[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3041 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3041

  To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to limit the 
     duration of Federal consent decrees to which State and local 
            governments are a party, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 23, 2011

Mr. Cooper (for himself, Mr. Davis of Kentucky, Mr. Paul, and Mr. Smith 
  of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to limit the 
     duration of Federal consent decrees to which State and local 
            governments are a party, 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 ``Federal Consent Decree Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that the United States Supreme Court, in its 
unanimous decision in Frew v. Hawkins, 540 U.S. 431 (2004), found the 
following:
            (1) Consent decrees may ``lead to federal court oversight 
        of state programs for long periods of time even absent an 
        ongoing violation of federal law,''. 540 U.S. 431, 441.
            (2) ``If not limited to reasonable and necessary 
        implementations of federal law, remedies outlined in consent 
        decrees involving state officeholders may improperly deprive 
        future officials of their designated legislative and executive 
        powers.''. 540 U.S. 431, 441.
            (3) ``The federal court must exercise its equitable powers 
        to ensure that when the objects of the decree have been 
        attained, responsibility for discharging the State's 
        obligations is returned promptly to the State and its 
        officials.''. 540 U.S. 431, 442.
            (4) ``As public servants, the officials of the State must 
        be presumed to have a high degree of competence in deciding how 
        best to discharge their governmental responsibilities.''. 540 
        U.S. 431, 442.
            (5) ``A State, in the ordinary course, depends upon 
        successor officials, both appointed and elected, to bring new 
        insights and solutions to problems of allocating revenues and 
        resources. The basic obligations of federal law may remain the 
        same, but the precise manner of their discharge may not.''. 540 
        U.S. 431, 442.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CONSENT DECREES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Consent decrees
    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `consent decree'--
            ``(1) means any order imposing injunctive or other 
        prospective relief against a State or local government, or a 
        State or local official against whom suit is brought, that is 
        entered by a court of the United States and is based in whole 
        or part upon the consent or acquiescence of the parties; and
            ``(2) does not include--
                    ``(A) any private settlement agreement;
                    ``(B) any order arising from an action filed 
                against a government official that is unrelated to his 
                or her official duties;
                    ``(C) any order entered by a court of the United 
                States to implement a plan to end segregation of 
                students or faculty on the basis of race, color, or 
                national origin in elementary schools, secondary 
                schools, or institutions of higher education; and
                    ``(D) any order entered in any action in which one 
                State is an adverse party to another State.
    ``(b) Limitation on Duration.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State or local government, or a State 
        or local official who is a party to a consent decree (or the 
        successor to that individual) may file a motion under this 
        section with the court that entered the consent decree to 
        modify or terminate the consent decree upon the earliest of--
                    ``(A) 4 years after the consent decree is 
                originally entered by a court of the United States, 
                regardless of whether the consent decree has been 
                modified or reentered during that period;
                    ``(B) in the case of a civil action in which a 
                State or an elected State official is a party, the date 
                of expiration of the term of office of the highest 
                elected State official who is a party to the consent 
                decree;
                    ``(C) in the case of a civil action in which a 
                local government or elected local government official 
                is a party, the date of expiration of the term of 
                office of the highest elected local government official 
                who is a party to the consent decree;
                    ``(D) in the case of a civil action in which the 
                consent to the consent decree was authorized by an 
                appointed State or local official, the date of 
                expiration of the term of office of the elected 
                official who appointed that State or local official, or 
                the highest elected official in that State or local 
                government; or
                    ``(E) the date otherwise provided by law.
            ``(2) Burden of proof.--
                    ``(A) In general.--With respect to any motion filed 
                under paragraph (1), the burden of proof shall be on 
                the party who originally filed the civil action to 
                demonstrate that the denial of the motion to modify or 
                terminate the consent decree or any part of the consent 
                decree is necessary to prevent the violation of a 
                requirement of Federal law that--
                            ``(i) was actionable by such party; and
                            ``(ii) was addressed in the consent decree.
                    ``(B) Failure to meet burden of proof.--If a party 
                fails to meet the burden of proof described in 
                subparagraph (A), the court shall terminate the consent 
                decree.
                    ``(C) Satisfaction of burden of proof.--If a party 
                meets the burden of proof described in subparagraph 
                (A), the court shall ensure that any remaining 
                provisions of the consent decree represent the least 
                restrictive means by which to prevent such a violation.
            ``(3) Ruling on motion.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The court shall rule 
                expeditiously on a motion filed under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Scheduling order.--Not later than 30 days 
                after the filing of a motion under this subsection, the 
                court shall enter a scheduling order that--
                            ``(i) limits the time of the parties to--
                                    ``(I) file motions; and
                                    ``(II) complete any required 
                                discovery; and
                            ``(ii) sets the date or dates of any 
                        hearings determined necessary.
                    ``(C) Stay of injunctive or prospective relief.--In 
                addition to any other orders authorized by law, the 
                court may stay the injunctive or prospective relief set 
                forth in the consent decree in an action under this 
                subsection if a party opposing the motion to modify or 
                terminate the consent decree seeks any continuance or 
                delay that prevents the court from entering a final 
                ruling on the motion within 180 days after the date on 
                which the motion is filed.
    ``(c) Other Federal Court Remedies.--The provisions of this section 
shall not be interpreted to prohibit a Federal court from entering a 
new order for injunctive or prospective relief to the extent that it is 
otherwise authorized by Federal law.
    ``(d) Available State Court Remedies.--The provisions of this 
section shall not prohibit the parties to a consent decree from seeking 
appropriate relief under State law.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 111 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``1660. Consent decrees.''.

SEC. 4. GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

    (a) No Effect on Other Laws Relating to Modifying or Vacating 
Consent Decrees.--Nothing in the amendments made by section 3 shall be 
construed to preempt or modify any other provision of law providing for 
the modification or vacating of a consent decree.
    (b) Further Proceedings Not Required.--Nothing in the amendments 
made by section 3 shall be construed to affect or require further 
judicial proceedings relating to prior adjudications of liability or 
class certifications.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``consent decree'' has the meaning given that 
term in section 1660(a) of title 28, United States Code, as added by 
section 3 of this Act.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the date of the enactment of this Act and apply to any consent decree 
regardless of--
            (1) the date on which the order of the consent decree is 
        entered; or
            (2) whether any relief has been obtained under the consent 
        decree before such date of enactment.
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