The upcoming November elections and the short legislative calendar continue to take a toll on congressional productivity. Partisan warfare remains high while the desire of legislators to finish business early so they may return home to campaign, limits the likelihood that controversial legislative proposals will be heard.
Following is a brief overview of legislation of importance to AWPA members:
Issue: Utility Deregulation
Background: The drive to introduce market forces among electricity producers got a jolt from the Administration in March. The White House unveiled its 30-page set of "principles" for reform. The plan would allow customers to choose their electricity provider by 2003 and allow states or non-regulated utilities to opt out of the competition mandate if states can prove they are better served under a local deregulation plan.
Both the House and Senate are considering a wide range of proposals. In the Senate, a number of utility deregulation bills have been introduced over the past six months. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) has taken a go slow approach and favors legislation that would allow state self-determination on the issue.
In the House, retiring Rep. Bill Paxon (R-NY) is shopping a 70-page reform "discussion draft" he put together with Rep. Steve Largent (R-OK). Reports are that the plan could eclipse Rep. Dan Schaefer's (R-CO) HR 655, which would mandate retail competition by December, 2000.
Outlook: Given the short legislative schedule and election-year politics, getting a bill through Congress this year still seems a tall order.
Issue: Occupational Safety And Health Administration Reform
Background: Since taking over the Congress in 1994, Republicans have made OSHA reform a top priority, even including the issue in their "Contract with America." Legislative efforts have been stymied by the need to garner enough votes to override a possible Clinton veto in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the threat of filibuster and the inability to collect enough votes to end debate have slowed consideration.
Outlook: The House or Representatives voted to approve HR 2864, which would transfer OSHA funds away from punitive sanctions to more helpful state consultation programs for small firms. Employers using these consultation programs would not be subject to random, general schedule inspections. Other inspections, such as those prompted by employee complaints, would continue. Broader pending Senate legislation�S 1237, the SAFE Act�incorporates the changes called for in House bills and would exempt employers from OSHA civil fines if they pass a third-party safety and health audit and maintain safe conditions.
Issue: Epa Clean Air � Particulate Matter 2.5
Background: Within the scope of the Clean Air Act, the EPA is charged with maintaining an "adequate margin of safety" for human health. The EPA has developed National Ambient Air Quality Standards to achieve this goal and identified particulate matter as one of six pollutants to be regulated. The new regulations would set an annual limit of 15 micrograms per cubic meter and a 24-hour limit of 6 micrograms per cubic meter. Those unable to meet the goals would be declared nonattainment areas, requiring significant capital improvements under the Clean Air Act. The Senate recently voted for an amendment introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) that cements the Administration�s three-year time frame for gathering particulate matter data before determining whether an area is in nonattainment. It has become a part of highway bill S 1173, better known as ISTEA.
Outlook: Interestingly, a report by the National Academy of Sciences is critical of EPA�s move to put in place particulate matter monitors without better knowledge of those that are most harmful. Some members of the House of Representatives are fighting the Inhofe language, urging an even longer, four-year mandatory implementation phase. Delay legislation exists in both houses of Congress, but action is unlikely. Some in the House are expected to use the National Academy of Sciences report to push an extension of the Inhofe timeframe.
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