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To amend title 5, United States Code, to clarify the nature of judicial review of agency interpretations of statutory and regulatory provisions.
Summary
This bill amends federal law governing how courts review agency decisions. It requires courts to review agency interpretations of laws and regulations "de novo," meaning courts must make their own independent judgment rather than deferring to the agency's interpretation. The bill applies this standard to all agency interpretations, including rules, guidance documents, and policy statements. It specifies that no other law can exempt agency actions from this review standard unless that law specifically references this amendment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO)
8 cosponsors
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN)
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL)
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC)
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND)
- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] (R-TN)
- Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] (R-KY)
Actions (2)
- Jan 8, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. · senate
- Jan 8, 2025 Introduced in Senate
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Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 8, 2025
Mr. Schmitt (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Paul, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Budd, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Britt, and Mr. Hagerty) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to clarify the nature of judicial review of agency interpretations of statutory and regulatory provisions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2025” or “SOPRA”.
SEC. 2. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF STATUTORY AND REGULATORY INTERPRETATIONS.
Section 706 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking “To the extent necessary” and inserting
“(a) To the extent necessary”;
(2) in subsection (a), as so designated—
(A) by striking “decide all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, and”;
(B) by inserting after “of the terms of an agency action” the following “and decide de novo all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions, rules made by agencies, and interpretative rules, general statements of policy, and all other agency guidance documents. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this subsection shall apply in any action for judicial review of agency action authorized under any provision of law. No law may exempt any such civil action from the application of this section except by specific reference to this section”; and
(3) by striking “The reviewing court shall—” and inserting the following:
“(b) The reviewing court shall—”; and
(4) by striking “In making the foregoing determinations” and inserting the following:
“(c) In making the foregoing determinations”. <all>
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