I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5534 
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to provide proce-
dures for guidance issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec-
tion, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2018 
Mr. DUFFY (for himself and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 
to provide procedures for guidance issued by the Bureau 
of Consumer Financial Protection, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Give Useful Informa-
tion to Define Effective Compliance Act’’ or the ‘‘GUIDE 
Compliance Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR BUREAU GUIDANCE. 
Section 1022(b) of the Consumer Financial Protec-
tion Act of 2010 is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(5) PROCEDURES FOR BUREAU GUIDANCE.— 
‘‘(A) GUIDANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The Di-
rector shall issue guidance that is necessary or 
appropriate to enable the Bureau to carry out 
Federal consumer financial law, including facili-
tating compliance with such law. 
‘‘(B) GUIDANCE DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this paragraph, the term ‘guidance’— 
‘‘(i) means any written interpretive or 
legislative rule, interim final rule, bulletin, 
statement of policy, letter, examination 
manual, frequently asked question, or 
other document issued by the Bureau re-
garding compliance with a Federal con-
sumer financial law that is exempt from 
notice and comment rulemaking require-
ments under section 553(b) of title 5, 
United States Code; and 
‘‘(ii) does not include a complaint, 
consent order, judgment, or decision issued 
under subtitle E. 
‘‘(C) RULEMAKING.— 
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‘‘(i) PROPOSED
RULE.—The Bureau 
shall publish in the Federal Register and 
on its website within 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this paragraph a pro-
posed rule defining— 
‘‘(I) each type of guidance it 
shall provide; 
‘‘(II) the criteria the Bureau will 
use for selecting each type of guid-
ance; 
‘‘(III) the process and timelines 
for requests for guidance; 
‘‘(IV) the time periods for the re-
sponse of the Bureau to a request for 
each type of guidance; 
‘‘(V) a process for amending or 
revoking guidance issued under the 
rule, including a process for public no-
tice and comment on any proposal to 
amend or revoke guidance, unless the 
Bureau determines public notice and 
comment is not required due to public 
exigency. 
‘‘(ii) FINAL RULE.—The Bureau shall 
publish a final rule based on the proposed 
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rule described in clause (i) within 18 
months after the date of the enactment of 
this paragraph. 
‘‘(D) RELIANCE ON BUREAU GUIDANCE.— 
No person shall be held liable for any act done 
or omitted in good faith in conformity with any 
applicable guidance from the Bureau or any 
predecessor agency that was in effect at the 
time of such act or omission, even if such guid-
ance is later revoked, amended, or rendered in-
consistent by guidance or action by the Bureau 
or a determination by a court of competent ju-
risdiction. 
‘‘(E) DEVELOPMENT OF A PENALTY MA-
TRIX.—Not later than 18 months after the date 
of the enactment of this subparagraph, the Bu-
reau shall publish in the Federal Register and 
on its website a proposed rule establishing 
guidelines for determining the size of any civil 
monetary penalties issued by the Bureau based 
on the severity of the actionable conduct in vio-
lation of a Federal consumer financial law and 
the level of culpability. The regulations pre-
scribed under this paragraph shall, to the full-
est extent possible, align with any chart, ma-
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trix, rule, or guideline published by the Office 
of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System.’’. 
Æ 
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