[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5794 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5794

   To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exempt a debt 
collector from liability when leaving certain voice mail messages for a 
 consumer with respect to a debt as long as the debt collector follows 
 regulations prescribed by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
  on the appropriate manner in which to leave such a message, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2012

  Mr. Frank of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exempt a debt 
collector from liability when leaving certain voice mail messages for a 
 consumer with respect to a debt as long as the debt collector follows 
 regulations prescribed by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
  on the appropriate manner in which to leave such a message, 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 ``Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Clarification Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY.

    Subsection (e) of section 813 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) No provision of this section imposing liability shall apply 
to any act done or omitted in good faith in conformity with any rule, 
regulation, interpretation, or advisory opinion of the Bureau or in 
conformity with any interpretation or approval by an official or 
employee of the Bureau duly authorized by the Bureau to issue such 
interpretations or approvals under procedures prescribed by the Bureau, 
notwithstanding that after such act or omission has occurred, such 
rule, regulation, interpretation, or advisory opinion, is amended, 
rescinded, or determined by judicial or other authority to be invalid 
for any reason. Nothing in the previous sentence shall be construed as 
providing an exemption from liability based on any rule, regulation, 
interpretation, advisory opinion, or approval made by any entity other 
than the Bureau or an official or employee of the Bureau.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO LEAVE MESSAGES FOR A CONSUMER WHILE PROTECTING 
              CONSUMER PRIVACY.

    Section 805 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692c) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Authority To Leave Messages for a Consumer.--
            ``(1) In general.--A debt collector may leave messages for 
        a consumer in connection with the collection of a debt on the 
        consumer's answering machine, voice messaging system, or other 
        similar device, including in an initial communication with the 
        consumer, so long as the message complies with regulations 
        prescribed by the Bureau to ensure the preservation of the 
        privacy and other rights granted to the consumer, including the 
        restrictions on communications with third parties under 
        subsection (b).
            ``(2) Rulemaking.--Not later than the end of the 6-month 
        period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection, the Bureau shall prescribe regulations to carry out 
        paragraph (1). Such regulations shall--
                    ``(A) specify the content or text of a permissible 
                message allowed under paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) provide that a consumer has a right to cease 
                further communication with a debt collector; and
                    ``(C) include any other such matters as the Bureau 
                determines appropriate to carry out this subsection.''.
            (3) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) of section 805(d) of the 
        Fair Debt Collection Practices Act shall take effect on the 
        date that regulations are issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of 
        such section 805(d).

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ARBITRATION.

    Section 811 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692i) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Limitation on Arbitration.--No person serving as a debt 
collector with respect to a particular debt may initiate a legal action 
on that debt in an arbitration setting, or require the consumer to 
resolve any collection-related dispute on such a debt by means of 
arbitration, unless the consumer has agreed, in writing, with that debt 
collection, after collections activities are initiated and a legal 
action or dispute arises, to resolve such legal action or dispute by 
arbitration.''.
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