Bill · H.R. 447· House(119-HR-447)
Reliability for Ratepayers Act
- Introduced
- 1/15/2025
- Last activity
- 1/15/2025 — Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- Sponsored by
- Marie Perez
- Cosponsors
- - 5 - 2
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Reliability for Ratepayers Act aims to give the Bonneville Power Administration more flexibility regarding employee pay. It directs the administrator to create and implement a specific compensation plan to address hiring and retention. This plan must consider factors like education, experience, and geographic differences while remaining competitive with consumer-owned utilities in the Western Interconnection. The administrator will be required to review and update this plan annually. Additionally, the bill grants the administrator authority to appoint various staff, including experts and physicians, with certain exemptions from standard civil service laws.
Yes· 3 of 4
Does this give the federal government more power?+3
The bill grants the administrator broad authority to appoint staff and set compensation outside of standard civil service laws.
Is this likely to create jobs?+3
The bill aims to improve hiring and retention by making compensation competitive with the electric industry.
Does this invest in rural communities?+2
By ensuring the Bonneville Power Administration can recruit and retain staff, the bill supports the operation and maintenance of essential electrical facilities.
The opposite
Would union members be better off under this?-3
The bill exempts the administrator from several standard civil service laws governing pay, performance, and personnel management.
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-1
The bill allows for competitive, flexible compensation which may increase administrative costs compared to standard civil service pay scales.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Competitive Compensation: The bill requires that compensation be comparable to and competitive with similar positions at consumer-owned utilities in the Western Interconnection (Section 2, subsection (a)(3)(D)). This could help attract and keep skilled workers.
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Targeted Pay Factors: The compensation plan must take into account education, experience, level of responsibility, and geographic differences (Section 2, subsection (a)(3)(C)). This ensures pay is tailored to specific professional needs and locations.
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Consumer Rate Protection: The compensation plan is required to encourage the widest diversified use of electric power at the lowest possible rates to consumers (Section 2, subsection (a)(3)(B)).
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Expert Recruitment: The administrator is granted the ability to appoint experts and physicians without regard to certain civil service laws to carry out the functions of the administrator (Section 2, subsection (b)(4) and (b)(5)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Exemption from Civil Service Protections: The administrator is exempt from several chapters of title 5 of the United States Code, including chapters related to performance and pay standards (Section 2, subsection (b)(2)).
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Broad Appointment Authority: The administrator has the authority to appoint officers, employees, laborers, and experts as they determine necessary (Section 2, subsection (b)(1)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Increases Federal Power+3
- Economy And Finance
- Increases Job Creation+3Reduces Government Spending-1
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Rural Development+2
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners+2Good For Union Workers-3
- 5/4/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 5/29/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/7/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 3/10/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 3/5/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 2/10/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/15/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
Michael BaumgartnerRepublican · Washington
Suzan DelBeneDemocrat · Washington
Dan NewhouseRepublican · Washington
Emily RandallDemocrat · Washington
Adam SmithDemocrat · Washington
Kim SchrierDemocrat · Washington
Andrea SalinasDemocrat · Oregon