[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4692 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4692
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to provide
procedures for guidance issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 24, 2020
Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Tillis, and Mr. Scott of South Carolina)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to provide
procedures for guidance issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection, and for other purposes.
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 ``Give Useful Information to Define
Effective Compliance Act'' or the ``GUIDE Compliance Act''.
SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR BUREAU GUIDANCE.
Section 1022(b) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Procedures for bureau guidance.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `Bureau' means--
``(I) the Director of the Bureau;
``(II) the Deputy Director of the
Bureau; and
``(III) any employee of the Bureau
described in section 1013(a)(1)(B); and
``(ii) the term `guidance'--
``(I) means--
``(aa) an agency statement
of general applicability and
future effect, other than a
regulatory action, that sets
forth a policy on a statutory,
regulatory, or technical issue
or an interpretation of a
statutory or regulatory issue;
and
``(bb) any written
interpretive rule, bulletin,
statement of policy, letter,
examination manual, frequently
asked question, notice,
directive, news release, blog
post, small entity compliance
guide, or other authoritative
document issued by the Bureau
regarding compliance with a
Federal consumer financial law;
and
``(II) does not include--
``(aa) a purely internal
Bureau policy;
``(bb) a law enforcement
communication such as a
complaint, consent order,
judgment, legal opinion,
warning letter, investigatory
letter, notice of hearing,
civil investigative demand,
subpoena, no-action letter,
advisory opinion, or any
request in lieu of the
foregoing;
``(cc) an individualized
supervisory communication such
as a supervisory letter, report
of examination, memorandum of
understanding, board
resolution, matter requiring
attention, or individualized
communication or agreement
pursuant to the supervisory
authority of the Bureau; or
``(dd) a decision issued
under subtitle E.
``(B) Guidance requirements.--The Director shall
issue guidance that is necessary or appropriate to
enable the Bureau to carry out Federal consumer
financial law, including facilitating compliance with
such law.
``(C) Rulemaking.--
``(i) Proposed rule.--Not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of this
paragraph, the Bureau shall publish in the
Federal Register and on the website of the
Bureau a proposed rule defining--
``(I) each type of guidance the
Bureau shall provide;
``(II) the criteria the Bureau
shall use for selecting each type of
guidance;
``(III) the process and timelines
for requests for guidance;
``(IV) the time periods for the
response of the Bureau to a request for
each type of guidance; and
``(V) a process for amending or
revoking guidance issued under the
rule, including a process for public
input on any proposal to amend or
revoke guidance, unless the Bureau
determines public input is not required
due to public exigency.
``(ii) Final rule.--Not later than 1 year
after the date on which the proposed rule
described in clause (i) is published, the
Bureau shall publish a final rule based on the
proposed rule.
``(D) Reliance on bureau guidance.--No person shall
be held liable for any act done or omitted in good
faith in conformity with any applicable guidance from
the Bureau or any predecessor agency that was in effect
at the time of the act or omission, even if the
guidance is later revoked, amended, or rendered
inconsistent by guidance or action by the Bureau or a
determination by a court of competent jurisdiction.
``(E) Development of a penalty matrix.--
``(i) Proposed rule.--Not later than 18
months after the date of the enactment of this
subparagraph, the Bureau shall publish in the
Federal Register and on the website of the
Bureau a proposed rule establishing guidelines
for determining the size of any civil monetary
penalties issued by the Bureau based on the
severity of the actionable conduct in violation
of a Federal consumer financial law and the
level of culpability. The regulations
prescribed under this paragraph shall, to the
extent possible, align with any chart, matrix,
rule, or guideline published by the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency, the
Corporation, or the Board of Governors.
``(ii) Final rule.--Not later than 1 year
after the date on which the proposed rule
described in clause (i) is published, the
Bureau shall publish a final rule based on the
proposed rule.''.
<all>
GUIDE Compliance Act
#4692 | S Congress #116
Policy Area: Finance and Financial Sector
Last Action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (9/24/2020)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text