114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 712 

AN ACT 

To impose certain limitations on consent decrees and settlement agreements by agencies that require the agencies 

to take regulatory action in accordance with the terms 

thereof, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sunshine for Regula3 tions and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 

4 2016’’. 

5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—SUNSHINE FOR REGULATORY DECREES AND 

SETTLEMENTS 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Consent decree and settlement reform. 

Sec. 104. Motions to modify consent decrees. 

Sec. 105. Effective date. 

TITLE II—ALL ECONOMIC REGULATIONS ARE TRANSPARENT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Office of information and regulatory affairs publication of information relating to rules. 

TITLE III—PROVIDING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH 

TRANSPARENCY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Requirement to post a 100 word summary to regulations.gov. 

7 TITLE I—SUNSHINE FOR REGU8 LATORY DECREES AND SET9 TLEMENTS 

10 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Sunshine for Regula12 tions and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 

13 2016’’. 

14 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title— 
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1 (1) the terms ‘‘agency’’ and ‘‘agency action’’ 

2 have the meanings given those terms under section 

3 551 of title 5, United States Code; 

4 (2) the term ‘‘covered civil action’’ means a civil 

5 action— 

6 (A) seeking to compel agency action; 

7 (B) alleging that the agency is unlawfully 

8 withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency 

9 action relating to a regulatory action that would 

10 affect the rights of— 

11 (i) private persons other than the per12 son bringing the action; or 

13 (ii) a State, local, or tribal govern14 ment; and 

15 (C) brought under— 

16 (i) chapter 7 of title 5, United States 

17 Code; or 

18 (ii) any other statute authorizing such 

19 an action; 

20 (3) the term ‘‘covered consent decree’’ means— 

21 (A) a consent decree entered into in a cov22 ered civil action; and 

23 (B) any other consent decree that requires 

24 agency action relating to a regulatory action 

25 that affects the rights of— 
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1 (i) private persons other than the per2 son bringing the action; or 

3 (ii) a State, local, or tribal govern4 ment; 

5 (4) the term ‘‘covered consent decree or settle6 ment agreement’’ means a covered consent decree 

7 and a covered settlement agreement; and 

8 (5) the term ‘‘covered settlement agreement’’ 

9 means— 

10 (A) a settlement agreement entered into in 

11 a covered civil action; and 

12 (B) any other settlement agreement that 

13 requires agency action relating to a regulatory 

14 action that affects the rights of— 

15 (i) private persons other than the per16 son bringing the action; or 

17 (ii) a State, local, or tribal govern18 ment. 

19 SEC. 103. CONSENT DECREE AND SETTLEMENT REFORM. 

20 (a) PLEADINGS AND PRELIMINARY MATTERS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any covered civil action, 

22 the agency against which the covered civil action is 

23 brought shall publish the notice of intent to sue and 

24 the complaint in a readily accessible manner, includ25 ing by making the notice of intent to sue and the 
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1 complaint available online not later than 15 days 

2 after receiving service of the notice of intent to sue 

3 or complaint, respectively. 

4 (2) ENTRY OF A COVERED CONSENT DECREE

5 OR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—A party may not 

6 make a motion for entry of a covered consent decree 

7 or to dismiss a civil action pursuant to a covered set8 tlement agreement until after the end of proceedings 

9 in accordance with paragraph (1) and subpara10 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) of subsection 

11 (d) or subsection (d)(3)(A), whichever is later. 

12 (b) INTERVENTION.— 

13 (1) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—In consid14 ering a motion to intervene in a covered civil action 

15 or a civil action in which a covered consent decree 

16 or settlement agreement has been proposed that is 

17 filed by a person who alleges that the agency action 

18 in dispute would affect the person, the court shall 

19 presume, subject to rebuttal, that the interests of 

20 the person would not be represented adequately by 

21 the existing parties to the action. 

