RAPID Act
Latest action · Sep 28, 2015 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
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.
- IntroducedJan 14, 2015
- Passed HouseSep 25, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015 or the RAPID Act
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Administrative Procedure Act to establish procedures to streamline the regulatory review, environmental decision making, and permitting process required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for construction projects that are federally funded or that require federal approval by a permit or regulatory decision.
Upon the request of a lead agency responsible for preparing environmental review documents, a project sponsor is authorized to prepare environmental review documents if the agency: (1) oversees the preparation of the documents, (2) provides independent evaluation of them, and (3) approves and adopts the documents prior to taking action or making any approval based on the documents. "Environmental review" means the federal agency procedures for preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS), environmental assessment (EA), categorical exclusion, or other document under NEPA.
No more than one EIS and one EA for a project must be prepared under NEPA, except for supplemental environmental documents prepared under NEPA or environmental documents prepared pursuant to a court order. After the lead agency issues a record of decision, federal agencies responsible for making any approval for that project may only rely on the environmental document prepared by the lead agency.
Upon the request of a project sponsor, the lead agency may: (1) adopt, use, or rely on secondary and cumulative impact analyses included in documents prepared under NEPA for projects located nearby if the analyses are pertinent to the NEPA decision for the project under review; and (2) adopt a document that has been prepared for a project under state laws as the EIS or EA for the project if those laws provide environmental protection and opportunities for public involvement that are substantially equivalent to NEPA.
The lead agency must publish a supplement to the state document before it adopts it if: (1) a significant change has been made to the project that is relevant for purposes of environmental review of the project, or (2) there have been significant changes in circumstances or availability of information relevant to the environmental review for the project.
A lead agency may adopt for a project an environmental document prepared for a similar project that is nearby and that was subject to environmental review or similar state procedures within the last five years if there is a reasonable likelihood that the project will have similar environmental impacts.
The lead agency must invite any federal agency that is required to adopt the lead agency's environmental document to collaborate in the preparation of the document. A federal cooperating agency must collaborate on the preparation of that document unless it informs the lead agency that it: (1) has no jurisdiction, authority, expertise, or information with respect to the project; and (2) does not intend to submit comments on the project.
The bill precludes any agency that declines to collaborate from submitting comments on that document or taking measures to oppose any permit, license, or approval related to that project based on the environmental review. The lead agency may not act upon, respond to, or include in any document prepared under NEPA any comment submitted by a cooperating agency that concerns matters that are outside of the cooperating agency's authority and expertise.
Each federal agency must: (1) carry out obligations under other applicable laws concurrently and in conjunction with the review required under NEPA; and (2) make and carry out rules, policies, and procedures as may be reasonably necessary to enable the agency to ensure the completion of the environmental review and environmental decision making process in a timely, coordinated, and environmentally responsible manner.
The bill establishes requirements for initiating and completing environmental review for a project, including requirements with respect to: (1) the range of alternatives to be considered; (2) methodologies for analyzing those alternatives, including potential effects on employment as well as the potential effects of the alternative on low-income communities and communities of color; (3) a plan for coordinating public and agency participation in the environmental review; (4) comment periods for public and agency comments in the environmental review process; and (5) a schedule for completing the review. Cooperating agencies must comply with that schedule.
For projects requiring preparation of an EA, the bill establishes a one-year deadline for issuing a finding of no significant impact or a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS. For projects requiring preparation of an EIS, the bill establishes a two-year deadline for completing the EIS. Conditions for extensions are established.
The bill sets forth deadlines that apply to projects subject to review under NEPA and any decision under federal law relating to those projects. The bill deems a project to be approved if a federal agency fails to approve or otherwise act upon a permit, license, or other similar application for approval related to a project by those deadlines. Approval that is granted as a result of the failure of a federal agency to act is considered to be final agency action that may not be reversed by an agency.
The bill prescribes responsibilities of the lead agency and the cooperating agencies to work cooperatively to identify and resolve issues that could delay completion of the environmental review or could result in denial of any approvals required for the project under applicable laws.
In the environmental review or environmental decision making process, a lead agency may not use estimates of the monetized damages associated with an incremental increase in carbon dioxide emissions in a given year.
The head of each federal agency must report annually on: (1) the projects for which the agency initiated preparation of an EIS or EA; (2) the projects for which the agency issued a record of decision or a finding of no significant impact and the length of time it took the agency to complete the environmental review for each such project; and (3) the filing and resolution of any lawsuits against the agency seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or approval issued by the agency for an action subject to NEPA.
Limitations are placed on claims arising under federal law seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or approval issued by a federal agency for an action subject to NEPA.
