[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 21 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. Kyl, and Mr. Cornyn):
  S. 489. 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; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text 
of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 489

       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:
       (1) Consent decrees are for remedying violations of rights, 
     and they should not be used to advance any policy extraneous 
     to the protection of those rights.
       (2) Consent decrees are also for protecting the party who 
     faces injury and should not be expanded to apply to parties 
     not involved in the litigation.
       (3) In structuring consent decrees, courts should take into 
     account the interests of State and local governments in 
     managing their own affairs.
       (4) Consent decrees should be structured to give due 
     deference to the policy judgments of State and local 
     officials as to how to obey the law.
       (5) Whenever possible, courts should not impose consent 
     decrees that require technically complex and evolving policy 
     choices, especially in the absence of judicially discoverable 
     and manageable standards.
       (6) Consent decrees should not be unlimited, but should 
     contain an explicit and realistic strategy for ending court 
     supervision.

     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) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) The term `consent decree'--
       ``(A) means any final order imposing injunctive relief 
     against a State or local government or a State or local 
     official sued in their official capacity entered by a court 
     of the United States that is based in whole or part upon the 
     consent or acquiescence of the parties;
       ``(B) does not include private settlements; and
       ``(C) does not include any final 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.
       ``(2) The term `special master' means any person, 
     regardless of title or description given by the court, who is 
     appointed by a court of the United States under rule 53 of 
     the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 48 of the Federal 
     Rules of Appellate Procedure, or similar Federal law.
       ``(b) Limitation on Duration.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State or local government or a State 
     or local official, or their successor, sued in their official 
     capacity may file a motion under this section with the court 
     that entered a consent decree to modify or vacate the consent 
     decree upon the earlier of--
       ``(A) 4 years after a consent decree is originally entered 
     by a court of the United States, regardless if the consent 
     decree has been modified or reentered during that period; or
       ``(B) in the case of a civil action in which--
       ``(i) a State is a party (including an action in which a 
     local government is also a party), the expiration of the term 
     of office of the highest elected State official who 
     authorized the consent of the State in the consent decree; or
       ``(ii) a local government is a party and the State 
     encompassing the local government is not a party, the 
     expiration of the term of office of the highest elected local 
     government official who authorized the consent of the local 
     government to the consent decree.
       ``(2) Burden of proof.--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 continued enforcement of a consent decree is 
     necessary to uphold a Federal right.
       ``(3) Ruling on motion.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     filing of a motion under this subsection, the court shall 
     rule on the motion.
       ``(4) Effect pending ruling.--If the court has not ruled on 
     the motion to modify or vacate the consent decree during the 
     90-day period described under paragraph (3), the consent 
     decree shall have no force or effect for the period beginning 
     on the date following that 90-day period through the date on 
     which the court enters a ruling on the motion.
       ``(c) Special Masters.--
       ``(1) Compensation.--The compensation to be allowed to a 
     special master overseeing any consent decree under this 
     section shall be based on an hourly rate not greater than the 
     hourly rate established under section 3006A of title 18, for 
     payment of court-appointed counsel, plus costs reasonably 
     incurred by the special master.
       ``(2) Termination.--In no event shall the appointment of a 
     special master extend beyond the termination of the relief 
     granted in the consent decree.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``Sec.  1660. Consent decrees.''.

     SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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

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