SOPRA

Senate Bill

S. 33

119th Congress

SOPRA

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 8, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Eric Stephen Schmitt

Senator

Republican

MO

Cosponsors

8

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Law

Summary

This bill modifies how courts review federal agency actions, eliminating the Chevron deference doctrine that required courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Under this bill, courts must decide de novo all relevant legal questions, including interpretation of constitutional provisions, statutes, agency rules, interpretive rules, policy statements, and guidance documents. No law can exempt civil actions from this review standard except by specific reference. This represents a major shift of interpretive power from agencies to courts.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill modifies how courts review federal agency actions, eliminating the Chevron deference doctrine that required courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. Under this bill, courts must decide de novo all relevant legal questions, including interpretation of constitutional provisions, statutes, agency rules, interpretive rules, policy statements, and guidance documents. No law can exempt civil actions from this review standard except by specific reference. This represents a major shift of interpretive power from agencies to courts.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2025 or SOPRAThis bill modifies the scope of judicial review of agency actions to authorize courts reviewing agency actions to decide de novo (i.e., without giving deference to the agency's interpretation) all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of (1) constitutional and statutory provisions, (2) rules made by agencies, (3) interpretative rules, (4) general statements of policy, and (5) all other agency guidance documents.No law may exempt a civil action from the standard of review required by this bill except by specific reference to such provision.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Eliminates Chevron deference to agency interpretations
Requires courts to decide all legal questions de novo
Covers statutes, rules, policies, and guidance documents
Shifts interpretive power from agencies to courts
Cannot be exempted except by specific statutory reference

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

For federal agencies: Loss of deference to their statutory interpretations. For regulated industries: More opportunities to challenge agency rules. For courts: Increased responsibility for interpreting regulatory statutes. For Congress: May need more precise statutory drafting. For administrative law: Fundamental change to agency-court relationship.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Law

Related Subjects

Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Constitution and constitutional amendments

Judicial review and appeals

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

33, 119th Congress (2025). "SOPRA". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-33