As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 9, 2014
S. 429 would establish the Concrete Masonry Products Board (Board), upon approval of a referendum by producers of masonry products made from concrete (CMP). The Board would develop research and education programs as well as efforts to promote CMP in domestic and foreign markets. Funding for those activities would be derived from assessments on CMP manufacturers based on the number of masonry units sold each year. The bill would direct the Secretary of Commerce to organize and hold the referendum; the agency’s costs would be reimbursed by the Board from initial collections of assessments.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 429 would increase direct spending by $141 million and increase net revenues by $108 million over the 2015-2024 period, yielding a net increase in the deficit of $33 million over the 10-year period. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues. CBO estimates that implementing S. 429 would have an insignificant effect on discretionary spending over the 2015-2019 period.
S. 429 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 429 would impose private-sector mandates on manufacturers of CMP. Based on information from industry experts, CBO estimates that the annual cost of the mandates would fall well below the threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($152 million in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
