Title: Separation of Powers Restoration Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2019
This bill modifies the scope of judicial review of agency actions to authorize courts reviewing agency actions to decide de novo (i.e., without giving deference to the agency's interpretation) all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of (1) constitutional and statutory provisions, and (2) rules made by agencies. Further, this bill prohibits reviewing courts from deferring to an agency's interpretation of a question of law when the authorizing statutory or regulatory provision is silent or ambiguous with respect to an agency's authority.
No law may exempt a civil action from the standard of review required by this bill except by specific reference to such provision.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 909 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 909

  To amend title 5, United States Code, with respect to the judicial 
     review of agency interpretations of statutory and regulatory 
                              provisions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 2019

  Mr. Sasse (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
  Hawley, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Lee, Mr. Rounds, and Mr. Inhofe) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 5, United States Code, with respect to the judicial 
     review of agency interpretations of statutory and regulatory 
                              provisions.

    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 ``Separation of Powers Restoration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF STATUTORY AND REGULATORY INTERPRETATIONS.

    Section 706 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``To the extent necessary'' and inserting 
        ``(a) To the extent necessary'';
            (2) in subsection (a), as so designated--
                    (A) by striking ``decide all relevant questions of 
                law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, 
                and''; and
                    (B) by inserting after ``of the terms of an agency 
                action'' the following: ``and decide de novo all 
                relevant questions of law, including the interpretation 
                of constitutional and statutory provisions, and rules 
                made by agencies. If the reviewing court determines 
                that a statutory or regulatory provision relevant to 
                its decision contains a gap or ambiguity, the court 
                shall not interpret that gap or ambiguity as an 
                implicit delegation to the agency of legislative rule 
                making authority and shall not rely on the gap or 
                ambiguity as a justification for interpreting agency 
                authority expansively or for deferring to the agency's 
                interpretation on the question of law. Notwithstanding 
                any other provision of law, this subsection shall apply 
                in any action for judicial review of agency action 
                authorized under any provision of law. No law may 
                exempt any such civil action from the application of 
                this section except by specific reference to this 
                section''; and
            (3) by striking ``The reviewing court shall--'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(b) The reviewing court shall--''.
                                 <all>