<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="billres.xsl"?>
<!DOCTYPE bill PUBLIC "-//US Congress//DTDs/bill.dtd//EN" "bill.dtd">
<bill bill-stage="Introduced-in-Senate" dms-id="A1" public-private="public" slc-id="S1-EHF23087-VL9-VX-6Y6"><metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
<dublinCore>
<dc:title>118 S5592 IS: Protecting America's Economy from the Carbon Bubble Act of 2023</dc:title>
<dc:publisher>U.S. Senate</dc:publisher>
<dc:date>2024-12-18</dc:date>
<dc:format>text/xml</dc:format>
<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
</dublinCore>
</metadata>
<form>
<distribution-code display="yes">II</distribution-code><congress>118th CONGRESS</congress><session>2d Session</session><legis-num>S. 5592</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES</current-chamber><action><action-date date="20241218" legis-day="20241216">December 18 (legislative day, December 16), 2024</action-date><action-desc><sponsor name-id="S322">Mr. Merkley</sponsor> introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the <committee-name committee-id="SSBK00">Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs</committee-name></action-desc></action><legis-type>A BILL</legis-type><official-title>To amend the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to prohibit bank holding companies from facilitating fossil fuel production from new sources, or from facilitating transactions that would provide funds for the construction of new or expanded fossil infrastructure that would drive such production, and for other purposes.</official-title></form><legis-body display-enacting-clause="yes-display-enacting-clause"><section section-type="section-one" id="S1"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Protecting America's Economy from the Carbon Bubble Act of 2023</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section id="id58C7FD3633D24955AD3B2031B5D4D692"><enum>2.</enum><header>Prohibition on facilitating fossil fuel production from new sources</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/12/1841">12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.</external-xref>) is amended by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id83B3F2F2E9FE454683FFEA7597C34732"><section id="id2D360CC3E0584055947C060905E7C2BF"><enum>15.</enum><header>Prohibition on facilitating fossil fuel production from new sources</header><subsection id="idC3BFF59701354AEC95A1BAD2BD8E06FC"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this section—</text><paragraph id="id9EA35CCE56C142929A78F03C0DC115ED"><enum>(1)</enum><text>the terms <term>exchange</term>, <term>issuer</term>, and <term>security</term> have the meanings given those terms in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/78c">15 U.S.C. 78c(a)</external-xref>);</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id0967BC74D7A14D3B807AAA8926270FAB"><enum>(2)</enum><text>the term <term>financial company</term> means—</text><subparagraph id="id636663F4AC914F30BE27576CB967A074"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a bank holding company, savings and loan holding company, or similar institution;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id9ED13C6086A64894B45649B28363A046"><enum>(B)</enum><text>a foreign banking organization or company that is treated as a bank holding company under this Act;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id11d285e3345f46e9a93ec85260671481"><enum>(C)</enum><text>an insured depository institution, a thrift institution, a savings association, an industrial loan company, or similar institution; or</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id5A500DC6549E45E0B6D78C7B187D870C"><enum>(D)</enum><text>any subsidiary, agency, or affiliate of an entity described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C);</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idD7886FDA07CE4791B0A0507345280493"><enum>(3)</enum><text>the term <term>fossil fuel</term> means coal, petroleum, natural gas, or any derivative of coal, petroleum, or natural gas, that is used for fuel, including hydrogen combined with any such derivative;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id9082C2CD03CF4B7AAE108AE7023FCAA7"><enum>(4)</enum><text>the term <term>fossil infrastructure</term> means fossil fuel-related projects, including wells, rail infrastructure, pipelines, terminals, refineries, and power plants;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id33104209FCA04B7D9B65414F1A0D938F"><enum>(5)</enum><text>the term <term>national securities exchange</term> means an exchange registered as a national securities exchange in accordance with section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/78f">15 U.S.C. 78f</external-xref>);</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id9cddbe963c754a8aa7966acf01876f45"><enum>(6)</enum><text>the term <term>new sources</term> means—</text><subparagraph id="id17BDC61AE36044D69C48D3DDF0E7DE2C"><enum>(A)</enum><text>any production in excess of proven developed producing reserves of fossil fuels, as of the date of enactment of this section; or</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id84247AF651FC4894B068BC05CA7FD042"><enum>(B)</enum><text>new or expanded fossil infrastructure that would facilitate the production described in subparagraph (A); </text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id46cad589d8f64c6088c8c5f3a177ef52"><enum>(7)</enum><text>the term <term>production</term> means extractive or production activities that result in fossil fuels being made available for refining or use; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1B819CE06B074014B2CA039514BBBC64"><enum>(8)</enum><text>the term <term>publicly traded entity</term> means an issuer, the securities of which are listed on a national securities exchange.