,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #egia ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #d1 #bjad ,mr4 ,mullin 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,schock1 ,mr4 ,perry1 ,mr4 ,lucas1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,ribble1 ,mr4 ,rokita1 ,mr4 ,hudson1 ,mr4 ,graves of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,pitts1 and ,mr4 ,rogers of ,alabama7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform1 and in addition to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to increase transparency and provide for judicial review of administrative fines1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fines in ,need of ,extensive ,reform ,act of #bjad or the ,,finer ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,assessment of fines 7a7 ,effective date of rules that provide for the assessment of a fine ,in the case of a rule that provides for an assessment of a fine for a violation of that rule1 the rule may not take effect until the date that is #ij days after the date on which the ,federal department or agency that made the rule1 makes publicly available on the department or agency's ,internet website1 the rule1 the information relating to the rule described in section #c7;c71 and any relevant guidance documents relating to the enforcement of the rule4 ,any fine assessed pursuant to such a rule before such #ij-;day period shall be void4 ,the head of such a ,federal department or agency may1 in consultation with entities to which the rule applies1 further delay the assessment of fines pursuant to the rule in order to provide such entities with sufficient time to comply with the requirements of the rule4 7b7 ,provision of information regarding the fine ,at the time of the assessment of an administrative fine1 the ,federal department or agency assessing the fine shall provide the person against which the fine is imposed with all relevant information regarding the fine1 including-- 7#a7 the rule which the person is charged with violating1 and the location of that rule in the ,code of ,federal ,regulations2 7#b7 the facts1 based on which the person is charged with violating the rule2 7#c7 the amount of the fine2 7#d7 how the department or agency determined the amount of the fine2 and 7#e7 the court date or information described in section #d7;b74 7c7 ,assignment of fine to a officer or employee of a ,federal department or agency ,no fine may be assessed by a ,federal department or agency unless there is an officer or employee of such ,federal department or agency who is responsible for assessing the fine4 #c4 ,consistency in assessment of administrative fines 7a7 ,in general ,the head of a ,federal department or agency shall ensure that administrative fines assessed by that department or agency are assessed in a consistent manner4 7b7 ,publication on the ,internet ,not later than #ahj days after the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the head of a ,federal department or agency that assesses administrative fines shall make publicly available on that department or agency's ,internet website1 for any rule for which the department or agency that enforces the rule may assess an administrative fine for a violation of such rule1 the information described in subsection 7c7 and any relevant guidance documents relating to the enforcement of the rule4 ,the head of a ,federal department or agency that is required to publish information under this subsection shall ensure that the information is published in a searchable1 and easily accessible format4 7c7 ,publication in the ,federal ,register ,not later than ,january #a1 #bjae1 and annually thereafter1 the head of a ,federal department or agency that assesses administrative fines shall publish in the ,federal ,register1 for any rule for which the department or agency that enforces the rule may assess an administrative fine for a violation of such rule1 detailed information regarding-- 7#a7 the location of the rule in the ,code of ,federal ,regulations2 7#b7 information on where persons subject to the rule may direct questions or concerns relating to the rule2 7#c7 the amount of the fine that will be assessed2 and 7#d7 the facts that will be considered in the determination of1 for the rule violation-- 7,a7 whether a fine will be assessed2 and 7,b7 if a fine will be assessed1 the amount of the fine that will be assessed4 #d4 ,judicial review of administrative fines 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 in any case in which an administrative fine is assessed against a person 7as such term is defined in section #a of title #a1 ,united ,states ,code71 that person may pay the fine1 or challenge the imposition of the fine in the ,federal district court for the district in which that person resides or has a principal place of business1 in accordance with this section4 7b7 ,court date 7#a7 ,in general ,at the time of the assessment of an administrative fine1 the ,federal department or agency assessing the fine shall provide the person against which the fine is imposed with-- 7,a7 a date on which the person may appear to contest the administrative fine in the ,federal district court referred to in subsection 7a71 as provided by that ,federal district court2 or 7,b7 information on how the ,federal district court referred to in subsection 7a7 will-- 7i7 assign the person a date on which the person may appear to contest the administrative fine2 and 7ii7 notify the person about that date4 7#b7 ,court rules and procedures ,a ,federal district court may adopt such rules and procedures as may be necessary to hear challenges of administrative fines in a timely manner1 in accordance with this section4 7c7 ,presence of officer or employee of ,federal department or agency in court ,in the case of a person contesting an administrative fine pursuant to this section1 the officer or employee of the ,federal department or agency who assessed the fine shall be present in court for all proceedings related to the contesting of such fine1 or the violation for which the fine was assessed shall be dismissed1 and the person against whom the fine was assessed shall not be required to pay such fine4 ,in the case of an officer or employee who1 at the time of the court date1 is no longer employed by the ,federal department or agency1 the immediate superior officer or employee shall be present in court for any such court proceedings4 7d7 ,payment of fine ,in the case of a person contesting an administrative fine in ,federal court or through alternative dispute resolution pursuant to this section1 the person shall not be required to pay the fine until a final judgment is entered that requires the person to pay the fine1 and that no additional interest or penalties should accrue while the fine is contested4 7e7 ,alternative dispute resolution ,the enforcing agency shall provide the opportunity for the person fined to undergo alternative means of dispute resolution1 as defined in section #ega7c7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 by a neutral third party1 unless the person contests in ,federal district court4 7f7 ,costs ,a person who contests an administrative fine in court pursuant to this section and prevails1 may recover reasonable court costs1 including attorney fees4 #e4 ,deposit of administrative fines into ,treasury ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 in the case of an administrative fine that is paid-- 7#a7 except as provided in section #cgah7;d7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 the full amount of the fine shall be deposited into the ,treasury2 and 7#b7 the fine may not be used to supplement or offset the appropriations of the ,federal department or agency that assessed the fine4 #f4 ,administrative fine defined ,in this ,act1 the term administrative fine means any fine or penalty assessed by a ,federal department or agency1 but does not include user fees1 criminal fines or penalties1 or any fine imposed by a court4