Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2013
Latest action · Apr 11, 2013 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 11, 2013
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2013 - Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect: (1) the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" or a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into a covered civil action, and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to such a regulatory action that affects the rights of such persons or governments.
Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner, including by making such notice and complaint available online not later than 15 days after receiving service of such notice or complaint
Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online not later than 60 days before it is filed with the court. Provides for public comment and public hearings on such decree or agreement.
Requires the Attorney General or an agency head, if an agency is litigating a matter independently, to certify to the court that the Attorney General or the agency head approves of: (1) any proposed covered consent decree that includes terms that convert into a nondiscretionary duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations, commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization, divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution, or otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority; or (2) any proposed covered settlement agreement that includes terms that provide a remedy for a failure by the agency to comply with the terms of the agreement other than the revival of the civil action resolved by the agreement, interfere with the authority of an agency to revise, amend, or issue rules, or commit the agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to exercise in a particular way discretion which was committed to the agency by statute or the Constitution.
Requires a court to grant de novo review of a covered consent decree or settlement agreement if an agency files a motion to modify such decree or agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 11, 2013 to Dec 3, 2014, with 7 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NE | Deb Fischer | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-UT | Mike Lee | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-KY | Rand Paul | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-OK | Tom Coburn | Original | Apr 11, 2013 |
| R-NE | Mike Johanns | May 22, 2014 | |
| R-AZ | Jeff Flake | Jul 22, 2014 | |
| R-OK | James M. Inhofe | Dec 3, 2014 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 11, 2013Introduced in Senate
- Apr 11, 2013Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 4 | Jobs for America Act | Related bill | Nov 13, 2014 |
| HR 1493 | Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2013 | Identical bill | Sep 26, 2013 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
- Civil actions and liability
- Government information and archives
- Government liability
- Government Operations and Politics
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Judicial review and appeals
- Legal fees and court costs
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 11, 2013Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.