LIBERTY Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3770 To amend the definition of section 804 of title 5. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 31, 2023 Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself and Mr. GOLDEN of Maine) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the definition of section 804 of title 5. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Limiting the Intrusive 4 Bureaucracy and Empowering Regulatory Transparency 5 for You Act’’ or the ‘‘LIBERTY Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE- 7 MAKING. 8 Section 804 of title 5, United States Code, is amend- 9 ed to read as follows: 10 ‘‘§ 804. Definitions 11 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter: 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3770.IH H3770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3770 IH ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal agency’ means any 1 agency as that term is defined in section 551(1). 2 ‘‘(2) The term ‘major rule’— 3 ‘‘(A) means any rule that the Adminis- 4 trator of the Office of Information and Regu- 5 latory Affairs of the Office of Management and 6 Budget finds has resulted in or is likely to re- 7 sult in— 8 ‘‘(i) an annual effect on the economy 9 of $100,000,000 or more; 10 ‘‘(ii) a major increase in costs or 11 prices for consumers, individual industries, 12 Federal, State, or local government agen- 13 cies, or geographic regions; or 14 ‘‘(iii) significant adverse effects on 15 competition, employment, investment, pro- 16 ductivity, innovation, or on the ability of 17 United States-based enterprises to compete 18 with foreign-based enterprises in domestic 19 and export markets; and 20 ‘‘(B) includes significant guidance docu- 21 ments. 22 ‘‘(3) The term ‘rule’— 23 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in 24 section 551, except that such term does not in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3770.IH H3770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3770 IH clude (except as otherwise provided in subpara- 1 graph (B))— 2 ‘‘(i) any rule of particular applica- 3 bility, including a rule that approves or 4 prescribes for the future rates, wages, 5 prices, services, or allowances therefor, cor- 6 porate or financial structures, reorganiza- 7 tions, mergers, or acquisitions thereof, or 8 accounting practices or disclosures bearing 9 on any of the foregoing; 10 ‘‘(ii) any rule relating to agency man- 11 agement or personnel; or 12 ‘‘(iii) any rule of agency organization, 13 procedure, or practice that does not sub- 14 stantially affect the rights or obligations of 15 non-agency parties; and 16 ‘‘(B) includes guidance documents. 17 ‘‘(4) The term ‘guidance document’ means a 18 statement of general applicability and future effect, 19 other than a regulatory action, issued by a Federal 20 agency that sets forth— 21 ‘‘(A) a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or 22 technical issue; or 23 ‘‘(B) an interpretation of a statutory or 24 regulatory issue. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3770.IH H3770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3770 IH ‘‘(5) The term ‘significant guidance docu- 1 ment’— 2 ‘‘(A) means a guidance document dissemi- 3 nated to regulated entities or the general public 4 that may reasonably be anticipated to— 5 ‘‘(i) lead to an annual effect of 6 $100,000,000 or more, or adversely affect 7 in a material way the economy, a sector of 8 the economy, productivity, competition, 9 employment, the environment, public 10 health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal 11 governments or communities; 12 ‘‘(ii) create a serious inconsistency, or 13 otherwise interfere, with an action taken or 14 planned by another Federal agency; 15 ‘‘(iii) materially alter the budgetary 16 impact of any entitlement, grant, user fees, 17 or loan programs, or the rights or obliga- 18 tions of recipients thereof; or 19 ‘‘(iv) raise novel legal or policy issues 20 arising out of legal mandates; and 21 ‘‘(B) does not include any guidance docu- 22 ment— 23 ‘‘(i) on regulations issued in accord- 24 ance with section 556 or 557; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3770.IH H3770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3770 IH ‘‘(ii) that pertains to a military or for- 1 eign affairs function of the United States, 2 other than procurement regulations and 3 regulations involving the import or export 4 of non-defense articles and services; or 5 ‘‘(iii) on regulations that are limited 6 to the organization, management, or per- 7 sonnel matters of a Federal agency.’’. 8 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF ‘‘RULE’’ TO INCLUDE SIGNIFICANT 9 GUIDANCE DOCUMENT FOR PURPOSES OF 10 RULEMAKING. 11 Section 551(4) of title 5, United States Code, is 12 amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: 13 ‘‘, as well as significant guidance document (as such term 14 is defined in section 804(5))’’. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3770.IH H3770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS