This post is for attorneys ONLY! If you are not an attorney, DO NOT read past the next line.
If you are a non-attorney citizen, we will be providing wire instructions to facilitate the transfer of what you mistakenly consider to be your money to its rightful place, attorney's bank accounts.
Huzzah, Huzzah!
The ‘‘New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act’’ has passed the House!
Huzzah, Huzzah.
The bill contains, starting on page 291, The Most Wonderful Provision. Huzzah.
1 SEC. 6212. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
2 (a) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Any nondiscretionary
3 act or duty under this title or any amendment made by
4 this title is a final agency action for the purposes of judi-
5 cial review under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.
6 (b) VENUE FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS.—The United
7 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir-
8 cuit shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any petition for
9 review of action of the Administrator in promulgating any
10 rule under subtitle A of this title.
11 (c) LIMITATIONS.—No action under chapter 7 of title
12 5, United States Code, may be commenced prior to 60
13 days after the date on which the plaintiff has given notice
14 to the Federal agency concerned of the alleged violation
15 of this title or any amendment made by this title.
16 (d) COMMON CLAIMS.—When civil actions arising
17 under this title or any amendment made by this title are
18 pending in the same court and involve one or more com-
19 mon questions of fact or common claims regarding the
20 same alleged Federal agency failure or failures to act, the
21 court may consolidate such claims into a single action for
22 judicial review. When civil actions arising under this title
23 or any amendment made by this title are pending in dif-
24 ferent districts and involve one or more common questions
25 of fact or common claims regarding the same alleged Fed-
26 eral agency failure or failures to act, such actions may
1 be consolidated pursuant to section 1407 of title 28,
2 United States Code.
3 (e) AGGRIEVED PERSONS.—A person shall be consid-
4 ered aggrieved within the meaning of this title or any
5 amendment made by this title for purposes of obtaining
6 judicial review under chapter 7 of title 5, United States
7 Code, if the person alleges—
8 (1) harm attributable to a Federal agency’s
9 failure to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in ac-
10 cordance with the requirements under this title or
11 any amendment made by this title, or take other ac-
12 tions required under this title or any amendment
13 made by this title; or
14 (2) a Federal agency’s failure to collect and
15 provide information to the public as required by this
16 title or any amendment made by this title.
17 For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘harm’’ includes
18 any effect of global warming, currently occurring or at risk
19 of occurring, and the incremental exacerbation of any such
20 effect or risk that is associated with relatively small incre-
21 ments of greenhouse gas emissions, even if the effect or
22 risk is widely shared. An effect or risk associated with
23 global warming is ‘‘attributable’’ to a Federal agency’s
24 failure to act as described in paragraph (1) if the failure
25 to act results in larger emissions of greenhouse gases than
1 would have been emitted had the Federal agency followed
2 the requirements of this title or any amendment made by
3 this title, as any such incremental additional emissions will
4 exacerbate the pace, extent, and risks of global warming.
5 (f) REMEDY.—
6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the remedies
7 available under chapter 7 of title 5, United States
8 Code, a court may provide the remedies specified in
9 this subsection.
10 (2) PAYMENT.—In any civil action alleging a
11 violation of this title, if the court finds that an agen-
12 cy has significantly violated this title in its failure to
13 perform any nondiscretionary act or duty under this
14 title or any amendment made by this title, the court
15 may award a payment, payable by the United States
16 Treasury, to be used for a beneficial mitigation
17 project recommended by the plaintiff or to com-
18 pensate the plaintiff for any impact from global
19 warming suffered by the plaintiff. The total payment
20 for all claims by all plaintiffs in any such action
21 shall not exceed the amount provided in section
22 1332(b) of title 28, United States Code. A court
23 may deny a second payment under this section if the
24 court determines that the plaintiff has filed multiple
25 separate actions that could reasonably have been
1 combined into a single action. No payment may be
2 awarded under this paragraph for violations of an
3 agency’s obligation to collect or report information
4 to the public. No court may award any payment
5 under this paragraph in any given year if the cumu-
6 lative payments awarded by courts under this para-
7 graph in such year are equal to or greater than
8 $1,500,000.
9 (3) COSTS.—A court may award costs of litiga-
10 tion to any substantially prevailing plaintiff or to
11 any other plaintiff whenever the court determines
12 such an award is appropriate. Such an award is ap-
13 propriate when such litigation contributes to the
14 Federal agency’s compliance with this title or any
15 amendment made by this title. Costs of litigation in-
16 clude reasonable attorney fees and expert fees.
17 (4) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—Notwithstanding any
18 other provision of Federal law—
19 (A) no plaintiff who is awarded a payment
20 under this subsection for a failure to perform a
21 mandatory duty under this title or any amend-
22 ment made by this title may be awarded a pay-
23 ment for such failure under any other Federal
24 law; and
1 (B) no plaintiff may be awarded a pay-
2 ment under this subsection for a failure to per-
3 form a mandatory duty under this title or any
4 amendment made by this title if the plaintiff
5 has been awarded a payment for such failure
6 under any other Federal law.
7 (g) NO STATE COURT ACTION.—No person may
8 bring any action in State court alleging a violation of this
9 title or any amendment made by this title.
10 (h) INAPPLICABILITY TO PROCUREMENT PRO-
11 TESTS.—No action may be commenced under this section
12 objecting to a solicitation by a Federal agency for bids
13 or proposals for a proposed contract or to a proposed
14 award or the award of a contract or any alleged violation
15 of statute or regulation in connection with a procurement
16 or a proposed procurement if such action may be brought
17 by an interested party under section 1491(b)(1) of title
18 28, United States Code, or subchapter V of title 31,
19 United States Code.
20 (i) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘person’’
21 means a United States person. In the case of an indi-
22 vidual, such term means a citizen or national of the United
23 States.
Huzzah. Now please form an orderly line to the left of the trough.
H.R. 3221
HT: Planet Gore
Huzzah.
