establishing, operating, coordinating, and evaluating projects for the development of more effective investigation, prosecution, and punishment of crimes or acts of delinquency committed by juveniles, programs to improve the administration of justice for and ensure accountability by juvenile offenders, and programs to reduce the risk factors (truancy, drugs, alcohol, gang involvement) associated with juvenile crime or delinquency. Provides authorized grant uses, eligibility requirements, and allocation and distribution requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004, allowing such funds to be derived from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. Title V: Reauthorization of COPS Program and Juvenile Justice Programs - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for: (1) the COPS Program under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968; and (2) specified juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs under JJDPA. Title VI: Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund - Amends the VCCLEA to authorize appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
Bill· HRH.R. 1293 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Transportation Employee Fair Taxation Act of 1999 - Amends Federal shipping law to subject an individual to income tax liability in the State where such individual resides with respect to income derived by the individual while: (1) engaged as a pilot on a vessel performing duties in more than one State; or (2) performing regularly-assigned duties as a master, officer, or crewman on a vessel operating on the navigable waters of more than one State.
Bill· HRH.R. 1300 (106th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfields Revitalization Title II: Community Participation and Human Health Subtitle A: Community Participation Subtitle B: Human Health Title III: Liability Reform Title IV: Remedy Selection Title V: General Provisions Title VI: Funding Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund Subtitle B: Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund Recycle America's Land Act of 1999 - Title I: Brownfields Revitalization - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the President to establish a program to provide grants to eligible States or political subdivisions, including Indian tribes, for: (1) inventory and assessment of brownfield facilities; and (2) capitalization of revolving loan funds for remedial actions at such facilities. Defines a "brownfield facility" as real property with respect to which expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide technical and other assistance to States to establish and expand State voluntary cleanup programs. Makes limited amounts available from Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004 for such assistance. (Sec. 104) Bars the President or any person (other than a State), with respect to a facility that is not listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) at which there is a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, from taking an administrative or judicial enforcement action or bringing a civil action against any person who is conducting or has completed a response action in compliance with State law. Makes exceptions to this prohibition if the State requests the President to take action or in certain cases of emergency, risk, or migration of contamination across State lines. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to defer listing a facility on the NPL if: (1) long-term remedial action will be conducted under other Federal authorities; (2) remedial action that will provide long-term protection of human health and the environment is underway at that facility under a State response program; or (3) at a State's request, the State is attempting to obtain an agreement from a person to perform a remedial action under a State response program. Authorizes the President to place a facility described in (3) above on the NPL if, after one year, the President finds that the State is not making reasonable progress toward obtaining an agreement. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of a response action at a facility listed or proposed for listing on the NPL (covered facilities). Permits affected Indian tribes and communities, local government officials, and State and local health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. (Sec. 202) Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at covered facilities available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth minimum requirements for documents made available to the public which describe risk to human health. (Sec. 203) Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to authorize the Administrator to make such grants to affected communities with respect to: (1) covered facilities; (2) facilities at which the Administrator is undertaking a response action anticipated to exceed one year; or (3) facilities at which a specified funding limit is anticipated to be reached. (Sec. 205) Sets forth specific notice and comment requirements to provide for public participation in removal actions. (Sec. 206) Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the duration of time between the discovery and listing of a facility; (2) the timing and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) future land use determinations and use of institutional controls; (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL; and (5) the risk presented by each such facility. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. Subtitle B: Human Health - Requires the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. Authorizes the ATSDR Administrator to provide grant or contract assistance to individuals who may be affected by releases or threatened releases when: (1) a public health assessment is conducted at an NPL facility; or (2) a facility is being evaluated for inclusion on the NPL. Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to such grants or contracts, to provide diagnostic services, health data registries, and preventative public health education to communities affected by such releases. (Sec. 223) Requires the President, in setting priorities for remedial action under the national hazardous substance response plan (part of the national contingency plan for the removal of oil and hazardous substances), to place highest priority on facilities with releases resulting in actual ongoing human exposures at levels of public health concern or demonstrated adverse effects. (Sec. 224) Requires the Administrator to evaluate areas such as Indian reservations or poor rural communities that warrant special attention and identify up to five facilities in each EPA region that are likely to warrant inclusion on the NPL. Accords such facilities a priority in evaluation for NPL listing and scoring. Title III: Liability Reform - Bars the President from issuing orders in connection with abatement actions to protect public health and the environment against any person who would not be liable for damages and costs described under general liability provisions. Prohibits Federal agencies with authority to use the imminent hazard, enforcement, and emergency response authorities under provisions governing abatement actions from using such authorities with respect to releases for which they are potentially responsible parties (PRPs). (Sec. 303) Absolves of liability for response costs and damages certain owners or operators, including persons who inherited the property concerned and government entities that acquired property involuntarily, or through eminent domain or the granting of a license or permit to conduct business, if such persons: (1) acquired the affected facility after the disposal or placement of the hazardous substance for which liability is alleged; (2) did not cause or contribute to the hazardous substance release; and (3) exercised appropriate care with respect to such substance. Limits liability for owners or operators who meet such conditions and received the property as a charitable donation. Exempts from liability: (1) owners or operators of rights-of-way over which hazardous substances are transported if such persons did not cause or contribute to the release concerned; (2) railroad owners or operators of spur tracks whose tracks meet specified conditions and who did not cause or contribute to the release concerned; and (3) construction contractors whose liability is based solely on construction contract activities and who did not know of the presence of hazardous substances and exercised appropriate care with respect to such substances. Grants the United States a lien for unrecovered response costs on a facility for which the owner is not liable by reason of meeting the conditions described above. Prescribes conditions for such liens. Bars liens with respect to property: (1) for which the property owner preceding the current owner is not liable or has resolved liability; or (2) where an environmental assessment gave the owner or operator no reason to know of the release of hazardous substances. Makes applicable to tribal governments an exemption from liability for States or local governments for costs or damages resulting from actions taken in response to an emergency created by a release generated by a facility owned by another person. Expands such exemption to include actions to improve water quality protection at abandoned mine sites and adjacent lands owned by others if such actions are taken in accordance with a Federal or State-approved response action. Excludes certain contiguous property owners from the definition of "owner or operator" for purposes of creating an exemption to liability. (Sec. 306) Exempts certain small business concerns from liability under provisions governing arrangement, acceptance, or transport of hazardous substances for response costs or damages at an NPL facility with respect to actions taken before March 25, 1999. Provides an additional exemption from liability under such provisions if the materials that were arranged or transported for disposal at the NPL facility consist of municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage sludge. Absolves municipalities that participate in a qualified household hazardous waste collection program from liability under such provisions, with respect to actions taken 36 months after this Act's enactment date, for the arrangement or transport of materials consisting of MSW or sewage sludge to an NPL facility. Limits liability response costs for facilities that received MSW, were proposed for NPL listing before March 25, 1999, are owned by municipalities, and are not subject to certain criteria for solid waste landfills under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to assume the liability for certain exempt parties or those subject to limited liability for releases from NPL facilities. Directs the Administrator to establish a small business Superfund assistance section within the EPA small business ombudsman office to provide assistance and information regarding CERCLA and the allocation and settlement processes. (Sec. 307) Limits the right to seek contribution from other parties where: (1) the person asserting the right has waived such right in a settlement; (2) the person from whom the contribution is sought is not liable under CERCLA; or (3) the person from whom the contribution is sought has entered into a final settlement with the United States. Makes any person who commences a contribution action liable to the person against whom the action is brought for all reasonable costs of defending against the claim if the action: (1) is barred for the reasons stated above; (2) is brought against a person who is protected from suits by reason of settlement with the United States; or (3) is brought during a specified moratorium period. (Sec. 308) Expands the exemption from liability for response action contractors to include exemption from liability under State or local law unless a State has enacted a law determining liability of such contractors. Extends certain indemnification agreements made by the President with respect to negligence of response action contractors to any claims for negligence arising under State or local law. Bars actions against contractors more than six years after the completion of work. Makes such prohibition inapplicable in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct or in States or political subdivisions where the State has enacted a statute determining liability for such contractors. (Sec. 309) Requires (current law authorizes) the President to offer PRPs (currently, any person) who enter into settlement agreements that are in the public interest a final covenant not to sue concerning liability to the United States for response actions or costs, provided that: (1) the settling party agrees to perform a final remedial action for the release that is the subject of the settlement; (2) the agreement has been reached prior to the commencement of litigation against the settling party; (3) the settling party waives all contribution rights against other PRPs at the facility; (4) the settling party, other than a small business, pays a premium that compensates for the risks of remedy failure, future liability, and unanticipated increases in the cost of any uncompleted action (unless the party is performing the action); (5) the remedial action does not rely on institutional controls to ensure continued health and environmental protection; and (6) the settlement is otherwise acceptable to the United States. Authorizes the President, for settlements for which covenants are unavailable, to provide any person with a covenant not to sue concerning any liability to the United States if the covenant not to sue is in the public interest. Makes PRPs who are natural persons, small businesses, or municipalities with a demonstrated limited ability to pay response costs eligible for expedited settlements. Absolves a party of liability if the President does not make a settlement offer within the later of 180 days of determining that such party is eligible for an expedited settlement or of this Act's enactment date. (Sec. 310) Absolves persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material or who transported such material from general liability under CERCLA. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of scrap plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental standards regarding such batteries. Deems transactions involving recyclable materials that consist of used oil to be arranging for recycling if the person involved did not mix such materials with a hazardous substance following the removal of the oil from service and demonstrates that: (1) the recyclable material was sent to a facility that recycled used oil by using it as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (2) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; (3) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; and (4) he or she was in compliance with standards for the management of used oil under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Makes the exemptions from liability inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration (in the case of materials other than used oil) or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. (Sec. 311) Sets forth provisions regarding an allocation process to determine equitable shares of liability for costs of performing response actions. Makes an action eligible for allocation if: (1) the performance of such action is not the subject of a consent decree or an administrative order as of March 25, 1999; and (2) the President's estimate of the cost of such action exceeds $2 million. Sets forth requirements for the President in initiating the allocation process. Stays litigation of eligible actions until 150 days after the issuance of the allocator's report unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Grants the court jurisdiction to ensure that a neutral allocator is selected. Authorizes the President to initiate an allocation for any response action. Requires the President to provide an estimate of the aggregate Superfund share prior to selection of an allocator and to offer to contribute to a settlement of liability on the basis of such estimate. Entitles the Administrator or the Attorney General, as representatives of Superfund, and any State that may be responsible for costs, to participate in allocation proceedings. Places a moratorium on litigation seeking recovery of response costs or contributions in connection with actions for which the President has initiated allocations until 150 days after issuance of the allocator's report or of a report under this section. Stays pending actions or claims, including those under State law, until such prescribed period unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Sets forth procedures for the allocation of response costs to Superfund by the allocator. Divides unattributable shares pro rata among the PRPs and Superfund. Sets forth requirements for accepting settlements based on allocations. Makes such requirements inapplicable if the Administrator and the Attorney General reject the allocation report. Sets forth conditions under which parties who satisfactorily perform work under an administrative abatement action order with respect to a remedial action for which an allocation is required shall be entitled to reimbursement for the costs of work performed in excess of the share allocated. Title IV: Remedy Selection - Revises provisions regarding general rules for remedy selection. Requires exposure assessments to be consistent with the current and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water, and other resources identified by the President. Directs the President, for purposes of selecting appropriate methods of remediation for a given facility, to identify current and reasonably anticipated uses of land, water, and other resources at and around the facility and the timing of such uses. Permits land use assumptions restricting future use to be used in evaluating remedial alternatives only to the extent that institutional controls meeting specified criteria have been or will be adopted in the final remedy. Directs the President to use site-specific risk assessment to: (1) determine the nature and extent of risk to human health and the environment; (2) assist in establishing remedial objectives for the facility respecting releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances and in identifying geographic areas or exposure pathways of concern; and (3) evaluate alternative remedial actions for a facility to determine their risk reduction benefits. Lists factors to be balanced by the President in selecting an appropriate remedy. Requires the President to give preference to remedies that include a treatment component for facilities with source materials that constitute a principal threat. Directs the President to maintain a registry of restrictions on the use of land, water, or other resources through institutional controls that are included in final records of decisions as part of the basis of decision at NPL facilities. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire a hazardous substance easement which limits or controls the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used wherever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a remedial action and the national contingency plan. Makes easements enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated pursuant to this Act) against owners of affected property and persons who acquire interest in, or rights to use, the property. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties. (Sec. 403) Requires risk assessments and characterizations conducted under CERCLA to: (1) provide objective assessments, estimates, and characterizations which neither minimize nor exaggerate the nature and magnitude of health and environmental risks; (2) distinguish scientific findings from other considerations; (3) be based on the best, relevant, and current scientific and technical information; and (4) be based on an analysis of the weight of scientific evidence that supports conclusions about a problem's potential health and environmental risk. Title V: General Provisions - Expands CERCLA provisions regarding treatment of Indian tribes to afford Indian tribes the same treatment as States with respect to provisions regarding public participation and remedy selection. Deems references to State facilities under CERCLA to mean facilities on Federal Indian reservations as well. Requires the President to conduct a study of, and report to Congress on, the health impacts on Indian tribes of pollutants, contaminants, and hazardous substances released from facilities listed on or proposed for listing on the NPL. (Sec. 503) Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to require certain grants for the training and education of workers engaged in hazardous waste removal or containment or emergency response activities to be made from Superfund. Allocates at least 20 percent of funds for such purposes to the training of minority and other community-based workers who are involved in such activities. (Sec. 504) Revises provisions requiring contracts with States before remedial actions are provided to prohibit the President from providing any remedial action unless the State enters into an agreement providing assurances that it will pay ten percent of the costs of the action and ten percent of the costs of operation and maintenance. (Sec. 505) Extends certain provisions authorizing reimbursements by the President to local governments affected by releases or threatened releases to affected States as well. (Sec. 506) Sets forth provisions regarding enforcement and dispute resolution regarding remedy selection at Federal facilities for which authorities have been delegated to a State. (Sec. 507) Requires the Congressional Budget Office to conduct and submit to Congress a study of the potential costs to the Federal Government over the next 20 years from Federal liability for natural resource damages under CERCLA. (Sec. 508) Provides that CERCLA liability provisions shall not be construed to preempt any claims under State law for contribution to or recovery of costs of responding to releases of hazardous substances. Title VI: Funding - Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund - Revises the list of activities for which expenditures from Superfund are authorized. Permits the President to use Superfund monies for administrative costs directly related to the costs of authorized activities. Bars the use of Superfund for response actions that are not removal actions with respect to non-NPL facilities. Repeals provisions regarding the assumption of certain liability by the Post-closure Liability Fund. (Sec. 602) Authorizes appropriations to Superfund for FY 2000 through 2004. Subtitle B: Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1999, and before January 1, 2004. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Lowers the amount of the unobligated Superfund balance required for a suspension of collection of tax on petroleum under environmental tax provisions.
Bill· HRH.R. 1356 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Freedom From Sexual Trafficking Act of 1999 - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to eliminate international sexual trafficking in which women and children are brought across international boundaries by means of force or fraud for purposes of forced prostitution, sexual slavery, and similar practices. (Sec. 4) Sets forth minimum international standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking. (Sec. 5) Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of State an Office for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking, to be administered by a director appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Secretary to include in a certain human rights report, among other things, information on sexual trafficking and the efforts of a country to prevent it. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the status of international sexual trafficking, including a list of any countries that do not meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of such trafficking. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations for assistance administered through nongovernmental organizations: (1) to foreign countries in programs and activities designed to meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking, including drafting of legislation to prohibit and punish acts of sexual trafficking, investigation and prosecution of sexual trafficking, and facilities, programs, and activities for the protection of victims; and (2) for programs and activities to assist victims of sexual trafficking in the United States. (Sec. 7) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a nonimmigrant visa category for an alien (including spouse, married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents of such alien) who the Attorney General determines: (1) is physically present in the United States; (2) is or has been a victim of sexual trafficking; (3) has not unreasonably refused to assist in the investigation or prosecution of acts of sexual trafficking (or has not attained age 14); and (4) would face a significant possibility of retribution or other hardship if removed from the United States. Denies such person eligibility for admission to the United States if there is substantial reason to believe that the person has committed an act of sexual trafficking. Directs the Attorney General to determine whether a ground for inadmissibility exists with respect to such nonimmigrant alien. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive the requirements of this Act if it is in the national interest. Authorizes the Attorney General to adjust the status of the nonimmigrant alien (and spouse, married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents of such alien) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (provided such alien was not a participant in Nazi persecutions or genocide) if such nonimmigrant alien: (1) has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least three years; (2) has, throughout such period, been a person of good moral character; (3) has not, during such period, unreasonably refused to provide assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of sexual trafficking; and (4) would face a significant possibility of retribution or other hardship if removed from the United States. (Sec. 8) Declares it to be U.S. policy not to provide nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to countries which do not meet minimum standards for the elimination of sexual trafficking. (Sec. 9) Amends Federal criminal law to subject to both civil (including forfeiture) and criminal penalties anyone who, whether inside or outside the United States, for the purpose of causing a person under age 18 (by fraud, force, or coercion) to engage in a commercial sexual act, knowingly does or attempts or conspires to: (1) transport the person across an international border; (2) recruit, entice, harbor, or engage in the purchase or sale of the person, who will then be or has been transported across an international border; or (3) own, manage, operate, or share in the proceeds of an enterprise in which the person has been transported across an international border.