22 (2) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERN23 MENTS.—In considering a motion to intervene in a 

24 covered civil action or a civil action in which a cov25 ered consent decree or settlement agreement has 
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1 been proposed that is filed by a State, local, or tribal 

2 government, the court shall take due account of 

3 whether the movant— 

4 (A) administers jointly with an agency that 

5 is a defendant in the action the statutory provi6 sions that give rise to the regulatory action to 

7 which the action relates; or 

8 (B) administers an authority under State, 

9 local, or tribal law that would be preempted by 

10 the regulatory action to which the action re11 lates. 

12 (c) SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS.—Efforts to settle 

13 a covered civil action or otherwise reach an agreement on 

14 a covered consent decree or settlement agreement shall— 

15 (1) be conducted pursuant to the mediation or 

16 alternative dispute resolution program of the court 

17 or by a district judge other than the presiding judge, 

18 magistrate judge, or special master, as determined 

19 appropriate by the presiding judge; and 

20 (2) include any party that intervenes in the ac21 tion. 

22 (d) PUBLICATION OF AND COMMENT ON COVERED

23 CONSENT DECREES OR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days be25 fore the date on which a covered consent decree or 
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1 settlement agreement is filed with a court, the agen2 cy seeking to enter the covered consent decree or 

3 settlement agreement shall publish in the Federal 

4 Register and online— 

5 (A) the proposed covered consent decree or 

6 settlement agreement; and 

7 (B) a statement providing— 

8 (i) the statutory basis for the covered 

9 consent decree or settlement agreement; 

10 and 

11 (ii) a description of the terms of the 

12 covered consent decree or settlement agree13 ment, including whether it provides for the 

14 award of attorneys’ fees or costs and, if so, 

15 the basis for including the award. 

16 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An agency seeking to 

18 enter a covered consent decree or settlement 

19 agreement shall accept public comment during 

20 the period described in paragraph (1) on any 

21 issue relating to the matters alleged in the com22 plaint in the applicable civil action or addressed 

23 or affected by the proposed covered consent de24 cree or settlement agreement. 
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1 (B) RESPONSE TO COMMENTS.—An agency 

2 shall respond to any comment received under 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 (C) SUBMISSIONS TO COURT.—When mov5 ing that the court enter a proposed covered con6 sent decree or settlement agreement or for dis7 missal pursuant to a proposed covered consent 

8 decree or settlement agreement, an agency 

9 shall— 

10 (i) inform the court of the statutory 

11 basis for the proposed covered consent de12 cree or settlement agreement and its 

13 terms; 

14 (ii) submit to the court a summary of 

15 the comments received under subparagraph 

16 (A) and the response of the agency to the 

17 comments; 

18 (iii) submit to the court a certified 

19 index of the administrative record of the 

20 notice and comment proceeding; and 

21 (iv) make the administrative record 

22 described in clause (iii) fully accessible to 

23 the court. 

24 (D) INCLUSION IN RECORD.—The court 

25 shall include in the court record for a civil ac-
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1 tion the certified index of the administrative 

2 record submitted by an agency under subpara3 graph (C)(iii) and any documents listed in the 

4 index which any party or amicus curiae appear5 ing before the court in the action submits to the 

6 court. 

7 (3) PUBLIC HEARINGS PERMITTED.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—After providing notice 

9 in the Federal Register and online, an agency 

10 may hold a public hearing regarding whether to 

11 enter into a proposed covered consent decree or 

12 settlement agreement. 

13 (B) RECORD.—If an agency holds a public 

14 hearing under subparagraph (A)— 

15 (i) the agency shall— 

16 (I) submit to the court a sum17 mary of the proceedings; 

18 (II) submit to the court a cer19 tified index of the hearing record; and 

20 (III) provide access to the hear21 ing record to the court; and 

22 (ii) the full hearing record shall be in23 cluded in the court record. 

