Definition: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Input: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and
Settlements Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. CONSENT DECREE AND SETTLEMENT REFORM.

(a) Application.--The provisions of this section apply in the case
of--
(1) a consent decree or settlement agreement in an action
to compel agency action alleged to be unlawfully withheld or
unreasonably delayed that pertains to a regulatory action that
affects the rights of private parties other than the plaintiff
or the rights of State, local or Tribal government entities--
(A) brought under chapter 7 of title 5, United
States Code; or
(B) brought under any other statute authorizing
such an action; and
(2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that
requires agency action that pertains to a regulatory action
that affects the rights of private parties other than the
plaintiff or the rights of State, local or Tribal government
entities.
(b) In General.--In the case of an action to be resolved by a
consent decree or a settlement agreement described in paragraph (1),
the following shall apply:
(1) The complaint in the action, the consent decree or
settlement agreement, the statutory basis for the consent
decree or settlement agreement and its terms, and any award of
attorneys' fees or costs shall be published, including
electronically, in a readily accessible manner.
(2) Until the conclusion of an opportunity for affected
parties to intervene in the action, a party may not file with
the court a motion for a consent decree or to dismiss the case
pursuant to a settlement agreement.
(3) In considering a motion to intervene by any party that
would be affected by the agency action in dispute, the court
shall presume, subject to rebuttal, that the interests of that
party would not be represented adequately by the current
parties to the action. In considering a motion to intervene
filed by a State, local or Tribal government entity, the court
shall take due account of whether the movant--
(A) administers jointly with the defendant agency
the statutory provisions that give rise to the
regulatory duty alleged in the complaint; or
(B) administers State, local or Tribal regulatory
authority that would be preempted by the defendant
agency's discharge of the regulatory duty alleged in
the complaint.
(4) If the court grants a motion to intervene in the
action, the court shall include the plaintiff, the defendant
agency, and the intervenors in settlement discussions.
Settlement efforts conducted shall be pursuant to a court's
mediation or alternative dispute resolution program, or by a
district judge, magistrate judge, or special master, as
determined by the assigned judge.
(5) The defendant agency shall publish in the Federal
Register and by electronic means any proposed consent decree or
settlement agreement for no fewer than 60 days of public
comment before filing it with the court, including a statement
of the statutory basis for the proposed consent decree or
settlement agreement and its terms, allowing comment on any
issue related to the matters alleged in the complaint or
addressed or affected by the consent decree or settlement
agreement.
(6) The defendant agency shall--
(A) respond to public comments received under
paragraph (5); and
(B) when moving that the court enter the consent
decree or for dismissal pursuant to the settlement
agreement--
(i) inform the court of the statutory basis
for the proposed consent decree or settlement
agreement and its terms;
(ii) submit to the court a summary of the
public comments and agency responses;
(iii) certify the administrative record of
the notice and comment proceeding to the court;
and
(iv) make that record fully accessible to
the court.
(7) The court shall include in the judicial record the
administrative record certified by the agency under paragraph
(6).
(8) If the consent decree or settlement agreement requires
an agency action by a date certain, the agency shall, when
moving for entry of the consent decree or dismissal based on
the settlement agreement--
(A) inform the court of any uncompleted mandatory
duties to take regulatory action that the decree or
agreement does not address;
(B) how the decree or agreement, if approved, would
affect the discharge of those duties; and
(C) why the decree's or agreement's effects on the
order in which the agency discharges its mandatory
duties is in the public interest.
(9) The court shall presume, subject to rebuttal, that it
is proper to allow amicus participation by any party who filed
public comments on the consent decree or settlement agreement
during the court's consideration of a motion to enter the
decree or dismiss the case on the basis of the agreement.
(10) The court shall ensure that the proposed consent
decree or settlement agreement allows sufficient time and
procedure for the agency to comply with chapter 5 of title 5,
United States Code, and other applicable statutes that govern
rule making and, unless contrary to the public interest, the
provisions of any executive orders that govern rule making.
(11) The defendant agency may, at its discretion, hold a
public hearing pursuant to notice in the Federal Register and
by electronic means, on whether to enter into the consent
decree or settlement agreement. If such a hearing is held,
then, in accordance with paragraph (6), a summary of the
proceedings and certification of the hearing record shall be
provided to the court, access to the hearing record shall be
given to the court, and the full hearing record shall be
included in the judicial record.
(12) The Attorney General, in cases litigated by the
Department of Justice, or the head of the defendant Federal
agency, in cases litigated independently by that agency, shall
certify to the court his or her approval of any proposed
consent decree or settlement agreement that contains any of the
following terms--
(A) in the case of a consent decree, terms that--
(i) convert into mandatory duties the
otherwise discretionary authorities of an
agency to propose, promulgate, revise or amend
regulations;
(ii) commit the agency to expend funds that
Congress has not appropriated and that have not
been budgeted for the action in question, or
commit an agency to seek a particular
appropriation or budget authorization;
(iii) divest the agency of discretion
committed to it by Congress or the
Constitution, whether such discretionary power
was granted to respond to changing
circumstances, to make policy or managerial
choices, or to protect the rights of third
parties; or
(iv) otherwise afford relief that the court
could not enter on its own authority upon a
final judgment in the litigation; or
(B) in the case of a settlement agreement, terms
that--
(i) interfere with the agency's authority
to revise, amend, or issue rules through the
procedures set forth in chapter 5 of title 5,
United States Code, or any other statute or
executive order prescribing rule making
procedures for rule makings that are the
subject of the settlement agreement;
(ii) commit the agency to expend funds that
Congress has not appropriated and that have not
been budgeted for the action in question; or
(iii) provide a remedy for the agency's
failure to comply with the terms of the
settlement agreement other than the revival of
the action resolved by the settlement
agreement, if the agreement commits the agency
to exercise its discretion in a particular way
and such discretionary power was committed to
the agency by Congress or the Constitution to
respond to changing circumstances, to make
policy or managerial choices, or to protect the
rights of third parties.
(c) Annual Reports.--Each agency shall submit an annual report to
Congress on the number, identity, and content of complaints, consent
decrees, and settlement agreements described in paragraph (1) for that
year, the statutory basis for each consent decree or settlement
agreement and its terms, and any awards of attorneys fees or costs in
actions resolved by such decrees or agreements.

