Sponsors (2)
The bill increases public transparency, oversight, and opportunities for governments and communities to influence agency consent decrees, but it does so by imposing procedural hurdles and legal limits that will slow settlements, raise costs, and may restrict some third‑party challenges and access to enforcement.
State, local, and tribal governments — and the public generally — get a formal, 60-day notice-and-comment opportunity plus clearer intervention rights so outside governments and communities can review and meaningfully influence proposed agency consent decrees before courts enter them.
Taxpayers and the public gain greater transparency and executive accountability because agencies must compile certified indexes and records, accept/respond to comments, and require attorney general or agency-head certification for settlements that remove agency discretion or commit unappropriated funds, while courts will independently review motions to change decrees.
Federal agencies have clearer definitions of 'agency' and 'agency action' and a narrowed definition of 'covered civil action,' which reduces ambiguity in litigation and can limit surprise or broad third‑party lawsuits that delay regulatory implementation.
Federal agencies and the public will face longer delays and higher administrative burdens because proposed settlements require 60-day notice, comment responses, record compilation, possible hearings, and expanded court procedures, making rapid regulatory or operational fixes harder to achieve.
Litigants, agencies, and taxpayers will likely bear increased litigation and administrative costs from broader participation, expanded recordkeeping, use of alternative judges/ADR, and de novo court reviews required to approve or modify consent decrees.
Private plaintiffs and public-interest litigants may be deterred from bringing meritorious enforcement suits because the bill bars any award of attorneys’ fees or costs in actions resolved by covered consent decrees or settlements, reducing access to justice for those who cannot self-fund litigation.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Adds public notice, 60-day comment, record disclosure, and easier intervenor access for agency consent decrees and settlement agreements in covered regulatory suits, and requires de novo review for agency modification requests.
Official title: To impose certain limitations on consent decrees and settlement agreements by agencies that require the agencies to take regulatory action in accordance with the terms thereof, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Benjamin Cline · Last progress December 11, 2025
Requires federal agencies and courts to follow new public notice, comment, and record-disclosure procedures before entering, modifying, or dismissing consent decrees or settlement agreements in civil suits that seek or compel agency regulatory action. It raises transparency for settlements that affect private parties or state, local, or tribal governments and makes it easier for third parties to intervene and for courts to review agency requests to change agreements. Applies only to covered civil actions filed and to covered consent decrees or settlement agreements proposed on or after the law's enactment date, and imposes specified timelines (e.g., 15-day publication of complaints and 60-day public comment on proposed decrees) and de novo judicial review when agencies ask courts to modify covered decrees or settlements because circumstances have changed.