I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2674 

To encourage job creation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2013 

Mr. BUCHANAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on the 

Judiciary, Natural Resources, Education and the Workforce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, Small Business, and 

Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To encourage job creation, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Job Creation Act of 2013’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—TRADE 

Sec. 101. Sense of Congress regarding expanding trading markets. 


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Sec. 102. Sense of Congress regarding China’s intellectual property rights violations. 

TITLE II—TAX REFORM 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress regarding tax reform. 

TITLE III—BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT 

Sec. 301. Sense of Congress regarding a balanced budget amendment. 

TITLE IV—ENERGY 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Definitions. 

Sec. 403. Leasing program for lands within the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 404. Lease sales. 

Sec. 405. Grant of leases by the Secretary. 

Sec. 406. Lease terms and conditions. 

Sec. 407. Coastal Plain environmental protection. 

Sec. 408. Expedited judicial review. 

Sec. 409. Federal and State distribution of revenues. 

Sec. 410. Rights-of-way across the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 411. Conveyance. 

Sec. 412. Local government impact aid and community service assistance. 

Sec. 413. ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund. 

TITLE V—NORTHERN ROUTE APPROVAL ACT 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Findings. 

Sec. 503. Keystone XL permit approval. 

Sec. 504. Judicial review. 

Sec. 505. American burying beetle. 

Sec. 506. Right-of-way and temporary use permit. 

Sec. 507. Permits for activities in navigable waters. 

Sec. 508. Migratory Bird Treaty Act permit. 

Sec. 509. Oil spill response plan disclosure. 

TITLE VI—REPEAL OF EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE 

MANDATE 

Sec. 601. Repeal of employer health insurance mandate. 

TITLE VII—SECRET BALLOT PROTECTION ACT 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Findings. 

Sec. 703. National Labor Relations Act. 

Sec. 704. Regulations. 

TITLE VIII—FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 

IMPROVEMENTS 

Sec. 801. Attorney accountability. 

Sec. 802. Applicability of Rule 11 to State cases affecting interstate commerce. 

Sec. 803. Prevention of forum-shopping. 

Sec. 804. Rule of construction. 


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Sec. 805. Three-strikes rule for suspending attorneys who commit multiple Rule 

11 violations. 

Sec. 806. Presumption of Rule 11 violation for repeatedly relitigating same 

issue. 

Sec. 807. Enhanced sanctions for document destruction in pending Federal 

court proceedings. 

Sec. 808. Ban on concealment of unlawful conduct. 

TITLE IX—REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 

2013 

Sec. 901. Short title. 

Sec. 902. Clarification and expansion of rules covered by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

Sec. 903. Requirements providing for more detailed analyses. 

Sec. 904. Repeal of waiver and delay authority; additional powers of the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy. 

Sec. 905. Procedures for gathering comments. 

Sec. 906. Periodic review of rules. 

Sec. 907. Judicial review of compliance with the requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act available after publication of the final rule. 

Sec. 908. Jurisdiction of court of appeals over rules implementing the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

Sec. 909. Clerical amendments. 

1 TITLE I—TRADE 

2 SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING EXPANDING 

3 TRADING MARKETS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Ninety-five percent of the world’s con6 sumers live outside the United States. 

7 (2) It is imperative to the United States econ8 omy that United States businesses sell their goods 

9 and services outside the United States. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that— 

12 (1) Congress should continue to work with the 

13 Administration to expand trading markets; and 


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1 (2) the future growth of the United States 

2 economy requires this pro-growth strategy. 

3 SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CHINA’S INTEL4 LECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) United States copyright industries suffer se7 vere losses due to piracy in China. 

8 (2) Counterfeiting remains pervasive in many 

9 retail and wholesale markets in China. 

10 (3) China also maintains market access bar11 riers, which delay entry into China for legitimate 

12 products and, thus, create commercial opportunities 

13 for infringing products. 

14 (4) According to a report by the United States 

15 International Trade Commission, Chinese piracy and 

16 counterfeiting of United States software and a wide 

17 range of other intellectual property cost American 

18 businesses an estimated $48 billion in 2009. 

19 (5) The report also concluded that 2.1 million 

20 jobs could be created in the United States if China 

21 complied with its current international obligations to 

22 protect and enforce intellectual property rights. 

23 (6) The most direct jobs impact would come in 

24 high-tech and other innovative industries. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that China’s intellectual property rights violations 

3 are a problem for our economy. 

4 TITLE II—TAX REFORM 

5 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING TAX REFORM. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Federal tax code is long, complex, anti8 quated, and stifling growth in our economy. 

9 (2) Comprehensive reform of the Federal tax 

10 code is needed to get Americans working again and 

11 our economy back on track. 

12 (3) Independent economists estimate that, when 

13 coupled with reduced Federal spending, comprehen14 sive tax reform could lead to the creation of 1 mil15 lion jobs in the first year alone. 

16 (4) The Internal Revenue Service reports that 

17 the average person spends more than 13 hours to fill 

18 out the tax forms. 

19 (5) A USA Today editorial lampooned the com20 plexity by noting that the instruction booklet for Ap21 ple’s Ipad is one page, while the instruction booklet 

22 for this year’s IRS 1040 long form is 172 pages. 

23 (6) The Federal tax system needs to be re24 formed in order for the United States to once again 

25 be competitive in the international market. 


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1 (7) The United States has the highest corporate 

2 tax rate in the industrialized world. 

3 (8) In 1960, 17 companies headquartered in 

4 the United States comprised 17 of the world’s larg5 est 20 companies—that’s 85 percent. By 2010, just 

6 6 companies headquartered in the United States— 

7 or a mere 30 percent—were ranked among the top 

8 20. 

9 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that reforming the Federal tax code will benefit 

11 American taxpayers and our economy. 

12 TITLE III—BALANCED BUDGET 

13 AMENDMENT 

14 SEC. 301. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING A BALANCED 

15 BUDGET AMENDMENT. 

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that a balanced 

17 budget amendment would put the United States on a path 

18 to solvency and help bring stability to the economy. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that Congress needs to pass a balanced budget 

21 amendment to the United States Constitution and send 

22 it to the States for ratification. 


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1 TITLE IV—ENERGY 

2 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This title may be cited as the ‘‘American Energy 

4 Independence and Price Reduction Act’’. 

5 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) COASTAL PLAIN.—The term ‘‘Coastal 

8 Plain’’ means that area described in appendix I to 

9 part 37 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations. 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’, except 

11 as otherwise provided, means the Secretary of the 

12 Interior or the Secretary’s designee. 

13 SEC. 403. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LANDS WITHIN THE 

14 COASTAL PLAIN. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take such ac16 tions as are necessary— 

17 (1) to establish and implement, in accordance 

18 with this title and acting through the Director of the 

19 Bureau of Land Management in consultation with 

20 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

21 Service, a competitive oil and gas leasing program 

22 that will result in an environmentally sound program 

23 for the exploration, development, and production of 

24 the oil and gas resources of the Coastal Plain; and 


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1 (2) to administer the provisions of this title 

2 through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restric3 tions, prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions 

4 that ensure the oil and gas exploration, development, 

5 and production activities on the Coastal Plain will 

6 result in no significant adverse effect on fish and 

7 wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and the 

8 environment, including, in furtherance of this goal, 

9 by requiring the application of the best commercially 

10 available technology for oil and gas exploration, de11 velopment, and production to all exploration, devel12 opment, and production operations under this Act in 

13 a manner that ensures the receipt of fair market 

14 value by the public for the mineral resources to be 

15 leased. 

16 (b) REPEAL.— 

17 (1) REPEAL.—Section 1003 of the Alaska Na18 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 

19 U.S.C. 3143) is repealed. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 contents in section 1 of such Act is amended by 

22 striking the item relating to section 1003. 

23 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS UNDER CER24 TAIN OTHER LAWS.— 


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1 (1) COMPATIBILITY.—For purposes of the Na2 tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 

3 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the oil and gas 

4 leasing program and activities authorized by this 

5 section in the Coastal Plain are deemed to be com6 patible with the purposes for which the Arctic Na7 tional Wildlife Refuge was established, and no fur8 ther findings or decisions are required to implement 

9 this determination. 

10 (2) ADEQUACY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

11 INTERIOR’S LEGISLATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

12 STATEMENT.—The ‘‘Final Legislative Environ13 mental Impact Statement’’ (April 1987) on the 

14 Coastal Plain prepared pursuant to section 1002 of 

15 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

16 Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C) 

17 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

18 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is deemed to satisfy the re19 quirements under the National Environmental Policy 

20 Act of 1969 that apply with respect to prelease ac21 tivities, including actions authorized to be taken by 

22 the Secretary to develop and promulgate the regula23 tions for the establishment of a leasing program au24 thorized by this title before the conduct of the first 

25 lease sale. 


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1 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA FOR OTHER AC2 TIONS.—Before conducting the first lease sale under 

3 this title, the Secretary shall prepare an environ4 mental impact statement under the National Envi5 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the ac6 tions authorized by this title that are not referred to 

7 in paragraph (2). Notwithstanding any other law, 

8 the Secretary is not required to identify nonleasing 

9 alternative courses of action or to analyze the envi10 ronmental effects of such courses of action. The Sec11 retary shall only identify a preferred action for such 

12 leasing and a single leasing alternative, and analyze 

13 the environmental effects and potential mitigation 

14 measures for those two alternatives. The identifica15 tion of the preferred action and related analysis for 

16 the first lease sale under this title shall be completed 

17 within 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act. The Secretary shall only consider public com19 ments that specifically address the Secretary’s pre20 ferred action and that are filed within 20 days after 

21 publication of an environmental analysis. Notwith22 standing any other law, compliance with this para23 graph is deemed to satisfy all requirements for the 

24 analysis and consideration of the environmental ef25 fects of proposed leasing under this title. 


