H.R. 5341 · 116th Congress
Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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RiceSponsor30 cosponsors · 30 R
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Amodei
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Brooks
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Banks
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Budd
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Calvert
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Duncan
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Flores
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Gibbs
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Gianforte
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Harris
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Hartzler
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Hollingsworth
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King
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Kelly
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Marchant
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Meadows
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Mooney
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Norman
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Olson
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Palazzo
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Perry
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Rouzer
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Smith
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Scott
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Stewart
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Thompson
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Walorski
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Weber
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Young
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Yoho30 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill revises requirements concerning (1) citizen suits under the Clean Water Act, (2) permits for wetlands, and (3) wetland mitigation.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Dec 6, 2019
Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act
This bill revises requirements concerning (1) citizen suits under the Clean Water Act, (2) permits for wetlands, and (3) wetland mitigation.
Litigation costs (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) must be awarded to the prevailing party, thus the bill removes a court's discretion to award the fees. A prevailing party is defined as the party that prevails on more than half of the claims at issue.In addition, the bill repeals the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny or restrict the use of any area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material when the discharge of those materials would have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas.
Finally, the bill revises mitigation requirements. Current law requires compensatory mitigation to replace the loss of aquatic resource functions in a watershed when a permit to discharge dredged or fill materials into navigable waters has unavoidable impacts on aquatic resources. This bill prohibits government entities from carrying out compensatory mitigation in excess of existing regulatory requirements.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act
Latest action (Dec 9, 2019): Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Policy area: Environmental Protection · Origin: House · Introduced: Dec 6, 2019
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.