Title: Permitting Litigation Efficiency Act of 2018
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Permitting Litigation Efficiency Act of 2018
This bill modifies conditions and requirements for judicial review of a federal agency's decision with respect to permits for certain construction projects.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5468 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5468

   To amend chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for 
certain limitations on judicial review of agency actions, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2018

   Mr. Marino (for himself, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Smith of 
Texas, Mr. Collins of Georgia, and Mr. Amodei) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for 
certain limitations on judicial review of agency actions, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Permitting Litigation Efficiency 
Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS.

    Section 706 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``To the extent'' and inserting ``(a) To 
        the extent''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) A court shall presume a delay in final action on an 
application for Federally-required permits to be an unreasonable delay 
for purposes of subsection (a) if final action on all permits applied 
for is not taken before--
            ``(1) the date for final action established in a schedule 
        set by an official designated by the President, provided that 
        such schedule is established not later than 60 days of the 
        filing of the completed application and includes, in addition 
        to such date for final action, a date prior to such date for 
        the final determination of the scope of any statutorily 
        required environmental review; or
            ``(2) in the absence of such a date for final action on the 
        application, the date that is 2 years after the date the 
        completed application was filed, other than in accordance 
        with--
                    ``(A) a timetable under section 41003(c)(2) of the 
                Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act;
                    ``(B) section 139 of title 23, United States Code; 
                or
                    ``(C) section 2045 of the Water Resources 
                Development Act of 2007.
    ``(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, judicial review 
of any permitting determination for a permit described in subsection 
(b) shall be barred unless the action is filed not later than 180 days 
after the date of the final record of decision or approval or denial of 
the permit, unless a different time is otherwise specified in law. In 
any action seeking judicial review of such a determination, such review 
shall be limited only to matters that were included in any record of 
the proceeding of the agency that pertain to the issuance of the 
permit, including the final determination of the scope of any 
environmental review.''.

SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF RESTRAINING ORDERS AND INJUNCTIONS.

    (a) Preliminary Injunctions or Temporary Restraining Orders.--
Section 705 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``When an agency'' and inserting ``(a) When 
        an agency''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) In any action seeking review of a determination to issue a 
permit, if a party moves for a temporary restraining order or 
preliminary injunction pertaining to the permit or the permitted 
activity, the court, in addition to any other applicable equitable 
considerations--
            ``(1) shall consider, in assessing the balance of the 
        equities and the public interest, the potential beneficial and 
        harmful effects resulting from such an order or injunction on 
        public health, safety, the environment, and economic interests, 
        including in areas that will be affected by the permitted 
        activity and on the employment of United States workers;
            ``(2) may not presume that any harms identified pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) are reparable;
            ``(3) may condition such an order or injunction upon the 
        payment by the party seeking such order or injunction of a bond 
        equal to an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 or a lesser, but 
        material, percentage of the reasonably anticipated costs of 
        delay of the project for which the permit or permits were 
        applied; and
            ``(4) may not issue a temporary restraining order unless 
        the party seeking the order shows that it was not reasonably 
        possible to seek a preliminary injunction at an earlier 
        date.''.
    (b) Permanent Injunctions.--Section 706 of title 5, United States 
Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(d) In any action seeking review of a determination to issue a 
permit, if a party moves for a restraining order or injunction 
pertaining to the permit or the permitted activity, the court, in 
addition to considering any other applicable equitable factors, shall 
issue such order only if it is determined to be in the public interest, 
and shall, in making such determination, consider--
            ``(1) the environmental benefits of the permitted activity; 
        and
            ``(2) the costs, including detrimental effects on the 
        environment, of any delay in undertaking the permitted 
        activity.
    ``(e) The court may preclude recovery by a permit applicant on a 
bond required under section 705(b)(3) if the court determines the 
action was substantially justified.''.
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