Sponsors
The bill increases transparency and enforceability of a single-subject rule—reducing riders and surprise provisions—while creating greater litigation risk, legal uncertainty, slower lawmaking, and the potential for courts to play a larger role in policing legislative content.
Taxpayers, federal employees, and state/local governments will get clearer, more transparent laws and budgeting because each bill must have a single subject and a descriptive title and unrelated provisions in appropriations can be voided, reducing logrolling and surprise policy riders.
Members of Congress and private citizens gain a judicial cause of action with de novo review to challenge laws that include unrelated or untitled provisions, giving courts a clear mechanism to enforce the single-subject rule and resolve disputes promptly.
Appropriations retain practical flexibility to direct how funds are used because bills can still include limitations on how appropriated funds are spent, preserving programmatic control for legislators and implementers.
Taxpayers, federal employees, and Congress may face substantially more litigation and legal uncertainty because the bill creates a broad private right of action, invites challenges over what counts as the 'one subject' or germane content, and permits post-enactment invalidation of provisions.
Lawmakers and the public could experience slower legislative throughput and increased floor time because splitting measures into single-subject bills increases the number of separate bills that must be considered and passed.
Some necessary policy changes that are typically packaged with funding may be harder to enact, risking funding delays or gaps if companion policy bills cannot pass alongside appropriations.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires each federal bill or joint resolution to have only one clearly expressed subject in its title and allows courts to void laws with unrelated or unexpressed subjects, with a private right of action.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Requires every bill or joint resolution to have only one clearly expressed subject stated in its title, and bars unrelated or unexpressed matters from being included. Gives courts the power to void entire Acts or joint resolutions that contain multiple unrelated subjects or provisions not reflected in their titles, and creates a private right of action for persons (including Members of Congress) to seek judicial review of laws enacted after this Act takes effect.