[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1252 Reported in House (RH)]





                                                 Union Calendar No. 275

105th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1252

                          [Report No. 105-478]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To modify the procedures of the Federal courts in certain matters, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             April 1, 1998

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed





                                                 Union Calendar No. 275
105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1252

                          [Report No. 105-478]

To modify the procedures of the Federal courts in certain matters, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 1997

Mr. Hyde (for himself, Mr. Coble, Mr. Canady of Florida, Mr. Bono, Mr. 
  Bryant, and Mr. Goodlatte) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

                             April 1, 1998

  Additional sponsors: Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Riggs, and Mr. Sensenbrenner

                             April 1, 1998

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 
                                9, 1997]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To modify the procedures of the Federal courts in certain matters, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Judicial Reform Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. 3-JUDGE COURT FOR ANTICIPATORY RELIEF.

    (a) Requirement of 3-Judge Court.--Any application for anticipatory 
relief against the enforcement, operation, or execution of a State law 
adopted by referendum shall not be granted by a United States district 
court or judge thereof upon the ground that the State law is repugnant 
to the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States unless the 
application for anticipatory relief is heard and determined by a court 
of 3 judges in accordance with section 2284 of title 28, United States 
Code. Any appeal of a determination on such application shall be to the 
Supreme Court. In any case to which this section applies, the 
additional judges who will serve on the 3-judge court shall be 
designated under section 2284(b)(1) of title 28, United States Code, as 
soon as practicable, and the court shall expedite the consideration of 
the application for anticipatory relief.
    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            (1) the term ``State'' means each of the several States and 
        the District of Columbia;
            (2) the term ``State law'' means the constitution of a 
        State, or any statute, rule, regulation, or other measure of a 
        State that has the force of law, and any amendment thereto;
            (3) the term ``referendum'' means the submission to popular 
        vote, by the voters of the State, of a measure passed upon or 
        proposed by a legislative body or by popular initiative; and
            (4) the term ``anticipatory relief'' means an interlocutory 
        or permanent injunction or a declaratory judgment.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section applies to any application for 
anticipatory relief that is filed on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.

SEC. 3. INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS OF COURT ORDERS RELATING TO CLASS 
              ACTIONS.

    (a) Interlocutory Appeals.--Section 1292(b) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(b)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) A party to an action in which the district court has made a 
determination of whether the action may be maintained as a class action 
may make application for appeal of that determination to the court of 
appeals which would have jurisdiction of an appeal of that action. The 
court of appeals may, in its discretion, permit the appeal to be taken 
from such determination if the application is made within 10 days after 
the entry of the court's determination relating to the class action. 
Application for an appeal under this paragraph shall not stay 
proceedings in the district court unless the district judge or the 
court of appeals or a judge thereof shall so order.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) applies 
to any action commenced on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. PROCEEDINGS ON COMPLAINTS AGAINST JUDICIAL CONDUCT.

