115 HR 5534 IH: Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act U.S. House of Representatives 2018-04-17 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 115th CONGRESS2d Session H. R. 5534 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 17, 2018 Mr. Duffy (for himself and Mr. Perlmutter) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act or the GUIDE Compliance Act.

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)

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. (B)

Guidance defined

For purposes of this paragraph, the term guidance— (i)means any written interpretive or legislative rule, interim final rule, bulletin, statement of policy, letter, examination manual, frequently asked question, or other document issued by the Bureau regarding compliance with a Federal consumer financial law that is exempt from notice and comment rulemaking requirements under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code; and (ii)does not include a complaint, consent order, judgment, or decision issued under subtitle E. (C)

Rulemaking

(i)

Proposed rule

The Bureau shall publish in the Federal Register and on its website within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this paragraph a proposed rule defining— (I)each type of guidance it shall provide; (II)the criteria the Bureau will 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; (V)a process for amending or revoking guidance issued under the rule, including a process for public notice and comment on any proposal to amend or revoke guidance, unless the Bureau determines public notice and comment is not required due to public exigency. (ii)

Final rule

The Bureau shall publish a final rule based on the proposed rule described in clause (i) within 18 months after the date of the enactment of this paragraph. (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 such act or omission, even if such 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

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, the Bureau shall publish in the Federal Register and on its website 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 fullest extent possible, align with any chart, matrix, rule, or guideline published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System..