H.R. 274: Sunset Chevron Act

The bill known as the Sunset Chevron Act proposes to end the practice of legal deference granted to certain rules established by federal agencies under the Chevron deference legal doctrine. This doctrine generally allows courts to defer to agencies' interpretations of statutes that they administer, as long as those interpretations are reasonable.

Key Provisions of the Bill

1. Definition of Terms

The bill includes specific definitions, such as:

• Chemron deference: Refers to the legal doctrine established by the Supreme Court in the case Chemron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., which allows courts to defer to agency regulations unless they are found to be unreasonable.
• Sunset date: The date when a rule will no longer be in effect.
• Rule: Defined by existing federal law as any agency statement of general applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy.

2. Review of Rules

Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Comptroller General of the United States is required to:

• Compile and publish a list of all decisions by federal courts that upheld rules based on Chevron deference and that are currently in effect.
• Ensure this list is organized by the agency responsible for each rule and arranged in reverse chronological order.
• Include a specific sunset date for each rule, calculated as follows:
• The most recent rule will have a sunset date set 30 days after the list's publication.
• Each preceding rule will have a sunset date 30 days after the sunset date of the subsequent rule.

3. Exceptions to Legislative Procedures

The bill specifies that while rules identified under this act will still be subject to the Congressional Review Act, the usual 60-day review period for disapproval resolutions will not apply to these rules.

Relevant Companies

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