    (a) Referral of Proceedings to Another Judicial Circuit or Court.--
Section 372(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end the following: 
        ``In the case of a complaint so identified, the chief judge 
        shall notify the clerk of the court of appeals of the 
        complaint, together with a brief statement of the facts 
        underlying the complaint.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2) in the second sentence by inserting 
        ``or statement of facts underlying the complaint (as the case 
        may be)'' after ``copy of the complaint'';
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)'';
                    (B) by striking ``may--'' and all that follows 
                through the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
                following: ``may dismiss the complaint if the chief 
                judge finds it to be--
            ``(i) not in conformity with paragraph (1);
            ``(ii) directly related to the merits of a decision or 
        procedural ruling; or
            ``(iii) frivolous.''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) If the chief judge does not enter an order under subparagraph 
(A), then the complaint or (in the case of a complaint identified under 
paragraph (1)) the statement of facts underlying the complaint shall be 
referred to the chief judge of another judicial circuit for proceedings 
under this subsection (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the 
`chief judge'), in accordance with a system established by rule by the 
Judicial Conference, which prescribes the circuits to which the 
complaints will be referred. The Judicial Conference shall establish 
and submit to the Congress the system described in the preceding 
sentence not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the 
Judicial Reform Act of 1998.
    ``(C) After expeditiously reviewing the complaint, the chief judge 
may, by written order explaining the chief judge's reasons, conclude 
the proceeding if the chief judge finds that appropriate corrective 
action has been taken or that action on the complaint is no longer 
necessary because of intervening events.'';
            (4) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraph (3)(C)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ``(to which 
                the complaint or statement of facts underlying the 
                complaint is referred)'' after ``the circuit'';
            (5) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) in the first sentence by inserting ``to which 
                the complaint or statement of facts underlying the 
                complaint is referred'' after ``the circuit''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence by striking ``the 
                circuit'' and inserting ``that circuit'';
            (6) in the first sentence of paragraph (15) by inserting 
        before the period at the end the following: ``in which the 
        complaint was filed or identified under paragraph (1)''; and
            (7) by amending paragraph (18) to read as follows:
    ``(18) The Judicial Conference shall prescribe rules, consistent 
with the preceding provisions of this subsection--
            ``(A) establishing procedures for the filing of complaints 
        with respect to the conduct of any judge of the United States 
        Court of Federal Claims, the Court of International Trade, or 
        the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and for the 
        investigation and resolution of such complaints; and
            ``(B) establishing a system for referring complaints filed 
        with respect to the conduct of a judge of any such court to any 
        of the first eleven judicial circuits or to another court for 
        investigation and resolution.
The Judicial Conference shall establish and submit to the Congress the 
system described in subparagraph (B) not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of the Judicial Reform Act of 1998.''.
    (b) Disclosure of Information.--Section 372(c)(14) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the following:
            ``(D) such disclosure is made to another agency or 
        instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or 
        under the control the United States for a civil or criminal law 
        enforcement activity authorized by law.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) apply to 
complaints filed on or after the 180th day after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON COURT-IMPOSED TAXES.

