[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 470 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 470

 To combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail 
goods for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through 
                physical and online retail marketplaces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 2009

  Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail 
goods for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through 
                physical and online retail marketplaces.

    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 ``Combating Organized Retail Crime Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Organized retail crime involves the coordinated 
        acquisition of large volumes of retail merchandise by theft, 
        embezzlement, fraud, false pretenses, or other illegal means 
        from commercial entities engaged in interstate commerce, for 
        the purpose of selling or distributing such illegally obtained 
        items in the stream of commerce. Organized retail crime is a 
        growing problem nationwide that costs American companies and 
        consumers billions of dollars annually and that has a 
        substantial and direct effect upon interstate commerce.
            (2) The illegal acquisition and black-market sale of 
        merchandise by persons engaged in organized retail crime result 
        in an estimated annual loss of hundreds of millions of dollars 
        in sales and income tax revenues to State and local 
        governments.
            (3) The illegal acquisition, unsafe tampering and storage, 
        and unregulated redistribution of consumer products such as 
        baby formula, over-the-counter drugs, medical diagnostic tests, 
        and other items by persons engaged in organized retail crime 
        pose a health and safety hazard to consumers nationwide.
            (4) Investigations into organized retail crime have 
        revealed that the illegal income resulting from such crime 
        often benefits persons and organizations engaged in other forms 
        of criminal activity, such as drug trafficking and gang 
        activity.
            (5) Items obtained through organized retail crime are 
        resold in a variety of different marketplaces, including flea 
        markets, swap meets, open-air markets, and Internet auction 
        websites. Increasingly, persons engaged in organized retail 
        crime use Internet auction websites to resell illegally 
        obtained items. The Internet offers such sellers a worldwide 
        market and a degree of anonymity that physical marketplace 
        settings do not offer.

SEC. 3. OFFENSES RELATED TO ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME.

    (a) Transportation of Stolen Goods.--The first undesignated 
paragraph of section 2314 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after ``more,'' the following: ``or, during any 12-month 
period, of an aggregate value of $5,000 or more during that period,''.
    (b) Sale or Receipt of Stolen Goods.--The first undesignated 
paragraph of section 2315 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after ``$5,000 or more,'' the following: ``or, during any 
12-month period, of an aggregate value of $5,000 or more during that 
period,''.
    (c) Fraud in Connection With Access Devices.--Section 1029(e)(1) of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``Universal 
Product Code label or similar product code label, gift card, stock 
keeping unit number, radio-frequency identification tag, electronic 
article surveillance tag,'' after ``code,''.
    (d) Review and Amendment of Federal Sentencing Guidelines for 
Offenses Related to Organized Retail Crime.--
            (1) Review and amendment.--
                    (A) In general.--The United States Sentencing 
                Commission, pursuant to its authority under section 994 
                of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance with 
                this subsection, shall review and, if appropriate, 
                amend the Federal sentencing guidelines (including its 
                policy statements) applicable to persons convicted of 
                offenses involving organized retail crime, which is the 
                coordinated acquisition of large volumes of retail 
                merchandise by theft, embezzlement, fraud, false 
                pretenses, or other illegal means from commercial 
                entities engaged in interstate commerce for the purpose 
                of selling or distributing the illegally obtained items 
                in the stream of commerce.
                    (B) Offenses.--Offenses referred to in subparagraph 
                (A) may include offenses contained in--
                            (i) sections 1029, 2314, and 2315 of title 
                        18, United States Code; and
                            (ii) any other relevant provision of the 
                        United States Code.
            (2) Requirements.--In carrying out the requirements of this 
        subsection, the United States Sentencing Commission shall--
                    (A) ensure that the Federal sentencing guidelines 
                (including its policy statements) reflect--
                            (i) the serious nature and magnitude of 
                        organized retail crime; and
                            (ii) the need to deter, prevent, and punish 
                        offenses involving organized retail crime;
                    (B) consider the extent to which the Federal 
                sentencing guidelines (including its policy statements) 
                adequately address offenses involving organized retail 
                crime to sufficiently deter and punish such offenses;
                    (C) maintain reasonable consistency with other 
                relevant directives and sentencing guidelines;
                    (D) account for any additional aggravating or 
                mitigating circumstances that might justify exceptions 
                to the generally applicable sentencing ranges; and
                    (E) consider whether to provide a sentencing 
                enhancement for those convicted of conduct involving 
                organized retail crime, where the conduct involves--
                            (i) a threat to public health and safety, 
                        including alteration of an expiration date or 
                        of product ingredients;
                            (ii) theft, conversion, alteration, or 
                        removal of a product label;
                            (iii) a second or subsequent offense; or
                            (iv) the use of advanced technology to 
                        acquire retail merchandise by means of theft, 
                        embezzlement, fraud, false pretenses, or other 
                        illegal means.

