Washington, D.C. — Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have introduced 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.
Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) cosponsored the legislation and Rep. 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 moves at the snail’s pace of government. This slow, expensive, and confusing system is not acceptable and reduces economic growth. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Senator Lummis to introduce a ‘permit by rule’ system to federal permitting. This approach will reduce bureaucratic delays, reduce compliance costs, and create a transparent and predictable regulatory environment. Responsible applicants should not be subject to the damaging and unpredictable delays of the current case-by-case approval process. I thank Senator Lummis for her partnership on this and look forward to advocating for the FREE Act to receive Senate approval.”
Senator Lummis said:
“This administration has a well-documented history of mucking up our nation’s permitting process with unnecessary red tape, awarding unnecessary authority to D.C. bureaucrats while Wyoming businesses suffer. If we want to get serious about addressing widespread infrastructure concerns and empowering American industry, we need to establish a clear and transparent permitting process that delivers timely decisions based on objective criteria, not subject to the whims of left-wing bureaucrats.”
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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