    (a) Limitation.--Chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1369. Limitation on Federal court remedies
    ``(a) Limitation on Court-Imposed Taxes.--(1) No district court may 
enter any order or approve any settlement that requires any State, or 
political subdivision of a State, to impose, increase, levy, or assess 
any tax, unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence, 
that--
            ``(A) there are no other means available to remedy the 
        deprivation of a right under the Constitution of the United 
        States;
            ``(B) the proposed imposition, increase, levying, or 
        assessment is narrowly tailored to remedy the specific 
        deprivation at issue so that the remedy imposed is directly 
        related to the harm caused by the deprivation;
            ``(C) the tax will not contribute to or exacerbate the 
        deprivation intended to be remedied;
            ``(D) plans submitted to the court by State and local 
        authorities will not effectively redress the deprivations at 
        issue;
            ``(E) the interests of State and local authorities in 
        managing their affairs are not usurped, in violation of the 
        Constitution, by the proposed imposition, increase, levying, or 
        assessment; and
            ``(F) the proposed tax will not result in the loss or 
        depreciation of property values of the taxpayers who are 
        affected.
    ``(2) The limitation contained in paragraph (1) shall apply only to 
any order or settlement which--
            ``(A) expressly directs any State, or political subdivision 
        of a State, to impose, increase, levy, or assess any tax; or
            ``(B) will necessarily require a State, or political 
        subdivision of a State, to impose, increase, levy, or assess 
        any tax.
    ``(3) If the court finds that the conditions set forth in paragraph 
(1) have been satisfied, it shall enter an order incorporating that 
finding, and that order shall be subject to immediate interlocutory de 
novo review.
    ``(4) A remedy permitted under paragraph (1) shall not extend 
beyond the case or controversy before the court.
    ``(5)(A) Notwithstanding any law or rule of procedure, any person 
or entity whose tax liability would be directly affected by the 
imposition of a tax under paragraph (1) shall have the right to 
intervene in any proceeding concerning the imposition of the tax, 
except that the court may deny intervention if it finds that the 
interest of that person or entity is adequately represented by existing 
parties.
    ``(B) A person or entity that intervenes pursuant to subparagraph 
(A) shall have the right to--
            ``(i) present evidence and appear before the court to 
        present oral and written testimony; and
            ``(ii) appeal any finding required to be made by this 
        section, or any other related action taken to impose, increase, 
        levy, or assess the tax that is the subject of the 
        intervention.
    ``(b) Termination of Orders.--Notwithstanding any law or rule of 
procedure, any order of, or settlement approved by, a district court 
requiring the imposition, increase, levy, or assessment of a tax 
pursuant to subsection (a)(1) shall automatically terminate or expire 
on the date that is--
            ``(1) 1 year after the date of the imposition of the tax; 
        or
            ``(2) an earlier date, if the court determines that the 
        deprivation of rights that is addressed by the order or 
        settlement has been cured to the extent practicable.
Any new such order or settlement relating to the same issue is subject 
to all the requirements of this section.
    ``(c) Preemption.--This section shall not be construed to preempt 
any law of a State or political subdivision thereof that imposes 
limitations on, or otherwise restricts the imposition of, a tax, levy, 
or assessment that is imposed in response to a court order or 
settlement referred to in subsection (b).
    ``(d) Additional Restrictions on Court Action.--(1) Except as 
provided in paragraph (2), nothing in this section may be construed to 
allow a Federal court to, for the purpose of funding the administration 
of an order or settlement referred to in subsection (b), use funds 
acquired by a State or political subdivision thereof from a tax imposed 
by the State or political subdivision thereof.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any tax, levy, or assessment 
that may, in accordance with applicable State or local law, be used to 
fund the actions of a State or political subdivision thereof in meeting 
the requirements of an order or settlement referred to in subsection 
(b).
    ``(e) Notice to States.--The court shall provide written notice to 
a State or political subdivision thereof subject to an order or 
settlement referred to in subsection (b) with respect to any finding 
required to be made by the court under subsection (a). Such notice 
shall be provided before the beginning of the next fiscal year of that 
State or political subdivision occurring after the order or settlement 
is issued.
    ``(f) Special Rules.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a 
        State; and
            ``(2) any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the 
        District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the 
        District of Columbia.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 85 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item 
relating to section 1368 the following new item:

