Bill > HR677

This bill, known as the Expedited Appeals Review Act (EARA), establishes a new process to speed up appeals of certain Department of the Interior decisions at the Board of Land Appeals. Under the bill, a party filing an appeal can submit a written notice seeking expedited review, which then requires the Board of Land Appeals to issue a final decision within 6 months, but not earlier than 18 months after the initial appeal filing. If the Board fails to issue a final decision by the deadline, the Department of the Interior's original decision is automatically considered a final agency action, and any subsequent judicial review would be conducted de novo (meaning the court would review the case from scratch without deferring to the agency's previous decision). The bill applies to both pending appeals and new appeals filed after the act's enactment, and it explicitly states that its deadlines take precedence over conflicting timelines in other federal laws related to oil, gas, and mining royalties. This legislation aims to reduce bureaucratic delays and provide more timely resolution for parties challenging Interior Department decisions.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/677/all-info