IB 
Union Calendar No. 847 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5534 
[Report No. 115–1095] 
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 
DECEMBER 21, 2018 
Additional sponsors: Mr. RATCLIFFE, Mr. ROYCE of California, Mr. MARCH-
ANT, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. YOUNG of Iowa, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. 
TIPTON, Mr. BARR, Mr. COFFMAN, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia 
DECEMBER 21, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 17, 2018] 
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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 Information 
to Define Effective Compliance Act’’ or the ‘‘GUIDE Com-
pliance Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR BUREAU GUIDANCE. 
Section 1022(b) of the Consumer Financial Protection 
Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5512(b)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(5) PROCEDURES FOR BUREAU GUIDANCE.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘Bureau’ means— 
‘‘(I) the Director of the Bureau; 
‘‘(II) the Deputy Director of the 
Bureau; and 
‘‘(III) any employee of the Bureau 
described in section 1013(a)(1)(B); and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘guidance’— 
‘‘(I) means— 
‘‘(aa) an agency statement of 
general applicability and future 
effect, other than a regulatory ac-
tion, that sets forth a policy on a 
statutory, regulatory, or technical 
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issue or an interpretation of a 
statutory or regulatory issue; and 
‘‘(bb) any written interpre-
tive rule, bulletin, statement of 
policy, letter, examination man-
ual, frequently asked question, no-
tice, directive, news release, blog 
post, 
small 
entity 
compliance 
guide, or other authoritative docu-
ment issued by the Bureau re-
garding compliance with a Fed-
eral consumer financial law; and 
‘‘(II) does not include— 
‘‘(aa) a purely internal Bu-
reau policy; 
‘‘(bb) a law enforcement com-
munication such as a complaint, 
consent order, judgment, legal 
opinion, warning letter, investiga-
tory letter, notice of hearing, civil 
investigative demand, subpoena, 
no-action letter, advisory opinion, 
or any request in lieu of the fore-
going; 
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‘‘(cc) an individualized su-
pervisory communication such as 
a supervisory letter, report of ex-
amination, memorandum of un-
derstanding, 
board 
resolution, 
matter requiring attention, or in-
dividualized communication or 
agreement pursuant to the super-
visory authority of the Bureau; or 
‘‘(dd) a decision issued under 
subtitle E. 
‘‘(B) 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. 
‘‘(C) RULEMAKING.— 
‘‘(i) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than 
18 months after the date of enactment of 
this paragraph, the Bureau shall publish in 
the Federal Register and on the website of 
the Bureau a proposed rule defining— 
‘‘(I) each type of guidance the Bu-
reau shall provide; 
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‘‘(II) the criteria the Bureau shall 
use for selecting each type of guidance; 
‘‘(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; and 
‘‘(V) a process for amending or re-
voking guidance issued under the rule, 
including a process for public input on 
any proposal to amend or revoke guid-
ance, unless the Bureau determines 
public input is not required due to 
public exigency. 
‘‘(ii) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 
year after the date on which the proposed 
rule described in clause (i) is published, the 
Bureau shall publish a final rule based on 
the proposed rule. 
‘‘(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 the act or omission, even if the guidance is 
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later revoked, amended, or rendered inconsistent 
by guidance or action by the Bureau or a deter-
mination by a court of competent jurisdiction. 
‘‘(E) DEVELOPMENT
OF
A
PENALTY
MA-
TRIX.— 
‘‘(i) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than 
18 months after the date of the enactment of 
this subparagraph, the Bureau shall publish 
in the Federal Register and on the website 
of the Bureau a proposed rule establishing 
guidelines for determining the size of any 
civil monetary penalties issued by the Bu-
reau based on the severity of the actionable 
conduct in violation of a Federal consumer 
financial law and the level of culpability. 
The regulations prescribed under this para-
graph shall, to the extent possible, align 
with any chart, matrix, rule, or guideline 
published by the Office of the Comptroller of 
the Currency, the Corporation, or the Board 
of Governors. 
‘‘(ii) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 
year after the date on which the proposed 
rule described in clause (i) is published, the 
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Bureau shall publish a final rule based on 
the proposed rule.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 847 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5534 
[Report No. 115–1095] 
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 purposes. 
DECEMBER 21, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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