SEC. 4. SALES OF ILLEGALLY OBTAINED ITEMS IN PHYSICAL OR ONLINE RETAIL 
              MARKETPLACES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 113 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2324. Physical and online retail marketplaces
    ``(a) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            ``(1) High volume seller.--The term `high volume seller' 
        means a user of an online retail marketplace who, in any 
        continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months, has 
        entered into--
                    ``(A) multiple discrete sales or transactions 
                resulting in the accumulation of an aggregate total of 
                $12,000 or more in gross revenues; or
                    ``(B) 200 or more discrete sales or transactions 
                resulting in the accumulation of an aggregate total of 
                $5,000 or more in gross revenues.
            ``(2) Internet site.--The term `Internet site' means a 
        location on the Internet that is accessible at a specific 
        Internet domain name or address under the Internet Protocol (or 
        any successor protocol), or that is identified by a uniform 
        resource locator.
            ``(3) Online retail marketplace.--The term `online retail 
        marketplace' means an Internet site where users other than the 
        operator of the Internet site can enter into transactions with 
        each other for the sale or distribution of goods or services, 
        and in which--
                    ``(A) the goods or services are promoted through 
                inclusion in search results displayed within the 
                Internet site;
                    ``(B) the operator of the Internet site--
                            ``(i) has the contractual right to 
                        supervise the activities of users with respect 
                        to the goods or services; or
                            ``(ii) has a financial interest in the sale 
                        of the goods or services; and
                    ``(C) in any continuous 12-month period during the 
                previous 24 months, users other than the operator of 
                the Internet site collectively have entered into not 
                fewer than 1,000 discrete transactions for the sale of 
                goods or services.
            ``(4) Operator of an online retail marketplace.--The term 
        `operator of an online retail marketplace' means a person or 
        entity that--
                    ``(A) operates or controls an online retail 
                marketplace; and
                    ``(B) makes the online retail marketplace available 
                for users to enter into transactions with each other on 
                that marketplace for the sale or distribution of goods 
                or services.
            ``(5) Operator of a physical retail marketplace.--The term 
        `operator of a physical retail marketplace' means a person or 
        entity that rents or otherwise makes available a physical 
        retail marketplace to transient vendors to conduct business for 
        the sale of goods, or services related to the goods.
            ``(6) Physical retail marketplace.--The term `physical 
        retail marketplace'--
                    ``(A) may include a flea market, indoor or outdoor 
                swap meet, open air market, or other similar 
                environment;
                    ``(B) means a venue or event--
                            ``(i) in which physical space is made 
                        available not more than 4 days per week by an 
                        operator of a physical retail marketplace as a 
                        temporary place of business for transient 
                        vendors to conduct business for the sale of 
                        goods, or services related to the goods; and
                            ``(ii) in which in any continuous 12-month 
                        period during the preceding 24 months, there 
                        have been 10 or more days on which 5 or more 
                        transient vendors have conducted business at 
                        the venue or event; and
                    ``(C) does not mean and shall not apply to an event 
                which is organized and conducted for the exclusive 
                benefit of any community chest, fund, foundation, 
                association, or corporation organized and operated for 
                religious, educational, or charitable purposes, 
                provided that no part of any admission fee or parking 
                fee charged vendors or prospective purchasers, and no 
                part of the gross receipts or net earnings from the 
                sale or exchange of goods or services, whether in the 
                form of a percentage of the receipts or earnings, 
                salary, or otherwise, inures to the benefit of any 
                private shareholder or person participating in the 
                organization or conduct of the event.
            ``(7) Structuring.--The term `structuring' means to 
        knowingly conduct, or attempt to conduct, alone, or in 
        conjunction with or on behalf of 1 or more other persons, 1 or 
        more transactions in currency, in any amount, in any manner, 
        with the purpose of evading categorization as a physical retail 
        marketplace, an online retail marketplace, or a high volume 
        seller.