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1 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR2 ITY.—Nothing in this title shall be considered to expand 

3 or limit State and local regulatory authority. 

4 (e) SPECIAL AREAS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after con6 sultation with the State of Alaska, the city of 

7 Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough, may des8 ignate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the Coastal 

9 Plain as a Special Area if the Secretary determines 

10 that the Special Area is of such unique character 

11 and interest so as to require special management 

12 and regulatory protection. The Secretary shall des13 ignate as such a Special Area the Sadlerochit Spring 

14 area, comprising approximately 4,000 acres. 

15 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Each such Special Area 

16 shall be managed so as to protect and preserve the 

17 area’s unique and diverse character including its 

18 fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values. 

19 (3) EXCLUSION FROM LEASING OR SURFACE

20 OCCUPANCY.—The Secretary may exclude any Spe21 cial Area from leasing. If the Secretary leases a Spe22 cial Area, or any part thereof, for purposes of oil 

23 and gas exploration, development, production, and 

24 related activities, there shall be no surface occu25 pancy of the lands comprising the Special Area. 


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1 (4) DIRECTIONAL DRILLING.—Notwithstanding 

2 the other provisions of this subsection, the Secretary 

3 may lease all or a portion of a Special Area under 

4 terms that permit the use of horizontal drilling tech5 nology from sites on leases located outside the Spe6 cial Area. 

7 (f) LIMITATION ON CLOSED AREAS.—The Sec8 retary’s sole authority to close lands within the Coastal 

9 Plain to oil and gas leasing and to exploration, develop10 ment, and production is that set forth in this title. 

11 (g) REGULATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre13 scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

14 out this title, including rules and regulations relating 

15 to protection of the fish and wildlife, their habitat, 

16 subsistence resources, and environment of the Coast17 al Plain, by no later than 15 months after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec20 retary shall periodically review and, if appropriate, 

21 revise the rules and regulations issued under sub22 section (a) to reflect any significant biological, envi23 ronmental, or engineering data that come to the Sec24 retary’s attention. 


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1 SEC. 404. LEASE SALES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Lands may be leased pursuant to 

3 this title to any person qualified to obtain a lease for de4 posits of oil and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

5 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 

6 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, by regula7 tion, establish procedures for— 

8 (1) receipt and consideration of sealed nomina9 tions for any area in the Coastal Plain for inclusion 

10 in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c)) from, 

11 a lease sale; 

12 (2) the holding of lease sales after such nomina13 tion process; and 

14 (3) public notice of and comment on designa15 tion of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a 

16 lease sale. 

17 (c) LEASE SALE BIDS.—Bidding for leases under 

18 this title shall be by sealed competitive cash bonus bids. 

19 (d) ACREAGE MINIMUM IN FIRST SALE.—In the first 

20 lease sale under this title, the Secretary shall offer for 

21 lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have the 

22 greatest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons, tak23 ing into consideration nominations received pursuant to 

24 subsection (b)(1), but in no case less than 200,000 acres. 

25 (e) TIMING OF LEASE SALES.—The Secretary 

26 shall— 


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1 (1) conduct the first lease sale under this title 

2 within 22 months after the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act; 

4 (2) evaluate the bids in such sale and issue 

5 leases resulting from such sale, within 90 days after 

6 the date of the completion of such sale; and 

7 (3) conduct additional sales so long as sufficient 

8 interest in development exists to warrant, in the Sec9 retary’s judgment, the conduct of such sales. 

10 SEC. 405. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may grant to the 

12 highest responsible qualified bidder in a lease sale con13 ducted pursuant to section 404 any lands to be leased on 

14 the Coastal Plain upon payment by the lessee of such 

15 bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary. 

16 (b) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.—No lease issued 

17 under this title may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, 

18 or otherwise transferred except with the approval of the 

19 Secretary. Prior to any such approval the Secretary shall 

20 consult with, and give due consideration to the views of, 

21 the Attorney General. 

22 SEC. 406. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—An oil or gas lease issued pursu24 ant to this title shall— 


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1 (1) provide for the payment of a royalty of not 

less than 121 2 ⁄2 percent in amount or value of the 

3 production removed or sold from the lease, as deter4 mined by the Secretary under the regulations appli5 cable to other Federal oil and gas leases; 

6 (2) provide that the Secretary may close, on a 

7 seasonal basis, portions of the Coastal Plain to ex8 ploratory drilling activities as necessary to protect 

9 caribou calving areas and other species of fish and 

10 wildlife; 

11 (3) require that the lessee of lands within the 

12 Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and liable for 

13 the reclamation of lands within the Coastal Plain 

14 and any other Federal lands that are adversely af15 fected in connection with exploration, development, 

16 production, or transportation activities conducted 

17 under the lease and within the Coastal Plain by the 

18 lessee or by any of the subcontractors or agents of 

19 the lessee; 

20 (4) provide that the lessee may not delegate or 

21 convey, by contract or otherwise, the reclamation re22 sponsibility and liability to another person without 

23 the express written approval of the Secretary; 

24 (5) provide that the standard of reclamation for 

25 lands required to be reclaimed under this title shall 


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1 be, as nearly as practicable, a condition capable of 

2 supporting the uses which the lands were capable of 

3 supporting prior to any exploration, development, or 

4 production activities, or upon application by the les5 see, to a higher or better use as approved by the 

6 Secretary; 

7 (6) contain terms and conditions relating to 

8 protection of fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsist9 ence resources, and the environment as required 

10 pursuant to section 403(a)(2); 

11 (7) provide that the lessee, its agents, and its 

12 contractors use best efforts to provide a fair share, 

13 as determined by the level of obligation previously 

14 agreed to in the 1974 agreement implementing sec15 tion 29 of the Federal Agreement and Grant of 

16 Right of Way for the Operation of the Trans-Alaska 

17 Pipeline, of employment and contracting for Alaska 

18 Natives and Alaska Native Corporations from 

19 throughout the State; 

20 (8) prohibit the export of oil produced under 

21 the lease; and 

22 (9) contain such other provisions as the Sec23 retary determines necessary to ensure compliance 

24 with the provisions of this title and the regulations 

25 issued under this title. 


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1 (b) PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, 

2 as a term and condition of each lease under this title and 

3 in recognizing the Government’s proprietary interest in 

4 labor stability and in the ability of construction labor and 

5 management to meet the particular needs and conditions 

6 of projects to be developed under the leases issued pursu7 ant to this title and the special concerns of the parties 

8 to such leases, shall require that the lessee and its agents 

9 and contractors negotiate to obtain a project labor agree10 ment for the employment of laborers and mechanics on 

11 production, maintenance, and construction under the 

12 lease. 

13 SEC. 407. COASTAL PLAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. 

14 (a) NO SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECT STANDARD

15 TO GOVERN AUTHORIZED COASTAL PLAIN ACTIVITIES.— 

16 The Secretary shall, consistent with the requirements of 

17 section 403, administer the provisions of this title through 

18 regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibi19 tions, stipulations, and other provisions that— 

20 (1) ensure the oil and gas exploration, develop21 ment, and production activities on the Coastal Plain 

22 will result in no significant adverse effect on fish 

23 and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment; 

24 (2) require the application of the best commer25 cially available technology for oil and gas exploVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:52 Jul 12, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2674.IH H2674

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1 ration, development, and production on all new ex2 ploration, development, and production operations; 

3 and 

4 (3) ensure that the maximum amount of sur5 face acreage covered by production and support fa6 cilities, including airstrips and any areas covered by 

7 gravel berms or piers for support of pipelines, does 

8 not exceed 2,000 acres on the Coastal Plain. 

9 (b) SITE-SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION.— 

10 The Secretary shall also require, with respect to any pro11 posed drilling and related activities, that— 

12 (1) a site-specific analysis be made of the prob13 able effects, if any, that the drilling or related activi14 ties will have on fish and wildlife, their habitat, sub15 sistence resources, and the environment; 

16 (2) a plan be implemented to avoid, minimize, 

17 and mitigate (in that order and to the extent prac18 ticable) any significant adverse effect identified 

19 under paragraph (1); and 

20 (3) the development of the plan shall occur 

21 after consultation with the agency or agencies hav22 ing jurisdiction over matters mitigated by the plan. 

23 (c) REGULATIONS TO PROTECT COASTAL PLAIN

24 FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES, SUBSISTENCE USERS, 

25 AND THE ENVIRONMENT.—Before implementing the leasVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:52 Jul 12, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2674.IH H2674

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1 ing program authorized by this title, the Secretary shall 

2 prepare and promulgate regulations, lease terms, condi3 tions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipulations, and other 

4 measures designed to ensure that the activities undertaken 

5 on the Coastal Plain under this title are conducted in a 

6 manner consistent with the purposes and environmental 

7 requirements of this title. 

8 (d) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE ENVI9 RONMENTAL LAWS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The 

10 proposed regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 

11 prohibitions, and stipulations for the leasing program 

12 under this title shall require compliance with all applicable 

13 provisions of Federal and State environmental law, and 

14 shall also require the following: 

15 (1) Standards at least as effective as the safety 

16 and environmental mitigation measures set forth in 

17 items 1 through 29 at pages 167 through 169 of the 

18 ‘‘Final Legislative Environmental Impact State19 ment’’ (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain. 

20 (2) Seasonal limitations on exploration, develop21 ment, and related activities, where necessary, to 

22 avoid significant adverse effects during periods of 

23 concentrated fish and wildlife breeding, denning, 

24 nesting, spawning, and migration. 


