One Subject at a Time Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The One Subject at a Time Act creates a statutory single-subject rule for congressional bills and joint resolutions. Each bill or joint resolution must have no more than one subject, and that subject must be clearly and descriptively stated in the title. Appropriations bills may not contain general legislation or changes to existing law that are not germane to the appropriations subject, though limitation language remains allowed. The enforcement section makes an entire Act void if its title covers two or more unrelated subjects, voids only offending provisions when a single-subject title hides unrelated provisions, and voids appropriations provisions outside the relevant appropriations subcommittee jurisdiction or nongermane general legislation. Aggrieved people and Members of Congress can sue the United States for declaratory or injunctive relief, and courts review compliance de novo.
Who Benefits and How
Voters benefit because bill titles would have to identify a single subject more clearly. Members of Congress benefit when they can challenge unrelated provisions added to bills or appropriations measures. Policy watchdog organizations benefit from a judicial hook to contest logrolling and hidden unrelated provisions. Litigants affected by enforcement of a noncompliant Act benefit from a cause of action for declaratory or injunctive relief.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Congressional bill drafters must keep each bill or joint resolution to one clearly expressed subject. House and Senate appropriations committees must avoid nongermane general legislation and changes in existing law. Federal courts must hear single-subject challenges and apply de novo review. The United States may face injunctions or voided provisions when enacted measures violate the single-subject rule.
Key Provisions
- Requires bills and joint resolutions to embrace no more than one clearly expressed subject.
- Prohibits appropriations bills from carrying nongermane general legislation or changes to existing law.
- Creates voiding rules for entire Acts, unrelated provisions, and improper appropriations provisions.
- Provides a cause of action and de novo judicial review for aggrieved people and Members of Congress.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires each bill or joint resolution to embrace only one clearly expressed subject, bars nongermane general legislation in appropriations bills, and creates judicial enforcement for aggrieved people and Members of Congress.
Key Policy Areas
Congress, Legislative Procedure, Judicial Review
Primary Purpose
Requires each bill or joint resolution to embrace only one clearly expressed subject, bars nongermane general legislation in appropriations bills, and creates judicial enforcement for aggrieved people and Members of Congress.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Voters
- Members of Congress
- Policy watchdog organizations
- Litigants affected by noncompliant Acts
Identified Costs
- Congressional bill drafters
- House and Senate appropriations committees
- Federal courts
- United States government
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Fulcher introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congressional bill drafters, House and Senate appropriations committees, Members of Congress
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology