CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

H. Griffith (R-VA)

Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act

H.R. 5549 · House bill Energy

A Republican bill with 4 Democratic cosponsors · See all 25 cosponsors

Last activity — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

In the other chamber's committee

Passed one chamber and has been handed to a committee in the other.

The committee decides whether it goes any further, and most bills that reach a committee never leave it. A committee that simply does nothing kills a bill without anyone ever voting against it, so no news from here is usually the news.

Its path through Congress

  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House voice vote
  3. In Senate committee

The House by voice vote (members called out yes or no together): no member's position on it was recorded.

What this bill would do

This bill is called the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act. It amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to change how hearings are handled for nuclear facility construction applications and licenses. The legislation allows the Commission to issue certain construction permits, operating licenses, and amendments without a hearing if no affected person requests one, provided there is a thirty-day notice and publication in the Federal Register. It also lets the Commission skip this thirty-day notice for certain amendments if it determines the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. Additionally, the bill requires the Commission to use informal adjudicatory procedures for hearings held under this subparagraph. Finally, these changes apply to all applications and proceedings pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on or after the date of enactment.

Yes

  • Scored +2

    Does this put more money into wind, solar and other renewable power?

    Streamlining nuclear licensing processes may facilitate easier expansion of nuclear energy infrastructure.

The opposite

  • Scored -4

    Does this protect the right to fair treatment by the courts?

    The bill reduces due process by making hearings contingent upon a specific request rather than being a required part of the proceeding.

  • Scored -3

    Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?

    The bill reduces transparency by allowing the Commission to dispense with certain notice and publication requirements for amendments.