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1 (3) That exploration activities, except for sur2 face geological studies, be limited to the period be3 tween approximately November 1 and May 1 each 

4 year and that exploration activities shall be sup5 ported, if necessary, by ice roads, winter trails with 

6 adequate snow cover, ice pads, ice airstrips, and air 

7 transport methods, except that such exploration ac8 tivities may occur at other times if the Secretary 

9 finds that such exploration will have no significant 

10 adverse effect on the fish and wildlife, their habitat, 

11 and the environment of the Coastal Plain. 

12 (4) Design safety and construction standards 

13 for all pipelines and any access and service roads, 

14 that— 

15 (A) minimize, to the maximum extent pos16 sible, adverse effects upon the passage of mi17 gratory species such as caribou; and 

18 (B) minimize adverse effects upon the flow 

19 of surface water by requiring the use of cul20 verts, bridges, and other structural devices. 

21 (5) Prohibitions on general public access and 

22 use on all pipeline access and service roads. 

23 (6) Stringent reclamation and rehabilitation re24 quirements, consistent with the standards set forth 

25 in this title, requiring the removal from the Coastal 


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1 Plain of all oil and gas development and production 

2 facilities, structures, and equipment upon completion 

3 of oil and gas production operations, except that the 

4 Secretary may exempt from the requirements of this 

5 paragraph those facilities, structures, or equipment 

6 that the Secretary determines would assist in the 

7 management of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 

8 and that are donated to the United States for that 

9 purpose. 

10 (7) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on 

11 access by all modes of transportation. 

12 (8) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on 

13 sand and gravel extraction. 

14 (9) Consolidation of facility siting. 

15 (10) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on 

16 use of explosives. 

17 (11) Avoidance, to the extent practicable, of 

18 springs, streams, and river system; the protection of 

19 natural surface drainage patterns, wetlands, and ri20 parian habitats; and the regulation of methods or 

21 techniques for developing or transporting adequate 

22 supplies of water for exploratory drilling. 

23 (12) Avoidance or minimization of air traffic-re24 lated disturbance to fish and wildlife. 


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1 (13) Treatment and disposal of hazardous and 

2 toxic wastes, solid wastes, reserve pit fluids, drilling 

3 muds and cuttings, and domestic wastewater, includ4 ing an annual waste management report, a haz5 ardous materials tracking system, and a prohibition 

6 on chlorinated solvents, in accordance with applica7 ble Federal and State environmental law. 

8 (14) Fuel storage and oil spill contingency plan9 ning. 

10 (15) Research, monitoring, and reporting re11 quirements. 

12 (16) Field crew environmental briefings. 

13 (17) Avoidance of significant adverse effects 

14 upon subsistence hunting, fishing, and trapping by 

15 subsistence users. 

16 (18) Compliance with applicable air and water 

17 quality standards. 

18 (19) Appropriate seasonal and safety zone des19 ignations around well sites, within which subsistence 

20 hunting and trapping shall be limited. 

21 (20) Reasonable stipulations for protection of 

22 cultural and archeological resources. 

23 (21) All other protective environmental stipula24 tions, restrictions, terms, and conditions deemed 

25 necessary by the Secretary. 


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1 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing and promul2 gating regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 

3 prohibitions, and stipulations under this section, the Sec4 retary shall consider the following: 

5 (1) The stipulations and conditions that govern 

6 the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska leasing pro7 gram, as set forth in the 1999 Northeast National 

8 Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Final Integrated Activity 

9 Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. 

10 (2) The environmental protection standards 

11 that governed the initial Coastal Plain seismic explo12 ration program under parts 37.31 to 37.33 of title 

13 50, Code of Federal Regulations. 

14 (3) The land use stipulations for exploratory 

15 drilling on the KIC–ASRC private lands that are set 

16 forth in appendix 2 of the August 9, 1983, agree17 ment between Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and 

18 the United States. 

19 (f) FACILITY CONSOLIDATION PLANNING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, after 

21 providing for public notice and comment, prepare 

22 and update periodically a plan to govern, guide, and 

23 direct the siting and construction of facilities for the 

24 exploration, development, production, and transpor25 tation of Coastal Plain oil and gas resources. 


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1 (2) OBJECTIVES.—The plan shall have the fol2 lowing objectives: 

3 (A) Avoiding unnecessary duplication of fa4 cilities and activities. 

5 (B) Encouraging consolidation of common 

6 facilities and activities. 

7 (C) Locating or confining facilities and ac8 tivities to areas that will minimize impact on 

9 fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environ10 ment. 

11 (D) Utilizing existing facilities wherever 

12 practicable. 

13 (E) Enhancing compatibility between wild14 life values and development activities. 

15 (g) ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS.—The Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 (1) manage public lands in the Coastal Plain 

18 subject to subsections (a) and (b) of section 811 of 

19 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

20 Act (16 U.S.C. 3121); and 

21 (2) ensure that local residents shall have rea22 sonable access to public lands in the Coastal Plain 

23 for traditional uses. 

24 SEC. 408. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

25 (a) FILING OF COMPLAINT.— 


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1 (1) DEADLINE.—Subject to paragraph (2), any 

2 complaint seeking judicial review of any provision of 

3 this title or any action of the Secretary under this 

4 title shall be filed— 

5 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

6 (B), within the 90-day period beginning on the 

7 date of the action being challenged; or 

8 (B) in the case of a complaint based solely 

9 on grounds arising after such period, within 90 

10 days after the complainant knew or reasonably 

11 should have known of the grounds for the com12 plaint. 

13 (2) VENUE.—Any complaint seeking judicial re14 view of any provision of this title or any action of 

15 the Secretary under this title may be filed only in 

16 the United States Court of Appeals for the District 

17 of Columbia. 

18 (3) LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF CERTAIN RE19 VIEW.—Judicial review of a Secretarial decision to 

20 conduct a lease sale under this title, including the 

21 environmental analysis thereof, shall be limited to 

22 whether the Secretary has complied with the terms 

23 of this title and shall be based upon the administra24 tive record of that decision. The Secretary’s identi25 fication of a preferred course of action to enable 


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1 leasing to proceed and the Secretary’s analysis of 

2 environmental effects under this title shall be pre3 sumed to be correct unless shown otherwise by clear 

4 and convincing evidence to the contrary. 

5 (b) LIMITATION ON OTHER REVIEW.—Actions of the 

6 Secretary with respect to which review could have been 

7 obtained under this section shall not be subject to judicial 

8 review in any civil or criminal proceeding for enforcement. 

9 SEC. 409. FEDERAL AND STATE DISTRIBUTION OF REVE10 NUES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of law, of the amount of adjusted bonus, rental, and 

13 royalty revenues from Federal oil and gas leasing and op14 erations authorized under this title— 

15 (1) 50 percent shall be paid to the State of 

16 Alaska; and 

17 (2) except as provided in section 412(d), the 

18 balance shall be transferred to the ANWR Alter19 native Energy Trust Fund established by this title. 

20 (b) PAYMENTS TO ALASKA.—Payments to the State 

21 of Alaska under this section shall be made semiannually. 

22 SEC. 410. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue rights24 of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for the 

25 transportation of oil and gas— 


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1 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), under 

2 section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

3 185), without regard to title XI of the Alaska Na4 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (30 U.S.C. 

5 3161 et seq.); and 

6 (2) under title XI of the Alaska National Inter7 est Lands Conservation Act (30 U.S.C. 3161 et 

8 seq.), for access authorized by sections 1110 and 

9 1111 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3170 and 3171). 

10 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall 

11 include in any right-of-way or easement issued under sub12 section (a) such terms and conditions as may be necessary 

13 to ensure that transportation of oil and gas does not result 

14 in a significant adverse effect on the fish and wildlife, sub15 sistence resources, their habitat, and the environment of 

16 the Coastal Plain, including requirements that facilities be 

17 sited or designed so as to avoid unnecessary duplication 

18 of roads and pipelines. 

19 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall include in 

20 regulations under section 403(g) provisions granting 

21 rights-of-way and easements described in subsection (a) 

22 of this section. 

23 SEC. 411. CONVEYANCE. 

24 In order to maximize Federal revenues by removing 

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1 terns within the Coastal Plain, the Secretary, notwith2 standing the provisions of section 1302(h)(2) of the Alas3 ka National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 3192(h)(2)), shall convey— 

5 (1) to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation the 

6 surface estate of the lands described in paragraph 1 

7 of Public Land Order 6959, to the extent necessary 

8 to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement under sec9 tions 12 and 14 of the Alaska Native Claims Settle10 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1611 and 1613) in accordance 

11 with the terms and conditions of the Agreement be12 tween the Department of the Interior, the United 

13 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of 

14 Land Management, and the Kaktovik Inupiat Cor15 poration effective January 22, 1993; and 

16 (2) to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 

17 the remaining subsurface estate to which it is enti18 tled pursuant to the August 9, 1983, agreement be19 tween the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the 

20 United States of America. 

21 SEC. 412. LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT AID AND COMMU22 NITY SERVICE ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use 

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1 ernment Impact Aid Assistance Fund established by 

2 subsection (d) to provide timely financial assistance 

3 to entities that are eligible under paragraph (2) and 

4 that are directly impacted by the exploration for or 

5 production of oil and gas on the Coastal Plain under 

6 this title. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The North Slope 

8 Borough, the City of Kaktovik, and any other bor9 ough, municipal subdivision, village, or other com10 munity in the State of Alaska that is directly im11 pacted by exploration for, or the production of, oil 

12 or gas on the Coastal Plain under this title, as de13 termined by the Secretary, shall be eligible for finan14 cial assistance under this section. 

