To amend section 5313 of title 31, United States Code, to reform certain requirements for reporting cash transactions, and for other purposes.

Summary: Seasoned Customer CTR Exemption Act of 2006 - Amends federal money and finance law to: (1) repeal the current authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to exempt a depository institution from currency transaction reporting (CTR) requirements with respect to transactions between the depository institution and a qualified business customer; and (2) instruct the Secretary to prescribe regulations that exempt a depository institution from filing a CTR if the transaction is with a qualified customer.

Defines qualified customer as any person that: (1) is incorporated or organized under federal or state law, including a sole proprietorship, or is registered as and eligible to do business within the United States or a state; (2) has maintained a deposit account with the depository institution for at least 12 months; and (3) has engaged, using such account, in multiple currency transactions subject to federal CTR requirements.

Requires such regulations to require a depository institution to file a one-time notice of designation of exemption for each of its qualified customers.

Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) suspend, reject, or revoke any qualified customer exemption notice; and (2) establish conditions under which exempt qualified customers of an insured depository institution merged with or acquired by another insured depository institution will continue to be treated as designated exempt qualified customers of the surviving or acquiring institution.

Requires the Secretary to submit a three-year review and report evaluating implementation of this Act.

Requires the Secretary to review every five years: (1) the continuing appropriateness, relevance, and utility of each threshold amount or denomination established for any mandatory CTR; (2) adjust such amount for inflation, if any; and (3) report to Congress the review findings and conclusions, together with an explanation for any adjustment, or lack of adjustment, of any threshold amount or denomination.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Seasoned Customer CTR Exemption Act 
of 2006''.

