Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2012

Notice Number: NOT-OD-12-034

Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:

  • May 24, 2013 - See Notice NOT-OD-13-072. Reminder of Lobbying Prohibition on Federal Funds for All NIH-Supported Institutions.
  • May 8, 2013 - See Notice NOT-OD-13-064. NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2013.

Key Dates
Release Date: January 20, 2012

Related Notice:
Notice NOT-OD-12-035: Notice of Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Purpose

The FY 2012 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74) signed into law on December 23, 2011 provides funding to NIH for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. The intent of this Notice is to provide information on the following statutory provisions that limit the use of funds on NIH grant, cooperative agreement, and contract awards for FY2012. The Notice of Legislative Mandates for FY2011 was published on May 4, 2011, NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-11-072.

FY 2011 Legislative Mandates that remain in effect are as follows:

(1) Acknowledgment of Federal Funding (Section 505)
(2) Restriction on Abortions (Section 506)
(3) Exceptions to Restriction on Abortions (Section 507)
(4) Ban on Funding Human Embryo Research (Section 508)
(5) Limitation on Use of Funds for Promotion of Legalization of Controlled Substances (Section 509)
(6) Certification of Filing and Payment of Taxes (Section 519)

Amended Legislative Mandates in effect are as follows:

(7) Dissemination of False or Misleading Information (Section (516(b))
Removed reference to scientific information. Now prohibits dissemination of all false or misleading information.
(8) Restriction on Distribution of Sterile Needles (Section 523)
Removed references to the purposes of needle distribution and to public health and law enforcement determinations. Now prohibits all programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.
(9) Salary Limitation (Section 203)
Effective December 23, 2011, the Salary Limitation is based upon the Executive Level II of the Federal Executive Pay Scale. That amount is $179,700.
(10) Anti-Lobbying (Section 503)
Now prohibits the use of electronic communication for lobbying. Also, added a prohibition on lobbying for tax increases and for restrictions on any legal consumer product, particularly, the advocacy or promotion of gun control.

Additional Legislative Mandate in effect is as follows:

(11) Gun Control (Section 218)
See below.

(1) Acknowledgment of Federal Funding (Section 505)
"When issuing statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations and other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with Federal money, all grantees receiving Federal funds included in this Act, including but not limited to State and local governments and recipients of Federal research grants, shall clearly state: (1) the percentage of the total costs of the program or project which will be financed with Federal money; (2) the dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or program; and (3) percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be financed by non-governmental sources."

(2) Restriction on Abortions (Section 506)
(a) None of the funds appropriated under this Act, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated in this Act, shall be expended for any abortion. (b) None of the funds appropriated in this Act, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated in this Act, shall be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. (c) The term health benefits coverage means the package of services covered by a managed care provider or organization pursuant to a contract or other arrangement.

(3) Exceptions to Restriction on Abortions (Section 507)
(a) The limitations established in the preceding section shall not apply to an abortion (1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.

(b) Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed as prohibiting the expenditure by a State, locality, entity, or private person of State, local, or private funds (other than a State’s or locality’s contribution of Medicaid matching funds).

(c) Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed as restricting the ability of any managed care provider from offering abortion coverage or the ability of a State or locality to contract separately with such a provider for such coverage with State funds (other than a State’s or locality’s contribution of Medicaid matching funds).

(d)(1) None of the funds made available in this Act may be made available to a Federal agency or program, or to a State or local government, if such agency, program, or government subjects any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions. (2) In this subsection, the term health care entity includes an individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.

(4) Ban on Funding of Human Embryo Research (Section 508)
(a) None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for (1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under 45 CFR 46.204(b) and section 498(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289g(b)). (b) For purposes of this section, the term human embryo or embryos includes any organism, not protected as a human subject under 45 CFR 46 as of the date of the enactment of this Act, that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes or human diploid cells."

(5) Limitation on Use of Funds for Promotion of Legalization of Controlled Substances (Section 509)
"(a) None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for any activity that promotes the legalization of any drug or other substance included in schedule I of the schedules of controlled substances established under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act except for normal and recognized executive-congressional communications. (b)The limitation in subsection (a) shall not apply when there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such drug or other substance or that federally sponsored clinical trials are being conducted to determine therapeutic advantage."

(6) Certification of Filing and Payment of Taxes (Section 519)
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency awarding the contract or grant that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, the contractor or grantee has filed all Federal tax returns required during the 3 years preceding the certification, has not been convicted of a criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and has not, more than 90 days prior to certification, been notified of any unpaid Federal tax assessment for which the liability remains unsatisfied, unless the assessment is the subject of an installment agreement or offer in compromise that has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service and is not in default, or the assessment is the subject of a non-frivolous administrative or judicial proceeding.

(7) Dissemination of False or Deliberately Misleading Scientific Information (Section 516(b)).
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to disseminate information that is deliberately false or misleading.

(8) Restriction on Distribution of Sterile Needles (Section 523)
" Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no funds appropriated in this Act shall be used to carry out any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.

(9) Continued Salary Limitation (Section 203)
"None of the funds appropriated in this title shall be used to pay the salary of an individual, through a grant or other extramural mechanism, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II." In previous years, the Salary Limitation was based upon Executive Level I of the Federal Executive Pay Scale. Effective January 1 through December 31, 2010 the Executive Level I of the Federal Executive Pay Scale was $199,700. Effective December 23, 2011, the Salary Limitation is based upon the Executive Level II of the Federal Executive Pay Scale. That amount is $179,700. Further information on the NIH Salary Limitation can be found in NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-12-034 published on January 20, 2012.

(10) Anti-Lobbying (Section 503)
(a) No part of any appropriation contained in this Act or transferred pursuant to section 4002 of Public Law 111
148 shall be used, other than for normal and recognized executive legislative relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, electronic communication, radio, television, or video presentation designed to support or defeat the enactment of legislation before the Congress or any State or local legislature or legislative body, except in presentation to the Congress or any State or local legislature itself, or designed to support or defeat any proposed or pending regulation, administrative action, or order issued by the executive branch of any State or local government, except in presentation to the executive branch of any State or local government itself.

(b) No part of any appropriation contained in this Act or transferred pursuant to section 4002 of Public Law 111 148 shall be used to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient, related to any activity designed to influence the enactment of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or Executive order proposed or pending before the Congress or any State government, State legislature or local legislature or legislative body, other than for normal and recognized executive-legislative relationships or participation by an agency or officer of a State, local or tribal government in policymaking and administrative processes within the executive branch of that government.

(c) The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) shall include any activity to advocate or promote any proposed, pending or future Federal, State or local tax increase, or any proposed, pending, or future requirement or restriction on any legal consumer product, including its sale or marketing, including but not limited to the advocacy or promotion of gun control."

(11) Gun Control (Section 218)
None of the funds made available in this title may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control.

Inquiries

For more information on grants policy, please visit: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/policy.htm. For more information on contracts policy, please visit: http://oamp.od.nih.gov/.

If additional questions remain, after visiting the posted websites, please contact the awarding grants or contracts management office in the appropriate NIH Institutes and Centers.