Tagged: licensing and registrations

Restoring Faith in Elections ActThis bill establishes certain standards for voting, including voting by mail, in federal elections. It also establishes certain requirements for voter registration and maintenance of official lists of eligible voters.First, the bill establishes certain requirements for voting by mail in federal elections, including by requiring mail-in ballots to be received by the time the polls close on election day.Additionally, the bill makes it unlawful to possess or return a mail-in ballot completed by another person (commonly referred to as ballot harvesting), with exceptions. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to one year, or both.Further, the bill establishes certain requirements for reporting results of federal elections, including by requiring states to count all eligible ballots within 24 hours after the election.Next, the bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters. The Election Assistance Commission must make grants to states to implement these automatic voter registration programs.It also requires states and jurisdictions to use standards that apply equally to all methods of voting used in federal elections, including standards related to signature verification.Finally, the bill establishes the National Deconfliction Voting Database and Clearinghouse to serve as a database and clearinghouse for voter registration records and lists of eligible voters. Additionally, each state must certify that it has removed ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters prior to the federal election.

New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act This bill modifies terminology for purposes of the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In order for a change to a stationary source to be a modification (a change to a stationary source that increases the air pollutant emissions or results in new pollutants) for purposes of the NSR permitting program, the maximum hourly emission rate achievable by such source must be higher than the maximum hourly rate achievable by such source during any hour in the 10-year period preceding the change. A change at a stationary source is not considered to be a modification under the bill if it is designed to (1) reduce the amount of any air pollutant emitted; or (2) restore, maintain, or improve the reliability of operations at, or safety of, the source. However, such changes are not excepted if the EPA determines the increase in the maximum achievable hourly emission rate from such change would cause an adverse effect on human health or the environment. Construction, in connection with a major emitting facility (a type of stationary source), does not include a change at such a facility that does not result in a significant emissions increase or a significant net emissions increase. In relation to major emitting facilities in nonattainment areas, the terms modifications and modified do not include changes at such facilities that do not result in a significant emissions increase or a significant net emissions increase.

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE ActThis bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill specifies what documents are considered acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship, such as identification that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates U.S. citizenship.Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship.Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by certain sources.Additionally, states must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl ActThis bill permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.Under the bill, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term).Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain schedule I research.The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, includingpermitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances,waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, andallowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration.Finally, the bill expresses the sense that Congress agrees with the interpretation of Controlled Substances Act in United States v. McCray, a 2018 case decided by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In that case, the court held that butyryl fentanyl, a controlled substance, can be considered an analogue of fentanyl even though, under the Controlled Substances Act, the term controlled substance analogue specifically excludes a controlled substance.

This bill repeals the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The act established certain voter registration requirements for federal elections, such as the requirement for states to allow individuals to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.

Native American Education Opportunity Act This bill addresses education savings account programs and charter schools for tribal students. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior, at the request of federally recognized Indian tribes, to provide funds to tribes for tribal-based education savings account programs. Tribes must use these funds to award grants to education savings accounts for students who (1) attended or will be eligible to attend a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE); or (2) will not be attending a school operated by the BIE, receiving an education savings account from another tribe, or attending public elementary or secondary school while participating in the program. Funds may be used for items and activities such as costs of attendance at private schools, private tutoring and online learning programs, textbooks, educational software, or examination fees. The Government Accountability Office must review the implementation of these education savings account programs, including any factors impacting increased participation in such programs. Additionally, the bill authorizes the BIE to approve and fund charter schools at any school that it operates or funds.