Sponsors (3)
The bill expands access to Article III courts and creates predictable removal procedures for agency cases, but does so at the cost of increased litigation, heavier federal-court workloads, and reduced finality for agency adjudications.
People and businesses subject to agency proceedings (taxpayers, small-business owners) can remove their cases into a federal district court in their home district, gaining access to Article III courts for adjudication.
Litigants and courts get a standardized, familiar removal procedure by referencing 28 U.S.C. §1446, which clarifies timelines and paperwork for moving agency cases to federal court.
Small businesses and taxpayers may face higher litigation costs and slower resolution because more agency matters could shift from faster agency adjudication to longer federal-court litigation.
Federal courts could see increased caseloads, raising costs for taxpayers and slowing access to judicial review for all litigants.
Agency hearing officers and non-ALJ employees may have their decisions subject to more removal and review, reducing the finality of agency adjudications and increasing administrative burden on agencies and employees.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows a person targeted in an agency hearing to remove the case to a federal district court where they reside or have a principal place of business using standard removal procedures.
Introduced January 15, 2025 by Harriet Hageman · Last progress January 15, 2025
Amends the Administrative Procedure Act to let a person who is the target of an administrative agency adjudication remove that case from the agency hearing officer to a U.S. district court where the person lives or has a principal place of business, by filing a notice of removal using the same procedure as removing a case from a State court. The bill also defines "agency hearing officer" to include administrative law judges and other agency employees authorized to hear the matter. The change creates a federal-court removal pathway for parties in agency adjudications, likely increasing access to district courts and reducing exclusive agency initial adjudicatory control. It does not provide new funding or change substantive agency powers beyond the removal procedure.