EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
Latest action · May 20, 2015 Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-38.
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 SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015
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. Federally registered lobbyists may not be appointed to the Board.
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 Board must: (1) strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, (2) communicate uncertainties, (3) encourage dissenting members to make their views known, (4) conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its activities address the most important scientific issues affecting the EPA, and (5) respond to Congress fully and in a timely manner.
This Act may not be construed as supplanting the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act or the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Feb 24, 2015.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-OK | James M. Inhofe | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| I-WV | Joe Manchin III | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 20, 2015Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-38.
- Feb 24, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Feb 24, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1029 | EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015 | Identical bill | Mar 18, 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 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 24, 2015Introduced in Senate
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.