24 (4) MANDATORY DEADLINES.—If a proposed 

25 covered consent decree or settlement agreement re-
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1 quires an agency action by a date certain, the agen2 cy shall, when moving for entry of the covered con3 sent decree or settlement agreement or dismissal 

4 based on the covered consent decree or settlement 

5 agreement, inform the court of— 

6 (A) any required regulatory action the 

7 agency has not taken that the covered consent 

8 decree or settlement agreement does not ad9 dress; 

10 (B) how the covered consent decree or set11 tlement agreement, if approved, would affect 

12 the discharge of the duties described in sub13 paragraph (A); and 

14 (C) why the effects of the covered consent 

15 decree or settlement agreement on the manner 

16 in which the agency discharges its duties is in 

17 the public interest. 

18 (e) SUBMISSION BY THE GOVERNMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—For any proposed covered 

20 consent decree or settlement agreement that con21 tains a term described in paragraph (2), the Attor22 ney General or, if the matter is being litigated inde23 pendently by an agency, the head of the agency shall 

24 submit to the court a certification that the Attorney 

25 General or head of the agency approves the proposed 
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1 covered consent decree or settlement agreement. The 

2 Attorney General or head of the agency shall person3 ally sign any certification submitted under this para4 graph. 

5 (2) TERMS.—A term described in this para6 graph is— 

7 (A) in the case of a covered consent decree, 

8 a term that— 

9 (i) converts into a nondiscretionary 

10 duty a discretionary authority of an agency 

11 to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend 

12 regulations; 

13 (ii) commits an agency to expend 

14 funds that have not been appropriated and 

15 that have not been budgeted for the regu16 latory action in question; 

17 (iii) commits an agency to seek a par18 ticular appropriation or budget authoriza19 tion; 

20 (iv) divests an agency of discretion 

21 committed to the agency by statute or the 

22 Constitution of the United States, without 

23 regard to whether the discretion was 

24 granted to respond to changing cir25 cumstances, to make policy or managerial 
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1 choices, or to protect the rights of third 

2 parties; or 

3 (v) otherwise affords relief that the 

4 court could not enter under its own au5 thority upon a final judgment in the civil 

6 action; or 

7 (B) in the case of a covered settlement 

8 agreement, a term— 

9 (i) that provides a remedy for a fail10 ure by the agency to comply with the 

11 terms of the covered settlement agreement 

12 other than the revival of the civil action re13 solved by the covered settlement agree14 ment; and 

15 (ii) that— 

16 (I) interferes with the authority 

17 of an agency to revise, amend, or 

18 issue rules under the procedures set 

19 forth in chapter 5 of title 5, United 

20 States Code, or any other statute or 

21 Executive order prescribing rule22 making procedures for a rulemaking 

23 that is the subject of the covered set24 tlement agreement; 
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1 (II) commits the agency to ex2 pend funds that have not been appro3 priated and that have not been budg4 eted for the regulatory action in ques5 tion; or 

6 (III) for such a covered settle7 ment agreement that commits the 

8 agency to exercise in a particular way 

9 discretion which was committed to the 

10 agency by statute or the Constitution 

11 of the United States to respond to 

12 changing circumstances, to make pol13 icy or managerial choices, or to pro14 tect the rights of third parties. 

15 (f) REVIEW BY COURT.— 

16 (1) AMICUS.—A court considering a proposed 

17 covered consent decree or settlement agreement shall 

18 presume, subject to rebuttal, that it is proper to 

19 allow amicus participation relating to the covered 

20 consent decree or settlement agreement by any per21 son who filed public comments or participated in a 

22 public hearing on the covered consent decree or set23 tlement agreement under paragraph (2) or (3) of 

24 subsection (d). 

25 (2) REVIEW OF DEADLINES.— 
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1 (A) PROPOSED COVERED CONSENT DE2 CREES.—For a proposed covered consent de3 cree, a court shall not approve the covered con4 sent decree unless the proposed covered consent 

5 decree allows sufficient time and incorporates 

6 adequate procedures for the agency to comply 

7 with chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, 

8 and other applicable statutes that govern rule9 making and, unless contrary to the public inter10 est, the provisions of any Executive order that 

11 governs rulemaking. 