Bill· HRH.R. 1326 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1999
Troops-to-Teachers Program Improvement Act of 1999 - Transfers from the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard to the Secretary of Education (Secretary) jurisdiction over a program (to be known as the Troops-to-Teachers Program (program)) to assist eligible members of the armed forces after their discharge, release, or retirement to: (1) obtain certification or licensing as elementary or secondary school teachers or vocational or technical teachers; and (2) facilitate the employment of such members by local educational agencies identified under this Act. Makes eligible for such program members who applied for the current teacher placement program and otherwise satisfy eligibility criteria. Requires the Secretary to provide information concerning the program, and make program applications available, to such members as part of their preseparation counseling. Directs the Secretary to pay a stipend of $3,000 to each program participant, with a limit of 5,000 such stipends in a fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary, in lieu of such stipend amount, to pay a bonus of $5,000 to each participant who agrees to accept full-time employment as a teacher for not less than four years in a high need school. Limits to 1,000 the number of such bonuses in a fiscal year. Mandates that provision of assistance under the program shall not reduce or affect entitlement to benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States, or consortia of States, for operating offices for recruiting eligible members for program participation and facilitating employment of such participants in the schools of such States. Limits to $4 million the total amount of grants in a fiscal year. Requires the Secretaries involved to complete the jurisdictional transfer of the program not later than October 1, 1999. Requires program reports from the Secretary and the Comptroller General. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Education for FY 2000 through 2004. Limits to five percent of program funds the amount authorized for management infrastructure.
Bill· HRH.R. 1257 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
Transit Fairness Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to allow a small transit operator (with fewer than 20 revenue service vehicles) in an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000 to use mass transportation block grants (subject to certain limits) to fund the operating costs of equipment, facilities, and associated capital maintenance items for use in mass transportation, if providing no assistance to the small transit operator providing mass transportation service to elderly and persons with disabilities has caused or will cause: (1) the small transit operator to suffer undue hardship; or (2) significant fare increases or cuts in transit service.
Bill· HRH.R. 1260 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
Support for Harbor Investment Program Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the harbor maintenance tax. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to authorize appropriations, for each fiscal year in which there are no amounts in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, for: (1) eligible operations and maintenance costs of those portions of the Saint Lawrence Seaway operated and maintained by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation for such fiscal year; and (2) eligible operations and maintenance costs assigned to commercial navigation of all harbors and inland harbors within the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 1252 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1999
Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to repeal authority for the Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program.
Bill· SS. 690 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
Transit in Parks (TRIP) Act - Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to develop a cooperative relationship with the Secretary of the Interior providing for: (1) the exchange of technical assistance; (2) interagency and multidisciplinary teams to develop Federal land management agency (the National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Land Management) transportation policy, procedures, and coordination; and (3) the development of procedures and criteria relating to the planning, selection, and funding of qualified mass transportation projects carried out within or adjacent to national parks and related public lands, and implementation and oversight of the project plan in accordance with this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to pay the Government's share (as the Secretary determines it) to any qualified participant that carries out any part of such a project without assistance under this Act. Lists Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Acadia National Park as locations that may be included in the initial projects. Makes any such project eligible for funding through a State Infrastructure Bank or other innovative financing mechanism otherwise available. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 678 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
Salvaged and Damaged Motor Vehicle Information Disclosure Act - Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to require a person transferring ownership of a motor vehicle to disclose in an form attached to the motor vehicle title whether such vehicle was salvage, flood, nonrepairable, or damaged. Sets forth similar informational requirements for motor vehicles that are to be leased or auctioned. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations that prohibit a person from transferring any salvage or flood motor vehicle to any person other than an insurance company, a dealer, a distributor, or an automotive recycler or dismantler, unless the transferee receives from the transferor a copy of a certificate of inspection prepared by the person who rebuilt such vehicle. Prohibits a person transferring ownership of a motor vehicle or making the certification from violating such requirements or making a false statement with respect to such certification. Prohibits a person from registering a vehicle that has been determined to be nonrepairable in any State if such person has knowledge that such vehicle is nonrepairable. Authorizes the transfer of such vehicle only to an insurance company, automotive recycler or dismantler, and for dismantling into parts or for crushing. Prohibits a motor vehicle that has been disclosed as being nonrepairable from being licensed in a State. Authorizes the Secretary to inspect and impound or investigate in order to enforce regulations promulgated under this Act. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes a person to enforce a claim under this Act in any appropriate State (or District of Columbia) court or U.S. district court. Prohibits States that do not comply with the requirements of this Act from receiving grant funds for making titling information available through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to purchasers of a motor vehicle. (Sec. 4) Requires an insurance carrier or self-insured leasing or rental business to file with the operator of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System a monthly report with an inventory of all motor vehicles: (1) with respect to which a claim has been settled; and (2) which have suffered major damage or flood damage, or have become salvage or nonrepairable.
Bill· HRH.R. 1238 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
International Trafficking of Women and Children Victim Protection Act of 1999 - Establishes within the Department of State in the Office of the Secretary of State an Inter-Agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. (Defines "trafficking" as the use of deception, coercion, debt bondage, the threat of force, or the abuse of authority to recruit, transport within or across borders, purchase, sell, transfer, receive, or harbor a person for the purpose of placing or holding such person, whether for pay or not, in involuntary servitude, slavery, or slavery-like conditions or in forced, bonded, or coerced labor.) Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) report annually, with the assistance of the Task Force, to Congress describing the status of international trafficking; and (2) ensure that U.S. missions abroad maintain a consistent reporting standard and thoroughly investigate reports of trafficking. Requires U.S. mission personnel to seek out and maintain contacts with human rights and other nongovernmental organizations, including receiving reports and updates from such organizations and, when appropriate, investigating such reports. Makes any government of a foreign country identified in the latest report as one that has failed to take effective action towards ending the participation of its officials in trafficking and that has failed to investigate and meaningfully prosecute those officials found to be involved, ineligible for police assistance, subject to a presidential waiver if in the U.S. national interest. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for a nonimmigrant classification for trafficking victims. Provides for a waiver of grounds for ineligibility for admission with respect to such an individual if the Attorney General considers it to be in the national interest to do so. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to jointly promulgate trafficking regulations for law enforcement personnel, immigration officials, and Foreign Service officers concerning response training and victim treatment and protection. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide, through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, assistance to trafficking victims and their children in the United States; and (2) the President to provide programs and activities to assist trafficking victims and their children abroad. Authorizes appropriations for the Task Force, the Secretary of HHS, and the President. Bars the use of funds made available to carry out this Act for the procurement of weapons or ammunition.
Bill· HRH.R. 1220 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide financial assistance to the Tri-State Maritime Safety Association of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for use for maritime emergency response on the Delaware River. Allocates such funds between: (1) startup costs; and (2) a study to evaluate emergency response in the Delaware River maritime community.
Bill· HRH.R. 1224 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Health Care Workforce Trust Fund; Payments to Teaching Teaching Hospitals Subtitle A: Establishment and Financing of Fund Subtitle B: Additional Payments to Teaching Hospitals Subtitle C: Conforming Changes in Medicare Payment for Directs Costs of Graduate Medical Education Title II: Health Workforce Priorities Title III: Modification in Medicare Payment for IME and DSH Title IV: Additional Payments for Graduate Education For Non- Physician Health Professionals All-Payer Graduate Medical Education Act - Title I: Health Care Workforce Trust Fund; Payments to Teaching Hospitals - Subtitle A: Establishment and Financing of Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Health Care Workforce Trust Fund to provide for the financing of graduate medical education. Appropriates to the Fund amounts from: (1) specified fees imposed on health insurance; (2) the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund; and (3) the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Additional Payments to Teaching Hospitals - Provides for payments to eligible teaching hospitals. Requires a study of this title's impact. Subtitle C: Conforming Changes in Medicare Payment for Direct Costs of Graduate Medical Education - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise provisions concerning the formula for graduate medical education costs. (Sec. 122) Excepts rural and underserved urban areas from certain limitations on the number of medical residents. (Sec. 123) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to specified congressional committees on the appropriateness of the level of documentation that should be required in a patient's medical record of professional services of a teaching physician, as a condition of payment under Medicare part B for such services Title II: Health Workforce Priorities - Requires a plan to reduce medical residency training positions in the United States to 110 percent of the annual number of students graduating from a U.S. medical school. Title III: Modification in Medicare Payment for IME and DSH - Modifies specified Medicare payments for the indirect costs of graduate medical education (IME) and disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a plan for IME hospitals to report annually on how they contribute to education, improvements in clinical services and research infrastructure, and community services operated by or in such hospitals. Title IV: Additional Payments for Graduate Education for Non- Physician Health Professionals - Requires the Secretary to develop a plan followed by the making of payments to support institutions providing graduate medical education to non-physician health professionals.