            ``(8) Temporary place of business.--The term `temporary 
        place of business' means any physical space made open to the 
        public, including but not limited to a building, part of a 
        building, tent or vacant lot, which is temporarily occupied by 
        1 or more persons or entities for the purpose of making sales 
        of goods, or services related to those goods, to the public. A 
        place of business is not temporary with respect to a person or 
        entity if that person or entity conducts business at the place 
        and stores unsold goods there when it is not open for business.
            ``(9) Transient vendor.--The term `transient vendor' means 
        any person or entity that, in the usual course of business, 
        transports inventory, stocks of goods, or similar tangible 
        personal property to a temporary place of business for the 
        purpose of entering into transactions for the sale of the 
        property.
            ``(10) User.--The term `user' means a person or entity that 
        accesses an online retail marketplace for the purpose of 
        entering into transactions for the sale or distribution of 
        goods or services.
            ``(11) Valid physical postal address.--The term `valid 
        physical postal address' means--
                    ``(A) a current street address, including the city, 
                State, and zip code;
                    ``(B) a Post Office box that has been registered 
                with the United States Postal Service; or
                    ``(C) a private mailbox that has been registered 
                with a commercial mail receiving agency that is 
                established pursuant to United States Postal Service 
                regulations.
    ``(b) Safeguards Against Sales of Illegally Obtained Items.--
            ``(1) Suspected illegal sales activity forms.--
                    ``(A) Regulations.--The Attorney General shall 
                promulgate regulations--
                            ``(i) establishing a form, called a 
                        `suspected illegal sales activity form', 
                        through which an authorized person may present 
                        evidence showing that a transient vendor of a 
                        physical retail marketplace, a user of an 
                        online retail marketplace, or a director, 
                        officer, employee, or agent of the transient 
                        vendor or user, has used or is using a physical 
                        retail marketplace or an online retail 
                        marketplace to sell or distribute items that 
                        were stolen, embezzled, or obtained by fraud, 
                        false pretenses, or other illegal means from 
                        the authorized person, or has engaged in or is 
                        engaging in structuring;
                            ``(ii) requiring that an authorized person 
                        who submits a suspected illegal sales activity 
                        form shall, in a manner to be specified by the 
                        Attorney General--
                                    ``(I) refer in the form to 1 or 
                                more specific items, individuals, 
                                entities or transactions allegedly 
                                involved in theft, embezzlement, fraud, 
                                false pretenses, structuring, or other 
                                illegal activity;
                                    ``(II) refer in the form to 1 or 
                                more alleged violations of Federal law;
                                    ``(III) provide along with the form 
                                documentary evidence supporting the 
                                allegations of illegal activity, which 
                                may include--
                                            ``(aa) video recordings;
                                            ``(bb) audio recordings;
                                            ``(cc) sworn affidavits;
                                            ``(dd) financial, 
                                        accounting, business, or sales 
                                        records;
                                            ``(ee) records or 
                                        transcripts of phone 
                                        conversations;
                                            ``(ff) documents that have 
                                        been filed in a Federal or 
                                        State court proceeding; and
                                            ``(gg) signed reports to or 
                                        from a law enforcement agency; 
                                        and
                                    ``(IV) sign the form;
                            ``(iii) providing that an authorized person 
                        who completes a suspected illegal sales 
                        activity form may submit the form and 
                        accompanying documentary evidence to the 
                        operator of a physical retail marketplace or 
                        the operator of an online retail marketplace, 
                        and that if the authorized person submits the 
                        form to the operator, the authorized person 
                        shall submit the form and documentary evidence 
                        to the Attorney General; and
                            ``(iv) ensuring that a suspected illegal 
                        sales activity form and accompanying 
                        documentary evidence are able to be submitted 
                        by an authorized person to the operator of a 
                        physical retail marketplace or online retail 
                        marketplace and to the Attorney General by mail 
                        and by electronic means.
                    ``(B) Authorized persons.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For purposes of this 
                        section, an authorized person is a person who--
                                    ``(I) offers goods or services for 
                                sale to the public as part of a 
                                business operation;
                                    ``(II) has submitted to the 
                                Attorney General in writing, on a form 
                                that shall be promulgated by the 
                                Attorney General and made available on 
                                the Internet, a request to serve as an 
                                authorized person; and
                                    ``(III) has been approved by the 
                                Attorney General to serve as an 
                                authorized person.
                            ``(ii) Approval.--The Attorney General 
                        shall approve a request by a person to serve as 
                        an authorized person if the person offers goods 
                        or services for sale to the public as part of a 
                        business operation. An approval under this 
                        clause shall remain in effect unless the 
                        authorized person requests that the Attorney 
                        General terminate the approval.
