H.R. 5120: SAFER Pipelines Act of 2019
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H.R. 5120: SAFER Pipelines Act of 2019
116th Congress · introduced 2019-11-15 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 545.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2019-11-15 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 545. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
SAFER Pipelines Act of 2019
Plain summary
Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Environmentally Responsible Pipelines Act of 2019 or the SAFER Pipelines Act of 2019 This bill addresses natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines safety. Among other things, the bill reauthorizes pipeline safety activities through FY2023; prioritizes assessment methods for transmission pipelines that can provide a greater level of safety than direct assessment, including the use of internal inspection devices or pressure testing; makes it mandatory for each operator of a transmission pipeline facility in a high consequence area to install automatic or remote shutoff valves; directs owners and operators of gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to make critical operational information available to surrounding communities and first responders; increases civil penalties for violations and revises the criminal penalty standard from knowingly and willfully to knowingly or recklessly ; requires advanced leak-detection that can identify leak locations and amounts released on gas pipelines; directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to finalize a rule on gas gathering lines; and authorizes DOT to establish a confidential and nonpunitive voluntary information-sharing system to improve natural gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline safety.
Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House, Part I), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
SAFER Pipelines Act of 2019
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House, Part I)
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The strongest published arguments
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4] · 2 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Rulemaking
- The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House, Part I)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr5120.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>
Record fed-us-cong116-hr5120 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116