Bill· HRH.R. 1211 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Authorizations of Appropriations Title II: Department of State Authorities and Activities Title III: Organization of the Department of State; Personnel of the Department of State; Foreign Service Title IV: United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs Title V: International Broadcasting Title VI: International Organizations and Commissions Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 - Title I: Authorizations of Appropriations - Chapter 1: Department of State - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 2000 and 2001 for: (1) the administration of foreign affairs; (2) contributions to international organizations and international peacekeeping activities; (3) international commissions; (4) migration and refugee assistance; (5) public diplomacy programs; (6) certain voluntary contributions to international organizations; and (7) the Asia Foundation. Withholds a certain amount of funds from the United Nations Development Program that will be spent in Burma during each fiscal year unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the Program's activities in Burma: (1) are focused on eliminating human suffering and addressing the needs of the poor; (2) are undertaken only through international or private voluntary organizations that are independent of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) (formerly known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)); (3) provide no financial, political, or military benefit to the SPDC; and (4) are carried out only after consultation with the leadership of the National League for Democracy and the national Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. Prohibits the use of U.S. voluntary contributions to international organizations for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that: (1) the UNFPA has terminated all activities in China; or (2) during the 12 months preceding the certification, there have been no abortions as the result of coercion by the Government of China. Chapter 2: Broadcasting Board of Governors - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 and 2001 for the Broadcasting Board of Governors to carry out certain international broadcasting activities. Title II: Department of State Authorities and Activities - Chapter 1: Authorities and Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to lease commercial aircraft to transport equipment and personnel in the event of a terrorist attack abroad, provided there have been reasonable efforts to obtain appropriate Department of Defense (DOD) aircraft and such aircraft are unavailable. (Sec. 202) Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the extent of international drug trafficking from or through Cuba. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the compliance by the parties of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction with such convention. (Sec. 204) Repeals specified Federal laws eliminating certain reports. (Sec. 205) Amends the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (as enacted by division D of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999) to make permanent certain reporting requirements, including reports on: (1) claims by U.S. firms against the Government of Saudi Arabia; (2) certain determinations under title IV of the Libertad Act; and (3) relations with Vietnam. Extends through January 1, 2002, the requirement that the President report to specified congressional committees on cooperative projects with Russia in the area of ballistic missile defense, including in the area of early warning. (Sec. 206) Repeals a provision concerning the return of passport fees upon refusal to vise'. (Sec. 207) Directs the President to attempt, through negotiations with all Wassenaar Arrangement countries, to achieve the foreign policy goal of an international arms sales code of conduct that restricts or prohibits arms transfers to countries that: (1) do not respect democratic processes and the rule of law; (2) do not adhere to internationally recognized norms on human rights; (3) are engaged in acts of armed aggression; or (4) do not participate in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. Directs the President to report on such countries and negotiations to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 208) Establishes within the Department of State the Human Rights and Democracy Fellowship Program. Provides for the employment of not more than 12 fellows in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor who have expertise in human rights policy, human rights law, or related subjects and who are not permanent employees of the U.S. Government. (Sec. 209) Authorizes interest accrued on certain joint funds under agreements for cooperation in environmental, scientific, cultural and related areas to be used by the Department of State without return to the Treasury and without further appropriation by Congress. Chapter 2: Consular and Related Activities - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to revise provisions concerning the State Department and the death of U.S. citizens abroad. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) notification of next of kin by consular officers; (2) the appointment of such officers as administrators of the estate; and (3) losses in connection with the conservation of the estate. Chapter 3: Refugees - Bars the use of funds (including migration and refugee assistance) for the involuntary return of a person to a country in which the person has a well founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. (Sec. 272) Requires a certain human rights report in connection with the provision of security assistance to a foreign country to include the extent to which such country has extended protection to refugees (including the provision of first asylum and resettlement). (Sec. 273) Includes State Department employees within guidelines that address potential biases by such personnel that are hired abroad and involved with duties which could constitute a barrier to a refugee claim if such personnel carries a bias against the claimant on the grounds of religion, race, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to ensure that persons with potential biases against a refugee applicant shall not be used in processing determinations of refugee status, including interpretation of conversations or examination of documents presented by such applicants. (Sec. 274) Bars the use of funds to support a larger number of personnel assigned to U.S. diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam than the number assigned to such posts on March 22, 1999, unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that certain conditions with respect to Vietnamese refugees have been met. Title III: Organization of the Department of State; Personnel of the Department of State; Foreign Service - Chapter 1: Organization of the Department of State - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish within the Department of State the Bureau for International Information Programs and the Bureau for Educational and Cultural exchange Programs. (Sec. 302) Amends specified Federal laws to remove the Inspector General of the Foreign Service from its provisions. Chapter 2: Personnel of the Department of State - Provides for the award of the Foreign Service Star. (Sec. 322) Eliminates provisions allowing leaves of absence with pay in accordance with prevailing law and employment practices in the locality of employment for non-family members of foreign national employees of the Foreign Service and U.S. citizens hired abroad for employment in positions customarily filled by Foreign Service employees. (Sec. 323) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require a Foreign Service employee who regularly commutes from his or her place of residence in the United States to an official duty station in Canada or Mexico to receive a border equalization adjustment (locality pay adjustment). (Sec. 324) Declares that nothing shall prevent a Foreign Service grievant from placing a rebuttal to accompany a record of disciplinary action in such grievant's personnel records nor prevent the Department of State from including a response to such rebuttal, including documenting those cases in which the Foreign Service Labor Relations Board has reviewed and upheld the discipline. (Sec. 325) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the extent to which administrative and technical personnel posted to U.S. missions abroad who do not have diplomatic status suffer financial disadvantages from their lack of such status, including proposals to alleviate such disadvantages. (Sec. 326) Authorizes the Secretary to extend hiring authority to the heads of Federal agencies or other Government entities to appoint individuals abroad (including family members of the Foreign Service or of other Government employees) to positions to which career Foreign Service employees are not customarily assigned. (Sec. 327) Amends Federal law to authorize up to three months advance pay to be paid to: (1) a U.S. citizen employee of a Government agency (other than family members of Government employees) who is assigned or located, and must (or a family member who must) undergo medical treatment, outside the United States; and (2) each foreign national employee or nonfamily member U.S. citizen who is located, and must undergo medical treatment, outside of the country of employment. (Sec. 528) Authorizes the spouse and dependents of Foreign Service employees who have died in a foreign country to receive a transfer allowance (extraordinary, necessary, and reasonable subsistence and other relocation expenses). Title IV: United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs - Amends the Human Rights, refugee, and Other Foreign Relations Provisions Act of 1996 to designate educational and cultural exchange programs between the United States and Tibet as the 'Ngawang Choephel Exchange Programs'. (Sec. 401) Extends through FY 2001 scholarships for Tibetan and Burmese students and professionals who live outside Tibet and Burma, respectively. (Sec. 402) Prohibits any educational and cultural exchange program between the United States and a foreign country from being conducted through a contractor or grantee that is associated with any government that denies democracy or violates the right to freedom of expression or other internationally-recognized human rights. (Sec. 403) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to prohibit the Secretary (currently, the United States Information Agency (USIA)) from awarding any grant or contract with respect to educational and cultural exchange programs until 45 days (currently, 15 days) after notice is provided to specified congressional committees of the intent to award such grant or contract. (Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to take all appropriate steps to ensure that no foreign espionage agent is a participant in any educational and cultural exchange program. (Sec. 405) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to: (1) rename the North-South Center Act of 1991 as the Dante B. Fascell North-South Center Act of 1991; and (2) redesignate the North-South Center as the Dante B. Fascell North-South Center. (Sec. 406) Repeals a specified section of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 calling for the abolition of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (effectively continuing the Commission). (Sec. 407) Prohibits the State Department (currently, the USIA) from expending any funds for a U.S. Government funded pavilion or other major exhibit at any international exposition or world's fair registered by the Bureau of International Expositions in excess of amounts expressly authorized and appropriated, with specified exceptions. Title V: International Broadcasting - Amends the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to make permanent the authorization of funding for Radio Free Asia. Repeals Radio Free Asia funding limits. (Sec. 502) Repeals policy statements urging the privatization of Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, Incorporated (RFE-RL). Increases the limit on grant amounts to RFE-RL, Incorporated. (Sec. 503) Grants immunity from civil liability to members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors when acting in their capacities as members of the board of directors of RFE-RL, Incorporated and Radio Free Asia. Title VI: International Organizations and Commissions - Provides for the appointment of members as part of the American delegation to the conference of the Bureau of the Interparliamentary Union whenever Congress does not appoint its allotment of members to the American delegation. Renames the United States-European Community Interparliamentary Group as the Transatlantic Legislative Dialogue. (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Commissioner of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to provide technical tests, evaluations, information, surveys, or other similar services to state or local governments upon request on a reimbursable basis.
