2 1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 2 3 system, reserving to the States all powers not delegated to the Federal Government; (2) preemptive statutes and regulations have at times been an appropriate exercise of Federal powers, and at other times have been an inappropriate infringement on State and local government authority; (3) on numerous occasions, Congress has enacted statutes and the agencies have promulgated rules that explicitly preempt State and local government authority and describe the scope of the pre emption; (4) in addition to statutes and rules that explicitly preempt State and local government authority, many other statutes and rules that lack an explicit statement by Congress or the agencies of their in tent to preempt and a clear description of the scope of the preemption have been construed to preempt State and local government authority; (5) in the past, the lack of clear congressional intent regarding preemption has resulted in too much discretion for Federal agencies and uncer tainty for State and local governments, leaving the 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 presence or scope of preemption to be litigated and determined by the judiciary and sometimes producing results contrary to or beyond the intent of Congress; and (6) State and local governments are full partners in all Federal programs administered by those governments. 8 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. The purposes of this Act are to (1) promote and preserve the integrity and ef fectiveness of our Federal system of government; (2) set forth principles governing the interpretation of congressional and agency intent regarding preemption of State and local government authority by Federal laws and rules; (3) establish an information collection system designed to monitor the incidence of Federal statutory, regulatory, and judicial preemption; and (4) recognize the partnership between the Federal Government and State and local governments in the implementation of certain Federal programs. 22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act the definitions under section 551 of title 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 4 (1) "local government" means a county, city, town, borough, township, village, school district, spe cial district, or other political subdivision of a State; (2) "public officials" means elected State and local government officials and their representative organizations; (3) "State" (A) means a State of the United States and an agency or instrumentality of a State; (B) includes the District of Columbia and any territory of the United States, and an agency or instrumentality of the District of Colum bia or such territory; (C) includes any tribal government and an agency or instrumentality of such government; and (D) does not include a local government of a State; and (4) "tribal government" means an Indian tribe as that term is defined under section 4(e) of the In dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 23 SEC. 5. COMMITTEE OR CONFERENCE REPORTS. 24 (a) IN GENERAL.-The report accompanying any bill 25 or joint resolution of a public character reported from a 5 1 committee of the Senate or House of Representatives or 2 from a conference between the Senate and the House of 3 Representatives shall contain an explicit statement on the 4 extent to which the bill or joint resolution preempts State 5 or local government law, ordinance, or regulation and, if 6 so, an explanation of the reasons for such preemption. In 7 the absence of a committee or conference report, the com8 mittee or conference shall report to the Senate and the 9 House of Representatives a statement containing the in10 formation described in this section before consideration of 11 the bill, joint resolution, or conference report. 12 (b) CONTENT.-The statement under subsection (a) 13 shall include an analysis of 14 15 16 17 18 19 (1) the extent to which the bill or joint resolution legislates in an area of traditional State authority; and (2) the extent to which State or local government authority will be maintained if the bill or joint resolution is enacted by Congress. 20 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO PREEMP 21 22 TION. (a) STATUTES.-No statute enacted after the effec 23 tive date of this Act shall be construed to preempt, in 24 whole or in part, any State or local government law, ordi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 (1) the statute explicitly states that such pre emption is intended; or (2) there is a direct conflict between such statute and a State or local law, ordinance, or regulation so that the two cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together. (b) RULES.-No rule promulgated after the effective 8 date of this Act shall be construed to preempt, in whole 9 or in part, any State or local government law, ordinance, 10 or regulation, unless 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (1)(A) such preemption is authorized by the statute under which the rule is promulgated; and (B) the rule, in compliance with section 7, explicitly states that such preemption is intended; or (2) there is a direct conflict between such rule and a State or local law, ordinance, or regulation so that the two cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together. (c) FAVORABLE CONSTRUCTION.-Any ambiguities 20 in this Act, or in any other law of the United States, shall 21 be construed in favor of preserving the authority of the 22 States and the people. 23 SEC. 7. AGENCY FEDERALISM ASSESSMENTS. 24 (a) IN GENERAL.--The head of each agency shall |