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idDC5694D7EB4F45DF8CC0F72D80454057"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Prohibition</header><text>No financial company may facilitate production, including by—</text><paragraph id="id25AFD43E50D140DB823A1142A2CFE009"><enum>(1)</enum><text>making loans to, making investments in, or otherwise engaging in any activity that is financial in nature, or incidental to such financial activity, with a fossil fuel company;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id7ca5f10d175547dd9cafb3eb640eaac6"><enum>(2)</enum><text>making loans to, making investments in, or otherwise engaging in any activity that is financial in nature, or incidental to such financial activity, for a fossil fuel project; </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id730404EFFCD74411B7648E6758EAB37E"><enum>(3)</enum><text>taking compensation to arrange, or facilitate a transaction that provides funds for, production with respect to new sources;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idD3252569C0364317A7412EFE65C4A0C7"><enum>(4)</enum><text>securitizing assets that provide funds for production with respect to new sources; </text></paragraph><paragraph id="idEF52A21D371D4C41AC937B4CB3A000EB"><enum>(5)</enum><text>entering into a derivatives transaction designed to provide funding for, facilitate, or hedge risks from production with respect to new sources;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id4A83C3596B5847B38A1BCE03363AD720"><enum>(6)</enum><text>engaging in any activity that is complementary to a financial activity involving production with respect to new sources, including financing the international trade of production with respect to new sources; or</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id2292e79bda514946870b685ec761f9a8"><enum>(7)</enum><text>engaging in any other form of activity defined by regulators or supervisors of the financial company. </text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idbe69ec0d019d4e16b55f9800489062d4"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Compliance program</header><paragraph id="id9ee16b316dde4fe487bace0299de2052"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Each financial company shall maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that relationships with customers or counterparties do not facilitate production with respect to new sources.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id3b04451aedcd40cda557867be5772f50"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Attestation</header><text>The chief executive officer of each financial company shall comply with an attestation for compliance with this section, subject to such rules as the Board may prescribe that shall be no less strict than those set forth under section 351.20(c) of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id83007800b3494a41887eec36008ed5d3"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Supervision</header><text>The appropriate Federal banking agency shall supervise the policies and procedures described in this subsection and the implementation of those policies and procedures.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id766FDCCBF1464B2FB47F4634FE8FAA03"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Penalties</header><paragraph id="idC10519CF3DAD423EADCC129E58FBDC2A"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Criminal penalty</header><subparagraph id="idA9EB849AFFE7490BAD615F9BF5BFBF83"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Whoever knowingly violates any provision of this section or, being a company, violates any regulation or order issued by the Board under this section, shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, fined not more than $1,000,000 per day for each day during which the violation continues, or both.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idacc8edba87cd48acb97351c345307e5c"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Intent to deceive, defraud, or profit</header><text>Whoever, with the intent to deceive, defraud, or profit significantly, knowingly violates any provision of this section shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, fined not more than $5,000,000 per day for each day during which the violation continues, or both.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idb04af66366044e7295f04d529c222235"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Prohibition on employment</header><text>Any individual who knowingly violates any provision of this section shall be banned from future employment with any bank holding company or issuer or publicly traded entity.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id5929b448f6564cfb987f2daa01bb79f2"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Civil monetary penalty</header><text>Any financial company that violates, and any individual who participates in a violation of, any provision of this section, or any regulation or order issued under this section, shall forfeit all revenues associated with such a violation and pay an additional civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day during which the violation continues.</text></paragraph></subsection></section><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></section></legis-body></bill> 