Bill· SS. 667 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Educating America's Children for Tomorrow (ED-ACT) - Title I: Empowering Parents and Students - Requires the Secretary of Education to award the total amount of certain applicable education funding directly to local educational agencies (LEAs). (Sec. 101) Requires such direct awarding of all the funds that are appropriated for the Department of Education for the fiscal year for programs or activities under specified provisions of: (1) the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; (2) the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994; (3) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA); and (4) the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. Sets deadlines for each LEA to conduct a census to determine, and report to the Secretary, the number of kindergarten through grade 12 students in the State for the academic year. Sets forth: (1) a formula for determination of such award amounts, based on relative numbers of such students and of educationally disadvantaged students in each LEA; and (2) penalties for false information. Authorizes each LEA to use its allotment award for specified types of innovative assistance programs. Sets forth accountability requirements. Requires direct award to eligible LEAs of ESEA title A part 1 funds for educationally disadvantaged students, for support of programs or activities that the LEAs deem appropriate. Title II: Prohibition Regarding Funding for Developing or Implementing National Education Standards - Prohibits any Federal funds from being obligated or expended to develop or implement national education standards. Title III: Troops-To-Teachers Program - Troops-To-Teachers Program Improvement Act of 1999 - Transfers from the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard to the Secretary of Education (Secretary) jurisdiction over a program to assist eligible members of the armed forces after their discharge, release, or retirement to: (1) obtain certification or licensing as elementary or secondary school teachers or vocational or technical teachers; and (2) facilitate the employment of such members by local educational agencies identified under this Act. (Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary to provide information concerning the placement program, and make program applications available, to such members as part of their pre-separation counseling. Directs the Secretary to pay a stipend of $5,000 to each program participant, with a limit of 3,000 such stipends in a fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary, in lieu of such stipend amount, to pay a bonus of $10,000 to each participant who agrees to accept full-time employment as a teacher for not less than four years in a high need school. Limits to 1,000 the number of such bonuses in a fiscal year. Mandates that provision of assistance under such program shall not reduce or affect entitlement to benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States, or consortia of States, for operating offices for recruiting eligible members for program participation and facilitating employment of such participants in the schools of such States. Limits to $4 million the total amount of grants in a fiscal year. Limits to five percent of program funds the amount authorized for management infrastructure. Requires the Secretaries involved to complete the jurisdictional transfer of the program no later than October 1, 1999. Requires program reports from the Secretary and the Comptroller General. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Education for FY 2000 through 2004. Title IV: English Plus and Multilingualism - Expresses the sense of the Congress that our Nation must: (1) support literacy programs, including programs designed to teach English, as well as those dedicated to helping Americans learn and maintain languages in addition to English; (2) recognize the importance of English as the unifying language of the United States, and the importance of English fluency for individuals who want to succeed in U.S. society; (3) recognize that command of the English language is a critical component of the success and productivity of U.S. children, and should be encouraged at every age; (4) recognize that a skilled labor force is crucial to U.S. competitiveness in a global economy, and the ability to speak one or more languages in addition to English is a significant skill; and (5) recognize the benefits, both on an individual and a national basis, of developing the Nation's linguistic resources. (Sec. 402) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on multilingualism in the United States. Title V: Educational Opportunities for Disadvantaged Children - Establishes an educational choice demonstration program of competitive discretionary grants to State and local programs that give middle- and low-income families choices of all schools, public, private or religious. (Sec. 502) Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 2001 through 20003. Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary, for this title) to award competitive grants to up to ten States or localities to carry out such educational choice programs. (Sec. 503) Includes among grant eligibility requirements for States and localities, their: (1) having taken significant steps to provide a choice of schools to families with school children residing in the program area, including those families who are not eligible for scholarships under this title; (2) assuring they will provide scholarships to parents of eligible children that may be redeemed for elementary or secondary education for their children at a broad variety of public and private schools, including religious schools, if any, serving the area; (3) agreeing to match 50 percent of the Federal funds provided for the scholarships; and (4) allowing lawfully operating public and private schools, including religious schools, if any, serving the area to participate in the program. (Sec. 504) Requires each State or locality awarded a grant under this title to provide scholarships to the parents of eligible children. Sets the value of each scholarship at the sum of: (1) $2,000 from funds provided under this title; (2) $1,000 in matching funds from the State or locality; and (3) an additional amount, if any, of State, local, or nongovernmental funds. Provides that such scholarships awarded shall not be considered income of the parents for Federal income tax purposes or for determining eligibility for any other Federal program. (Sec. 505) Requires that a child eligible for such a scholarship: (1) resides in the program area; (2) will attend a public or private or school participating in the program; and (3) be from a low-income family, as determined by the State or locality in accordance with regulations of the Secretary. Prohibits the maximum family income for scholarship eligibility under this title from exceeding the State or national median family income adjusted for family size, whichever is higher. Provides for continuing awards to scholarship recipients for each year of the program, except under specified individual circumstances. Gives priority to providing scholarships to eligible children from the lowest income families. (Sec. 508) Directs the Secretary to award up to ten grants annually, taking specified factors into consideration. Limits the award period of each grant to a maximum of three years. (Sec. 509) Allows funds under this title to be used: (1) first for the payment of tuition and fees at the school selected by the parents of the child for whom the scholarship was provided, and for the reasonable costs of the child's transportation to the school, if the school is not in the school district to which the child would be assigned in the absence of a program under this title; (2) next, if the parents so choose, to obtain supplementary academic services for the child, at a cost of not more than $500, from any provider chosen by the parents, that the State or locality, in accordance with regulations of the Secretary, determines is capable of providing such services and has an appropriate refund policy; and (3) lastly, if any funds remain, for educational programs that help eligible children achieve high levels of academic excellence in the school attended by the eligible children for whom a scholarship was provided, if the eligible children attend a public school, or by the State or locality for additional scholarships in the year or the succeeding year of its program, if the child attends a private school. (Sec. 510) Provides that this title shall not affect funding under other State or local programs, or under other Federal programs, including specified programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Declares that scholarships under this title are to aid families, not institutions, and that a parent's expenditure of such scholarship funds at a school or for supplementary academic services shall not constitute Federal financial aid or assistance to that school or to the provider of supplementary academic services. Requires, as a condition of participating and receiving scholarship funds on under this title, a school or provider of supplementary academic services to comply with specified antidiscrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. (Sec. 511) Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Education to conduct a national evaluation of such program, including certain assessments and comparisons. (Sec. 512) Prohibits any provision or requirement of this title from being enforced through a private cause of action. Title VI: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a nonrefundable personal tax credit of up to $500 ($250 for a married individual filing a separate return) for qualified charitable contributions to schools. (Sec. 602) Increases (from $500 to $1,000) the annual contribution limit for education individual retirement accounts. Title VII: Developing Better Education Tools - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study, collect data, make recommendations, and report on the education of minority students, including Native American students, Asian American students, and all other students who are often combined in statistical data under the category of other. Directs the Secretary of Education to make funds available to the Comptroller General for such purpose, from available funds for salaries and expenses at the Department of Education. (Sec. 702) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study to determine whether requiring teacher training in a specific subject matter or at least a minor degree in a subject matter (such as mathematics, science, or English) results in improved student performance. (Sec. 703) Expresses the sense of the Senate urging State and local testing, evaluating, and rewarding of teachers for their expertise and teaching in specific subject areas. Title VIII: Empowering Students - Directs the Secretary of Education to gradually reduce the sum of the costs for employees and administrative expenses at the Department of Education as of the date of enactment of this Act incrementally each year until such sum is reduced by 35 percent, by October 1, 2004.