                            ``(iii) Fees.--The Attorney General may 
                        charge a processing fee to a person solely to 
                        cover the cost of processing the approval of 
                        the person as an authorized person.
                            ``(iv) Agents.--An individual who serves as 
                        an officer, employee, or agent for a person who 
                        offers goods or services for sale to the public 
                        as part of a business operation may serve as an 
                        authorized person on behalf of that person.
                            ``(v) List.--The Attorney General shall 
                        maintain a list of authorized persons, which 
                        shall be made available to the public upon 
                        request.
                    ``(C) Availability of forms.--The Attorney General 
                shall make suspected illegal sales activity forms 
                available on the Internet to authorized persons.
            ``(2) Duties of operators of physical retail marketplaces 
        and online retail marketplaces to conduct account reviews and 
        file suspicious activity reports; consumable goods.--If an 
        operator of a physical or online retail marketplace is 
        presented with a suspected illegal sales activity form and 
        accompanying documentary evidence from an authorized person 
        showing that a transient vendor of the physical retail 
        marketplace, a user of the online retail marketplace, or a 
        director, officer, employee, or agent of the transient vendor 
        or user, has used or is using the retail marketplace to sell or 
        distribute items that were stolen, embezzled, or obtained by 
        fraud, false pretenses or other illegal means, or has engaged 
        in or is engaging in structuring, the operator shall--
                    ``(A)(i) not later than 30 days after receiving the 
                form--
                            ``(I) conduct a review of the account of 
                        the transient vendor or user for evidence of 
                        illegal activity; and
                            ``(II) file a suspicious activity report 
                        with the Attorney General of the United States; 
                        and
                    ``(ii) not later than 24 hours after filing the 
                report described in clause (i)(II), notify the 
                authorized person who submitted the suspected illegal 
                sales activity form that the operator filed the report; 
                and
                    ``(B) with regard to any items referred to in the 
                suspected illegal sales activity form that are 
                consumable or that are medical diagnostic tests, 
                immediately suspend the ability of any transient vendor 
                or user who is referred to in the form as selling or 
                distributing the items to conduct transactions 
                involving the items, and notify the Attorney General of 
                such action in the suspicious activity report.
            ``(3) Duties of operators of physical retail marketplaces 
        and online retail marketplaces to terminate sales activity.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If an operator of a physical 
                retail marketplace or an online retail marketplace is 
                presented with a suspected illegal sales activity form 
                and accompanying documentary evidence from an 
                authorized person, the operator shall determine, based 
                on the form, the documentary evidence, and the account 
                review conducted by the operator, whether there is 
                clear and convincing evidence that the transient vendor 
                of the physical retail marketplace, a user of the 
                online retail marketplace, or a director, officer, 
                employee, or agent of the transient vendor or user, has 
                used or is using the retail marketplace to sell or 
                distribute items that were stolen, embezzled, or 
                obtained by fraud, false pretenses, or other illegal 
                means, or has engaged in or is engaging in structuring. 
                The operator shall describe the determination of the 
                operator under this subparagraph in the suspicious 
                activity report.
                    ``(B) Actions.--If the operator of a physical 
                retail marketplace or an online retail marketplace 
                determines that there is clear and convincing evidence 
                of an activity described in subparagraph (A), the 
                operator shall, not later than 5 days after submitting 
                the suspicious activity report to the Attorney General 
                pursuant to paragraph (2), either--
                            ``(i) terminate the ability of the 
                        transient vendor to conduct business at the 
                        physical retail marketplace or terminate the 
                        ability of the user to conduct transactions on 
                        the online retail marketplace, and notify the 
                        Attorney General of such action; or
                            ``(ii)(I) request that the transient vendor 
                        or user present documentary evidence that the 
                        operator reasonably determines to be clear and 
                        convincing showing that the transient vendor or 
                        user has not used the retail marketplace to 
                        sell or distribute items that were stolen, 
                        embezzled, or obtained by fraud, false 
                        pretenses, or other illegal means, or has not 
                        engaged in or is not engaging in structuring; 
                        and
                            ``(II)(aa) if the transient vendor or user 
                        fails to present the information within 30 days 
                        of the request, terminate the ability of the 
                        transient vendor to conduct business at the 
                        physical retail marketplace or terminate the 
                        ability of the user to conduct transactions on 
                        the online retail marketplace, and notify the 
                        Attorney General of such action; or
                            ``(bb) if the transient vendor or user 
                        presents the information within 30 days, then 
                        the operator shall report the information to 
                        the Attorney General and notify the transient 
                        vendor or user that the operator will not 
                        terminate the activities of the transient 
                        vendor or user.
