Sec. 23. Administration
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Section 26 of the Toxic Substances Control Act ( 15 U.S.C. 2625 ) is amended— by striking subsection
(b)and inserting the following: The Administrator shall establish, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act , by rule— the payment of 1 or more reasonable fees as a condition of submitting a notice or requesting an exemption under section 5; and the payment of 1 or more reasonable fees by a manufacturer or processor that— is required to submit a notice pursuant to the rule promulgated under section 8(b)(4)(A)(i) identifying a chemical substance as active; is required to submit a notice pursuant to section 8(b)(5)(B)(i) changing the status of a chemical substance from inactive to active; is required to report information pursuant to the rules promulgated under paragraph
(1)or
(4)of section 8(a); or manufactures or processes a chemical substance subject to a safety assessment and safety determination pursuant to section 6. The Administrator shall— utilize the fees collected under paragraph
(1)only to defray costs associated with the actions of the Administrator— to collect, process, review, provide access to, and protect from disclosure (where appropriate) information on chemical substances under this Act; to review notices and make determinations for chemical substances under paragraphs
(1)and
(3)of section 5(d) and impose any necessary restrictions under section 5(d)(4); to make prioritization decisions under section 4A; to conduct and complete safety assessments and determinations under section 6; and to conduct any necessary rulemaking pursuant to section 6(d); insofar as possible, collect the fees described in paragraph
(1)in advance of conducting any fee-supported activity; deposit the fees in the Fund established by paragraph (4)(A); and insofar as possible, not collect excess fees or retain a significant amount of unused fees. In setting fees under this section, the Administrator shall— prescribe lower fees for small business concerns, after consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration; set the fees established under paragraph
(1)at levels such that the fees will, in aggregate, provide a sustainable source of funds to annually defray— the lower of— 25 percent of the costs of conducting the activities identified in paragraph (2)(A), other than the costs to conduct and complete safety assessments and determinations under section 6 for chemical substances identified pursuant to section 4A(c); or $25,000,000 (subject to adjustment pursuant to subparagraph (F)); and the full costs and the 50-percent portion of the costs of safety assessments and safety determinations specified in subparagraph (D); reflect an appropriate balance in the assessment of fees between manufacturers and processors, and allow the payment of fees by consortia of manufacturers or processors; notwithstanding subparagraph
(B)and paragraph (4)(D)— for substances designated pursuant to section 4A(c)(1), establish the fee at a level sufficient to defray the full annual costs to the Administrator of conducting the safety assessment and safety determination under section 6; and for substances designated pursuant to section 4A(c)(3), establish the fee at a level sufficient to defray 50 percent of the annual costs to the Administrator of conducting the safety assessment and safety determination under section 6; prior to the establishment or amendment of any fees under paragraph (1), consult and meet with parties potentially subject to the fees or their representatives, subject to the condition that no obligation under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) or subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is applicable with respect to such meetings; beginning with the fiscal year that is 3 years after the date of enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act , and every 3 years thereafter, after consultation with parties potentially subject to the fees and their representatives pursuant to subparagraph (E), increase or decrease the fees established under paragraph
(1)as necessary to adjust for inflation and to ensure, based on the audit analysis required under paragraph (5)(B), that funds deposited in the Fund are sufficient to defray— approximately but not more than 25 percent of the annual costs to conduct the activities identified in paragraph (2)(A), other than the costs to conduct and complete safety assessments and determinations under section 6 for chemical substances identified pursuant to section 4A(c); and the full annual costs and the 50-percent portion of the annual costs of safety assessments and safety determinations specified in subparagraph (D); adjust fees established under paragraph
(1)as necessary to vary on account of differing circumstances, including reduced fees or waivers in appropriate circumstances, to reduce the burden on manufacturing or processing, remove barriers to innovation, or where the costs to the Administrator of collecting the fees exceed the fee revenue anticipated to be collected; and if a notice submitted under section 5 is refused or subsequently withdrawn, refund the fee or a portion of the fee if no substantial work was performed on the notice. There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the TSCA Implementation Fund (referred to in this subsection as the Fund ), consisting of— such amounts as are deposited in the Fund under paragraph (2)(C); and any interest earned on the investment of amounts in the Fund; and any proceeds from the sale or redemption of investments held in the Fund. Fees authorized under this section shall be collected and available for obligation only to the extent and in the amount provided in advance in appropriations Acts, and shall be available without fiscal year limitation. Fees collected under this section shall not— be made available or obligated for any purpose other than to defray the costs of conducting the activities identified in paragraph (2)(A); otherwise be available for any purpose other than implementation of this Act; and so long as amounts in the Fund remain available, be subject to restrictions on expenditures applicable to the Federal government as a whole. Amounts in the Fund not currently needed to carry out this subsection shall be— maintained readily available or on deposit; invested in obligations of the United States or guaranteed by the United States; or invested in obligations, participations, or other instruments that are lawful investments for fiduciary, trust, or public funds. Fees may not be assessed for a fiscal year under this section unless the amount of appropriations for the Chemical Risk Review and Reduction program project of the Environmental Protection Agency for the fiscal year (excluding the amount of any fees appropriated for the fiscal year) are equal to or greater than the amount of appropriations for that program project for fiscal year 2014. For the purpose of section 3515(c) of title 31, United States Code, the Fund shall be considered a component of an executive agency. The annual audit required under sections 3515(b) and 3521 of that title of the financial statements of activities under this subsection shall include an analysis of— the fees collected under paragraph
(1)and disbursed; compliance with the deadlines established in section 6 of this Act; the amounts budgeted, appropriated, collected from fees, and disbursed to meet the requirements of sections 4, 4A, 5, 6, 8, and 14, including the allocation of full time equivalent employees to each such section or activity; and the reasonableness of the allocation of the overhead associated with the conduct of the activities described in paragraph (2)(A). The Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency shall— conduct the annual audit required under this subsection; and report the findings and recommendations of the audit to the Administrator and to the appropriate committees of Congress. The authority provided by this section shall terminate at the conclusion of the fiscal year that is 10 years after the date of enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act , unless otherwise reauthorized or modified by Congress. ; in subsection (e), by striking Health, Education, and Welfare each place it appears and inserting Health and Human Services ; and adding at the end the following: Nothing in this Act eliminates, modifies, or withdraws any rule promulgated, order issued, or exemption established pursuant to this Act before the date of enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act . .
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