Bill· SS. 663 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Solid Waste Interstate Transportation and Local Authority Act of 1999 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit a landfill or incinerator (facility) from receiving out-of-State municipal solid waste (MSW) for disposal or incineration unless the waste is received pursuant to a new (entered into on or after enactment of this Act) or existing host community agreement or an exemption from this prohibition (which may be limited by the State, as provided in this Act). Requires owners or operators to make specified information regarding the facility available prior to seeking authorization from an affected local government to receive such waste pursuant to a new host community agreement. Sets forth other formal requirements for the authorization process, including those for notification of the State, contiguous local governments, and contiguous Indian tribes. Requires, for an exemption, that the owner or operator provide either information establishing that the owner or operator of the facility: (1) received before enactment of this Act a State permit specifically authorizing acceptance of the waste; or (2) has entered into a binding contract before March 18, 1999, committing to the delivery and receipt of a specific quantity of out-of-State MSW and has permitted capacity actually available on the date of enactment of this Act for receipt of the quantity committed to in the contract. Authorizes States to establish limits on the amount of out-of-State waste received annually for disposal at each facility and affected local governments to limit the amount received at a particular facility pursuant to such an exemption. Prohibits State limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Sets the limitation amount for any facility that began receiving documented out-of-State waste before enactment of this Act at the amount received during 1993. Requires such documentation to be such as would result in criminal penalties under State law in case of false or misleading information. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of such waste on the basis of State of origin. Allows a State to provide by law that it will deny or refuse to renew a permit for the construction or operation of a facility (or a major modification thereto) if: (1) the State has approved a State or local comprehensive MSW management plan developed under Federal or State law; and (2) such denial is based on a determination that there is no local or regional need for the facility in the State. Allows States to require that a permit issued for a new facility or an expansion include an annual limitation of not less than 20 percent on the total quantity of out-of-State MSW relative to the total waste received by the facility. Allows a facility with specific authorization to receive a specific quantity of out-of-State waste pursuant to a host community agreement entered into prior to enactment of this Act to receive that quantity, notwithstanding the foregoing State requirement. Requires percentage limitations to be uniform for all facilities and not discriminate against out-of-State waste according to the State of origin. Allows a State to limit the amount of out-of-State MSW received annually at each facility to the amount received during 1995 if the State has enacted a comprehensive, statewide recycling program. Prohibits such limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Prohibits, in the establishment of limitations, discrimination against shipments of out-of-State waste on the basis of State of origin. Allows States to impose cost recovery surcharges on the processing, combustion, or disposal of out-of-State waste in a facility in the State and prescribes procedures for the collection and use of such charges. Declares that prohibitions, limitations, and the planning and permitting processes under, and laws and regulations implementing, this Act shall not be considered to impose an undue burden on or to otherwise impair, restrain, or discriminate against interstate commerce. Requires owners or operators of facilities to annually report to Governors of the States in which the facilities are located the amount of out-of-State waste received during the preceding year. Requires States to publish annual reports on the amount of such waste received for disposal in the State. Requires the General Accounting Office to report annually to the House Committee on Commerce and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on incidents or circumstances in each State importing MSW in which materials not authorized by permit to be disposed of at a facility have been discovered in such waste. (Sec. 3) Authorizes States and political subdivisions to exercise flow control authority for municipal solid waste and recyclable materials voluntarily relinquished by the owner or generator (recyclables), directing such waste and materials to particular waste management or recyclables facilities designated as of the suspension date (defined below) if: (1) the waste and recyclables are generated within the jurisdictional boundaries of the State or subdivision, determined as of the suspension date; (2) such authority is imposed through the adoption or execution of a law, regulation, or other legally binding provision or official act that was in effect on the suspension date, or was in effect prior to the issuance of an injunction or other court order based on a ruling that the law or provision violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, or was in effect immediately prior to suspension of the law by legislative or administrative action expressly because of such a court order; and (3) the State or political subdivision has for one or more such designated facilities, on or before the suspension date, presented eligible bonds for sale, made certain official preparations for such sale, or executed a legally binding contract or agreement for delivery of, and payment for, a minimum quantity of waste or recyclables. (The "suspension date" is either: May 16, 1994; the date of an injunction or court order based on a ruling that a law or other official act violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution; or the date of a suspension or partial suspension of a law or official act expressly because of the existence of an injunction or court order described above.) Imposes identification and volume restrictions on the exercise of flow control authority to the classes or categories of materials to which such authority was applicable on the suspension date. Sets dates for expiration of such authority. Prohibits a State or political subdivision from requiring any person to transport, or deliver for transportation, such waste or materials to any active portion of a MSW landfill unit if contamination of such portion is a basis for listing on the National Priorities List established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, unless the person has been indemnified by the government or the owner-operator against all liability under that Act with respect to such materials. Imposes limitations on the use of revenues derived by a State or political subdivision from the exercise of flow control authority. Provides for the enforceability under State law of certain legally binding interim contracts. Allows a State to exercise flow control authority over solid waste if, on or before January 1, 1984, the State: (1) adopted regulations under a State law that required or directed the transportation, management, or disposal of such waste from residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial sources to specifically identified waste management facilities and applied those regulations to every political subdivision; and (2) subjected the facilities to the jurisdiction of a State public utilities commission. Provides for expiration of such authority. Lists additional conditions under which: (1) solid waste districts or political subdivisions of a State may exercise flow control authority for 20 years after enactment of this Act; and (2) a facility will be treated as having been designated for the exercise of flow control authority by all members of a consortium of political subdivisions. Prohibits recovery of damages or costs in a claim against a State or local government, or official or employee thereof, based on the exercise of flow control authority on or before May 16, 1994.
Bill· SS. 666 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Trade Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa Title II: International Financial and Foreign Relations Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa African Growth and Opportunity Act - Declares the support of the Congress for the economic self-reliance of sub-Saharan African countries committed to economic and political reform, market incentives and private sector growth, eradication of poverty, and the importance of women to economic growth and development. (Sec. 4) Makes a sub-Saharan African country eligible to participate in programs, projects, or activities, or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act if the President determines, according to specified evidence, that it does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing, a market-based economy. Directs the President to monitor and review the progress of sub-Saharan African countries to determine their current or potential eligibility under the requirements of this Act. Makes ineligible to participate in programs or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act any countries that have not made progress in meeting such requirements. Title I: Trade Policy For Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the President to convene annual high-level meetings between U.S. Government officials and officials of the governments of sub-Saharan African countries to foster close economic ties between them. Directs the President to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which shall, among other things, encourage joint ventures between small and large businesses. Directs the United States Information Agency (USIA), in order to assist the Forum, to disseminate economic information in support of the free market economic reforms contained in this Act. Authorizes appropriations (but with a bar on the use of funds to create or support any nongovernmental organization whose aim is to facilitate trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa). (Sec. 102) Directs the President to develop a plan meeting certain requirements to enter into one or more trade agreements with certain eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. (Sec. 103) Expresses the sense of the Congress that reform of trade policies in sub-Saharan Africa that removes structural impediments to trade, consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO), can lay the groundwork for sustained growth there in both textile and apparel exports. Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate the existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius, provided they adopt a visa system to guard against the unlawful transshipment of such goods and the use of counterfeit documents. Directs the President to: (1) continue the existing no quota policy for sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) report to the Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel exports to the United States from such countries in order to protect U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers from economic injury on account of the no quota policy. Sets forth enforcement procedures (including penalties) for violations of the requirements contained in this Act. (Sec. 104) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment for any non-import-sensitive article that is the growth, product, or manufacture of an eligible sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing country. Waives the competitive need limitation with respect to eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Extends duty-free treatment to sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing countries through June 30, 2009. (Sec. 105) Directs the President to establish the position of Assistant United States Trade Representative for African Affairs within the Office of the United States Trade Representative to direct and coordinate interagency activities on U.S.-Africa trade policy and investment matters. (Sec. 106) Directs the President to report to Congress on U.S. trade and investment policy for sub-Saharan Africa and on implementation of this Act. Title II: International Financial and Foreign Relations Policy For Sub-Saharan Africa - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to use their votes to encourage their institutions to develop enhanced mechanisms which further economic and trade reforms and deep debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative in eligible sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) relief provided to such countries under the HIPC debt initiative should primarily be made through grants rather than through extended-term debt, with interim financing for eligible countries that establish a strong record of macroeconomic reform. (Sec. 202) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the stated policy of the executive branch in the 1997 Partnership for Growth and Opportunity in Africa initiative is a step toward the establishment of a comprehensive trade and development policy for sub-Saharan Africa and is a companion to the policy goals set forth in this Act. Directs the President, in addition to continuing bilateral and multilateral economic and development assistance, to target technical assistance toward: (1) developing relationships between U.S. firms and firms in sub-Saharan Africa; (2) providing assistance to sub-Saharan African countries to liberalize trade and promote exports, bring their regimes into compliance with WTO standards, make financial and fiscal reforms, and promote greater agribusiness linkages; (3) addressing critical agricultural policy issues as market liberalization, agricultural export development, and agribusiness investment in processing and transporting agricultural commodities; (4) increasing the number of reverse trade missions to growth-oriented sub-Saharan African countries; (5) increasing trade in services; and (6) encouraging greater sub-Saharan participation in future WTO negotiations on services and making further commitments in their schedules to the General Agreement on Trade in Services in order to encourage the removal of tariff and nontariff barriers. (Sec. 203) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should exercise its authorities to initiate, in addition to any existing fund, an equity infrastructure fund or funds in support of projects in sub-Saharan African countries, particularly projects that expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and employment for the poor. (Sec. 204) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Board of Directors of OPIC to increase financial assistance in sub-Saharan Africa. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to make similar changes with respect to the Export-Import Bank of the United States. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of appropriations, to take steps to ensure that at least 20 full-time U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service employees are stationed in sub-Saharan Africa, including that full-time Service employees are stationed in not less than ten different sub-Saharan African countries. Directs the Service to take specified action to encourage the export of U.S. goods and services to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 206) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the extent appropriate, the U.S. Government should make every effort to donate to governments of eligible sub-Saharan African countries air traffic control equipment that is no longer in use, including appropriate related reimbursable technical assistance for such equipment.
