S. 238 — FREE Act

This section sets forth congressional findings on federal permitting processes, including (1) agencies' broad discretion and case-by-case review requirements; (2) lack of enforceable time constraints; (3) resulting delays, costs, and agency stalling; (4) the need to avoid unnecessary delay and expense; and (5) the efficiency of "permit by rule," under which applicants certify compliance with specific standards, agencies conduct streamlined verification within deadlines, and enforcement focuses on violations.

This section requires the head of each agency to submit to Congress, relevant congressional committees, and the Comptroller General, not later than 240 days after enactment, a report listing and describing (1) each type of permit issued by the agency; (2) statutory and regulatory requirements, review steps, typical timelines, and denial actions for each type; (3) primary interests protected by each type; (4) determinations on whether permitting by rule could replace current case-by-case permitting in whole or in part; (5) anticipated transition challenges; and (6) reasons permitting by rule is infeasible for certain types, with mitigation measures. Agencies may solicit public comment on the report, may extend the deadline by 90 days upon notice, and must pay attorney fees and costs for prevailing applicants in court claims of unreasonable delay due to noncompliance. This section further requires agencies, not later than 12 months after report submission, to establish by rule a permitting by rule process—under which applicants certify compliance with specified requirements and supporting documentation, applications are deemed granted after 180 days absent agency action, agencies notify of missing certifications within 7 days and may audit and request documentation, and agencies may disapprove only for unmet requirements after correction opportunity and with particularized reasoning—for each permit type deemed feasible in the report.