119 HR 677 IH: Expedited Appeals Review Act U.S. House of Representatives 2025-01-23 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I119th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 677IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 23, 2025Ms. Hageman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural ResourcesA BILLTo establish a process to expedite the review of appeals of certain decisions by the Department of the Interior.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Expedited Appeals Review Act or the EARA.

2.

Expedited reviews

(a)

Request for expedited review

A party that files an appeal of a Department of the Interior decision described under section 4.1(b)(2) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), with the Board of Land Appeals may submit to the Board of Land Appeals written notice of such party’s intent to seek expedited review of the appeal. If a party submits such written notice, the Board of Land Appeals shall issue a final decision on the appeal by not later than the date that is 6 months after the date on which such written notice is received, except such deadline may not be earlier than the date that is 18 months after the date on which the appeal was initially filed with the Board of Land Appeals. (b)

No final decision

If the Board of Land Appeals does not issue a final decision on an appeal by the deadline described in subsection (a)— (1)the Department of the Interior decision is deemed to be a final agency action for purposes of section 704 of title 5, United States Code; and (2)judicial review of such decision shall be de novo. (c)

Applicability

This section shall apply to any appeal described in subsection (a) that— (1)is pending before the Board of Land Appeals as of the date of enactment of this Act; or (2)is filed with the Board of Land Appeals after the date of enactment of this Act.