Washington, D.C. — Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have reintroduced the Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act.
The legislation would introduce a ‘permit by rule’ system to the federal permitting process, which would allow an applicant to certify compliance with pre-established criteria to obtain a permit.
This approach allows permits to be automatically approved unless the agency identifies that an applicant had not made proper certifications within a specified period of time.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) also co-sponsored the legislation.
Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT) introduced the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senator Budd said in a statement:
“All too often, the federal permitting process is slow, expensive, and confusing. That is why President Trump directed federal agencies to consider a ‘permit by rule’ system in his day one Unleashing American Energy Executive Order. Now Congress should make this policy permanent to reduce bureaucratic delays and compliance costs, and create a transparent and predictable regulatory environment. I’m proud to partner with Senator Lummis and Representative Maloy in this effort to implement a ‘permit by rule’ system to federal permitting.”
Senator Lummis said:
“Under four years of the Biden administration’s failed leadership, our permitting process is woefully backlogged and incredibly difficult to navigate. The federal permitting process has become years-long, which discourages investment and innovation all together. Implementing permit by rule processes will streamline approvals and help us address backlogs.”
Background:
The FREE Act:
- Requires each agency to evaluate their current permitting systems and consider the feasibility of replacing them with a permit by rule system.
- Mandates agencies to submit a detailed report to Congress within 180 days, outlining each permit issued, the requirements for obtaining them, and an evaluation of whether a permit by rule could replace the current system.
- Establishes a permit by rule application process within 12 months of submitting the report, specifying written requirements and substantive standards for permits.
- Automatically approves permits if the application meets all required certifications and no objections are raised within 30 days.
- Allows agencies to audit applications and enforce compliance with substantive standards, including denying or halting permits if standards are not met.
- Enables applicants to appeal denied or halted permits in district court, with provisions favoring applicants who made a good faith effort to comply.
- Prohibits agencies from entering settlement agreements that would undermine the enforcement of the FREE Act.
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