SEC. 3. MOTIONS TO MODIFY CONSENT DECREES.

When a defendant agency moves the court to modify a previously
entered consent decree described under section 2 and the basis of the
motion is that the terms of the decree are no longer fully in the
public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties
or due to changed facts and circumstances, the court shall review the
motion and the consent decree de novo.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The provisions of this Act apply to any covered consent decree or
settlement agreement proposed to a court after the date of enactment of
this Act.
Output:
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2012 - (Sec. 2) States that the provisions of this Act shall apply to: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement in an action to compel agency action alleged to be unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed that pertains to a regulatory action that affects the rights of private parties other than the plaintiff or the rights of state, local, or tribal governments brought under judicial review provisions of the U.S. Code or under any other statute authorizing such an action; and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action that pertains to a regulatory action that affects the rights of private parties other than the plaintiff or the rights of state, local, or tribal governments.

Sets forth requirements with respect to actions to be resolved by a consent decree or settlement agreement under this Act, including requiring: (1) publication in a readily accessible manner (including electronically) of the complaint, the consent decree or settlement agreement, the statutory basis for the decree or agreement and its terms, and any award of attorneys' fees or costs; (2) an opportunity for affected parties to intervene in an action prior to the entry of a consent decree or settlement agreement; (3) referral to a mediation or alternative dispute resolution program after a motion to intervene is granted; (4) an opportunity for public comment on a proposed consent decree or settlement agreement before it is filed with a court; and (5) approval by the Attorney General of any proposed consent decree or settlement agreement in cases litigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Requires each agency to submit an annual report to Congress on the number, identity, and content of complaints, consent decrees, and settlement agreements for that year, including the statutory basis for each decree or agreement and its terms, and any awards of attorneys fees or costs in actions resolved by decrees or agreements.

(Sec. 3) Requires a court to grant de novo review to any motion filed by an agency to modify a previously-entered consent decree if the basis of such motion is that the terms of the decree are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.

(Sec. 4) Makes the provisions of this Act applicable to any covered consent decree or settlement agreement proposed to a court after the enactment of this Act.