                    ``(C) Attorney general authorization.--The Attorney 
                General or a designee may, with respect to the timing 
                of the operator's actions pursuant to this paragraph, 
                direct the operator in writing and for good cause to 
                delay such action.
            ``(4) Retention of records.--
                    ``(A) Retail marketplaces.--Each operator of a 
                physical retail marketplace and each operator of an 
                online retail marketplace shall maintain--
                            ``(i) a record of all suspected illegal 
                        sales activity forms and accompanying 
                        documentary evidence presented to it pursuant 
                        to this subsection for 3 years from the date 
                        the operator received the form and evidence;
                            ``(ii) a record of the results of all 
                        account reviews conducted pursuant to this 
                        subsection, and any supporting documentation, 
                        for 3 years from the date of the review; and
                            ``(iii) a copy of any suspicious activity 
                        report filed with the Attorney General pursuant 
                        to this subsection, and the original supporting 
                        documentation concerning any report that it 
                        files, for 3 years from the date of the filing.
                    ``(B) Online retail marketplace.--Each operator of 
                an online retail marketplace shall maintain, for 3 
                years after the date a user becomes a high volume 
                seller, the name, telephone number, e-mail address, 
                valid physical postal address, and any other 
                identification information that the operator receives 
                about the high volume seller.
            ``(5) Confidentiality of reports.--No operator of a 
        physical retail marketplace or online retail marketplace, and 
        no director, officer, employee or agent of the operator, may 
        notify any individual or entity that is the subject of a 
        suspicious activity report or of an account review under 
        paragraph (2) of the fact that the operator filed the report or 
        performed the account review, or of any information contained 
        in the report or account review.
            ``(6) High volume sellers.--
                    ``(A) Valid postal address.--An operator of an 
                online retail marketplace shall require each high 
                volume seller to provide the operator with a valid 
                physical postal address.
                    ``(B) Failure to provide.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If a high volume seller 
                        has failed to provide a valid physical postal 
                        address as required in this paragraph, the 
                        operator of the online retail marketplace 
                        shall, not later than 5 days after the failure 
                        to provide the address, notify the user of its 
                        duty to provide a valid physical postal 
                        address.
                            ``(ii) Continued failure.--If a high volume 
                        seller has failed to provide a valid physical 
                        postal address 15 days after the date on which 
                        the operator of an online retail marketplace 
                        provides notice under clause (i), the operator 
                        shall--
                                    ``(I) terminate the ability of the 
                                user to conduct transactions on 
                                marketplace; and
                                    ``(II) not later than 15 days after 
                                that date, file a suspicious activity 
                                report with the Attorney General of the 
                                United States.
                    ``(C) Postal address.--If an authorized person 
                submits to the operator of a physical retail 
                marketplace or online retail marketplace a suspected 
                illegal sales activity form that alleges illegal 
                activity on the part of a specific transient vendor or 
                user that is a high volume seller, the operator shall, 
                not later than 15 days after receiving the form, 
                provide the valid physical postal address of the high 
                volume seller to the authorized person.
            ``(7) Contents of suspicious activity reports.--The 
        Attorney General shall promulgate regulations establishing a 
        suspicious activity report form. Such regulations shall require 
        that a suspicious activity report submitted by an operator to 
        the Attorney General pursuant to paragraph (2) or (6) shall 
        contain, in a form to be determined by the Attorney General, 
        the following information:
                    ``(A) The name, address, telephone number, and e-
                mail address of the individual or entity that is the 
                subject of the report, to the extent known.
                    ``(B) Any other information that is in the 
                possession of the operator filing the report regarding 
                the identification of the individual or entity that is 
                the subject of the report.
                    ``(C) A copy of the suspected illegal sales 
                activity form and documentary evidence that led to the 
                filing of a report pursuant to paragraph (2).
                    ``(D) A detailed description of the results of an 
                account review conducted pursuant to paragraph (2).
                    ``(E) A statement of the determination the operator 
                made pursuant to paragraph (3)(A).
                    ``(F) If the suspicious activity report is filed 
                pursuant to paragraph (6), a summary of the events that 
                led the operator to terminate the ability of the user 
                to conduct transactions on marketplace.
                    ``(G) The signature of the operator.