``1369. Limitation on Federal court remedies.''.
    (c) Statutory Construction.--Nothing contained in this section or 
the amendments made by this section shall be construed to make legal, 
validate, or approve the imposition of a tax, levy, or assessment by a 
United States district court or a spending measure required by a United 
States district court.
    (d) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section shall apply with respect to any action or other proceeding in a 
Federal court that is pending on, or commenced on or after, the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and the 1-year limitation set forth in 
subsection (b) of section 1369 of title 28, United States Code, as 
added by this section, shall apply to any court order or settlement 
described in subsection (a)(1) of such section 1369, that is in effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. REASSIGNMENT OF CASE AS OF RIGHT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 21 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 464. Reassignment of cases upon motion by a party
    ``(a) Upon Motion.--(1) If all parties on one side of a civil case 
to be tried in a United States district court described in subsection 
(e) bring a motion to reassign the case, the case shall be reassigned 
to another appropriate judicial officer. Each side shall be entitled to 
one reassignment without cause as a matter of right.
    ``(2) If any question arises as to which parties should be grouped 
together as a side for purposes of this section, the chief judge of the 
court of appeals for the circuit in which the case is to be tried, or 
another judge of the court of appeals designated by the chief judge, 
shall determine that question.
    ``(b) Requirements for Bringing Motion.--(1) Subject to paragraph 
(2), a motion to reassign under this section shall not be entertained 
unless it is brought, not later than 20 days after notice of the 
original assignment of the case, to the judicial officer to whom the 
case is assigned for the purpose of hearing or deciding any matter. 
Such motion shall be granted if--
            ``(A) it is presented before trial or hearing begins and 
        before the judicial officer to whom it is presented has ruled 
        on any substantial issue in the case, or
            ``(B) it is presented by consent of the parties on all 
        sides.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)--
            ``(A) a party joined in a civil action after the initial 
        filing may, with the concurrence of the other parties on the 
        same side, bring a motion under this section within 20 days 
        after the service of the complaint on that party;
            ``(B) a party served with a supplemental or amended 
        complaint or a third-party complaint in a civil action may, 
        with the concurrence of the other parties on the same side, 
        bring a motion under this section within 20 days after service 
        on that party of the supplemental, amended, or third-party 
        complaint; and
            ``(C) rulings in a case by the judicial officer on any 
        substantial issue before a party who has not been found in 
        default enters an appearance in the case shall not be grounds 
        for denying an otherwise timely and appropriate motion brought 
        by that party under this section.
    ``(3) No motion under this section may be brought by the party or 
parties on a side in a case if any party or parties on that side have 
previously brought a motion to reassign under this section in that 
case.
    ``(c) Costs of Travel to New Location.--(1) If a motion to reassign 
brought under this section requires a change in location for purposes 
of appearing before a newly assigned judicial officer, the party or 
parties bringing the motion shall pay the reasonable costs incurred by 
the parties on different sides of the case in travelling to the new 
location for all matters associated with the case requiring an 
appearance at the new location. In a case in which both sides bring a 
motion to reassign under this section that requires a change in 
location, the party or parties bringing the motions on both sides shall 
split the travelling costs referred to in the preceding sentence.
    ``(2) For parties financially unable to obtain adequate 
representation, the Government shall pay the reasonable costs under 
paragraph (1).
    ``(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `appropriate 
judicial officer' means--
            ``(1) a United States magistrate judge in a case referred 
        to such a magistrate judge; and
            ``(2) a United States district court judge in any other 
        case before a United States district court.
    ``(e) District Courts That May Authorize Reassignment.--The 
district courts referred to in subsection (a) are the district courts 
for the 21 judicial districts for which the President is directed to 
appoint the largest numbers of permanent judges.
    ``(f) 3-Judge Court Cases Excluded.--This section shall not apply 
to any civil action required to be heard and determined by a district 
court of 3 judges.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 21 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new item:

``464. Reassignment of cases upon motion by a party.''.
    (c) Monitoring.--The Federal Judicial Center shall monitor the use 
of the right to bring a motion to reassign a case under section 464 of 
title 28, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this 
section, and shall report annually to the Congress its findings on the 
basis of such monitoring.
    (d) Sunset.--Effective 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, section 464 of title 28, United States Code, and the item 
relating to that section in the table of contents for chapter 21 of 
such title, are repealed, except that such repeal shall not affect 
civil cases reassigned under such section 464 before the date of 
repeal.

SEC. 7. RANDOM ASSIGNMENT OF HABEAS CORPUS CASES.

    Section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(e) Applications for writs of habeas corpus received in or 
transferred to a district court shall be randomly assigned to the 
judges of that court.''.

SEC. 8. AUTHORITY OF PRESIDING JUDGE TO ALLOW MEDIA COVERAGE OF 
              APPELLATE COURT PROCEEDINGS.

    (a) Authority of Appellate Courts.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the presiding judge of an appellate court of the 
United States may, in his or her discretion, permit the photographing, 
electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of 
court proceedings over which that judge presides.
    (b) Authority of District Courts.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, any presiding judge of a district court of the United 
States may, in his or her discretion, permit the photographing, 
electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of 
court proceedings over which that judge presides.
    (c) Advisory Guidelines.--The Judicial Conference of the United 
States is authorized to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a 
presiding judge, in his or her discretion, may refer in making 
decisions with respect to the management and administration of 
photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in 
subsections (a) and (b).
    (d) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            (1) Presiding judge.--The term ``presiding judge'' means 
        the judge presiding over the court proceeding concerned. In 
        proceedings in which more than one judge participates, the 
        presiding judge shall be the senior active judge so 
        participating or, in the case of a circuit court of appeals, 
        the senior active circuit judge so participating, except that--
                    (A) in en banc sittings of any United States 
                circuit court of appeals, the presiding judge shall be 
                the chief judge of the circuit whenever the chief judge 
                participates; and
                    (B) in en banc sittings of the Supreme Court of the 
                United States, the presiding judge shall be the Chief 
                Justice whenever the Chief Justice participates.
            (2) Appellate court of the united states.--The term 
        ``appellate court of the United States'' means any United 
        States circuit court of appeals and the Supreme Court of the 
        United States.
    (e) Sunset.--The authority under subsection (b) shall terminate on 
the date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 9. ADJUSTMENT OF SALARIES OF FEDERAL JUDGES.

