[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 512 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 512

  To amend chapter 1 of title 9 of United States Code with respect to 
                              arbitration.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 3, 2009

  Mr. Martinez (for himself, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Feingold) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend chapter 1 of title 9 of United States Code with respect to 
                              arbitration.

    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 ``Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
        following:
``Sec. 1. Definitions'';
            (2) by inserting before the first beginning quotation mark, 
        the following: ``(a) As used in this chapter, the term (1)'';
            (3) by striking ``Maritime'' and inserting ``maritime'';
            (4) by striking ``jurisdiction;'' and inserting 
        ``jurisdiction; (2)''; and
            (5) by striking the period and inserting the following: ``; 
        (3) `long-term care facility' means--
            ``(A) any skilled nursing facility, as defined in 1819(a) 
        of the Social Security Act;
            ``(B) any nursing facility as defined in 1919(a) of the 
        Social Security Act; or
            ``(C) a public facility, proprietary facility, or facility 
        of a private nonprofit corporation that--
                    ``(i) makes available to adult residents supportive 
                services to assist the residents in carrying out 
                activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, getting 
                in and out of bed or chairs, walking, going outdoors, 
                using the toilet, obtaining or taking medication, and 
                which may make available to residents home health care 
                services, such as nursing and therapy; and
                    ``(ii) provides a dwelling place for residents in 
                order to deliver such supportive services referred to 
                in clause (i), each of which may contain a full kitchen 
                and bathroom, and which includes common rooms and other 
                facilities appropriate for the provision of supportive 
                services to the residents of the facility; and
    ``(4) `pre-dispute arbitration agreement' means any agreement to 
arbitrate disputes that had not yet arisen at the time of the making of 
the agreement.
    ``(b) The definition of `long-term care facility' in subsection 
(a)(3) shall not apply to any facility or portion of facility that--
            ``(1) does not provide the services described in subsection 
        (a)(3)(C)(i); or
            ``(2) has as its primary purpose, to educate or to treat 
        substance abuse problems.''.

SEC. 3. VALIDITY AND ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 2 of title 9, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
        following:
``Sec. 2. Validity and enforceability'';
            (2) by striking ``A written'' and inserting ``(a) A 
        Written'';
            (3) by striking ``, save'' and all that follows through 
        ``contract'', and inserting ``to the same extent as contracts 
        generally, except as otherwise provided in this title''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) A pre-dispute arbitration agreement between a long-term care 
facility and a resident of a long-term care facility (or anyone acting 
on behalf of such a resident, including a person with financial 
responsibility for that resident) shall not be valid or specifically 
enforceable.
    ``(c) This section shall apply to any pre-dispute arbitration 
agreement between a long-term care facility and a resident (or anyone 
acting on behalf of such a resident), and shall apply to a pre-dispute 
arbitration agreement entered into either at any time during the 
admission process or at any time thereafter.
    ``(d) A determination as to whether this chapter applies to an 
arbitration agreement described in subsection (b) shall be determined 
by Federal law. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the 
validity or enforceability of such an agreement to arbitrate shall be 
determined by the court, rather than the arbitrator, irrespective of 
whether the party resisting the arbitration challenges the arbitration 
agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the 
contract containing such agreement.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on 
the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to 
any dispute or claim that arises on or after such date.
                                 <all>