HR 677
Cleared committee
Requires the Board of Land Appeals to decide certain Interior Department appeals within a set deadline when a party requests expedited review, and allows court review without deference if that deadline passes.
Official title: EARA
Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions
House
Introduced
23-JAN-2025
Referred
23-JAN-2025
Approved by committee
09-APR-2025
Reported
05-MAY-2025
On the calendar
05-MAY-2025
Passed
13-MAY-2025
Senate
Received
14-MAY-2025
Approved by committee
30-SEP-2026
- A party appealing certain Interior Department decisions may request expedited review, which requires a final Board of Land Appeals decision within 6 months of the request, but no earlier than 18 months after the appeal was filed.
- If the Board misses the deadline, the Interior decision is treated as final agency action and judicial review is de novo, meaning the court considers the matter fresh rather than deferring to the agency record.
- Applies to appeals already pending before the Board on the date of enactment as well as appeals filed afterward.
- Where this deadline conflicts with deadlines in the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 or the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, this deadline controls.
Covers an older version. The newest CRS summary describes the bill as of "Introduced in House" (23-JAN-2025); the text has changed since (Engrossed in House, 13-MAY-2025).
CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.gov- Natural Resources Committee (House)
- Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Senate)
- Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee
Government Operations and Politics
No cosponsors.