15 (b) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Financial assistance 

16 under this section may be used only for— 

17 (1) planning for mitigation of the potential ef18 fects of oil and gas exploration and development on 

19 environmental, social, cultural, recreational, and sub20 sistence values; 

21 (2) implementing mitigation plans and main22 taining mitigation projects; 

23 (3) developing, carrying out, and maintaining 

24 projects and programs that provide new or expanded 

25 public facilities and services to address needs and 


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1 problems associated with such effects, including fire2 fighting, police, water, waste treatment, medivac, 

3 and medical services; and 

4 (4) establishment of a coordination office, by 

5 the North Slope Borough, in the City of Kaktovik, 

6 which shall— 

7 (A) coordinate with and advise developers 

8 on local conditions, impact, and history of the 

9 areas utilized for development; and 

10 (B) provide to the Committee on Resources 

11 of the House of Representatives and the Com12 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

13 Senate an annual report on the status of co14 ordination between developers and the commu15 nities affected by development. 

16 (c) APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any community that is eligi18 ble for assistance under this section may submit an 

19 application for such assistance to the Secretary, in 

20 such form and under such procedures as the Sec21 retary may prescribe by regulation. 

22 (2) NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH COMMUNITIES.—A 

23 community located in the North Slope Borough may 

24 apply for assistance under this section either directly 


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1 to the Secretary or through the North Slope Bor2 ough. 

3 (3) APPLICATION ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

4 shall work closely with and assist the North Slope 

5 Borough and other communities eligible for assist6 ance under this section in developing and submitting 

7 applications for assistance under this section. 

8 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

10 Treasury the Coastal Plain Local Government Im11 pact Aid Assistance Fund. 

12 (2) USE.—Amounts in the fund may be used 

13 only for providing financial assistance under this 

14 section. 

15 (3) DEPOSITS.—Subject to paragraph (4), there 

16 shall be deposited into the fund amounts received by 

17 the United States as revenues derived from rents, 

18 bonuses, and royalties from Federal leases and lease 

19 sales authorized under this title. 

20 (4) LIMITATION ON DEPOSITS.—The total 

21 amount in the fund may not exceed $11,000,000. 

22 (5) INVESTMENT OF BALANCES.—The Sec23 retary of the Treasury shall invest amounts in the 

24 fund in interest bearing government securities. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To pro2 vide financial assistance under this section there is author3 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary from the Coastal 

4 Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund 

5 $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

6 SEC. 413. ANWR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TRUST FUND. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND.—There is es8 tablished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

9 to be known as the ‘‘ANWR Alternative Energy Trust 

10 Fund’’, consisting of such amounts as may be transferred 

11 to the ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund as provided 

12 in section 409. 

13 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM ANWR ALTERNATIVE

14 ENERGY TRUST FUND.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the ANWR Al16 ternative Energy Trust Fund shall be available with17 out further appropriation to carry out specified pro18 visions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

19 Law 109–58; in this section referred to as 

20 ‘‘EPAct2005’’) and the Energy Independence and 

21 Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–140; in this 

22 section referred to as ‘‘EISAct2007’’), as follows: 


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To carry out the provisions of: 

The following percentage 

of annual receipts to the 

ANWR Alternative Energy 

Trust Fund, but not to exceed the limit on amount 

authorized, if any: 

EPAct2005: 

Section 210 ..................................... 1.5 percent 

Section 242 ..................................... 1.0 percent 

Section 369 ..................................... 2.0 percent 

Section 401 ..................................... 6.0 percent 

Section 812 ..................................... 6.0 percent 

Section 931 ..................................... 19.0 percent 

Section 942 ..................................... 1.5 percent 

Section 962 ..................................... 3.0 percent 

Section 968 ..................................... 1.5 percent 

Section 1704 ................................... 6.0 percent 

EISAct2007: 

Section 207 ..................................... 15.0 percent 

Section 607 ..................................... 1.5 percent 

Title VI, Subtitle B ........................ 3.0 percent 

Title VI, Subtitle C ........................ 1.5 percent 

Section 641 ..................................... 9.0 percent 

Title VII, Subtitle A ....................... 15.0 percent 

Section 1112 ................................... 1.5 percent 

Section 1304 ................................... 6.0 percent. 

1 (2) APPORTIONMENT OF EXCESS AMOUNT.— 

2 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any amounts allo3 cated under paragraph (1) that are in excess of the 

4 amounts authorized in the applicable cited section or 

5 subtitle of EPAct2005 and EISAct2007 shall be re6 allocated to the remaining sections and subtitles 

7 cited in paragraph (1), up to the amounts otherwise 

8 authorized by law to carry out such sections and 

9 subtitles, in proportion to the amounts authorized by 

10 law to be appropriated for such other sections and 

11 subtitles. 


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1 TITLE V—NORTHERN ROUTE 

2 APPROVAL ACT 

3 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Route Ap5 proval Act’’. 

6 SEC. 502. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) To maintain our Nation’s competitive edge 

9 and ensure an economy built to last, the United 

10 States must have fast, reliable, resilient, and envi11 ronmentally sound means of moving energy. In a 

12 global economy, we will compete for the world’s in13 vestments based in significant part on the quality of 

14 our infrastructure. Investing in the Nation’s infra15 structure provides immediate and long-term eco16 nomic benefits for local communities and the Nation 

17 as a whole. 

18 (2) The delivery of oil from Canada, a close ally 

19 not only in proximity but in shared values and 

20 ideals, to domestic markets is in the national inter21 est because of the need to lessen dependence upon 

22 insecure foreign sources. 

23 (3) The Keystone XL pipeline would provide 

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1 nities and related labor income benefits, such as gov2 ernment revenues associated with taxes. 

3 (4) The State of Nebraska has thoroughly re4 viewed and approved the proposed Keystone XL 

5 pipeline reroute, concluding that the concerns of Ne6 braskans have had a major influence on the pipeline 

7 reroute and that the reroute will have minimal envi8 ronmental impacts. 

9 (5) The Department of State and other Federal 

10 agencies have over a long period of time conducted 

11 extensive studies and analysis of the technical as12 pects and of the environmental, social, and economic 

13 impacts of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, 

14 and— 

15 (A) the Department of State assessments 

16 found that the Keystone XL pipeline ‘‘is not 

17 likely to impact the amount of crude oil pro18 duced from the oil sands’’ and that ‘‘approval 

19 or denial of the proposed project is unlikely to 

20 have a substantial impact on the rate of devel21 opment in the oil sands’’; 

22 (B) the Department of State found that 

23 incremental life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions 

24 associated with the Keystone XL project are es25 timated in the range of 0.07 to 0.83 million 


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1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, with 

2 the upper end of this range representing twelve 

3 one-thousandths of one percent of the 6,702 

4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 

5 the United States in 2011; and 

6 (C) after extensive evaluation of potential 

7 impacts to land and water resources along the 

8 Keystone XL pipeline’s 875-mile proposed 

9 route, the Department of State found that 

10 ‘‘The analyses of potential impacts associated 

11 with construction and normal operation of the 

12 proposed Project suggest that there would be 

13 no significant impacts to most resources along 

14 the proposed Project route (assuming Keystone 

15 complies with all laws and required conditions 

16 and measures).’’. 

17 (6) The transportation of oil via pipeline is the 

18 safest and most economically and environmentally 

19 effective means of doing so, and— 

20 (A) transportation of oil via pipeline has a 

21 record of unmatched safety and environmental 

22 protection, and the Department of State found 

23 that ‘‘Spills associated with the proposed 

24 Project that enter the environment expected to 

25 be rare and relatively small’’, and that ‘‘there 


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1 is no evidence of increased corrosion or other 

2 pipeline threat due to viscosity’’ of diluted bitu3 men oil that will be transported by the Key4 stone XL pipeline; and 

5 (B) plans to incorporate 57 project-specific 

6 special conditions related to the design, con7 struction, and operations of the Keystone XL 

8 pipeline led the Department of State to find 

9 that the pipeline will have ‘‘a degree of safety 

10 over any other typically constructed domestic oil 

11 pipeline’’. 

12 (7) The Keystone XL is in much the same posi13 tion today as the Alaska Pipeline in 1973 prior to 

14 congressional action. Once again, the Federal regu15 latory process remains an insurmountable obstacle 

16 to a project that is likely to reduce oil imports from 

17 insecure foreign sources. 

18 SEC. 503. KEYSTONE XL PERMIT APPROVAL. 

19 Notwithstanding Executive Order No. 13337 (3 

20 U.S.C. 301 note), Executive Order No. 11423 (3 U.S.C. 

21 301 note), section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and 

22 any other Executive order or provision of law, no Presi23 dential permit shall be required for the pipeline described 

24 in the application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada 

25 Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for 


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1 the Keystone XL pipeline, as supplemented to include the 

2 Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Re3 port issued by the Nebraska Department of Environ4 mental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Ne5 braska governor. The final environmental impact state6 ment issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, 

7 coupled with the Final Evaluation Report described in the 

8 previous sentence, shall be considered to satisfy all re9 quirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

10 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and of the National His11 toric Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 504. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

13 (a) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—Except for review by 

14 the Supreme Court on writ of certiorari, the United States 

15 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall 

16 have original and exclusive jurisdiction to determine— 

17 (1) the validity of any final order or action (in18 cluding a failure to act) of any Federal agency or of19 ficer with respect to issuance of a permit relating to 

20 the construction or maintenance of the Keystone XL 

21 pipeline, including any final order or action deemed 

22 to be taken, made, granted, or issued; 

23 (2) the constitutionality of any provision of this 

24 Act, or any decision or action taken, made, granted, 


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1 or issued, or deemed to be taken, made, granted, or 

2 issued under this Act; or 

3 (3) the adequacy of any environmental impact 

4 statement prepared under the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

6 or of any analysis under any other Act, with respect 

7 to any action taken, made, granted, or issued, or 

8 deemed to be taken, made, granted, or issued under 

9 this Act. 

10 (b) DEADLINE FOR FILING CLAIM.—A claim arising 

11 under this Act may be brought not later than 60 days 

12 after the date of the decision or action giving rise to the 

13 claim. 

