[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 623 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 623

   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

                             March 17, 2011

   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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sunshine in Litigation Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND SEALING OF CASES AND 
              SETTLEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and 
              settlements
    ``(a)(1) In any civil action in which the pleadings state facts 
that are relevant to the protection of public health or safety, a court 
shall not enter, by stipulation or otherwise, an order otherwise 
authorized 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 unless in connection with such order the court has first made 
independent 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 the disclosure of past, 
        present, or potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by 
        a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the 
        confidentiality of the information or records in question; and
            ``(ii) the requested order is no broader than necessary to 
        protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
    ``(2) No order entered as a result of the operation paragraph (1), 
other than an order approving a settlement agreement, may continue in 
effect after the entry of final judgment, unless at the time of, or 
after, such entry the court makes a separate finding of fact that the 
requirements of paragraph (1) continue to be met.
    ``(3) 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.
    ``(4) This section shall apply even if an order under paragraph (1) 
is requested--
            ``(A) by motion pursuant to rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules 
        of Civil Procedure; or
            ``(B) by application pursuant to the stipulation of the 
        parties.
    ``(5)(A) The provisions of this section shall not constitute 
grounds for the withholding of information in discovery that is 
otherwise discoverable under rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure.
    ``(B) A court shall not approve any party's stipulation or request 
to stipulate to an order that would violate this section.
    ``(b)(1) In any civil action in which the pleadings state facts 
that are relevant to the protection of public health or safety, a court 
shall not approve or enforce any provision of an agreement between or 
among parties, or approve or enforce an order entered as a result of 
the operation of subsection (a)(1), to the extent that such provision 
or such order 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)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a court shall not enforce any 
provision of a settlement agreement described under subsection (a)(1) 
between or among parties that prohibits 1 or more parties from--
            ``(A) disclosing the fact that such settlement was reached 
        or the terms of such settlement, other than the amount of money 
        paid; or
            ``(B) discussing a civil action, or evidence produced in 
        the civil action, that involves matters relevant to the 
        protection of public health or safety.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) applies unless the court has made independent 
findings of fact that--
            ``(A) the public interest in the disclosure of past, 
        present, or potential public health or safety hazards is 
        outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in 
        maintaining the confidentiality of the information or records 
        in question; and
            ``(B) the requested order is no broader than necessary to 
        protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
    ``(d) When weighing the interest in maintaining confidentiality 
under this section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the 
interest in protecting personally identifiable information relating to 
financial, health or other similar information of an individual 
outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
    ``(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit, 
require, or authorize the disclosure of classified information (as 
defined under section 1 of the Classified Information Procedures Act 
(18 U.S.C. App.)).''.
    (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 1659 the following:

``1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and 
                            settlements.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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