[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6729 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6729

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To allow nonprofit organizations to register with the Secretary of the 
  Treasury and share information on activities that may involve human 
    trafficking or money laundering with financial institutions and 
  regulatory authorities, under a safe harbor that offers protections 
from liability, in order to better identify and report potential human 
              trafficking or money laundering activities.

    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 ``Empowering Financial Institutions to 
Fight Human Trafficking Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING INFORMATION PROVIDERS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 5333. Anti-money laundering information providers
    ``(a) Cooperation Among Financial Institutions and Sources of 
Information on Human Trafficking and Money Laundering.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than the end of the 120-day 
        period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, the 
        Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations to allow 
        nonprofit organizations that the Secretary determines to be 
        qualified to share information with financial institutions, 
        associations of financial institutions, their regulatory 
        authorities, and law enforcement agencies regarding 
        individuals, entities, organizations, and countries suspected 
        of possible human trafficking or related money laundering 
        activities.
            ``(2) Cooperation and information sharing procedures.--The 
        regulations required under paragraph (1) may include or create 
        procedures for cooperation and information sharing focused on--
                    ``(A) matters specifically related to those 
                benefitting directly and indirectly from human 
                trafficking, the means by which human traffickers 
                transfer funds within the United States and around the 
                world, and the extent to which financial institutions, 
                including depository institutions, asset managers, and 
                insurers in the United States, are unwittingly involved 
                in such matters or transfers and the extent to which 
                such entities are at risk as a result; and
                    ``(B) means of facilitating the identification of 
                accounts and transactions involving human traffickers 
                and facilitating the exchange of information concerning 
                such accounts and transactions between nonprofit 
                organizations, financial institutions, regulatory 
                authorities, and law enforcement agencies.
            ``(3) Method of regulation.--The regulations required under 
        paragraph (1) may--
                    ``(A) be made coextensive with the regulations 
                adopted pursuant to other programs, regulated by the 
                Secretary, for sharing information on unlawful 
                activities between financial institutions;
                    ``(B) establish a registration process overseen by 
                the Secretary that--
                            ``(i) requires a nonprofit organization to 
                        demonstrate that they meet certain 
                        qualifications that the Secretary determines 
                        appropriate, including the establishment of 
                        policies and procedures reasonably designed to 
                        ensure the prompt identification and correction 
                        of inaccurate information shared under 
                        paragraph (1);
                            ``(ii) allows the Secretary to disqualify 
                        nonprofit organizations that do not meet such 
                        qualifications; and
                            ``(iii) allows the Secretary to terminate 
                        the registration of a nonprofit organization at 
                        any point if the Secretary determines such 
                        termination is appropriate and provides 
                        sufficient notice of such termination to the 
                        applicable nonprofit organization;
                    ``(C) require a nonprofit organization to register 
                with the Secretary before sharing information that will 
                be subject to the safe harbor provided under subsection 
                (b); and
                    ``(D) ensure that financial institutions, 
                associations of financial institutions, their 
                regulatory authorities, law enforcement authorities, 
                and any other appropriate entities are made aware of 
                those nonprofit organizations that are registered with 
                the Secretary.
            ``(4) Recipients of information.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall determine 
                those financial institutions which are eligible to be 
                recipients of information from nonprofit organizations 
                made in compliance with the regulations issued under 
                subsection (a). Such eligible financial institutions 
                may include those already participating in existing 
                information sharing programs regulated by the Secretary 
                regarding unlawful activity.
                    ``(B) No safe harbor for information provided to 
                other financial institutions.--If a nonprofit 
                organization shares information with a financial 
                institution that is not eligible under subparagraph 
                (A), such sharing of information shall not be subject 
                to the safe harbor provided under subsection (b).
            ``(5) Information sharing between financial institutions.--
        The regulations adopted pursuant to this section--
                    ``(A) may be coextensive with other regulations 
                governing the sharing of information between financial 
                institutions on suspected unlawful activities; and
                    ``(B) shall allow financial institutions that 
                receive information in compliance with the regulations 
                issued under subsection (a) to share such information 
                with other financial institutions through existing 
                information sharing programs.
    ``(b) Safe Harbor for Information Providers.--
            ``(1) In general.--A nonprofit organization, financial 
        institution, association of financial institutions, regulatory 
        authority of a financial institution, or law enforcement agency 
        in compliance with the regulations issued under subsection (a) 
        that transmits or shares information described under subsection 
        (a) for the purposes of identifying or reporting activities 
        that may involve human trafficking acts or related money 
        laundering activities shall not be liable to any person under 
        any law or regulation of the United States, any constitution, 
        law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision 
        thereof, or under any contract or other legally enforceable 
        agreement (including any arbitration agreement), for such 
        disclosure or for any failure to provide notice of such 
        disclosure to the person who is the subject of such disclosure, 
        or any other person identified in the disclosure, except where 
        such transmission or sharing violates this section or 
        regulations issued pursuant to this section.
            ``(2) No good faith requirement.--A nonprofit organization, 
        financial institution, association of financial institutions, 
        regulatory authority of a financial institution, or law 
        enforcement agency that transmits or shares information 
        described under paragraph (1) shall not be required to 
        demonstrate that such transmission or sharing was made on a 
        good faith basis in order to receive the benefit of the safe 
        harbor provided by paragraph (1).
    ``(c) Non-Mandatory Compliance With This Section.--This section may 
not be construed as requiring a nonprofit organization to comply with 
the regulations issued under subsection (a) before sharing information 
with a financial institution, association of financial institutions, 
regulatory authority of a financial institution, or law enforcement 
agency.
    ``(d) Reports to the Financial Services Industry on Suspicious 
Financial Activities.--Beginning 10 months after the date of the 
enactment of this section, and at least semiannually thereafter, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall--
            ``(1) publish a report containing a detailed analysis 
        identifying patterns of suspicious activity and other 
        investigative insights derived from the regulations issued 
        under this section and investigations conducted by Federal, 
        State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to the extent 
        appropriate;
            ``(2) distribute such report to financial institutions; and
            ``(3) provide such report upon publication to the Committee 
        on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
    ``(e) Nonprofit Organization Defined.--For purposes of this 
section, the term `nonprofit organization' means an organization 
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for chapter 53 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 5332 the following:

``5333. Anti-money laundering information providers.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 2018.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 6729

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To allow nonprofit organizations to register with the Secretary of the 
  Treasury and share information on activities that may involve human 
    trafficking or money laundering with financial institutions and 
  regulatory authorities, under a safe harbor that offers protections 
from liability, in order to better identify and report potential human 
              trafficking or money laundering activities.