14 (c) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—The United 

15 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir16 cuit shall set any action brought under subsection (a) for 

17 expedited consideration, taking into account the national 

18 interest of enhancing national energy security by providing 

19 access to the significant oil reserves in Canada that are 

20 needed to meet the demand for oil. 

21 SEC. 505. AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE. 

22 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

23 (1) environmental reviews performed for the 

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1 ments of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

2 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) in its entirety; and 

3 (2) for purposes of that Act, the Keystone XL 

4 pipeline project will not jeopardize the continued ex5 istence of the American burying beetle or destroy or 

6 adversely modify American burying beetle critical 

7 habitat. 

8 (b) BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The Secretary of the In9 terior is deemed to have issued a written statement setting 

10 forth the Secretary’s opinion containing such findings 

11 under section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act 

12 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(1)(A)) and any taking of the 

13 American burying beetle that is incidental to the construc14 tion or operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL 

15 pipeline as it may be ultimately defined in its entirety, 

16 shall not be considered a prohibited taking of such species 

17 under such Act. 

18 SEC. 506. RIGHT-OF-WAY AND TEMPORARY USE PERMIT. 

19 The Secretary of the Interior is deemed to have 

20 granted or issued a grant of right-of-way and temporary 

21 use permit under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act 

22 (30 U.S.C. 185) and the Federal Land Policy and Man23 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as set forth 

24 in the application tendered to the Bureau of Land Man25 agement for the Keystone XL pipeline. 


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1 SEC. 507. PERMITS FOR ACTIVITIES IN NAVIGABLE 

2 WATERS. 

3 (a) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.—The Secretary of the 

4 Army, not later than 90 days after receipt of an applica5 tion therefor, shall issue all permits under section 404 of 

6 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) 

7 and section 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 

8 403; commonly known as the Rivers and Harbors Appro9 priations Act of 1899), necessary for the construction, op10 eration, and maintenance of the pipeline described in the 

11 May 4, 2012, application referred to in section 3, as sup12 plemented by the Nebraska reroute. The application shall 

13 be based on the administrative record for the pipeline as 

14 of the date of enactment of this Act, which shall be consid15 ered complete. 

16 (b) WAIVER OF PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 

17 Secretary may waive any procedural requirement of law 

18 or regulation that the Secretary considers desirable to 

19 waive in order to accomplish the purposes of this section. 

20 (c) ISSUANCE IN ABSENCE OF ACTION BY THE SEC21 RETARY.—If the Secretary has not issued a permit de22 scribed in subsection (a) on or before the last day of the 

23 90-day period referred to in subsection (a), the permit 

24 shall be deemed issued under section 404 of the Federal 

25 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) or section 


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1 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), as appro2 priate, on the day following such last day. 

3 (d) LIMITATION.—The Administrator of the Environ4 mental Protection Agency may not prohibit or restrict an 

5 activity or use of an area that is authorized under this 

6 section. 

7 SEC. 508. MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT PERMIT. 

8 The Secretary of the Interior is deemed to have 

9 issued a special purpose permit under the Migratory Bird 

10 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), as described in the 

11 application filed with the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service for the Keystone XL pipeline on January 11, 

13 2013. 

14 SEC. 509. OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN DISCLOSURE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any pipeline owner or operator 

16 required under Federal law to develop an oil spill response 

17 plan for the Keystone XL pipeline shall make such plan 

18 available to the Governor of each State in which such pipe19 line operates to assist with emergency response prepared20 ness. 

21 (b) UPDATES.—A pipeline owner or operator required 

22 to make available to a Governor a plan under subsection 

23 (a) shall make available to such Governor any update of 

24 such plan not later than 7 days after the date on which 

25 such update is made. 


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1 TITLE VI—REPEAL OF EM2 PLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE 

3 MANDATE 

4 SEC. 601. REPEAL OF EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE MAN5 DATE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 43 of the Internal Rev7 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking section 4980H. 

8 (b) REPEAL OF RELATED REPORTING REQUIRE9 MENTS.—Subpart D of part III of subchapter A of chap10 ter 61 of such Code is amended by striking section 6056. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) Subparagraph (B) of section 6724(d)(1) of 

13 such Code is amended by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end 

14 of clause (xxiii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

15 clause (xxiv) and inserting ‘‘or’’, and by striking 

16 clause (xxv). 

17 (2) Paragraph (2) of section 6724(d) of such 

18 Code is amended by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

19 subparagraph (FF), by striking ‘‘, or’’ at the end of 

20 subparagraph (GG) and inserting a period, and by 

21 striking subparagraph (HH). 

22 (3) The table of sections for chapter 43 of such 

23 Code is amended by striking the item relating to sec24 tion 4980H. 


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1 (4) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

2 III of subchapter A of chapter 61 of such Code is 

3 amended by striking the item relating to section 

4 6056. 

5 (5) Section 1513 of the Patient Protection and 

6 Affordable Care Act is amended by striking sub7 section (c). 

8 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro10 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to months and other periods 

12 beginning after December 31, 2013. 

13 (2) REPEAL OF STUDY AND REPORT.—The 

14 amendment made by subsection (c)(5) shall take ef15 fect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 TITLE VII—SECRET BALLOT 

17 PROTECTION ACT 

18 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Secret Ballot Protec20 tion Act’’. 

21 SEC. 702. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress finds that— 

23 (1) the importance of a secret ballot election 

24 has been recognized by the United States for over 

25 100 years; 


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1 (2) the fundamental democratic right to choose 

2 by secret ballot is the only method that ensures a 

3 choice free of coercion, intimidation, irregularity, or 

4 illegality; 

5 (3) the recognition of a labor organization by 

6 way of a private agreement, rather than a secret bal7 lot election supervised by a neutral third party, 

8 threatens an employee’s right, codified in the Na9 tional Labor Relations Act, to choose whether or not 

10 to be represented by a labor organization; and 

11 (4) preserving workers’ right to choose whether 

12 or not to be represented by a labor organization 

13 through a secret ballot election is important to the 

14 strength of the national economy. 

15 SEC. 703. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT. 

16 (a) RECOGNITION OF REPRESENTATIVE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(2) of the Na18 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)(2)) is 

19 amended by inserting before the colon the following: 

20 ‘‘or to recognize or bargain collectively with a labor 

21 organization that has not been selected by a major22 ity of employees in a unit appropriate for such pur23 poses in a secret ballot election conducted by the 

24 National Labor Relations Board in accordance with 

25 section 9’’. 


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1 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

2 paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar3 gaining relationships that were recognized before the 

4 date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) ELECTION REQUIRED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(b) of the National 

7 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)), as amend8 ed by subsection (c) of this section, is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (6); 

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

12 paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(8) to cause or attempt to cause an employer 

15 to recognize or bargain collectively with a represent16 ative of a labor organization that has not been se17 lected by a majority of employees in a unit appro18 priate for such purposes in a secret ballot election 

19 conducted by the National Labor Relations Board in 

20 accordance with section 9.’’. 

21 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

22 paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar23 gaining relationships that were recognized before the 

24 date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) SECRET BALLOT ELECTION REQUIRED.—Section 

2 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

3 159(a)), is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

5 (2) by inserting after ‘‘designated or selected’’ 

6 the following: ‘‘by a secret ballot election conducted 

7 by the National Labor Relations Board in accord8 ance with this section’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) The secret ballot election requirement of 

11 paragraph (1) shall not apply to collective bar12 gaining relationships that were recognized before the 

13 date of enactment of the Secret Ballot Protection 

14 Act.’’. 

15 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 9(c)(1) of 

16 such Act (29 U.S.C. 159(c)(1)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

18 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and that 

19 their employer declines to recognize their rep20 resentative as the representative defined in sec21 tion 9(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘by a representative’’; 

22 and 

23 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘section 

24 9(a);’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a),’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘alleging’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘defined in section 

3 9(a)’’. 

4 SEC. 704. REGULATIONS. 

5 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act the National Labor Relations Board shall 

7 review and revise all regulations promulgated before such 

8 date to implement the amendments made in this title to 

9 the National Labor Relations Act. 

10 TITLE VIII—FEDERAL RULES OF 

11 CIVIL PROCEDURE IMPROVE12 MENTS 

13 SEC. 801. ATTORNEY ACCOUNTABILITY. 

14 Rule 11(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by amending the first sentence to read as 

17 follows: ‘‘If a pleading, motion, or other paper is 

18 signed in violation of this rule, the court, upon mo19 tion or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the 

20 attorney, law firm, or parties that have violated this 

21 subdivision or are responsible for the violation, an 

22 appropriate sanction, which may include an order to 

23 pay the other party or parties for the reasonable ex24 penses incurred as a direct result of the filing of the 

25 pleading, motion, or other paper, that is the subject 


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1 of the violation, including a reasonable attorney’s 

2 fee.’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Rule 5’’ and all that fol5 lows through ‘‘corrected.’’ and inserting ‘‘Rule 

6 5.’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘the court may award’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘the court shall award’’; and 

9 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall be lim10 ited to what is sufficient’’ and all that follows 

11 through the end of the paragraph (including sub12 paragraphs (A) and (B)) and inserting ‘‘shall be suf13 ficient to deter repetition of such conduct or com14 parable conduct by others similarly situated, and to 

15 compensate the parties that were injured by such 

16 conduct. The sanction may consist of an order to 

17 pay to the party or parties the amount of the rea18 sonable expenses incurred as a direct result of the 

19 filing of the pleading, motion, or other paper that is 

20 the subject of the violation, including a reasonable 

21 attorney’s fee.’’. 