SEC. 2. EXCEPTION FROM CURRENCY TRANSACTION REPORTS FOR SEASONED 
              CUSTOMERS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The completion of and filing of currency transaction 
        reports under section 5313 of title 31, United States Code, 
        poses a compliance burden on the financial industry.
            (2) Due to the nature of the transactions or the persons 
        and entities conducting such transactions, some reports as 
        currently filed may not be relevant to the detection, 
        deterrence, or investigation of financial crimes, including 
        money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
            (3) However, the data contained in such reports can provide 
        valuable context for the analysis of other data derived 
        pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 
        States Code, as well as investigative data, which provide 
        invaluable and indispensable information supporting efforts to 
        combat money laundering and other financial crimes.
            (4) An appropriate exemption process from the reporting 
        requirements for certain currency transactions that are of 
        little or no value to ongoing efforts of law enforcement 
        agencies, financial regulatory agencies, and the financial 
        services industry to investigate, detect, or deter financial 
        crimes would continue to fulfill the compelling need to produce 
        and provide meaningful information to policy-makers, financial 
        regulators, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies, while 
        potentially lowering the compliance burden placed on financial 
        institutions by the need to file such reports.
            (5) The Secretary of the Treasury has by regulation, and in 
        accordance with section 5313 of title 31, United States Code, 
        implemented a process by which institutions may seek exemptions 
        from filing certain currency transaction reports based on 
        appropriate circumstances; however, the financial industry has 
        not taken full advantage of these provisions and has contended 
        that they are unduly burdensome.
            (6) The act of providing notice to the Secretary of the 
        Treasury of designations of exemption--
                    (A) provides meaningful information to law 
                enforcement officials on exempt customers and enables 
                law enforcement to obtain account information through 
                appropriate legal process; and
                    (B) complements other sections of title 31, United 
                States Code, whereby law enforcement can locate 
                financial institutions with relevant records relating 
                to a person of investigative interest, such as 
                information requests made pursuant to regulations 
                implementing section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act of 
                2001.
            (7) A designation of exemption has no effect on 
        requirements for depository institutions to apply the full 
        range of anti-money laundering controls required under 
        subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, 
        and related provisions of law, including the requirement to 
        apply the customer identification program pursuant to section 
        5326 of such title, and the requirement to identify, monitor, 
        and, if appropriate, report suspicious activity in accordance 
        with section 5318(g) of such title.
            (8) The Federal banking agencies and the Financial Crimes 
        Enforcement Network have recently provided guidance through the 
        Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Bank Secrecy 
        Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual on applying 
        appropriate levels of due diligence and identifying suspicious 
        activity by the types of cash-intensive businesses that 
        generally will be subject to exemption.
    (b) Seasoned Customer Exemption.--Section 5313(e) of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Qualified Customer Exemption.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before the end of the 270-day period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of the Seasoned Customer 
        CTR Exemption Act of 2006, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        prescribe regulations that exempt any depository institution 
        from filing a report pursuant to this section in a transaction 
        for the payment, receipt, or transfer of United States coins or 
        currency (or other monetary instruments the Secretary of the 
        Treasury prescribes) with a qualified customer of the 
        depository institution.
            ``(2) Qualified customer defined.--For purposes of this 
        section, the term `qualified customer', with respect to a 
        depository institution, has such meaning as the Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall prescribe, which shall include any person 
        that--
                    ``(A) is incorporated or organized under the laws 
                of the United States or any State, including a sole 
                proprietorship (as defined in 31 C.F.R. 
                103.22(d)(6)(vii), as in effect on May 10, 2006), or is 
                registered as and eligible to do business within the 
                United States or a State;
                    ``(B) has maintained a deposit account with the 
                depository institution for at least 12 months; and
                    ``(C) has engaged, using such account, in multiple 
                currency transactions that are subject to the reporting 
                requirements of subsection (a).
            ``(3) Regulations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall prescribe regulations requiring a depository 
                institution to file a 1-time notice of designation of 
                exemption for each qualified customer of the depository 
                institution.
                    ``(B) Form and content of exemption notice.--The 
                Secretary shall by regulation prescribe the form, 
                manner, content, and timing of the qualified customer 
                exemption notice and such notice shall include 
                information sufficient to identify the qualified 
                customer and the accounts of the customer.
                    ``(C) Authority of secretary.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary may 
                        suspend, reject, or revoke any qualified 
                        customer exemption notice, in accordance with 
                        criteria prescribed by the Secretary by 
                        regulation.
                            ``(ii) Conditions.--The Secretary may 
                        establish conditions, in accordance with 
                        criteria prescribed by regulation, under which 
                        exempt qualified customers of an insured 
                        depository institution that is merged with or 
                        acquired by another insured depository 
                        institution will continue to be treated as 
                        designated exempt qualified customers of the 
                        surviving or acquiring institution.''.
    (c) 3-Year Review and Report.--Before the end of the 3-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, the Federal banking agencies, the banking 
industry, and such other persons as the Secretary deems appropriate, 
shall evaluate the operations and effect of the provisions of the 
amendment made by subsection (a) and make recommendations to Congress 
as to any legislative action with respect to such provision as the 
Secretary may determine to be appropriate.

SEC. 3. PERIODIC REVIEW OF REPORTING THRESHOLD AND ADJUSTMENT FOR 
              INFLATION.

    Section 5318 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(o) Periodic Review of Reporting Threshold and Adjustment for 
Inflation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before the end of the 90-day period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of the Seasoned Customer 
        CTR Exemption Act of 2006 and at least every 5 years after the 
        end of such period, the Secretary of the Treasury shall--
                    ``(A) review the continuing appropriateness, 
                relevance, and utility of each threshold amount or 
                denomination established by the Secretary, in the 
                Secretary's discretion, for any report required by the 
                Secretary under this subchapter; and
                    ``(B) adjust each such amount, at such time and in 
                such manner as the Secretary considers appropriate, for 
                any inflation that the Secretary determines has 
                occurred since the date any such amount was established 
                or last adjusted, as the case may be.
            ``(2) Report.--Before the end of the 60-day period 
        beginning upon the completion of any review by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit a 
        report to the Congress containing the findings and conclusions 
        of the Secretary in connection with such review, together with 
        an explanation for any adjustment, or lack of adjustment, of 
        any threshold amount or denomination by the Secretary as a 
        result of such review, including the adjustment for 
        inflation.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 27, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.