§658c Duties of Director; Statements on Bills and Joint Resolutions Other Than Appropriations Bills and Joint Resolutions

Summary

The Director of the Congressional Budget Office must give a short cost statement for every public bill or joint resolution sent out by any authorization committee in the House or Senate. If the Director finds that new federal requirements on state, local, or tribal governments would cost at least $50,000,000 (adjusted yearly for inflation) in the first year they take effect or in any of the next four fiscal years, the Director must say so, give the estimate, and explain how it was done. That estimate must cover the total direct cost, any new budget authority needed each year for up to 10 years if the bill includes such authorization, and any extra federal aid the bill provides that governments could use to meet the requirement. If the bill changes a program in the specific way defined in law, the Director must say whether the bill gives states more flexibility and whether any savings from that flexibility would offset program reductions if states used it. The Director must do a similar review for private-sector rules and must report if costs would be at least $100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation), including total direct costs and any new federal aid usable by the private sector. If costs are below those thresholds, the Director must say that and explain briefly. If a reasonable estimate cannot be made, the Director must say so and explain why; in that case, a limited point-of-order rule applies. Finally, when a bill is amended or a conference report adds or raises a mandate’s cost, the committee must try to get the Director to prepare a new or supplemental statement.