Description:
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses and regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other facilities that use radioactive materials. Under current law, the agency is required to recover most of its funding through fees charged to entities it regulates. H.R. 1320 would modify the formula used to determine the amount of those fees. The bill also would modify procedures related to NRC’s review of applications for certain permits and licenses and allow the agency to conduct, on an informal basis, any type of hearing requested to review the agency’s actions or decisions. H.R. 1320 also would require the NRC and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete a variety of studies and reports on nuclear-related issues. Using information from the NRC, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1320 would cost $28 million over the 2019-2023 period, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1320 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. H.R. 1320 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