12 (B) PROPOSED COVERED SETTLEMENT

13 AGREEMENTS.—For a proposed covered settle14 ment agreement, a court shall ensure that the 

15 covered settlement agreement allows sufficient 

16 time and incorporates adequate procedures for 

17 the agency to comply with chapter 5 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, and other applicable stat19 utes that govern rulemaking and, unless con20 trary to the public interest, the provisions of 

21 any Executive order that governs rulemaking. 

22 (g) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each agency shall submit to 

23 Congress an annual report that, for the year covered by 

24 the report, includes— 
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1 (1) the number, identity, and content of covered 

2 civil actions brought against and covered consent de3 crees or settlement agreements entered against or 

4 into by the agency; and 

5 (2) a description of the statutory basis for— 

6 (A) each covered consent decree or settle7 ment agreement entered against or into by the 

8 agency; and 

9 (B) any award of attorneys fees or costs in 

10 a civil action resolved by a covered consent de11 cree or settlement agreement entered against or 

12 into by the agency. 

13 SEC. 104. MOTIONS TO MODIFY CONSENT DECREES. 

14 If an agency moves a court to modify a covered con15 sent decree or settlement agreement and the basis of the 

16 motion is that the terms of the covered consent decree or 

17 settlement agreement are no longer fully in the public in18 terest due to the obligations of the agency to fulfill other 

19 duties or due to changed facts and circumstances, the 

20 court shall review the motion and the covered consent de21 cree or settlement agreement de novo. 

22 SEC. 105. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 This title shall apply to— 

24 (1) any covered civil action filed on or after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act; and 
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1 (2) any covered consent decree or settlement 

2 agreement proposed to a court on or after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 TITLE II—ALL ECONOMIC REGU5 LATIONS ARE TRANSPARENT 

6 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘All Economic Regula8 tions are Transparent Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘ALERT Act 

9 of 2016’’. 

10 SEC. 202. OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AF11 FAIRS PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION RE12 LATING TO RULES. 

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title 5, United States Code, is 

14 amended by inserting after chapter 6 the following new 

15 chapter: 

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 6A—OFFICE OF INFORMATION 

17 AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS PUBLICA18 TION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO 

19 RULES 

‘‘651. Agency monthly submission to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. 

‘‘652. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs publications. 

‘‘653. Requirement for rules to appear in agency-specific monthly publication. 

‘‘654. Definitions. 

20 ‘‘§ 651. Agency monthly submission to Office of Infor21 mation and Regulatory Affairs 

22 ‘‘On a monthly basis, the head of each agency shall 

23 submit to the Administrator of the Office of Information 
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1 and Regulatory Affairs (referred to in this chapter as the 

2 ‘Administrator’), in such a manner as the Administrator 

3 may reasonably require, the following information: 

4 ‘‘(1) For each rule that the agency expects to 

5 propose or finalize during the 12-month period fol6 lowing the month covered by the monthly submis7 sion: 

8 ‘‘(A) A summary of the nature of the rule, 

9 including the regulation identifier number and 

10 the docket number for the rule. 

11 ‘‘(B) The objectives of and legal basis for 

12 the issuance of the rule, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) any statutory or judicial deadline; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) whether the legal basis restricts 

16 or precludes the agency from conducting 

17 an analysis of the costs or benefits of the 

18 rule during the rule making, and if not, 

19 whether the agency plans to conduct an 

20 analysis of the costs or benefits of the rule 

21 during the rule making. 

22 ‘‘(C) Whether the agency plans to claim an 

23 exemption from the requirements of section 553 

24 pursuant to section 553(b)(B). 
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1 ‘‘(D) The stage of the rule making as of 

2 the date of submission. 

3 ‘‘(E) Whether the rule is subject to review 

4 under section 610. 

