EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2013 - 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 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA].) Prohibits federally registered lobbyists from being appointed to the Board.
Revises the procedures for providing advice and comments to the Administrator by: (1) including risk or hazard assessments in the regulatory proposals and documents made available to the Board, and (2) requiring advice and comments to be included in the record regarding any such proposal and published in the Federal Register.
Revises the operation of Board member committees and investigative panels to: (1) require that they operate in accordance with the membership, participation, and policy requirements (including new requirements for public participation in advisory activities of the Board) contained in this Act; (2) deny them authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board; and (3) prohibit direct reporting to EPA.
Adds guidelines for the conduct of Board advisory activities, including concerning: (1) avoidance of making policy determinations or recommendations, (2) communication of uncertainties, (3) dissenting members' views, and (4) periodic reviews to ensure that such activities address the most important scientific issues affecting EPA.
Prohibits this Act from being construed as supplanting the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act or the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1853 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1853
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 18, 2013
Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Vitter, Mr.
Sessions, and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``EPA Science Advisory Board Reform
Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD.
(a) Membership.--Section 8(b) of the Environmental Research,
Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C.
4365(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b)(1) The Board shall be composed of at least nine members, one
of whom shall be designated Chairman, and shall meet at such times and
places as may be designated by the Chairman in consultation with the
Administrator.
``(2) Each member of the Board shall be qualified by education,
training, and experience to evaluate scientific and technical
information on matters referred to the Board under this section. The
Administrator shall select Board members from nominations received as
described in paragraph (3) and shall ensure that--
``(A) the scientific and technical points of view
represented on and the functions to be performed by the Board
are fairly balanced among the members of the Board;
``(B) at least ten percent of the membership of the Board
are from State, local, or tribal governments;
``(C) persons with substantial and relevant expertise are
not excluded from the Board due to affiliation with or
representation of entities that may have a potential interest
in the Board's advisory activities, so long as that interest is
fully disclosed to the Administrator and the public and
appointment to the Board complies with section 208 of title 18,
United States Code;
``(D) in the case of a Board advisory activity on a
particular matter involving a specific party, no Board member
having an interest in the specific party shall participate in
that activity;
``(E) Board members may not participate in advisory
activities that directly or indirectly involve review and
evaluation of their own work;
``(F) Board members shall be designated as special
Government employees; and
``(G) no federally registered lobbyist is appointed to the
Board.
``(3) The Administrator shall--
``(A) solicit public nominations for the Board by
publishing a notification in the Federal Register;
``(B) solicit nominations from relevant Federal agencies,
including the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and
Health and Human Services;
``(C) make public the list of nominees, including the
identity of the entities that nominated them, and shall accept
public comment on the nominees;
``(D) require that, upon their provisional nomination,
nominees shall file a written report disclosing financial
relationships and interests, including Environmental Protection
Agency grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other
financial assistance, that are relevant to the Board's advisory
activities for the three-year period prior to the date of their
nomination, and relevant professional activities and public
statements for the five-year period prior to the date of their
nomination; and
``(E) make such reports public, with the exception of
specific dollar amounts, for each member of the Board upon such
member's selection.
``(4) Disclosure of relevant professional activities under
paragraph (3)(D) shall include all representational work, expert
testimony, and contract work as well as identifying the party for which
the work was done.
``(5) Except when specifically prohibited by law, the Agency shall
make all conflict of interest waivers granted to members of the Board,
member committees, or investigative panels publicly available.
``(6) Any recusal agreement made by a member of the Board, a member
committee, or an investigative panel, or any recusal known to the
Agency that occurs during the course of a meeting or other work of the
Board, member committee, or investigative panel shall promptly be made
public by the Administrator.
``(7) The terms of the members of the Board shall be three years
and shall be staggered so that the terms of no more than one-third of
the total membership of the Board shall expire within a single fiscal
year. No member shall serve more than two terms over a ten-year
period.''.
(b) Record.--Section 8(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365(c)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``risk or hazard assessment,''
after ``at the time any proposed''; and
(B) by inserting ``risk or hazard assessment,''
after ``to the Board such proposed''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by inserting ``risk or hazard assessment,''
after ``the scientific and technical basis of the
proposed''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following: ``The
Board's advice and comments, including dissenting views
of Board members, and the response of the Administrator
shall be included in the record with respect to any
proposed risk or hazard assessment, criteria document,
standard, limitation, or regulation and published in
the Federal Register.''.
(c) Member Committees and Investigative Panels.--Section 8(e) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365(e)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``These member committees and investigative panels--
``(1) shall be constituted and operate in accordance with
the provisions set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of
subsection (b), in subsection (h), and in subsection (i);
``(2) do not have authority to make decisions on behalf of
the Board; and
``(3) may not report directly to the Environmental
Protection Agency.''.
(d) Public Participation.--Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365)
is amended by adding after subsection (g) the following:
``(h)(1) To facilitate public participation in the advisory
activities of the Board, the Administrator and the Board shall make
public all reports and relevant scientific information and shall
provide materials to the public at the same time as received by members
of the Board.
``(2) Prior to conducting major advisory activities, the Board
shall hold a public information-gathering session to discuss the state
of the science related to the advisory activity.
``(3) Prior to convening a member committee or investigative panel
under subsection (e) or requesting scientific advice from the Board,
the Administrator shall accept, consider, and address public comments
on questions to be asked of the Board. The Board, member committees,
and investigative panels shall accept, consider, and address public
comments on such questions and shall not accept a question that unduly
narrows the scope of an advisory activity.
``(4) The Administrator and the Board shall encourage public
comments, including oral comments and discussion during the
proceedings, that shall not be limited by an insufficient or arbitrary
time restriction. Public comments shall be provided to the Board when
received. The Board's reports shall include written responses to
significant comments offered by members of the public to the Board.
``(5) Following Board meetings, the public shall be given 15
calendar days to provide additional comments for consideration by the
Board.''.
(e) Operations.--Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4365) is further
amended by adding after subsection (h), as added by subsection (d) of
this section, the following:
``(i)(1) In carrying out its advisory activities, the Board shall
strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, and,
in the event the Board feels compelled to offer policy advice, shall
explicitly distinguish between scientific determinations and policy
advice.
``(2) The Board shall clearly communicate uncertainties associated
with the scientific advice provided to the Administrator.
``(3) The Board shall ensure that advice and comments reflect the
views of the members and shall encourage dissenting members to make
their views known to the public and the Administrator.
``(4) The Board shall conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its
advisory activities are addressing the most important scientific issues
affecting the Environmental Protection Agency.''.
SEC. 3. RELATION TO THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be
construed as supplanting the requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
SEC. 4. RELATION TO THE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be
construed as supplanting the requirements of the Ethics in Government
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
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