22 SEC. 802. APPLICABILITY OF RULE 11 TO STATE CASES AF23 FECTING INTERSTATE COMMERCE. 

24 In any civil action in State court, the court, upon mo25 tion, shall determine within 30 days after the filing of such 


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1 motion whether the action substantially affects interstate 

2 commerce. Such court shall make such determination 

3 based on an assessment of the costs to the interstate econ4 omy, including the loss of jobs, were the relief requested 

5 granted. If the court determines such action substantially 

6 affects interstate commerce, the provisions of Rule 11 of 

7 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure shall apply to such 

8 action. 

9 SEC. 803. PREVENTION OF FORUM-SHOPPING. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a per11 sonal injury claim filed in State or Federal court may be 

12 filed only in the State and, within that State, in the county 

13 (or if there is no State court in the county, the nearest 

14 county where a court of general jurisdiction is located), 

15 or Federal district in which— 

16 (1) the person bringing the claim, including an 

17 estate in the case of a decedent and a parent or 

18 guardian in the case of a minor or incompetent— 

19 (A) resides at the time of filing; or 

20 (B) resided at the time of the alleged in21 jury; 

22 (2) the alleged injury or circumstances giving 

23 rise to the personal injury claim allegedly occurred; 

24 (3) the defendant’s principal place of business 

25 is located, if the defendant is a corporation; or 


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1 (4) the defendant resides, if the defendant is an 

2 individual. 

3 (b) DETERMINATION OF MOST APPROPRIATE

4 FORUM.—If a person alleges that the injury or cir5 cumstances giving rise to the personal injury claim oc6 curred in more than one county (or Federal district), the 

7 trial court shall determine which State and county (or 

8 Federal district) is the most appropriate forum for the 

9 claim. If the court determines that another forum would 

10 be the most appropriate forum for a claim, the court shall 

11 dismiss the claim. Any otherwise applicable statute of limi12 tations shall be tolled beginning on the date the claim was 

13 filed and ending on the date the claim is dismissed under 

14 this subsection. 

15 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) The term ‘‘personal injury claim’’— 

17 (A) means a civil action brought under 

18 State law by any person to recover for a per19 son’s personal injury, illness, disease, death, 

20 mental or emotional injury, risk of disease, or 

21 other injury, or the costs of medical monitoring 

22 or surveillance (to the extent such claims are 

23 recognized under State law), including any de24 rivative action brought on behalf of any person 

25 on whose injury or risk of injury the action is 


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1 based by any representative party, including a 

2 spouse, parent, child, or other relative of such 

3 person, a guardian, or an estate; 

4 (B) does not include a claim brought as a 

5 class action; and 

6 (C) does not include a claim against a 

7 debtor in a case pending under title 11 of the 

8 United States Code that is a personal injury 

9 tort or wrongful death claim within the mean10 ing of section 157(b)(5) of title 28, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (2) The term ‘‘person’’ means any individual, 

13 corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, 

14 society, joint stock company, or any other entity, but 

15 not any governmental entity. 

16 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of 

17 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

18 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other 

19 territory or possession of the United States. 

20 (d) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to any per21 sonal injury claim filed in Federal or State court on or 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 804. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

24 Nothing in section 402 or in the amendments made 

25 by section 401 shall be construed to bar or impede the 


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1 assertion or development of new claims or remedies under 

2 Federal, State, or local civil rights law. 

3 SEC. 805. THREE-STRIKES RULE FOR SUSPENDING ATTOR4 NEYS WHO COMMIT MULTIPLE RULE 11 VIO5 LATIONS. 

6 (a) MANDATORY SUSPENSION.—Whenever a Federal 

7 district court determines that an attorney has violated 

8 Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court 

9 shall determine the number of times that the attorney has 

10 violated that rule in that Federal district court during that 

11 attorney’s career. If the court determines that the number 

12 is three or more, the Federal district court— 

13 (1) shall suspend that attorney from the prac14 tice of law in that Federal district court for one 

15 year; and 

16 (2) may suspend that attorney from the prac17 tice of law in that Federal district court for any ad18 ditional period that the court considers appropriate. 

19 (b) APPEAL; STAY.—An attorney has the right to ap20 peal a suspension under subsection (a). While such an ap21 peal is pending, the suspension shall be stayed. 

22 (c) REINSTATEMENT.—To be reinstated to the prac23 tice of law in a Federal district court after completion of 

24 a suspension under subsection (a), the attorney involved 


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1 must first petition the court for reinstatement under such 

2 procedures and conditions as the court may prescribe. 

3 SEC. 806. PRESUMPTION OF RULE 11 VIOLATION FOR RE4 PEATEDLY RELITIGATING SAME ISSUE. 

5 Whenever a party presents to a Federal court a 

6 pleading, written motion, or other paper, that includes a 

7 claim or defense that the party has already litigated and 

8 lost on the merits in any forum in final decisions not sub9 ject to appeal on three consecutive occasions, and the 

10 claim or defense, respectively, involves the same plaintiff 

11 and the same defendant on each occasion, there shall be 

12 a rebuttable presumption that the presentation of such 

13 paper is in violation of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of 

14 Civil Procedure. 

15 SEC. 807. ENHANCED SANCTIONS FOR DOCUMENT DE16 STRUCTION IN PENDING FEDERAL COURT 

17 PROCEEDINGS. 

18 Whoever willfully and intentionally influences, ob19 structs, or impedes, or attempts to influence, or obstruct, 

20 or impede, a pending Federal court proceeding through 

21 the willful and intentional destruction of documents 

22 sought pursuant to the rules of such Federal court pro23 ceeding and highly relevant to that proceeding— 

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1 tions available under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules 

2 of Civil Procedure, in addition to any other civil 

3 sanctions that otherwise apply; and 

4 (2) shall be held in contempt of court; and if 

5 an attorney, referred to one or more appropriate 

6 State bar associations for disciplinary proceedings. 

7 SEC. 808. BAN ON CONCEALMENT OF UNLAWFUL CONDUCT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any Rule 11 of the Federal 

9 Rules of Civil Procedure proceeding, a court may not order 

10 that a court record not be disclosed unless the court makes 

11 a finding of fact that identifies the interest that justifies 

12 the order and determines that interest outweighs any in13 terest in the public health and safety that the court deter14 mines would be served by disclosing the court record. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to any 

16 record formally filed with a court, but shall not include 

17 any records subject to— 

18 (1) the attorney-client privilege or any other 

19 privilege recognized under Federal or State law that 

20 grants the right to prevent disclosure of certain in21 formation unless the privilege has been waived; or 

22 (2) applicable State or Federal laws that pro23 tect the confidentiality of crime victims, including 

24 victims of sexual abuse. 


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1 TITLE IX—REGULATORY FLEXI2 BILITY IMPROVEMENTS ACT 

3 OF 2013 

4 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility 

6 Improvements Act of 2013’’. 

7 SEC. 902. CLARIFICATION AND EXPANSION OF RULES COV8 ERED BY THE REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY 

9 ACT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 601 of 

11 title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(2) RULE.—The term ‘rule’ has the meaning 

13 given such term in section 551(4) of this title, ex14 cept that such term does not include a rule of par15 ticular (and not general) applicability relating to 

16 rates, wages, corporate or financial structures or re17 organizations thereof, prices, facilities, appliances, 

18 services, or allowances therefor or to valuations, 

19 costs or accounting, or practices relating to such 

20 rates, wages, structures, prices, appliances, services, 

21 or allowances.’’. 

22 (b) INCLUSION OF RULES WITH INDIRECT EF23 FECTS.—Section 601 of title 5, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new para25 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(9) ECONOMIC IMPACT.—The term ‘economic 

2 impact’ means, with respect to a proposed or final 

3 rule— 

4 ‘‘(A) any direct economic effect on small 

5 entities of such rule; and 

6 ‘‘(B) any indirect economic effect on small 

7 entities which is reasonably foreseeable and re8 sults from such rule (without regard to whether 

9 small entities will be directly regulated by the 

10 rule).’’. 

11 (c) INCLUSION OF RULES WITH BENEFICIAL EF12 FECTS.— 

13 (1) INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANAL14 YSIS.—Subsection (c) of section 603 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, is amended by striking the first 

16 sentence and inserting ‘‘Each initial regulatory flexi17 bility analysis shall also contain a detailed descrip18 tion of alternatives to the proposed rule which mini19 mize any adverse significant economic impact or 

20 maximize any beneficial significant economic impact 

21 on small entities.’’. 

22 (2) FINAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANAL23 YSIS.—The first paragraph (6) of section 604(a) of 

24 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking 

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1 serting ‘‘minimize the adverse significant economic 

2 impact or maximize the beneficial significant eco3 nomic impact’’. 

4 (d) INCLUSION OF RULES AFFECTING TRIBAL ORGA5 NIZATIONS.—Paragraph (5) of section 601 of title 5, 

6 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and tribal 

7 organizations (as defined in section 4(l) of the Indian Self8 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

9 450b(l))),’’ after ‘‘special districts,’’. 

10 (e) INCLUSION OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS AND

11 FORMAL RULEMAKING.— 

12 (1) INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANAL13 YSIS.—Subsection (a) of section 603 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, is amended in the first sen15 tence— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘proposed 

17 rule,’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘or publishes a revision or 

19 amendment to a land management plan,’’ after 

20 ‘‘United States,’’. 

21 (2) FINAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANAL22 YSIS.—Subsection (a) of section 604 of title 5, 

23 United States Code, is amended in the first sen24 tence— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘proposed rule2 making,’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘or adopts a revision or 

4 amendment to a land management plan,’’ after 

5 ‘‘section 603(a),’’. 

6 (3) LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN DEFINED.—Sec7 tion 601 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(10) LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘land man11 agement plan’ means— 

12 ‘‘(i) any plan developed by the Sec13 retary of Agriculture under section 6 of 

14 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re15 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

16 1604); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) any plan developed by the Sec18 retary of Interior under section 202 of the 

19 Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

20 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712). 

21 ‘‘(B) REVISION.—The term ‘revision’ 

22 means any change to a land management plan 

23 which— 

24 ‘‘(i) in the case of a plan described in 

25 subparagraph (A)(i), is made under section 


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1 6(f)(5) of the Forest and Rangeland Re2 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a plan described in 

5 subparagraph (A)(ii), is made under sec6 tion 1610.5–6 of title 43, Code of Federal 

7 Regulations (or any successor regulation). 

8 ‘‘(C) AMENDMENT.—The term ‘amend9 ment’ means any change to a land management 

10 plan which— 

11 ‘‘(i) in the case of a plan described in 

12 subparagraph (A)(i), is made under section 

13 6(f)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Re14 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(4)) and with respect to 

16 which the Secretary of Agriculture pre17 pares a statement described in section 

18 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 

19 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4332(2)(C)); or 

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a plan described in 

22 subparagraph (A)(ii), is made under sec23 tion 1610.5–5 of title 43, Code of Federal 

24 Regulations (or any successor regulation) 

25 and with respect to which the Secretary of 


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1 the Interior prepares a statement described 

2 in section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi3 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4 4332(2)(C)).’’. 

5 (f) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN INTERPRETIVE RULES

6 INVOLVING THE INTERNAL REVENUE LAWS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 

8 603 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

9 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘or a 

10 recordkeeping requirement, and without regard to 

11 whether such requirement is imposed by statute or 

12 regulation.’’. 

13 (2) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—Paragraph 

14 (7) of section 601 of title 5, United States Code, is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(7) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—The term 

17 ‘collection of information’ has the meaning given 

18 such term in section 3502(3) of title 44, United 

19 States Code.’’. 

20 (3) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENT.—Para21 graph (8) of section 601 of title 5, United States 

22 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(8) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENT.—The 

24 term ‘recordkeeping requirement’ has the meaning 


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1 given such term in section 3502(13) of title 44, 

2 United States Code.’’. 

3 (g) DEFINITION OF SMALL ORGANIZATION.—Para4 graph (4) of section 601 of title 5, United States Code, 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(4) SMALL ORGANIZATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘small orga8 nization’ means any not-for-profit enterprise 

9 which, as of the issuance of the notice of pro10 posed rulemaking— 

11 ‘‘(i) in the case of an enterprise which 

12 is described by a classification code of the 

13 North American Industrial Classification 

14 System, does not exceed the size standard 

15 established by the Administrator of the 

16 Small Business Administration pursuant to 

17 section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 632) for small business concerns 

19 described by such classification code; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other enter21 prise, has a net worth that does not exceed 

22 $7,000,000 and has not more than 500 

23 employees. 

24 ‘‘(B) LOCAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.—In 

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1 paragraph (A) shall be applied without regard 

2 to any national or international organization of 

3 which such local labor organization is a part. 

4 ‘‘(C) AGENCY DEFINITIONS.—Subpara5 graphs (A) and (B) shall not apply to the ex6 tent that an agency, after consultation with the 

7 Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Ad8 ministration and after opportunity for public 

9 comment, establishes one or more definitions 

10 for such term which are appropriate to the ac11 tivities of the agency and publishes such defini12 tions in the Federal Register.’’. 

13 SEC. 903. REQUIREMENTS PROVIDING FOR MORE DE14 TAILED ANALYSES. 

15 (a) INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.— 

16 Subsection (b) of section 603 of title 5, United States 

17 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(b) Each initial regulatory flexibility analysis re19 quired under this section shall contain a detailed state20 ment— 

21 ‘‘(1) describing the reasons why action by the 

22 agency is being considered; 

23 ‘‘(2) describing the objectives of, and legal basis 

24 for, the proposed rule; 


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1 ‘‘(3) estimating the number and type of small 

2 entities to which the proposed rule will apply; 

3 ‘‘(4) describing the projected reporting, record4 keeping, and other compliance requirements of the 

5 proposed rule, including an estimate of the classes of 

6 small entities which will be subject to the require7 ment and the type of professional skills necessary 

8 for preparation of the report and record; 

9 ‘‘(5) describing all relevant Federal rules which 

10 may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed 

11 rule, or the reasons why such a description could not 

12 be provided; 

13 ‘‘(6) estimating the additional cumulative eco14 nomic impact of the proposed rule on small entities 

15 beyond that already imposed on the class of small 

16 entities by the agency or why such an estimate is 

17 not available; and 

18 ‘‘(7) describing any disproportionate economic 

19 impact on small entities or a specific class of small 

20 entities.’’. 

21 (b) FINAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 604(a) of title 5, 

23 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘an ex2 planation’’ and inserting ‘‘a detailed expla3 nation’’; 

4 (B) in each of paragraphs (4), (5), and the 

5 first paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ be6 fore ‘‘description’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(7) describing any disproportionate economic 

9 impact on small entities or a specific class of small 

10 entities.’’. 

11 (2) INCLUSION OF RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON

12 CERTIFICATION OF PROPOSED RULE.—Paragraph 

13 (2) of section 604(a) of title 5, United States Code, 

14 is amended by inserting ‘‘(or certification of the pro15 posed rule under section 605(b))’’ after ‘‘initial reg16 ulatory flexibility analysis’’. 

17 (3) PUBLICATION OF ANALYSIS ON WEBSITE.— 

18 Subsection (b) of section 604 of title 5, United 

19 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(b) The agency shall make copies of the final regu21 latory flexibility analysis available to the public, including 

22 placement of the entire analysis on the agency’s website, 

23 and shall publish in the Federal Register the final regu24 latory flexibility analysis, or a summary thereof which in25 cludes the telephone number, mailing address, and link to 


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1 the website where the complete analysis may be ob2 tained.’’. 

3 (c) CROSS-REFERENCES TO OTHER ANALYSES.— 

4 Subsection (a) of section 605 of title 5, United States 

5 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(a) A Federal agency shall be treated as satisfying 

7 any requirement regarding the content of an agenda or 

8 regulatory flexibility analysis under section 602, 603, or 

9 604, if such agency provides in such agenda or analysis 

10 a cross-reference to the specific portion of another agenda 

11 or analysis which is required by any other law and which 

12 satisfies such requirement.’’. 

13 (d) CERTIFICATIONS.—Subsection (b) of section 605 

14 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ before ‘‘statement’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘and legal’’ after ‘‘factual’’. 

18 (e) QUANTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 607 

19 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘§ 607. Quantification requirements 

22 ‘‘In complying with sections 603 and 604, an agency 

23 shall provide— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a quantifiable or numerical description of 

2 the effects of the proposed or final rule and alter3 natives to the proposed or final rule; or 

4 ‘‘(2) a more general descriptive statement and 

5 a detailed statement explaining why quantification is 

6 not practicable or reliable.’’. 

7 SEC. 904. REPEAL OF WAIVER AND DELAY AUTHORITY; AD8 DITIONAL POWERS OF THE CHIEF COUNSEL 

9 FOR ADVOCACY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 608 is amended to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 608. Additional powers of Chief Counsel for Advo13 cacy 

14 ‘‘(a)(1) Not later than 270 days after the date of the 

15 enactment of the Regulatory Flexibility Reform Act, the 

16 Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Admin17 istration shall, after opportunity for notice and comment 

18 under section 553, issue rules governing agency compli19 ance with this chapter. The Chief Counsel may modify or 

20 amend such rules after notice and comment under section 

21 553. This chapter (other than this subsection) shall not 

22 apply with respect to the issuance, modification, and 

23 amendment of rules under this paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(2) An agency shall not issue rules which supple25 ment the rules issued under subsection (a) unless such 


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1 agency has first consulted with the Chief Counsel for Ad2 vocacy to ensure that such supplemental rules comply with 

3 this chapter and the rules issued under paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the Chief Coun5 sel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 

6 may intervene in any agency adjudication (unless such 

7 agency is authorized to impose a fine or penalty under 

8 such adjudication), and may inform the agency of the im9 pact that any decision on the record may have on small 

10 entities. The Chief Counsel shall not initiate an appeal 

11 with respect to any adjudication in which the Chief Coun12 sel intervenes under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(c) The Chief Counsel for Advocacy may file com14 ments in response to any agency notice requesting com15 ment, regardless of whether the agency is required to file 

16 a general notice of proposed rulemaking under section 

17 553.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) Section 611(a)(1) of such title is amended 

20 by striking ‘‘608(b),’’. 

21 (2) Section 611(a)(2) of such title is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘608(b),’’. 

23 (3) Section 611(a)(3) of such title is amend24 ed— 

25 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘(3)(A) A small entity’’ 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(3) A small entity’’. 

4 SEC. 905. PROCEDURES FOR GATHERING COMMENTS. 

5 Section 609 of title 5, United States Code, is amend6 ed by striking subsection (b) and all that follows and in7 serting the following: 

8 ‘‘(b)(1) Prior to publication of any proposed rule de9 scribed in subsection (e), an agency making such rule shall 

10 notify the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Busi11 ness Administration and provide the Chief Counsel with— 

12 ‘‘(A) all materials prepared or utilized by the 

13 agency in making the proposed rule, including the 

14 draft of the proposed rule; and 

15 ‘‘(B) information on the potential adverse and 

16 beneficial economic impacts of the proposed rule on 

17 small entities and the type of small entities that 

18 might be affected. 

