[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 489 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 489

   To require public notice of and a period of public comment on any 
 guideline proposed by the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade 
Commission with respect to the interpretation or implementation of the 
  antitrust laws or to any policy relating to the enforcement of the 
                            antitrust laws.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 20, 1993

   Mr. Fish introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require public notice of and a period of public comment on any 
 guideline proposed by the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade 
Commission with respect to the interpretation or implementation of the 
  antitrust laws or to any policy relating to the enforcement of the 
                            antitrust laws.

    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 ``Antitrust Procedural Fairness Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE OF AND PERIOD FOR COMMENT ON ANTITRUST GUIDELINES.

    (a) Notice of Proposed Antitrust Guidelines.--General notice of the 
proposed issuance of any antitrust guideline shall be published in the 
Federal Register, unless the persons subject thereto are named and 
either personally served or otherwise have actual notice thereof in 
accordance with law. Such notice shall include--
            (1) a statement of the time, place, and nature of public 
        proceedings applicable to the issuance of an antitrust 
        guideline,
            (2) reference to the legal authority under which such 
        guideline is proposed, and
            (3) either the terms or substance of the proposed antitrust 
        guideline or a description of the subjects and issues involved.
    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply--
            (1) to any antitrust guideline relating only to agency 
        organization or personnel,
            (2) to any antitrust guideline when the agency for good 
        cause--
                    (A) finds that notice and public procedure with 
                respect to such guidelines are impracticable, 
                unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and
                    (B) publishes, at the time of publication of the 
                adopted antitrust guideline, such finding and a brief 
                statement of the reasons therefor, or
            (3) to any antitrust guideline issued after a hearing 
        required by statute.
    (c) Period for Public Comment.--An agency shall provide a public 
comment period of not less than sixty days after notice of the proposed 
issuance of an antitrust guideline with respect to which subsection (a) 
applies.
    (d) Procedure for Public Comment.--During the public comment period 
required by subsection (c), any interested person may submit written 
data, views, or arguments. The agency may provide an opportunity for 
oral presentations concerning the proposed antitrust guideline.

SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF ANTITRUST GUIDELINE.

    (a) Basis for Adoption of Antitrust Guideline.--After consideration 
of the relevant matter submitted or presented with respect to a 
proposed antitrust guideline, the agency shall incorporate in the 
antitrust guideline adopted a concise general statement of basis and 
purpose of such guideline.
    (b) Effective Date of Antitrust Guideline.--The required 
publication or service of an antitrust guideline shall be made not less 
than sixty days before its effective date, except as otherwise provided 
by the agency for good cause (as described in subsection (b)(2)(A)) 
found and published with the guideline.

SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF FILES REGARDING ISSUANCE OF ANTITRUST 
              GUIDELINES.

    (a) File of Proceeding Regarding Issuance of Antitrust Guideline.--
Beginning not later than the date on which the agency provides notice 
of the proposed issuance of an antitrust guideline, the agency shall 
maintain a file of each proceeding relating to the issuance of such 
guideline, conducted in accordance with this Act. Except as provided in 
subsection (b), such file shall include--
            (1) the notice of the proposed issuance of such guideline 
        and any supplemental notice concerning such issuance,
            (2) copies of, or identification of, all studies and 
        documentary material upon which the agency substantially relied 
        in formulating the proposed or final guideline,
            (3) copies of all written comments on the proposed 
        guideline, or area of inquiry, which were submitted pursuant to 
        any agency notice of the proposed issuance of such guideline 
        published in the Federal Register,
            (4) all material which the agency by statute is required to 
        make public in connection with the issuance of such guideline 
        or which the agency wishes to make part of the record, and
            (5) the statements required of the agency in formulating 
        the guideline.
    (b) Exclusion of Certain Matters.--Subsection (a) shall not apply 
with respect to any matter which is exempt under section 552(b) of 
title 5, United States Code, from disclosure under section 552(a) of 
such title.

SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO ANTITRUST GUIDELINES.

    For purposes of this Act, any amendment made, or proposed to be 
made, by the agency to an existing antitrust guideline shall be deemed 
to be an antitrust guideline, or a proposed antitrust guideline, 
respectively.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``agency'' means the Department of Justice or 
        the Federal Trade Commission,
            (2) the term ``antitrust guideline'' means an agency 
        statement of general applicability designed--
                    (A) to implement or interpret any of the antitrust 
                laws, or
                    (B) to implement, interpret, or prescribe any 
                policy relating to the enforcement of any of the 
                antitrust laws,
            (3) the term ``antitrust laws'' has the meaning given it in 
        subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
        U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such term includes section 5 of the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that 
        such section 5 relates to unfair methods of competition, and
            (4) the term ``person'' has the meaning given it in section 
        551(a) of title 5, United States Code.

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