EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
Latest action · Mar 18, 2015 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 24, 2015
- Passed HouseMar 17, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to revise the process of selecting members of the Science Advisory Board, guidelines for participation in Board advisory activities, and terms of office. The Board provides scientific advice to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This bill requires the Board to independently provide that advice.
Among the revisions to requirements concerning the Board's membership are the following:
- a requirement to balance scientific and technical points of view;
- a set minimum level of representation from state, local, or tribal governments;
- allowance of affiliation with or representation of entities that may have a potential interest in the Board's advisory activities;
- conflict of interest restrictions;
- restrictions on participation in advisory activities involving review of a member's work;
- restrictions on appointment of registered lobbyists; and
- prohibitions on member receipt of current EPA grants or contracts.
The EPA must make public a list of nominees to the Board and accept public comments on the nominees. Reports filed upon the provisional nomination of a member disclosing financial relationships and interests must also be made public.
The EPA must provide draft risk or hazard assessments in its regulatory proposals and documents to the Board. The Board's advice and comments must be included in the record regarding any such proposal and published in the Federal Register.
The Board's member committees and investigative panels must operate in accordance with the membership, participation, and policy requirements contained in this Act, including new requirements for public participation in advisory activities of the Board. The member committees and investigative panels do not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board and may not report directly to the EPA.
The bill imposes additional public participation requirements:
- The EPA and the Board must make public all reports and relevant scientific information at the same time they are received by the Board.
- The Board must hold public information-gathering sessions to discuss the state of the science related to a major advisory activity.
- Prior to convening a member committee or investigative panel, the EPA must accept and address public comments on questions asked of the Board.
- The Board, member committees, and investigative panels may not accept a question that unduly narrows the scope of an advisory activity.
The Board must strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, communicate uncertainties, encourage dissenting members to make their views known, conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its activities address the most important scientific issues affecting the EPA, and respond to Congress fully and in a timely manner.
Recorded votes 3
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 121 | On Passage | Passed236–181 | Mar 17, 2015 |
| House 120 | On Motion to Recommit with Instructions | Failed179–237 | Mar 17, 2015 |
| House 119 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Agreed to242–175 | Mar 17, 2015 |
Cosponsors 24
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 24, 2015 to Feb 27, 2015; 22 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-MD | Andy Harris | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-VA | Barbara Comstock | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-TX | Blake Farenthold | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-TX | Brian Babin | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-UT | Chris Stewart | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| D-MN | Collin C. Peterson | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-WY | Cynthia M. Lummis | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-WA | Dan Newhouse | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-AZ | David Schweikert | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-AK | Don Young | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-AR | Eric A. "Rick" Crawford | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-OK | Jim Bridenstine | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-AL | Mo Brooks | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-AZ | Paul A. Gosar | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-TX | Pete Sessions | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-IL | Randy Hultgren | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-TX | Randy K. Weber, Sr. | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-TX | Randy Neugebauer | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-NM | Stevan Pearce | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-MS | Steven M. Palazzo | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| R-VA | Bob Goodlatte | Feb 26, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Joe Barton | Feb 27, 2015 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Referred Feb 24, 2015Markup Feb 25, 2015Reported Mar 2, 2015 |
| Senate | Environment and Public Works Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2015 |
Actions 25
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 18, 2015Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Mar 17, 2015Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 138. (consideration: CR H1678-1693, H1693-1694; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H1685-1686)
- Mar 17, 2015House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 138 and Rule XVIII.
- Mar 17, 2015The Speaker designated the Honorable Kevin Yoder to act as Chairman of the Committee.
- Mar 17, 2015GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 1029.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H1670–H1677, H1678–H1694Text printed H1670Amendments H1675, H1685, H1686, H1687, H1688Motions H1691Recorded votes H1676, H1677, H1691, H1692, H1693consideration (H. Res. 138), previous questionenactMcKinley amendment (prohibit Science Advisory Board members from applying for or receiving EPA contracts or grants while serving and for 3 years after serving)Peters motion to recommit (prohibit Scientific Advisory Board membership to any persons working for a corporation that has been convicted of a major environmental crime) | Alan Grayson D-FL (amendment), Alcee L. Hastings D-FL (amendment), Collin C. Peterson D-MN, Dana Rohrabacher R-CA, David B. McKinley R-WV (amendment), Denny Heck D-WA, Doug Collins R-GA, Eddie Bernice Johnson D-TX, Frank D. Lucas R-OK, Jared Polis D-CO (amendment), Kevin McCarthy R-CA, Lamar Smith R-TX, Maxine Waters D-CA, Michael C. Burgess R-TX, Randy K. Weber, Sr. R-TX, Scott H. Peters D-CA (motion), Suzanne Bonamici D-OR (amendment) | Mar 17, 2015 |
| House | Declaratory Statements H1568 | — | Mar 3, 2015 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Mar 2, 2015H.R. 1029, EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015As ordered reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on February 25, 2015
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 31, February 24, 2015, page H1115.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R41561 | EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track? Archived | Report | Dec 30, 2016 |
Amendments 4
Amendments offered to this bill.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to provide for Scientific Advisory Board member qualifications, public participation, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Passed House
- EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Advisory bodies
- Congressional oversight
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental Protection
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Environmental regulatory procedures
- Federal-Indian relations
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government information and archives
- Intergovernmental relations
- Public participation and lobbying
- Research administration and funding
- State and local government operations
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 18, 2015Referred in Senate
- Mar 17, 2015Engrossed in House
- Mar 2, 2015Reported in House
- Feb 24, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