    (a) Future Adjustments.--Section 461(a) of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Effective as of the first day of the applicable pay period 
beginning on or after the date on which an adjustment takes effect 
under section 5303 of title 5 in the rates of basic pay under the 
General Schedule (or under any other provision of law in lieu thereof), 
each salary rate which is subject to an adjustment under this section 
shall be adjusted by an amount equal to the percentage of the 
adjustment under such section 5303, rounded to the nearest multiple of 
$100 (or if midway between multiples of $100, to the next higher 
multiple of $100).''.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 140 of Public Law 97-92 (95 Stat. 1200; 28 
U.S.C. 461 note) is repealed.
    (c) Pay for Administrative Law Judges.--
            (1) In general.--Section 5372 of title 5, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 
                (d); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
                following:
    ``(c)(1) Any reference in this section to the rate of basic pay for 
level IV of the Executive Schedule shall be considered a reference to 
the greater of--
            ``(A) the rate of basic pay then currently in effect under 
        section 5315; or
            ``(B) the rate of basic pay in effect under section 5315 on 
        the effective date of this subsection, as adjusted under 
        paragraph (2).
    ``(2) Each time that rates of pay for the General Schedule are 
adjusted, whether under section 5303 or another provision of law in 
lieu thereof, the rate under paragraph (1)(B) (as last adjusted under 
this paragraph) shall be adjusted by the same percentage, and as of the 
same date, as are the rates of pay for the General Schedule.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subsection (a) of section 5372 
        of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `administrative law judge' means an 
        administrative law judge appointed under section 3105; and
            ``(2) the term `the rate of basic pay for level IV of the 
        Executive Schedule' is used as described in subsection (c).''.

SEC. 10. MULTIPARTY, MULTIFORUM JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS.

