Restoring Equal Opportunity Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4448 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4448

   To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to 
                   prohibit disparate-impact claims.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2025

 Mr. Gill of Texas (for himself and Ms. Mace) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to 
                   prohibit disparate-impact claims.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Restoring Equal Opportunity Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

    It is the sense of the Senate that it is the policy of the United 
States to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all 
contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the 
Constitution of the United States, Federal civil rights laws, and basic 
American ideals.

SEC. 3. DISPARATE-IMPACT CLAIMS PROHIBITED FOR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.

    Section 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2) is 
amended by striking subsection (k) and inserting the following:
    ``(k)(1) No person may bring an action or proceeding under this 
title for a claim alleging an unlawful employment practice based on 
disparate impact.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `disparate impact', used with 
respect to an employment practice, means the result of an employment 
practice that--
            ``(A) is neutral on its face, and does not result from an 
        intention to discriminate in a manner prohibited under this 
        title; but
            ``(B) may have a disproportionate effect on certain groups, 
        including protected classes under this title.''.

SEC. 4. DISPARATE-IMPACT CLAIMS PROHIBITED FOR HOUSING PRACTICES.

    Section 807 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3607) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) No person may bring an action or proceeding under this 
title for a claim alleging a discriminatory housing practice based on 
disparate impact.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `disparate impact', used with 
respect to a housing practice, means the result of a housing practice 
that--
            ``(A) is neutral on its face, and does not result from an 
        intention to discriminate in a manner prohibited under this 
        title; but
            ``(B) may have a disproportionate effect on certain groups, 
        including protected classes under this title.''.

SEC. 5. NULLIFYING REGULATIONS.

    The following Presidential approvals of the regulations promulgated 
under section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-1), 
and the regulations so approved, shall have no force and effect:
            (1) The Presidential approval of regulations issued by the 
        Equal Employment Opportunity Commission relating to title VII 
        of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (31 Fed. Reg. 10269 (July 29, 
        1966)), as applied to section 42.104(b)(2) of title 28, Code of 
        Federal Regulations, in full.
            (2) The Presidential approval of regulations issued by the 
        Department of Justice relating to ``Regulations To Implement 
        Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 With Respect to 
        Federal Assistance Administered by the Department of Justice'' 
        (38 Fed. Reg. 17955 (July 5, 1973)), as applied to the words 
        ``or effect'' in both places they appear in section 
        42.104(b)(3) of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, and as 
        applied to section 42.104(b)(6)(ii) of title 28, Code of 
        Federal Regulations and section 42.104(c)(2) of title 28, Code 
        of Federal Regulations, in full.
                                 <all>