19 ‘‘(2) An agency shall not be required under para20 graph (1) to provide the exact language of any draft if 

21 the rule— 

22 ‘‘(A) relates to the internal revenue laws of the 

23 United States; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) is proposed by an independent regulatory 

2 agency (as defined in section 3502(5) of title 44, 

3 United States Code). 

4 ‘‘(c) Not later than 15 days after the receipt of such 

5 materials and information under subsection (b), the Chief 

6 Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administra7 tion shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) identify small entities or representatives of 

9 small entities or a combination of both for the pur10 pose of obtaining advice, input, and recommenda11 tions from those persons about the potential eco12 nomic impacts of the proposed rule and the compli13 ance of the agency with section 603 of this title; and 

14 ‘‘(2) convene a review panel consisting of an 

15 employee from the Office of Advocacy of the Small 

16 Business Administration, an employee from the 

17 agency making the rule, and in the case of an agen18 cy other than an independent regulatory agency (as 

19 defined in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States 

20 Code), an employee from the Office of Information 

21 and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management 

22 and Budget to review the materials and information 

23 provided to the Chief Counsel under subsection (b). 

24 ‘‘(d)(1) Not later than 60 days after the review panel 

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1 sel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 

2 shall, after consultation with the members of such panel, 

3 submit a report to the agency and, in the case of an agen4 cy other than an independent regulatory agency (as de5 fined in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States Code), 

6 the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the 

7 Office of Management and Budget. 

8 ‘‘(2) Such report shall include an assessment of the 

9 economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities and 

10 a discussion of any alternatives that will minimize adverse 

11 significant economic impacts or maximize beneficial sig12 nificant economic impacts on small entities. 

13 ‘‘(3) Such report shall become part of the rulemaking 

14 record. In the publication of the proposed rule, the agency 

15 shall explain what actions, if any, the agency took in re16 sponse to such report. 

17 ‘‘(e) A proposed rule is described by this subsection 

18 if the Administrator of the Office of Information and Reg19 ulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, 

20 the head of the agency (or the delegatee of the head of 

21 the agency), or an independent regulatory agency deter22 mines that the proposed rule is likely to result in— 

23 ‘‘(1) an annual effect on the economy of 

24 $100,000,000 or more; 


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1 ‘‘(2) a major increase in costs or prices for con2 sumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local 

3 governments, tribal organizations, or geographic re4 gions; 

5 ‘‘(3) significant adverse effects on competition, 

6 employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or 

7 on the ability of United States-based enterprises to 

8 compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic 

9 and export markets; or 

10 ‘‘(4) a significant economic impact on a sub11 stantial number of small entities. 

12 ‘‘(f) Upon application by the agency, the Chief Coun13 sel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 

14 may waive the requirements of subsections (b) through (e) 

15 if the Chief Counsel determines that compliance with the 

16 requirements of such subsections are impracticable, un17 necessary, or contrary to the public interest.’’. 

18 SEC. 906. PERIODIC REVIEW OF RULES. 

19 Section 610 of title 5, United States Code, is amend20 ed to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘§ 610. Periodic review of rules 

22 ‘‘(a) Not later than 180 days after the enactment of 

23 the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013, 

24 each agency shall publish in the Federal Register and 

25 place on its website a plan for the periodic review of rules 


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1 issued by the agency which the head of the agency deter2 mines have a significant economic impact on a substantial 

3 number of small entities. Such determination shall be 

4 made without regard to whether the agency performed an 

5 analysis under section 604. The purpose of the review 

6 shall be to determine whether such rules should be contin7 ued without change, or should be amended or rescinded, 

8 consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, 

9 to minimize any adverse significant economic impacts or 

10 maximize any beneficial significant economic impacts on 

11 a substantial number of small entities. Such plan may be 

12 amended by the agency at any time by publishing the revi13 sion in the Federal Register and subsequently placing the 

14 amended plan on the agency’s website. 

15 ‘‘(b) The plan shall provide for the review of all such 

16 agency rules existing on the date of the enactment of the 

17 Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013 within 

18 10 years of the date of publication of the plan in the Fed19 eral Register and for review of rules adopted after the date 

20 of enactment of the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements 

21 Act of 2013 within 10 years after the publication of the 

22 final rule in the Federal Register. If the head of the agen23 cy determines that completion of the review of existing 

24 rules is not feasible by the established date, the head of 

25 the agency shall so certify in a statement published in the 


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1 Federal Register and may extend the review for not longer 

2 than 2 years after publication of notice of extension in 

3 the Federal Register. Such certification and notice shall 

4 be sent to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

5 Business Administration and the Congress. 

6 ‘‘(c) Each agency shall annually submit a report re7 garding the results of its review pursuant to such plan 

8 to the Congress, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

9 Small Business Administration, and, in the case of agen10 cies other than independent regulatory agencies (as de11 fined in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States Code) 

12 to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Reg13 ulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget. 

14 Such report shall include the identification of any rule 

15 with respect to which the head of the agency made a deter16 mination described in paragraph (5) or (6) of subsection 

17 (d) and a detailed explanation of the reasons for such de18 termination. 

19 ‘‘(d) In reviewing a rule pursuant to subsections (a) 

20 through (c), the agency shall amend or rescind the rule 

21 to minimize any adverse significant economic impact on 

22 a substantial number of small entities or disproportionate 

23 economic impact on a specific class of small entities, or 

24 maximize any beneficial significant economic impact of the 

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1 est extent possible, consistent with the stated objectives 

2 of applicable statutes. In amending or rescinding the rule, 

3 the agency shall consider the following factors: 

4 ‘‘(1) The continued need for the rule. 

5 ‘‘(2) The nature of complaints received by the 

6 agency from small entities concerning the rule. 

7 ‘‘(3) Comments by the Regulatory Enforcement 

8 Ombudsman and the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 

9 the Small Business Administration. 

10 ‘‘(4) The complexity of the rule. 

11 ‘‘(5) The extent to which the rule overlaps, du12 plicates, or conflicts with other Federal rules and, 

13 unless the head of the agency determines it to be in14 feasible, State and local rules. 

15 ‘‘(6) The contribution of the rule to the cumu16 lative economic impact of all Federal rules on the 

17 class of small entities affected by the rule, unless the 

18 head of the agency determines that such calculations 

19 cannot be made and reports that determination in 

20 the annual report required under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(7) The length of time since the rule has been 

22 evaluated or the degree to which technology, eco23 nomic conditions, or other factors have changed in 

24 the area affected by the rule. 


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1 ‘‘(e) The agency shall publish in the Federal Register 

2 and on its website a list of rules to be reviewed pursuant 

3 to such plan. Such publication shall include a brief de4 scription of the rule, the reason why the agency deter5 mined that it has a significant economic impact on a sub6 stantial number of small entities (without regard to wheth7 er it had prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis 

8 for the rule), and request comments from the public, the 

9 Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Admin10 istration, and the Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman 

11 concerning the enforcement of the rule.’’. 

12 SEC. 907. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE RE13 QUIREMENTS OF THE REGULATORY FLEXI14 BILITY ACT AVAILABLE AFTER PUBLICATION 

15 OF THE FINAL RULE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 611(a) 

17 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘final agency action’’ and inserting ‘‘such rule’’. 

19 (b) JURISDICTION.—Paragraph (2) of such section is 

20 amended by inserting ‘‘(or which would have such jurisdic21 tion if publication of the final rule constituted final agency 

22 action)’’ after ‘‘provision of law,’’. 

23 (c) TIME FOR BRINGING ACTION.—Paragraph (3) of 

24 such section is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘final agency action’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘publication of the final rule’’; and 

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘, in the case of a rule for 

4 which the date of final agency action is the same 

5 date as the publication of the final rule,’’ after ‘‘ex6 cept that’’. 

7 (d) INTERVENTION BY CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ADVO8 CACY.—Subsection (b) of section 612 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, is amended by inserting before the first pe10 riod ‘‘or agency compliance with section 601, 603, 604, 

11 605(b), 609, or 610’’. 

12 SEC. 908. JURISDICTION OF COURT OF APPEALS OVER 

13 RULES IMPLEMENTING THE REGULATORY 

14 FLEXIBILITY ACT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2342 of title 28, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end; 

19 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 

20 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(8) all final rules under section 608(a) of title 

24 5, United States Code.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Paragraph (3) of 

2 section 2341 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

6 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(F) the Office of Advocacy of the Small 

10 Business Administration, when the final rule is 

11 under section 608(a) of title 5, United States 

12 Code.’’. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION TO INTERVENE AND COMMENT

14 ON AGENCY COMPLIANCE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE PROCE15 DURE.—Subsection (b) of section 612 of title 5, United 

16 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘chapter 5, and 

17 chapter 7,’’ after ‘‘this chapter,’’. 

18 SEC. 909. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) Section 601 of title 5, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) by striking the semicolon at the end 

23 and inserting a period; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘(1) the term’’ and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term’’; 

2 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

3 (A) by striking the semicolon at the end 

4 and inserting a period, and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘(3) the term’’ and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

9 (A) by striking the semicolon at the end 

10 and inserting a period, and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘(5) the term’’ and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(5) SMALL GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTION.— 

14 The term’’; and 

15 (4) in paragraph (6)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe17 riod, and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘(6) the term’’ and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(6) SMALL ENTITY.—The term’’. 

21 (b) The heading of section 605 of title 5, United 

22 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 605. Incorporations by reference and certifi2 cations’’. 

3 (c) The table of sections for chapter 6 of title 5, 

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking the item relating to section 605 

6 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘605. Incorporations by reference and certifications.’’; 

7 (2) by striking the item relating to section 607 

8 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘607. Quantification requirements.’’; 

9 and 

10 (3) by striking the item relating to section 608 

11 and inserting the following: 

‘‘608. Additional powers of Chief Counsel for Advocacy.’’. 

12 (d) Chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, is 

13 amended as follows: 

14 (1) In section 603, by striking subsection (d). 

15 (2) In section 604(a) by striking the second 

16 paragraph (6). 

Æ 


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