    (a) Basis of Jurisdiction.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 85 of title 28, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 1370. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction
    ``(a) In General.--The district courts shall have original 
jurisdiction of any civil action involving minimal diversity between 
adverse parties that arises from a single accident, where at least 25 
natural persons have either died or incurred injury in the accident at 
a discrete location and, in the case of injury, the injury has resulted 
in damages which exceed $50,000 per person, exclusive of interest and 
costs, if--
            ``(1) a defendant resides in a State and a substantial part 
        of the accident took place in another State or other location, 
        regardless of whether that defendant is also a resident of the 
        State where a substantial part of the accident took place;
            ``(2) any two defendants reside in different States, 
        regardless of whether such defendants are also residents of the 
        same State or States; or
            ``(3) substantial parts of the accident took place in 
        different States.
    ``(b) Special Rules and Definitions.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) minimal diversity exists between adverse parties if 
        any party is a citizen of a State and any adverse party is a 
        citizen of another State, a citizen or subject of a foreign 
        state, or a foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) of this 
        title;
            ``(2) a corporation is deemed to be a citizen of any State, 
        and a citizen or subject of any foreign state, in which it is 
        incorporated or has its principal place of business, and is 
        deemed to be a resident of any State in which it is 
        incorporated or licensed to do business or is doing business;
            ``(3) the term `injury' means--
                    ``(A) physical harm to a natural person; and
                    ``(B) physical damage to or destruction of tangible 
                property, but only if physical harm described in 
                subparagraph (A) exists;
            ``(4) the term `accident' means a sudden accident, or a 
        natural event culminating in an accident, that results in death 
        or injury incurred at a discrete location by at least 25 
        natural persons; and
            ``(5) the term `State' includes the District of Columbia, 
        the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 
        possession of the United States.
    ``(c) Intervening Parties.--In any action in a district court which 
is or could have been brought, in whole or in part, under this section, 
any person with a claim arising from the accident described in 
subsection (a) shall be permitted to intervene as a party plaintiff in 
the action, even if that person could not have brought an action in a 
district court as an original matter.
    ``(d) Notification of Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.--
A district court in which an action under this section is pending shall 
promptly notify the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation of the 
pendency of the action.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``1370. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction.''.
    (b) Venue.--Section 1391 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) A civil action in which jurisdiction of the district court is 
based upon section 1370 of this title may be brought in any district in 
which any defendant resides or in which a substantial part of the 
accident giving rise to the action took place.''.
    (c) Multidistrict Litigation.--Section 1407 of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i)(1) In actions transferred under this section when 
jurisdiction is or could have been based, in whole or in part, on 
section 1370 of this title, the transferee district court may, 
notwithstanding any other provision of this section, retain actions so 
transferred for the determination of liability and punitive damages. An 
action retained for the determination of liability shall be remanded to 
the district court from which the action was transferred, or to the 
State court from which the action was removed, for the determination of 
damages, other than punitive damages, unless the court finds, for the 
convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice, 
that the action should be retained for the determination of damages.
    ``(2) Any remand under paragraph (1) shall not be effective until 
60 days after the transferee court has issued an order determining 
liability and has certified its intention to remand some or all of the 
transferred actions for the determination of damages. An appeal with 
respect to the liability determination and the choice of law 
determination of the transferee court may be taken during that 60-day 
period to the court of appeals with appellate jurisdiction over the 
transferee court. In the event a party files such an appeal, the remand 
shall not be effective until the appeal has been finally disposed of. 
Once the remand has become effective, the liability determination and 
the choice of law determination shall not be subject to further review 
by appeal or otherwise.
    ``(3) An appeal with respect to determination of punitive damages 
by the transferee court may be taken, during the 60-day period 
beginning on the date the order making the determination is issued, to 
the court of appeals with jurisdiction over the transferee court.
    ``(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the 
determination of damages shall not be reviewable by appeal or 
otherwise.
    ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of 
the transferee court to transfer or dismiss an action on the ground of 
inconvenient forum.''.
    (d) Removal of Actions.--Section 1441 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (e) by striking ``(e) The court to which 
        such civil action is removed'' and inserting ``(f) The court to 
which a civil action is removed under this section''; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(e)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this 
section, a defendant in a civil action in a State court may remove the 
action to the district court of the United States for the district and 
division embracing the place where the action is pending if--
            ``(A) the action could have been brought in a United States 
        district court under section 1370 of this title, or
            ``(B) the defendant is a party to an action which is or 
        could have been brought, in whole or in part, under section 
        1370 in a United States district court and arises from the same 
        accident as the action in State court, even if the action to be 
        removed could not have been brought in a district court as an 
        original matter.
The removal of an action under this subsection shall be made in 
