Bill
HR 6622
Requires public notice, comment, and court oversight for consent decrees and settlements that trigger regulatory action, boosting transparency and stakeholder input.
HR 6622 — Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2025
Summary of the bill as introduced (Dec 11, 2025)
Overview and purpose
- Intent: Impose new transparency and procedural requirements on consent decrees and settlement agreements that require an agency to take regulatory action. The goal is to increase public visibility and participation in settlements that affect regulatory policy, rights of private parties, or state/local/tribal governments.
Key definitions (Section 2)
- Agency action and agency: Standard definitions per 5 U.S.C. 551.
- Covered civil action: A civil action that seeks to compel agency action, alleges unlawful withholding or unreasonable delay of an action related to a regulatory action affecting rights of private parties or governments, and is brought under Chapter 7 of Title 5 or other enabling statutes.
- Covered consent decree: A consent decree in a covered civil action or any other consent decree that requires agency action tied to a regulatory action affecting rights of private individuals or governments.
- Covered settlement agreement: A settlement agreement in a covered civil action or any other agreement requiring agency action related to a regulatory action affecting rights of private individuals or governments.
- Covered consent decree or settlement agreement: Both a covered consent decree and a covered settlement agreement together.
- Covered settlement agreement: A settlement agreement in a covered civil action or other agreement requiring agency action with similar rights-based effects.
Procedural reforms and public disclosure (Section 3)
- Pleadings and preliminary steps:
- Notice to sue and complaint: Agencies must publish notice of intent to sue and the complaint online and in a readily accessible manner within 15 days of service.
- Entry of covered decree/settlement: Agencies must file or request entry of a covered decree/settlement only after outlined preliminary steps are completed.
- Intervention:
- Rebuttable presumption: In seeking to intervene, courts must presume lack of adequate representation in cases involving covered actions, subject to rebuttal.
- State/local/tribal considerations: Courts must evaluate whether a movant (state/local/tribal government) administers related statutory provisions or is preempted by the action.
- Settlement negotiations:
- Proceedings should be conducted via court mediation or ADR program as determined by the presiding judge, and must include any intervening party.
- Publication and public comment (60-day window prior to filing a decree/settlement):
- Publication: At least 60 days before filing with the court, agencies must publish in the Federal Register and online:
- The proposed covered consent decree or settlement agreement.
- A statutory basis and a description of terms, including whether attorney fees or costs are awarded and the basis for such awards.
- Public comment: Agencies must solicit and accept public comments during this period on issues relating to the complaint or the proposed decree/settlement; agencies must respond to comments.
- Court submission: When seeking court approval or dismissal, agencies must:
- Provide the statutory basis and terms.
- Submit a summary of comments and the agency’s responses.
- Submit a certified index of the administrative record and ensure it is fully accessible to the court.
- Court record: The court must include the administrative record in the civil action record.
- General effect: The act increases transparency by requiring public notice, comment, and recorded administrative records, and affects who may intervene and how settlements are negotiated for reforms that mandate regulatory action.
Potential impacts
- Affects: Federal agencies initiating or entering into consent decrees or settlement agreements that require regulatory action; plaintiffs in covered actions; states, localities, and tribal governments with interests in regulatory actions.
- Increases: Public visibility and involvement in regulatory settlements; documentation and recordkeeping requirements; potential delays to decree/settlement timing due to public comment and court review.
- Mechanisms to influence outcomes: Interventions are more clearly structured; commentary and disclosure enable more stakeholder input and judicial oversight.
Status and process
- Introduced in the House (Dec 11, 2025) and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. No Senate action listed in the provided material.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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