[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 225 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                  S. 225

   To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to 
     protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery 
         information in civil actions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 1997

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to 
     protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery 
         information in civil actions, 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 ``Sunshine in Litigation Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND SEALING OF CASES AND SETTLEMENTS RELATING 
              TO PUBLIC HEALTH OR SAFETY.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:
``Sec. 1659. Protective orders and sealing of cases and settlements 
              relating to public health or safety
    ``(a)(1) A court shall enter an order under rule 26(c) of the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure restricting the disclosure of 
information obtained through discovery or an order restricting access 
to court records in a civil case only after making particularized 
findings of fact that--
            ``(A) such order would not restrict the disclosure of 
        information which is relevant to the protection of public 
        health or safety; or
            ``(B)(i) the public interest in disclosure of potential 
        health or safety hazards is clearly outweighed by a specific 
        and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of 
        the information or records in question; and
            ``(ii) the requested protective order is no broader than 
        necessary to protect the privacy interest asserted.
    ``(2) No order entered in accordance with the provisions of 
paragraph (1) shall continue in effect after the entry of final 
judgment, unless at or after such entry the court makes a separate 
particularized finding of fact that the requirements of paragraph (1) 
(A) or (B) have been met.
    ``(b) The party who is the proponent for the entry of an order, as 
provided under this section, shall have the burden of proof in 
obtaining such an order.
    ``(c)(1) No agreement between or among parties in a civil action 
filed in a court of the United States may contain a provision that 
prohibits or otherwise restricts a party from disclosing any 
information relevant to such civil action to any Federal or State 
agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating 
to such information.
    ``(2) Any disclosure of information to a Federal or State agency as 
described under paragraph (1) shall be confidential to the extent 
provided by law.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 1658 the following:

``1659. Protective orders and sealing of cases and settlements relating 
                            to public health or safety.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply only to orders 
entered in civil actions or agreements entered into on or after such 
date.
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