5 ‘‘(2) For any rule that the agency expects to fi6 nalize during the 12-month period following the 

7 month covered by the monthly submission and for 

8 which the agency has issued a general notice of pro9 posed rule making— 

10 ‘‘(A) an approximate schedule for com11 pleting action on the rule; 

12 ‘‘(B) an estimate of whether the rule will 

13 cost— 

14 ‘‘(i) less than $50,000,000; 

15 ‘‘(ii) $50,000,000 or more but less 

16 than $100,000,000; 

17 ‘‘(iii) $100,000,000 or more but less 

18 than $500,000,000; 

19 ‘‘(iv) $500,000,000 or more but less 

20 than $1,000,000,000; 

21 ‘‘(v) $1,000,000,000 or more but less 

22 than $5,000,000,000; 

23 ‘‘(vi) $5,000,000,000 or more but less 

24 than $10,000,000,000; or 

25 ‘‘(vii) $10,000,000,000 or more; and 
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1 ‘‘(C) any estimate of the economic effects 

2 of the rule, including the imposition of un3 funded mandates and any estimate of the net 

4 effect that the rule will have on the number of 

5 jobs in the United States, that was considered 

6 in drafting the rule, or, if no such estimate is 

7 available, a statement affirming that no infor8 mation on the economic effects, including the 

9 effect on the number of jobs, of the rule has 

10 been considered. 

11 ‘‘§ 652. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

12 publications 

13 ‘‘(a) AGENCY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION PUBLISHED

14 MONTHLY.—Not later than 30 days after the submission 

15 of information pursuant to section 651, the Administrator 

16 shall make such information publicly available on the 

17 Internet. 

18 ‘‘(b) CUMULATIVE ASSESSMENT OF AGENCY RULE

19 MAKING PUBLISHED ANNUALLY.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REG21 ISTER.—Not later than October 1 of each year, the 

22 Administrator shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

23 the following, with respect to the previous year: 
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1 ‘‘(A) The information that the Adminis2 trator received from the head of each agency 

3 under section 651. 

4 ‘‘(B) The number of rules and a list of 

5 each such rule— 

6 ‘‘(i) that was proposed by each agen7 cy, including, for each such rule, an indica8 tion of whether the issuing agency con9 ducted an analysis of the costs or benefits 

10 of the rule; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) that was finalized by each agen12 cy, including for each such rule an indica13 tion of whether— 

14 ‘‘(I) the issuing agency conducted 

15 an analysis of the costs or benefits of 

16 the rule; 

17 ‘‘(II) the agency claimed an ex18 emption from the procedures under 

19 section 553 pursuant to section 

20 553(b)(B); and 

21 ‘‘(III) the rule was issued pursu22 ant to a statutory mandate or the rule 

23 making is committed to agency discre24 tion by law. 
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1 ‘‘(C) The number of agency actions and a 

2 list of each such action taken by each agency 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(i) repealed a rule; 

5 ‘‘(ii) reduced the scope of a rule; 

6 ‘‘(iii) reduced the cost of a rule; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) accelerated the expiration date 

8 of a rule. 

9 ‘‘(D) The total cost (without reducing the 

10 cost by any offsetting benefits) of all rules pro11 posed or finalized, the total cost of any un12 funded mandates imposed by all such rules, and 

13 the number of rules for which an estimate of 

14 the cost of the rule was not available. 

15 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION ON THE INTERNET.—Not 

16 later than October 1 of each year, the Administrator 

17 shall make publicly available on the Internet the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(A) The analysis of the costs or benefits, 

20 if conducted, for each proposed rule or final 

21 rule issued by an agency for the previous year. 

22 ‘‘(B) The docket number and regulation 

23 identifier number for each proposed or final 

24 rule issued by an agency for the previous year. 
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1 ‘‘(C) The number of rules and a list of 

2 each such rule reviewed by the Director of the 

3 Office of Management and Budget for the pre4 vious year, and the authority under which each 

5 such review was conducted. 

6 ‘‘(D) The number of rules and a list of 

7 each such rule for which the head of an agency 

8 completed a review under section 610 for the 

9 previous year. 

10 ‘‘(E) The number of rules and a list of 

11 each such rule submitted to the Comptroller 

12 General under section 801. 

13 ‘‘(F) The number of rules and a list of 

14 each such rule for which a resolution of dis15 approval was introduced in either the House of 

16 Representatives or the Senate under section 

17 802. 

18 ‘‘§ 653. Requirement for rules to appear in agency19 specific monthly publication 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a rule 

21 may not take effect until the information required to be 

22 made publicly available on the Internet regarding such 

23 rule pursuant to section 652(a) has been so available for 

24 not less than 6 months. 
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1 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement of subsection 

2 (a) shall not apply in the case of a rule— 

3 ‘‘(1) for which the agency issuing the rule 

4 claims an exception under section 553(b)(B); or 

5 ‘‘(2) which the President determines by Execu6 tive order should take effect because the rule is— 

7 ‘‘(A) necessary because of an imminent 

8 threat to health or safety or other emergency; 

9 ‘‘(B) necessary for the enforcement of 

10 criminal laws; 

11 ‘‘(C) necessary for national security; or 

12 ‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple13 menting an international trade agreement. 

14 ‘‘§ 654. Definitions 

15 ‘‘In this chapter, the terms ‘agency’, ‘agency action’, 

16 ‘rule’, and ‘rule making’ have the meanings given those 

17 terms in section 551, and the term ‘unfunded mandate’ 

18 has the meaning given the term ‘Federal mandate’ in sec19 tion 421(6) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 

20 U.S.C. 658(6)).’’. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

22 The table of chapters for part I of title 5, United States 

23 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

24 chapter 5 the following: 

‘‘6. The Analysis of Regulatory Functions ............................................. 601

‘‘6A. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Publication of Information Relating to Rules .......................................... 651’’. 
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

2 (1) AGENCY MONTHLY SUBMISSION TO THE OF3 FICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AF4 FAIRS.—The first submission required pursuant to 

5 section 651 of title 5, United States Code, as added 

6 by subsection (a), shall be submitted not later than 

7 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 and monthly thereafter. 

9 (2) CUMULATIVE ASSESSMENT OF AGENCY

10 RULE MAKING.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of sec12 tion 652 of title 5, United States Code, as 

13 added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the 

14 date that is 60 days after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act. 

16 (B) DEADLINE.—The first requirement to 

17 publish or make available, as the case may be, 

18 under subsection (b) of section 652 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

20 shall be the first October 1 after the effective 

21 date of such subsection. 

22 (C) FIRST PUBLICATION.—The require23 ment under section 652(b)(2)(A) of title 5, 

24 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

25 shall include for the first publication, any anal-
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1 ysis of the costs or benefits conducted for a 

2 proposed or final rule, for the 10 years before 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (3) REQUIREMENT FOR RULES TO APPEAR IN

5 AGENCY-SPECIFIC MONTHLY PUBLICATION.—Section 

6 653 of title 5, United States Code, as added by sub7 section (a), shall take effect on the date that is 8 

8 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 TITLE III—PROVIDING AC10 COUNTABILITY THROUGH 

11 TRANSPARENCY 

12 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Account14 ability Through Transparency Act of 2016’’. 

15 SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT TO POST A 100 WORD SUMMARY 

16 TO REGULATIONS.GOV. 

17 Section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in20 serting ‘‘;’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(4) the internet address of a summary of not 

2 more than 100 words in length of the proposed rule, 

3 in plain language, that shall be posted on the inter4 net website under section 206(d) of the E-Govern5 ment Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note) (commonly 

6 known as regulations.gov);’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 7, 

2016. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 712 

AN ACT 

To impose certain limitations on consent decrees 

purposes. accordance with the terms thereof, and for other quire the agencies to take regulatory action in and settlement agreements by agencies that re-