[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3370 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3370

To restrict confidentiality agreements that prohibit the disclosure of 
  information relating to hazards to public safety or health, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2016

Mr. Whitehouse introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To restrict confidentiality agreements that prohibit the disclosure of 
  information relating to hazards to public safety or health, 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 ``Safety Over Secrecy Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS IN 
              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 certain confidentiality agreements in 
              settlements
    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `hazard to public 
safety or health' means an activity, substance, or condition that has a 
potential to cause harm to the health or safety of the public.
    ``(b) Disclosure in General.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        court may not approve or order the enforcement of any provision 
        in a settlement agreement, or other agreement relating to a 
        settlement, between or among parties in a civil suit if--
                    ``(A) a pleading filed in the suit alleges facts 
                that are relevant to protecting the public from a 
                hazard to public safety or health; and
                    ``(B) the provision prohibits a party from--
                            ``(i) disclosing the fact that the 
                        settlement was reached;
                            ``(ii) disclosing the terms of the 
                        settlement, other than the amount of money, if 
                        any, paid under the settlement;
                            ``(iii) discussing the suit or evidence 
                        produced in the suit; or
                            ``(iv) otherwise discussing the hazard to 
                        public safety or health.
            ``(2) Balance of interests.--
                    ``(A) In general.--On a motion by a party to an 
                agreement described in paragraph (1), a court may 
                approve or order the enforcement of a provision 
                described in paragraph (1)(B), despite the fact that a 
                pleading described in paragraph (1)(A) is filed in the 
                suit, if the court, based on an independent finding of 
                fact, determines that--
                            ``(i) the public interest in the disclosure 
                        of facts that are relevant to protecting the 
                        public from a hazard to public safety or health 
                        is outweighed by a specific and substantial 
                        interest in maintaining the confidentiality of 
                        the information or records that are covered by 
                        the provision; and
                            ``(ii) the requested order is no broader 
                        than necessary to protect the specific and 
                        substantial interest in maintaining 
                        confidentiality described in clause (i).
                    ``(B) Considerations.--With respect to the 
                balancing of interests described in subparagraph 
                (A)(i)--
                            ``(i) there shall be a rebuttable 
                        presumption that the interest in protecting 
                        financial, medical, or other similar personal 
                        information relating to an identifiable 
                        individual outweighs the public interest 
                        described in subparagraph (A)(i);
                            ``(ii) a general interest in the settlement 
                        of disputes may not serve as a specific and 
                        substantial interest described in subparagraph 
                        (A)(i); and
                            ``(iii) a court may redact language in a 
                        settlement agreement, in order to accommodate--
                                    ``(I) the privacy of personal 
                                information; and
                                    ``(II) the public benefit of 
                                awareness of hazards to public safety 
                                and health.
    ``(c) Disclosure to Federal or State Agencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--A court may not approve or order the 
        enforcement of any provision of a settlement agreement, or 
        other agreement relating to a settlement, between or among 
        parties in a civil suit if--
                    ``(A) a pleading filed in the suit alleges facts 
                that are relevant to protecting the public from a 
                hazard to public safety or health; and
                    ``(B) the provision prohibits or otherwise 
                restricts a party from disclosing a fact described in 
                subparagraph (A) to a Federal or State agency with 
                authority to enforce a law or regulate an activity 
                relating to that fact.
            ``(2) Confidentiality maintained.--The confidentiality of a 
        fact described in paragraph (1)(A) that is disclosed to a 
        Federal or State agency described in paragraph (1)(B) shall be 
        protected to the extent otherwise provided under any other law, 
        regulation, or agreement.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``1660. Restrictions on certain confidentiality agreements in 
                            settlements.''.
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