[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 957 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 957

   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

                              May 4, 1999

   Mr. Kohl introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               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. PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND SEALING OF CASES AND SETTLEMENTS 
              RELATING TO PUBLIC HEALTH OR SAFETY.

    (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Sunshine in 
Litigation Act of 1999''.
    (b) Protective Orders and Sealing of Cases.--Chapter 111 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section:
``Sec. 1660. 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, an order approving a settlement 
agreement that would restrict the disclosure of such information, 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 paragraph (1) (other than 
an order approving a settlement agreement) 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 court of the United States may approve or enforce any 
provision of an agreement between or among parties to a civil action, 
or approve or enforce an order subject to subsection (a)(1), 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 such information disclosed to a Federal or State agency 
shall be confidential to the extent provided by law.''.
    (c) 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 1659 the following:

``1660. Protective orders and sealing of cases and settlements relating 
                            to public health or safety.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 30 days after the date of 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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