[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6344 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6344

To provide emergency authority to delay or toll judicial proceedings in 
   United States district and circuit courts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2008

Mr. Delahunt (for himself, Mr. Pence, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. 
    Duncan, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mrs. Christensen, and Mr. Gallegly) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide emergency authority to delay or toll judicial proceedings in 
   United States district and circuit courts, 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 ``Responsive Government Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO DELAY OR TOLL JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Emergency authority to delay or toll judicial deadlines
    ``(a) Tolling in District Courts.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the event of a natural disaster or 
        other emergency situation requiring the closure of courts or 
        rendering it impracticable for the United States Government or 
        a class of litigants to comply with deadlines imposed by any 
        Federal or State law or rule that applies in the courts of the 
        United States, the chief judge of a district court that has 
        been affected may exercise emergency authority in accordance 
        with this section.
            ``(2) Scope of authority.--(A) The chief judge may enter 
        such order or orders as may be appropriate to delay, toll, or 
        otherwise grant relief from the time deadlines imposed by 
        otherwise applicable laws or rules for such period as may be 
        appropriate for any class of cases pending or thereafter filed 
        in the district court or bankruptcy court of the district.
            ``(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the authority 
        conferred by this section extends to all laws and rules 
        affecting criminal and juvenile proceedings (including, 
        prearrest, post-arrest, pretrial, trial, and post-trial 
        procedures), civil actions, bankruptcy proceedings, and the 
        time for filing and perfecting an appeal.
            ``(C) The authority conferred by this section does not 
        include the authority to extend--
                    ``(i) any statute of limitation for a criminal 
                action; or
                    ``(ii) any statute of limitation for a civil 
                action, if--
                            ``(I) the claim arises under the laws of a 
                        State; and
                            ``(II) extending the limitations period 
                        would be inconsistent with the governing State 
                        law.
            ``(3) Unavailability of chief judge.--If the chief judge of 
        the district is unavailable, the authority conferred by this 
        section may be exercised by the district judge in regular 
        active service who is senior in commission or, if no such judge 
        is available, by the chief judge of the circuit that includes 
        the district.
            ``(4) Habeas corpus unaffected.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be construed to authorize suspension of the writ of 
        habeas corpus.
    ``(b) Criminal Cases.--In exercising the authority under subsection 
(a) for criminal cases, the court shall consider the ability of the 
United States Government to investigate, litigate, and process 
defendants during and after the emergency situation, as well as the 
ability of criminal defendants as a class to prepare their defenses.
    ``(c) Tolling in Courts of Appeals.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the event of a natural disaster or 
        other emergency situation requiring the closure of courts or 
        rendering it impracticable for the United States Government or 
        a class of litigants to comply with deadlines imposed by any 
        Federal or State law or rule that applies in the courts of the 
        United States, the chief judge of a court of appeals that has 
        been affected or that includes a district court so affected may 
        exercise emergency authority in accordance with this section.
            ``(2) Scope of authority.--The chief judge may enter such 
        order or orders as may be appropriate to delay, toll, or 
        otherwise grant relief from the time deadlines imposed by 
        otherwise applicable laws or rules for such period as may be 
        appropriate for any class of cases pending in the court of 
        appeals.
            ``(3) Unavailability of chief judge.--If the chief judge of 
        the circuit is unavailable, the authority conferred by this 
        section may be exercised by the circuit judge in regular active 
        service who is senior in commission.
            ``(4) Habeas corpus unaffected.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be construed to authorize suspension of the writ of 
        habeas corpus.
    ``(d) Issuance of Orders.--The Attorney General or the Attorney 
General's designee may request issuance of an order under this section, 
or the chief judge of a district or of a circuit may act on his or her 
own motion.
    ``(e) Duration of Orders.--An order entered under this section may 
not toll or extend a time deadline for a period of more than 14 days, 
except that, if the chief judge (whether of a district or of a circuit) 
determines that an emergency situation requires additional extensions 
of the period during which deadlines are tolled or extended, the chief 
judge may, with the consent of the judicial council of the circuit, 
enter additional orders under this section in order to further toll or 
extend such time deadline.
    ``(f) Notice.--A court issuing an order under this section--
            ``(1) shall make all reasonable efforts to publicize the 
        order, including announcing the order on the web sites of all 
        affected courts and the web site of the Federal judiciary; and
            ``(2) shall, through the Director of the Administrative 
        Office of the United States Courts, send notice of the order, 
        including the reasons for the issuance of the order, to the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
    ``(g) Required Reports.--A court issuing one or more orders under 
this section relating to an emergency situation shall, not later than 
180 days after the date on which the last extension or tolling of a 
time period made by the order or orders ends, submit a brief report to 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Judicial Conference 
of the United States describing the orders, including--
            ``(1) the reasons for issuing the orders;
            ``(2) the duration of the orders;
            ``(3) the effects of the orders on litigants; and
            ``(4) the costs to the judiciary resulting from the orders.
    ``(h) Exceptions.--The notice under subsection (f)(2) and the 
report under subsection (g) are not required in the case of an order 
that tolls or extends a time deadline for a period of less than 14 
days.''.
    (b) Clerical 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. Emergency authority to delay or toll judicial deadlines.''.

SEC. 3. WAIVER OF PATENT AND TRADEMARK REQUIREMENTS IN CERTAIN 
              EMERGENCIES.

    Section 2 of title 35, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Waiver of Requirements in Certain Emergencies.--The Director 
may waive statutory provisions governing the filing, processing, 
renewal, and maintenance of patents, trademark registrations, and 
applications therefor to the extent the Director considers necessary in 
order to protect the rights and privileges of applicants and other 
persons affected by an emergency or a major disaster, as those terms 
are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). A decision not to 
exercise, or a failure to exercise, the waiver authority provided by 
this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR OF PTO TO ACCEPT LATE FILINGS.

    (a) Authority.--Section 156 of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Discretion To Accept Late Filings in Certain Cases of 
Unintentional Delay.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director may accept an application 
        under this section that is filed not later than three business 
        days after the expiration of the 60-day period provided in 
        subsection (d)(1) if the applicant files a petition, not later 
        than five business days after the expiration of that 60-day 
        period, showing, to the satisfaction of the Director, that the 
        delay in filing the application was unintentional.
            ``(2) Treatment of director's actions on petition.--If the 
        Director has not made a determination on a petition filed under 
        paragraph (1) within 60 days after the date on which the 
        petition is filed, the petition shall be deemed to be denied. A 
        decision by the Director to exercise or not to exercise, or a 
        failure to exercise, the discretion provided by this subsection 
        shall not be subject to judicial review.''
    (b) Fee for Late Filings.--
            (1) In general.--In order to effect a patent term extension 
        under section 156(i) of title 35, United States Code, the 
        patent holder shall pay a fee to the United States Treasury in 
        the amount prescribed under paragraph (2).
            (2) Fee amount.--
                    (A) Fee amount.--The patent holder shall pay a fee 
                equal to--
                            (i) $65,000,000 with respect to any 
                        original application for a patent term 
                        extension, filed with the United States Patent 
                        and Trademark Office before the date of the 
                        enactment of this Act, for a drug intended for 
                        use in humans that is in the anticoagulant 
                        class of drugs; or
                            (ii) the amount estimated under 
                        subparagraph (B) with respect to any other 
                        original application for a patent term 
                        extension.
                    (B) Calculation of alternate amount.--The Director 
                shall estimate the amount referred to in subparagraph 
                (A)(ii) as the amount equal to the sum of--
                            (i) any net increase in direct spending 
                        arising from the extension of the patent term 
                        (including direct spending of the United States 
                        Patent and Trademark Office and any other 
                        department or agency of the Federal 
                        Government);
                            (ii) any net decrease in revenues arising 
                        from such patent term extension; and
                            (iii) any indirect reduction in revenues 
                        associated with payment of the fee under this 
                        subsection.
                The Director, in estimating the amount under this 
                subparagraph, shall consult with the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of the 
                Treasury, and either the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services or (in the case of a drug product subject to 
                the Act commonly referred to as the ``Virus-Serum-Toxin 
                Act''; 21 U.S.C. 151-158) the Secretary of Agriculture.
            (3) Notice of fee.--The Director shall inform the patent 
        holder of the fee determined under paragraph (2) at the time 
        the Director provides notice to the patent holder of the period 
        of extension of the patent term that the patent holder may 
        effect under this subsection.
            (4) Acceptance required.--Unless, within 15 days after the 
        Director provides notice to the patent holder under paragraph 
        (3), the patent holder accepts the patent term extension in 
        writing to the Director, the patent term extension is rescinded 
        and no fees shall be due under this subsection by reason of the 
        petition under section 156(i)(1) of title 35, United States 
        Code, pursuant to which the Director provided the notice.
            (5) Payment of fee.--The extension of a patent term of 
        which notice is provided under paragraph (3) shall not become 
        effective unless the patent holder pays the fee required under 
        paragraph (2) not later than 60 days after the date on which 
        the notice is provided.
            (6) Fee payment not available for obligation.--Fees 
        received under this subsection are not available for 
        obligation.
            (7) Director defined.--Except as otherwise provided, in 
        this subsection, the term ``Director'' means the Under 
        Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
        the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
    (c) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--This section and the amendments made by 
        this section shall apply to any application--
                    (A) that is made on or after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act; or
                    (B) that, on such date of enactment, is pending 
                before the Director or as to which a decision of the 
                Director is eligible for judicial review.
            (2) Treatment of certain applications.--In the case of any 
        application described in paragraph (1)(B), the 5-day period 
        prescribed in section 156(i)(1) of title 35, United States 
        Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall be 
        deemed to begin on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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