I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8784 

To require each agency to evaluate the permitting system of the agency, 

to consider whether a permit by rule could replace that system, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2024 

Ms. MALOY (for herself, Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mrs. 

PELTOLA, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. PFLUGER, Mr. FONG, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. 

GOSAR, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mrs. 

FISCHBACH, and Mr. ZINKE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

A BILL 

To require each agency to evaluate the permitting system 

of the agency, to consider whether a permit by rule 

could replace that system, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Full Responsibility and 

5 Expedited Enforcement Act’’ or the ‘‘FREE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Agencies near unanimously operate under a 

2 permitting system that gives agencies broad discre3 tion and requires the Government to review each 

4 permitting application. 

5 (2) Agencies near unanimously operate under a 

6 permitting system that either does not have time 

7 constraints, or has time constraints that agencies do 

8 not follow. 

9 (3) The combination of broad discretion and the 

10 lack of time constraints often results in a tedious, 

11 time consuming, and often expensive permitting sys12 tem for the Government and applicants. Moreover, 

13 agencies will sometimes use their discretion and the 

14 time consuming nature of permitting to stall or dis15 courage permit issuance. 

16 (4) There is a compelling interest in avoiding 

17 unnecessary delay and expense in Federal permit18 ting. 

19 (5) Permit by rule is a process that seeks to 

20 overcome agency delay and the cumbersome cost of 

21 agency review to Government and private interests. 

22 (6) Permit by rule is a process of permitting 

23 that includes specific written standards for obtaining 

24 a permit, a simple requirement for an applicant to 

25 certify compliance with each of the standards, and 


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1 a streamlined approval of a maximum of 30 days 

2 that only allows the Government to verify that all 

3 conditions are met. The Government retains the 

4 right and responsibility to audit and enforce compli5 ance with permitting requirements. Focusing upon 

6 permittees who are violating the law or standards 

7 rather than gatekeeping will make permitting more 

8 efficient while allowing an agency to protect the 

9 compelling interests for which permitting systems 

10 are intended. 

11 SEC. 3. PERMIT BY RULE. 

12 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS REQUIRED.—Not later 

13 than 240 days after the date of the enactment of this sec14 tion, the head of each agency shall submit to Congress 

15 a report on the following: 

16 (1) An evaluation of each permit of the agency. 

17 (2) A list and description of each permit issued 

18 by the agency. 

19 (3) The requirements for obtaining each such 

20 permit. 

21 (4) A specific description of each step the agen22 cy follows to review a permit application, including 

23 a list of the job title of each employee of the agency 

24 involved in the system and a short job description 

25 for each such title. 


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1 (5) An estimate of the time the agency typically 

2 requires to review an application that begins on the 

3 date on which an application is submitted and ends 

4 on the date on which a successful application is 

5 granted. 

6 (6) A description of each action taken for a 

7 case in which an application is found to not meet the 

8 necessary requirements to be granted a permit. 

9 (7) A list of primary interests that each permit 

10 is intended to protect. 

11 (8) An individual determination for each such 

12 permit that describes whether a permit by rule could 

13 replace the permitting system. 

14 (9) An identification of each permit issued by 

15 the agency that could use a permit by rule. 

16 (10) An identification of each permit for which 

17 the head of the agency has determined the agency 

18 could not reasonably use a permit by rule, including 

19 a description with particularity and detail the rea20 sons why permit by rule could not be reasonably 

21 used for each such permit. 

22 (11) An identification of any challenges the 

23 head of the agency anticipates in a transition to a 

24 permit by rule. 

25 (b) PERMIT BY RULE.— 


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1 (1) AUTOMATIC APPROVAL OF PERMITS.—Not 

2 later than 12 months after the date on which the re3 port is submitted pursuant to subsection (a), the 

4 head of each agency shall establish a permit by rule 

5 application process that does the following: 

6 (A) Specified in writing each requirement 

7 and substantive standard that must be met by 

8 an applicant to file under a permit by rule. 

9 (B) Allows an applicant to submit an ap10 plication that contains only each required cer11 tification for each requirement or substantive 

12 standard established under subparagraph (A). 

13 (C) Deems an application for a permit 

14 granted if— 

15 (i) the application contains each cer16 tification described in subparagraph (B); 

17 and 

18 (ii) a period of 30 days after the date 

19 on which the completed application was 

20 submitted has expired. 

21 (2) CORRECTION OF APPLICATION.—The head 

22 of an agency may contact an applicant if any certifi23 cation is missing from an application submitted 

24 under paragraph (1). 


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1 (3) DENIAL OF APPLICATION AND ENFORCE2 MENT.— 

3 (A) REASON FOR DENIAL.—The head of 

4 an agency may only deny an application sub5 mitted under a permit by rule if the head of the 

6 agency identifies a requirement or substantive 

7 standard described in paragraph (1)(A) that 

8 was not met and states with particularity the 

9 facts and reasoning for such denial. 