Law· HRH.R. 1180 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services Title II: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives Subtitle C: Work Incentives, Planning, Assistance, and Outreach Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies Title IV: Technical Amendments Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for expanding State options under Medicaid for workers with disabilities, namely by creating State options to eliminate income, assets, and resource limitations for workers with disabilities who buy into Medicaid and to provide opportunity for employed individuals with a medically improved disability to make such a buy. Provides that Federal funds paid to a State for medical assistance provided to such individuals may not generally be used to supplant the level of State funds expended for a fiscal year for programs to enable working disabled individuals to work. (Sec. 102) Provides for certain continuation of Medicare coverage for working individuals with disabilities. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States to support establishment of State infrastructures to support the working disabled as well as to enable State outreach campaigns on infrastructure existence; and (2) submit a recommendation to specified congressional committees on whether such grant program should be continued after FY 2010. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 104) Authorizes State demonstration projects for certain Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of workers with a potentially severe disability, coverage equal to that afforded under the State option provided for above for eliminating income, assets, and resource limitations for disabled workers buying into Medicaid. Makes necessary appropriations. Title II: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions - Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency - Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to direct the Commissioner to establish a Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (TWSSP) under which a disabled beneficiary may use a TWSSP ticket issued by the Commissioner under a described system, designed to ensure quality assurance, to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services, pursuant to an appropriate individual beneficiary work plan that meets specified requirements, at the Commission's expense, from a participating employment network, public or private, which: (1) meets specified qualifications and is under an agreement with the Commissioner who must select a program manager to assist in administering TWSSP; (2) is chosen by the beneficiary, and (3) is willing to accept assignment of the beneficiary's TWSSP ticket. Allows State agencies administering or supervising the administration of the State plan under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to elect to participate as an employment network. Sets forth special requirements applicable to cross-referral to certain State agencies and requirements relating to provision of services. Describes employment network payment systems. Provides that during any period for which an individual is using a TWSSP ticket, the Commissioner and any applicable State agency may not initiate a continuing disability or similar review with regards to whether the individual is or is not disabled. Requires payments to employment networks to be made out of the social security trust funds in the case of ticketed SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) disability beneficiaries who return to work, or from the appropriation made available for making Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments under SSA title XVI, in the case of SSI disability beneficiaries who return to work. Provides for allocation of other costs. (Sec. 202) Establishes within the Social Security Administration the Work Incentives Advisory Panel to advise the Commissioner with respect to TWSSP, and other Federal officials on related issues. Provides that the costs for carrying out this paragraph shall be paid from amounts available for the administration of SSA titles II and XVI, and shall be allocated among those amounts as appropriate. Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives - Amends SSA titles II and XVI to set forth a number of measures designed to eliminate work disincentives, namely prohibiting work activity as a basis for review of an individual's disability status and providing for expedited reinstatement of entitlement, or in the case of SSI, eligibility, to, respectively, OASDI and SSI disability benefits. Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach - Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to direct the Commissioner to establish a community-based work incentives outreach program for disabled beneficiaries that includes the provision of technical assistance to organizations and entities that are designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to return to work. Provides that the costs of carrying out this subtitle shall be paid from amounts made available for administration of SSA titles II and XVI, and shall be allocated among such amounts as appropriate. (Sec. 222) Amends SSA title XI to authorize the Commissioner to make certain minimum payments in each State to the protection and advocacy system established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act for the purpose of providing services to disabled beneficiaries, services which may include advocacy or other services that such a beneficiary may need to secure or regain gainful employment. Provides for funding similar to that in the paragraph above, although subject to certain limitation. Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Amends SSA title II to provide for a permanent extension of disability insurance program demonstration project authority. Directs the Commissioner to develop and carry out experiments and demonstration projects, subject to specified guidelines which include the authority to waive compliance with benefits requirements, with regard to various alternative methods of treating the work activity of individuals entitled to OASDI disability benefits, altering other limitations and conditions applicable to such individuals, and implementing sliding scale benefit offsets. Authorizes the Commissioner to expand the scope of any such experiment or demonstration project to include any group of OASDI benefit applicants with impairments that reasonably may be presumed to be disabling for purposes of such demonstration project, and may limit any such demonstration project to any such group of applicants, subject to the terms of such demonstration project which shall define the extent of any such presumption. (Sec. 302) Directs the Commissioner to conduct certain demonstration projects designed to provide for specified reductions in disability insurance benefits based on earnings. Requires expenditures for such demonstration projects to come out of the social security and Medicare trust funds to the extent provided in advance in appropriation acts. (Sec. 303) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct and report to the Congress on various described studies and other specified related matters, but chiefly studies concerning existing disability-related employment incentives and coordination of the OASDI disability insurance program and the SSI program as they relate to individuals entering or leaving concurrent entitlement under such programs, as well as on a study concerning the impact of the substantial gainful activity limit on return to work. Title IV: Technical Amendments - Amends the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 with respect to: (1) final adjudication of denied claims by drug addicts and alcoholics for SSA title II disability benefits; and (2) the effective dates of certain requirements concerning representative payees and treatment referrals for such individuals. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title II to: (1) provide for payments to State and local prisons for monthly reports on the identities of inmates whose OASDI benefits are determined by the Commissioner not to be payable as a result of such reports; (2) provide for a 50 percent reduction in such payments under SSA titles II and XVI in cases involving a comparable payment under the other title with respect to the same prisoner; (3) transfer from the OASDI trust funds any sums necessary to enable the Commissioner to make such payments; (4) eliminate the requirement that confinement stem only from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (thus denying OASDI benefits to individuals confined for any criminal offense); and (5) provide for continued denial of benefits to sex offenders remaining confined to public institutions upon completion of prison term. (Sec. 403) Provides for a two-year open season for members of the clergy who wish to revoke their exemption from social security coverage. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XI to make a miscellaneous technical amendment relating to cooperative research or development projects under SSA titles II and XVI. (Sec. 405) Amends SSA title XI to make miscellaneous technical amendments to provisions concerning the requirements of State income and eligibility verification systems, among other changes allowing a State to permit certain employers that make returns with respect to domestic service employment taxes on a calendar year basis to instead make such reports on an annual basis.