Recorded votes 11
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 518 | On Passage | Passed233–170 | Sep 25, 2015 |
| House 517 | On Motion to Recommit with Instructions | Failed175–229 | Sep 25, 2015 |
| House 516 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Failed176–232 | Sep 25, 2015 |
| House 515 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Failed176–232 | Sep 25, 2015 |
| House 514 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Agreed to223–186 | Sep 25, 2015 |
Cosponsors 21
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 14, 2015 to Sep 11, 2015; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-VA | Bob Goodlatte | Original | Jan 14, 2015 |
| D-MN | Collin C. Peterson | Original | Jan 14, 2015 |
| R-WV | David B. McKinley | Original | Jan 14, 2015 |
| R-IA | Rod Blum | Original | Jan 14, 2015 |
| R-NC | David Rouzer | Jan 20, 2015 | |
| R-OK | Steve Russell | Jan 27, 2015 | |
| R-CA | Darrell Issa | Mar 3, 2015 | |
| R-GA | Doug Collins | Mar 3, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Mar 3, 2015 | |
| R-CA | Mimi Walters | Mar 3, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Blake Farenthold | Mar 23, 2015 | |
| R-MI | David A. Trott | Mar 23, 2015 | |
| R-MO | Jason Smith | Mar 23, 2015 | |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Mar 23, 2015 | |
| R-NV | Mark E. Amodei | Mar 23, 2015 | |
| R-AK | Don Young | Apr 14, 2015 | |
| R-TX | John Ratcliffe | Apr 16, 2015 | |
| R-VA | Dave Brat | Jun 4, 2015 | |
| R-IN | Luke Messer | Jul 8, 2015 | |
| R-MI | Mike Bishop | Jul 28, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Daniel Webster | Sep 11, 2015 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 14, 2015Markup Mar 24, 2015Reported Jul 27, 2015 |
| Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Subcommittee | Referred Feb 5, 2015Hearings Mar 2, 2015Discharged Mar 23, 2015 | |
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jan 14, 2015Discharged Sep 11, 2015 |
| Senate | Environment and Public Works Committee | Referred Sep 28, 2015 |
Actions 51
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 28, 2015Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Sep 25, 2015Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H6232-6247, H6247-6256; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H6232-6235)
- Sep 25, 2015The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.
- Sep 25, 2015DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 420, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Marino amendment No. 1.
- Sep 25, 2015DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 420, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Lowenthal amendment No. 2.
In the Congressional Record 5
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1374 | Earl Blumenauer D-OR | Sep 28, 2015 |
| House | Debate and remarks H6232–H6256Text printed H6232–H6235Amendments H6232, H6235, H6236, H6237, H6238, H6240, H6241, H6242, H6243, H6246Motions H6254Recorded votes H6248, H6249, H6250, H6251, H6252, H6253, H6255Jackson Lee amendment (prohibit approval of project for which Federal reviewing agency hasn’t issued requested permit or license within certain number of days)Kuster motion to recommit (exempt projects that negatively affect drinking water supply or air quality of nearby communities from new permitting rules)Gallego amendment (grant deadline extensions for construction permits if requested by a State or local elected official or a local tribal official)Jackson Lee amendment (require completion of full permitting process prior to issuing permit or license for nuclear or chemical facilities projects)Lowenthal amendment (evaluation of alternative regulations streamlining permitting process that do not adequately address certain environmental risks)Johnson of Georgia amendment (clarify process for allowing public comment or public participation in the Federal permitting process)Peters amendment (allow consideration of the social cost of carbon in an environmental review or environmental decision in the permitting process) | Alan S. Lowenthal D-CA (amendment), Ann M. Kuster D-NH (motion), Bob Goodlatte R-VA, Debbie Dingell D-MI (amendment), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. D-GA (amendment), Lamar Smith R-TX, Paul A. Gosar R-AZ (amendment), Raúl M. Grijalva D-AZ (amendment), Ruben Gallego D-AZ (amendment), Scott H. Peters D-CA (amendment), Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX (amendment), Tom Marino R-PA (amendment) | Sep 25, 2015 |
| House | Debate and remarks H6207–H6213Lists H6211Organizations opposed to H.R. 348, Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act | Bob Goodlatte R-VA, Cresent Hardy R-NV, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. D-GA, John Conyers, Jr. D-MI, Ted Lieu D-CA, Ted Poe R-TX, Tom Marino R-PA | Sep 24, 2015 |
| House | Debate and remarks H6090–H6096Text printed H6090Amendments H6095, H6096Recorded votes H6109, H6111consideration (H. Res. 420), Collins of Georgia amendment (same-day consideration of resolutions allowing consideration of certain legislation)consideration (H. Res. 420), previous question | Doug Collins R-GA (amendment), Jared Polis D-CO (amendment) | Sep 17, 2015 |
| House | Declaratory Statements H6077 | — | Sep 16, 2015 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Apr 13, 2015H.R. 348, Responsibility and Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on March 24, 2015
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 7, January 14, 2015, page H406.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 114-14 | THE RAPID ACT; THE SUNSHINE FOR REGULATORY DECREES AND SETTLEMENTS ACT OF 2015; AND THE SCRUB ACT OF 2015272 pages | Judiciary Committee | Mar 2, 2015 |
Amendments 10
Amendments offered to this bill.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
Titles 7
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for improved coordination of agency actions in the preparation and adoption of environmental documents for permitting determinations, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- RAPID Act
- Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- RAPID Act
- Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Passed House
- RAPID Act
- Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Congressional oversight
- Economic performance and conditions
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Executive Office of the President
- Government Operations and Politics
- Judicial review and appeals
- Licensing and registrations
- Public participation and lobbying
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 28, 2015Referred in Senate
- Sep 25, 2015Engrossed in House
- Sep 11, 2015Reported in House
- Jan 14, 2015Introduced in House
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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