10 (B) AUDIT AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

11 (i) AUDIT.—The head of an agency 

12 may audit an application and verify com13 pliance with substantive standards, which 

14 may include reasonable requests for docu15 mentation. 

16 (ii) ENFORCEMENT.—The head of an 

17 agency may deny an application submitted 

18 under a permit by rule at any time or halt 

19 permitted action if the head of the agency 

20 finds that a substantive standard is not 

21 being met. 

22 (C) DIRECT APPEAL.—An applicant whose 

23 application for a permit by rule is denied or 

24 whose action under a permit issued under a 

25 permit by rule is halted may appeal such denial 


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1 or halting in an appropriate United States dis2 trict court. 

3 (D) REASONABLE INTERPRETATION OF

4 SUBSTANTIVE STANDARDS.—In an appeal 

5 under subparagraph (C), the court shall con6 sider an applicant that had a reasonable inter7 pretation of a substantive standard, and made 

8 a good faith effort to comply with such stand9 ard pursuant to such reasonable interpretation, 

10 to have met such standard. 

11 (E) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In an appeal 

12 under subparagraph (C), the agency shall bear 

13 the burden of proof to show that an applicant’s 

14 interpretation was not reasonable and that their 

15 effort to comply was not in good faith. 

16 (F) INTERPRETATION.—A court shall in17 terpret an agency rule for a permit by rule in 

18 a manner that favors the applicant if the appli19 cant made a good faith effort to comply with 

20 the requirements of the permit by rule. 

21 (G) ATTORNEY FEES; PERMIT GRANTED.— 

22 If the court finds for the applicant under this 

23 paragraph, the agency shall pay the attorney 

24 fees of the applicant and the permit shall is 

25 deemed granted. 


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1 (c) PERMIT BY RULE REQUIRED.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date on 

3 which the report is submitted pursuant to subsection 

4 (a), the head of each agency shall issue a permit by 

5 rule for any permit identified in subsection (a)(9). 

6 (2) QUALIFYING APPLICANTS.—Not later than 

7 90 days after the date of the enactment of this sec8 tion, the head of each agency shall provide a permit 

9 by rule option for any applicant for a permit that 

10 fits within the description of the activities that are 

11 approved for permit by rule. 

12 (d) RESTRICTIONS ON AGENCY SETTLEMENT

13 AGREEMENTS.—The head of an agency may not enter into 

14 a settlement agreement with an applicant under sub15 section (b) in which the agency agrees to not enforce this 

16 Act, any regulation promulgated under this Act, or any 

17 permitting requirement for a permit by rule established 

18 under this Act against such applicant. 

19 (e) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—Not later than 

20 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 head of each agency shall submit to Congress a report on 

22 the progress of the agency in transitioning to and imple23 menting each permit for which permit by rule is imple24 mented under this Act. 


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1 (f) MAINTENANCE OF PREVIOUS PERMITTING SYS2 TEM.— 

3 (1) CONCURRENT USE OF PREVIOUS PERMIT4 TING SYSTEM.—If the head of agency determines 

5 that the permitting system in effect before the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act provides value that the 

7 permit by rule does not, and a permit by rule is oth8 erwise viable, the head of the agency may offer both 

9 the permitting system and the permit by rule, and 

10 the applicant may choose which to use, if the head 

11 of the agency includes the value such permitting sys12 tem has that a permit by rule does not in the report 

13 required pursuant to subsection (a). 

14 (2) PREFERENCE FOR PERMIT BY RULE.—If an 

15 agency determines that permit by rule is viable, yet 

16 wishes to maintain only one permitting system, the 

17 agency shall choose permit by rule. 

18 (3) PREVIOUS PERMITTING SYSTEM INSTEAD

19 OF PERMIT BY RULE.—The head of an agency may 

20 continue to use a permitting system instead of a per21 mit by rule if the head of the agency includes in the 

22 report described in subsection (a) the reasons a per23 mit by rule is not viable. 

24 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) AGENCY; RULE.—The terms ‘‘agency’’ and 

2 ‘‘rule’’ have the meaning given those terms in sec3 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (2) COMPLETED APPLICATION.—The term 

5 ‘‘completed application’’ means an application sub6 mitted under subsection (b) that contains an appli7 cation with certifications that the applicant meets 

8 each requirement and substantive standard estab9 lished under subsection (b)(1)(A). 

10 (3) PERMIT BY RULE.—The term ‘‘permit by 

11 rule’’ means the permitting process described under 

12 subsection (b). 

13 (4) SUBSTANTIVE STANDARD.—The term ‘‘sub14 stantive standard’’ means all qualities, statuses, ac15 tions, benchmarks, measurements, or other written 

16 descriptions that would qualify a party to perform 

17 the permitted action. 

Æ 


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