                    ``(H) Such other information as the Attorney 
                General may by regulation prescribe.
    ``(c) Voluntary Reports.--Nothing in this section prevents an 
operator of a physical retail marketplace or online retail marketplace 
from voluntarily reporting to a Federal, State, or local government 
agency any suspicious activity that the operator believes is relevant 
to the possible violation of any law or regulation, provided that the 
operator also complies with the requirements of this section.
    ``(d) Structuring.--No individual or entity shall engage in 
structuring as defined in this section.
    ``(e) Enforcement by Attorney General.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any individual or entity who knowingly 
        commits a violation of, or knowingly fails to comply with, the 
        requirements specified in paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) 
        of subsection (b) or subsection (d) shall be liable to the 
        United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than 
        $10,000 per violation.
            ``(2) False statements.--
                    ``(A) Suspected illegal sales activity forms.--Any 
                person who knowingly and willfully makes any material 
                false or fictitious statement or representation on a 
                suspected illegal sales activity form or accompanying 
                documentary evidence may, upon conviction thereof, be 
                subject to liability under section 1001.
                    ``(B) Suspicious activity report.--Any person who 
                knowingly and willfully makes any material false or 
                fictitious statement or representation in any 
                suspicious activity report required under subsection 
                (b) may, upon conviction thereof, be subject to 
                liability under section 1001.
    ``(f) Enforcement by States.--
            ``(1) Civil action.--In any case in which the attorney 
        general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of 
        the residents of that State has been or is threatened or 
        adversely affected by any person or entity who has committed or 
        is committing a violation of this section, the attorney 
        general, official, or agency of the State, as parens patriae, 
        may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 
        State in a district court of the United States of appropriate 
        jurisdiction--
                    ``(A) to enjoin further violation of this section 
                by the defendant;
                    ``(B) to obtain damages on behalf of the residents 
                of the State in an amount equal to the actual monetary 
                loss suffered by such residents; or
                    ``(C) to impose civil penalties in the amounts 
                specified in subsection (e).
            ``(2) Written notice.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The State shall serve prior 
                written notice of any civil action under paragraph (1) 
                upon the Attorney General of the United States, 
                including a copy of its complaint, except that if it is 
                not feasible for the State to provide such prior 
                notice, the State shall serve such notice immediately 
                upon instituting such action.
                    ``(B) Attorney general action.--Upon receiving a 
                notice respecting a civil action under subparagraph 
                (A), the Attorney General of the United States shall 
                have the right--
                            ``(i) to intervene in such action;
                            ``(ii) upon so intervening, to be heard on 
                        all matters arising therein; and
                            ``(iii) to file petitions for appeal.
            ``(3) State powers preserved.--For purposes of bringing any 
        civil action under this subsection, nothing in this chapter 
        shall prevent an attorney general of a State from exercising 
        the powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws of the 
        State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or 
        affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the 
        production of documentary and other evidence.
            ``(4) Pending federal action.--Whenever a civil action has 
        been instituted by the Attorney General of the United States 
        for violation of any rule prescribed under subsection (e), no 
        State may, during the pendency of such action instituted by the 
        Attorney General of the United States, institute a civil action 
        under this subsection against any defendant named in the 
        complaint in such action for any violation alleged in the 
        complaint.
            ``(5) Jurisdiction.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any civil action brought under 
                this subsection in a district court of the United 
                States may be brought in the district in which the 
                defendant is found, is an inhabitant, or transacts 
                business or wherever venue is proper under section 1391 
                of title 28.
                    ``(B) Process.--Process in an action under this 
                subsection may be served in any district in which the 
                defendant is an inhabitant or in which the defendant 
                may be found.
    ``(g) No Private Right of Action.--Nothing in this section shall be 
interpreted to authorize a private right of action for a violation of 
any provision of this section, or a private right of action under any 
other provision of Federal or State law to enforce a violation of this 
section.''.
    (b) Chapter Analysis.--The chapter analysis for chapter 113 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 2323 the following:

``Sec. 2324. Physical and online retail marketplaces.''.

SEC. 5. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.

    No provision of this Act, including any amendment made by this Act, 
shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to 
occupy the field in which that provision or amendment operates, 
including criminal penalties, to the exclusion of any State law on the 
same subject matter that would otherwise be within the authority of the 
State, unless there is a positive conflict between that provision or 
amendment and that State law so that the 2 cannot consistently stand 
together.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act take effect 120 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>