accordance with section 1446 of this title, except that a notice of 
removal may also be filed before trial of the action in State court 
within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first becomes a 
party to an action under section 1370 in a United States district court 
that arises from the same accident as the action in State court, or at 
a later time with leave of the district court.
    ``(2) Whenever an action is removed under this subsection and the 
district court to which it is removed or transferred under section 
1407(i) has made a liability determination requiring further 
proceedings as to damages, the district court shall remand the action 
to the State court from which it had been removed for the determination 
of damages, unless the court finds that, for the convenience of parties 
and witnesses and in the interest of justice, the action should be 
retained for the determination of damages.
    ``(3) Any remand under paragraph (2) shall not be effective until 
60 days after the district court has issued an order determining 
liability and has certified its intention to remand the removed action 
for the determination of damages. An appeal with respect to the 
liability determination and the choice of law determination of the 
district court may be taken during that 60-day period to the court of 
appeals with appellate jurisdiction over the district court. In the 
event a party files such an appeal, the remand shall not be effective 
until the appeal has been finally disposed of. Once the remand has 
become effective, the liability determination and the choice of law 
determination shall not be subject to further review by appeal or 
otherwise.
    ``(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the 
determination of damages shall not be reviewable by appeal or 
otherwise.
    ``(5) An action removed under this subsection shall be deemed to be 
an action under section 1370 and an action in which jurisdiction is 
based on section 1368 of this title for purposes of this section and 
sections 1407, 1660, 1697, and 1785 of this title.
    ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of 
the district court to transfer or dismiss an action on the ground of 
inconvenient forum.''.
    (e) Choice of Law.--
            (1) Determination by the court.--Chapter 111 of title 28, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 1660. Choice of law in multiparty, multiforum actions
    ``(a) Factors.--In an action which is or could have been brought, 
in whole or in part, under section 1370 of this title, the district 
court in which the action is brought or to which it is removed shall 
determine the source of the applicable substantive law, except that if 
an action is transferred to another district court, the transferee 
court shall determine the source of the applicable substantive law. In 
making this determination, a district court shall not be bound by the 
choice of law rules of any State, and the factors that the court may 
consider in choosing the applicable law include--
            ``(1) the place of the injury;
            ``(2) the place of the conduct causing the injury;
            ``(3) the principal places of business or domiciles of the 
        parties;
            ``(4) the danger of creating unnecessary incentives for 
        forum shopping; and
            ``(5) whether the choice of law would be reasonably 
        foreseeable to the parties.
The factors set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) shall be evaluated 
according to their relative importance with respect to the particular 
action. If good cause is shown in exceptional cases, including 
constitutional reasons, the court may allow the law of more than one 
State to be applied with respect to a party, claim, or other element of 
an action.
    ``(b) Order Designating Choice of Law.--The district court making 
the determination under subsection (a) shall enter an order designating 
the single jurisdiction whose substantive law is to be applied in all 
other actions under section 1370 arising from the same accident as that 
giving rise to the action in which the determination is made. The 
substantive law of the designated jurisdiction shall be applied to the 
parties and claims in all such actions before the court, and to all 
other elements of each action, except where Federal law applies or the 
order specifically provides for the application of the law of another 
jurisdiction with respect to a party, claim, or other element of an 
action.
    ``(c) Continuation of Choice of Law After Remand.--In an action 
remanded to another district court or a State court under section 
1407(i)(1) or 1441(e)(2) of this title, the district court's choice of 
law under subsection (b) shall continue to apply.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``1660. Choice of law in multiparty, multiforum actions.''.
    (f) Service of Process.--
            (1) Other than subpoenas.--(A) Chapter 113 of title 28, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions
    ``When the jurisdiction of the district court is based in whole or 
in part upon section 1370 of this title, process, other than subpoenas, 
may be served at any place within the United States, or anywhere 
outside the United States if otherwise permitted by law.''.
            (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 113 
        of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
        end the following new item:

``1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions.''.
            (2) Service of subpoenas.--(A) Chapter 117 of title 28, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions
    ``When the jurisdiction of the district court is based in whole or 
in part upon section 1370 of this title, a subpoena for attendance at a 
hearing or trial may, if authorized by the court upon motion for good 
cause shown, and upon such terms and conditions as the court may 
impose, be served at any place within the United States, or anywhere 
outside the United States if otherwise permitted by law.''.
            (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 117 
        of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
        end the following new item:

``1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions.''.
    (g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to a civil action if the accident giving rise to the cause of 
action occurred on or after the 90th day after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 11. APPEALS OF MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD.

    (a) Appeals.--Section 7703 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``30'' and inserting 
        ``60''; and
            (2) in the first sentence of subsection (d), by inserting 
        after ``filing'' the following: ``, within 60 days after the 
        date the Director received notice of the final order or 
        decision of the Board,''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply to any 
administrative or judicial proceeding pending on that date or commenced 
on or after that date.