Bill· HRH.R. 1190 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1999
Solid Waste Interstate Transportation and Local Authority Act of 1999 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit a landfill or incinerator (facility) from receiving out-of-State municipal solid waste (MSW) for disposal or incineration unless the waste is received pursuant to a new (entered into on or after enactment of this Act) or existing host community agreement or an exemption from this prohibition (which may be limited by the State, as provided in this Act). Requires owners or operators to make specified information regarding the facility available prior to seeking authorization from an affected local government to receive such waste pursuant to a new host community agreement. Sets forth other formal requirements for the authorization process, including those for notification of the State, contiguous local governments, and contiguous Indian tribes. Requires, for an exemption, that the owner or operator provide either information establishing that the owner or operator of the facility: (1) received before enactment of this Act a State permit specifically authorizing acceptance of the waste; or (2) has entered into a binding contract before March 18, 1999, committing to the delivery and receipt of a specific quantity of out-of-State MSW and has permitted capacity actually available on the date of enactment of this Act for receipt of the quantity committed to in the contract. Authorizes States to establish limits on the amount of out-of-State waste received annually for disposal at each facility and affected local governments to limit the amount received at a particular facility pursuant to such an exemption. Prohibits State limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Sets the limitation amount for any facility that began receiving documented out-of-State waste before enactment of this Act at the amount received during 1993. Requires such documentation to be such as would result in criminal penalties under State law in case of false or misleading information. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of such waste on the basis of State of origin. Allows a State to provide by law that it will deny or refuse to renew a permit for the construction or operation of a facility (or a major modification thereto) if: (1) the State has approved a State or local comprehensive MSW management plan developed under Federal or State law; and (2) such denial is based on a determination that there is no local or regional need for the facility in the State. Allows States to require that a permit issued for a new facility or an expansion include an annual limitation of not less than 20 percent on the total quantity of out-of-State MSW relative to the total waste received by the facility. Allows a facility with specific authorization to receive a specific quantity of out-of-State waste pursuant to a host community agreement entered into prior to enactment of this Act to receive that quantity, notwithstanding the foregoing State requirement. Requires percentage limitations to be uniform for all facilities and not discriminate against out-of-State waste according to the State of origin. Allows a State to limit the amount of out-of-State MSW received annually at each facility to the amount received during 1995 if the State has enacted a comprehensive, statewide recycling program. Prohibits such limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Prohibits, in the establishment of limitations, discrimination against shipments of out-of-State waste on the basis of State of origin. Allows States to impose cost recovery surcharges on the processing, combustion, or disposal of out-of-State waste in a facility in the State and prescribes procedures for the collection and use of such charges. Declares that prohibitions, limitations, and the planning and permitting processes under, and laws and regulations implementing, this Act shall not be considered to impose an undue burden on or to otherwise impair, restrain, or discriminate against interstate commerce. Requires owners or operators of facilities to annually report to Governors of the States in which the facilities are located the amount of out-of-State waste received during the preceding year. Requires States to publish annual reports on the amount of such waste received for disposal in the State. Requires the General Accounting Office to report annually to the House Committee on Commerce and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on incidents or circumstances in each State importing MSW in which materials not authorized by permit to be disposed of at a facility have been discovered in such waste. (Sec. 3) Authorizes States and political subdivisions to exercise flow control authority for municipal solid waste and recyclable materials voluntarily relinquished by the owner or generator (recyclables), directing such waste and materials to particular waste management or recyclables facilities designated as of the suspension date (defined below) if: (1) the waste and recyclables are generated within the jurisdictional boundaries of the State or subdivision, determined as of the suspension date; (2) such authority is imposed through the adoption or execution of a law, regulation, or other legally binding provision or official act that was in effect on the suspension date, or was in effect prior to the issuance of an injunction or other court order based on a ruling that the law or provision violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, or was in effect immediately prior to suspension of the law by legislative or administrative action expressly because of such a court order; and (3) the State or political subdivision has for one or more such designated facilities, on or before the suspension date, presented eligible bonds for sale, made certain official preparations for such sale, or executed a legally binding contract or agreement for delivery of, and payment for, a minimum quantity of waste or recyclables. (The "suspension date" is either: May 16, 1994; the date of an injunction or court order based on a ruling that a law or other official act violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution; or the date of a suspension or partial suspension of a law or official act expressly because of the existence of an injunction or court order described above.) Imposes identification and volume restrictions on the exercise of flow control authority to the classes or categories of materials to which such authority was applicable on the suspension date. Sets dates for expiration of such authority. Prohibits a State or political subdivision from requiring any person to transport, or deliver for transportation, such waste or materials to any active portion of a MSW landfill unit if contamination of such portion is a basis for listing on the National Priorities List established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, unless the person has been indemnified by the government or the owner-operator against all liability under that Act with respect to such materials. Imposes limitations on the use of revenues derived by a State or political subdivision from the exercise of flow control authority. Provides for the enforceability under State law of certain legally binding interim contracts. Allows a State to exercise flow control authority over solid waste if, on or before January 1, 1984, the State: (1) adopted regulations under a State law that required or directed the transportation, management, or disposal of such waste from residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial sources to specifically identified waste management facilities and applied those regulations to every political subdivision; and (2) subjected the facilities to the jurisdiction of a State public utilities commission. Provides for expiration of such authority. Lists additional conditions under which: (1) solid waste districts or political subdivisions of a State may exercise flow control authority for 20 years after enactment of this Act; and (2) a facility will be treated as having been designated for the exercise of flow control authority by all members of a consortium of political subdivisions. Prohibits recovery of damages or costs in a claim against a State or local government, or official or employee thereof, based on the exercise of flow control authority on or before May 16, 1994.
Bill· SS. 655 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to require States receiving Federal funds for the compilation of passenger motor vehicle titling information, 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 word or symbol signifying that it was "salvage," "older model salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or that it has been damaged by flood, and the name of the State that issued the title. (Sec. 2) 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. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a record of the States which are in compliance with the uniform Federal title requirements; and (2) a mechanism to identify to interested parties which States are compliant. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations requiring: (1) a person transferring ownership of a rebuilt salvage vehicle to disclose to the transferee, before the time of transfer, that the motor vehicle is a rebuilt salvage vehicle when such person has actual knowledge of such fact; and (2) that a label containing such information be affixed to the windshield or window of a rebuilt salvage vehicle before its first sale. Prohibits any person from willfully removing, altering, or rendering illegible such label before the vehicle is delivered to the first retail purchaser. Directs the Secretary to report to appropriate congressional committees on whether the costs to States for compliance with the requirements of this Act can be met by user fees for titling, registration, inspection, or other services, or by earmarking moneys collected through law enforcement action to enforce such requirements. Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly to: (1) make false statements on the application for a motor vehicle title or any disclosure with respect to a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (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, a required decal affixed to a passenger motor vehicle, or any disclosure with respect to a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (4) falsify the results of an inspection; (5) offer to sell any salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle as a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (6) fail to give notice to a transferee of a motor vehicle that it has been damaged by flood; (7) fail to make any required disclosure with respect to a rebuilt salvage vehicle; (8) violate a regulation under this Act; (9) move a vehicle or a vehicle title in interstate commerce for the purpose of avoiding the titling requirements of this Act; or (10) conspire to commit any of these acts. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the chief law enforcement officer of a State, whenever a person violates a requirement of this Act, to bring an action in district court to restrain the violation, or recover amounts for which a person is civilly liable, or recover the amount of damage suffered by a resident in the State as a result of the knowing commission of the unlawful act by another person. Directs the Secretary to make a grant to each State that demonstrates that it is taking appropriate actions to implement this Act, including such conformance related activities as issuing titles, establishing and administering vehicle theft or salvage vehicles safety inspections, enforcement, and other related purposes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Requires the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to permit a user to establish instantly and reliably, among other things, whether: (1) an automobile known to be titled in a particular State is or has been a nonrepairable vehicle, a rebuilt salvage vehicle, or a flood vehicle; and (2) an automobile bearing a known vehicle identification number has been reported as a nonrepairable vehicle, a rebuilt salvage vehicle, or a flood vehicle. Limits to States receiving certain Federal grants for the compilation of passenger motor vehicle titling information the current requirement that every State make such information available for use in operating the System. (Sec. 4) Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary to develop and implement a program to notify U.S. dealers and distributors of the prohibition on the sale or delivery of any vehicle for use as a schoolbus that does not meet prescribed standards.
Law· SS. 643 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
Interim Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act - Amends Federal aviation law to extend the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for two months. Provides that not more than $1.3 billion of funds available under the Grants-in-Aid for Airports Program may be obligated before the enactment of a law extending contract authorization for such program beyond May 31, 1999. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 for: (1) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Facilities and Equipment Program; and (2) FAA operations. Removes the maximum cap AIP funds credited to the discretionary fund. Terminates the Military Airport Program under the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996. Makes specified changes to the formula for crediting airport improvement fund amounts to the AIP discretionary fund and the small airport fund.
Bill· SS. 648 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1999
Aviation Safety Protection Act - Amends Federal transportation law to establish a whistleblower protection program for airline employees providing air safety information. Prohibits air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee as to pay, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee: (1) is about to provide or has provided to the Federal Government information relating to any violation of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order, regulation, or standard, or any other Federal law relating to air carrier safety; or (2) is about to file or has filed a proceeding, or testified, or otherwise participated in a proceeding relating to such violations. Sets forth a Department of Labor complaint procedure for persons who believe they have been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this Act. Specifies civil penalties for violation of this Act.