H. R. 775—18
(C) the plaintiff class does not seek an award of puni-
tive damages, and the amount in controversy is less than
the sum of $10,000,000 (exclusive of interest and costs),
computed on the basis of all claims to be determined in
the action; or
(D) there are less than 100 members of the proposed
plaintiff class.
A party urging that any exception described in subparagraph
(A), (B), (C), or (D) applies to an action shall bear the full
burden of demonstrating the applicability of the exception.
(3) PROCEDURE IF REQUIREMENTS NOT MET.—
(A) DISMISSAL OR REMAND.—A United States district
court shall dismiss, or, if after removal, strike the class
allegations and remand, any Y2K action brought or
removed under this subsection as a class action if—
(i) the action is subject to the jurisdiction of the
court solely under this subsection; and
(ii) the court determines the action may not pro-
ceed as a class action based on a failure to satisfy
the conditions of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
(B) AMENDMENT; REMOVAL.—Nothing in paragraph (A)
shall prohibit plaintiffs from filing an amended class action
in Federal or State court. A defendant shall have the
right to remove such an amended class action to a United
States district court under this subsection.
(C) PERIOD OF LIMITATIONS TOLLED.—Upon dismissal
or remand, the period of limitations for any claim that
was asserted in an action on behalf of any named or
unnamed member of any proposed class shall be deemed
tolled to the full extent provided under Federal law.
(D) DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE.—The dismissal of
a Y2K action under subparagraph (A) shall be without
prejudice.
(d) EFFECT ON RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.—Except as other-
wise provided in this section, nothing in this section supersedes
any rule of Federal or State civil procedure applicable to class
actions.
SEC. 16. APPLICABILITY OF STATE LAW.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the applicability
of any State law that provides stricter limits on damages and
liabilities, affording greater protection to defendants in Y2K actions,
than are provided in this Act.
SEC. 17. ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE ULTIMATE ISSUE IN STATE COURTS.
Any party to a Y2K action in a State court in a State that
has not adopted a rule of evidence substantially similar to Rule
704 of the Federal Rules of Evidence may introduce in such action
evidence that would be admissible if Rule 704 applied in that
jurisdiction.
SEC. 18. SUSPENSION OF PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN YEAR 2000 FAIL-
URES BY SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
(1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means any executive agency, as
defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, that
H. R. 775—19
has the authority to impose civil penalties on small business
concerns;
(2) the term ‘‘first-time violation’’ means a violation by
a small business concern of a federally enforceable rule or
regulation (other than a Federal rule or regulation that relates
to the safety and soundness of the banking or monetary system
or for the integrity of the National Securities markets, including
protection of depositors and investors) caused by a Y2K failure
if that Federal rule or regulation had not been violated by
that small business concern within the preceding 3 years; and
(3) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the same
meaning as a defendant described in section 5(b)(2)(B).
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF LIAISONS.—Not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, each agency shall—
(1) establish a point of contact within the agency to act
as a liaison between the agency and small business concerns
with respect to problems arising out of Y2K failures and compli-
ance with Federal rules or regulations; and
(2) publish the name and phone number of the point of
contact for the agency in the Federal Register.
(c) GENERAL RULE.—Subject to subsections (d) and (e), no
agency shall impose any civil money penalty on a small business
concern for a first-time violation.
(d) STANDARDS FOR WAIVER.—An agency shall provide a waiver
of civil money penalties for a first-time violation, provided that
a small business concern demonstrates, and the agency determines,
that—
(1) the small business concern previously made a reason-
able good faith effort to anticipate, prevent, and effectively
remediate a potential Y2K failure;
(2) a first-time violation occurred as a result of the Y2K
failure of the small business concern or other entity, which
significantly affected the small business concern’s ability to
comply with a Federal rule or regulation;
(3) the first-time violation was unavoidable in the face
of a Y2K failure or occurred as a result of efforts to prevent
the disruption of critical functions or services that could result
in harm to life or property;
(4) upon identification of a first-time violation, the small
business concern initiated reasonable and prompt measures
to correct the violation; and
(5) the small business concern submitted notice to the
appropriate agency of the first-time violation within a reason-
able time not to exceed 5 business days from the time that
the small business concern became aware that the first-time
violation had occurred.
(e) EXCEPTIONS.—An agency may impose civil money penalties
authorized under Federal law on a small business concern for
a first-time violation if—
(1) the small business concern’s failure to comply with
Federal rules or regulations resulted in actual harm, or con-
stitutes or creates an imminent threat to public health, safety,
or the environment; or
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(2) the small business concern fails to correct the violation
not later than 1 month after initial notification to the agency.
(f ) EXPIRATION.—This section shall not apply to first-time viola-
tions caused by a Y2K failure occurring after December 31, 2000.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.