I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3977 
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish limits on certain fees 
with regard to credit card accounts under open-end consumer credit 
plans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 29, 2009 
Ms. SUTTON (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, 
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. HARE, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. HASTINGS of 
Florida, Mr. SIRES, Mr. COURTNEY, and Ms. MARKEY of Colorado) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish limits 
on certain fees with regard to credit card accounts under 
open-end consumer credit plans, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Credit Card Fee Limi-
tation and Accountability Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ESTABLISHED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 127 of the Truth in Lend-
ing Act (U.S.C. 1637) is amended by inserting after sub-
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section (r) (as added by the Credit CARD Act of 2009) 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(s) LIMITATIONS ON FEES AND OTHER ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN FEES.—A cred-
itor may not impose any of the following on any 
credit card account under an open-end consumer 
credit plan: 
‘‘(A) Any fee directly or indirectly related 
to the failure of the consumer to use the credit 
card to obtain an extension of credit during any 
period. 
‘‘(B) Any fee directly or indirectly related 
to the failure of the consumer to carry an out-
standing balance from any billing cycle to an-
other. 
‘‘(C) Any fee directly or indirectly related 
to the failure of the consumer to obtain a min-
imum amount of credit under such account dur-
ing any specified period. 
‘‘(2) NO-EFFECT CANCELLATION OF ACCOUNT 
UPON INTRODUCTION OF ANNUAL FEE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, in the case of a 
credit card account under an open-end con-
sumer credit plan which did not require the 
payment of an annual fee under the terms of 
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such plan at the time the account was first 
opened, a creditor imposes an annual fee at any 
time after such account is opened, the consumer 
may— 
‘‘(i) cancel such account within 45 
days of receiving notice of such fee imposi-
tion; and 
‘‘(ii) pay any outstanding balance on 
the account at the time of cancellation in 
accordance with the terms in effect at the 
time of such cancellation. 
‘‘(B) NO ADVERSE EFFECTS.—No creditor 
may take any action with respect to any con-
sumer who cancels a credit card account in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (A), as a direct or 
indirect result of such cancellation, which would 
have any adverse effect on such consumer and 
such consumer’s ability to obtain credit under a 
credit card account under an open-end con-
sumer credit plan. 
‘‘(3) REASONABLE ANNUAL FEES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of any 
annual fee that a card issuer may impose with 
respect to a credit card account under an open- 
end consumer credit plan, shall be reasonable. 
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‘‘(B) 
RULEMAKING
REQUIRED.—The 
Board, in consultation with the Comptroller of 
the Currency, the Board of Directors of the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Di-
rector of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and 
the National Credit Union Administration 
Board, shall issue final rules not later than 6 
months after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion, to establish standards for assessing wheth-
er the amount of any annual fee is reasonable. 
‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing rules 
required by this section, the Board shall con-
sider— 
‘‘(i) the purported reason the creditor 
is instituting an annual fee; 
‘‘(ii) if the credit card account had an 
annual fee at the opening of the account; 
and 
‘‘(iii) such other factors as the Board 
may deem necessary or appropriate.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION
ON ADVERSE EFFECTS
OF CAN-
CELLATION ON CREDIT SCORE.—Section 609 of the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
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‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CAN-
CELLATION ON CREDIT SCORE.—No consumer reporting 
agency or other person who develops a credit score (as 
defined in subsection (f)(2)) for any consumer may take 
any action with respect to, or make any determination 
based on, the cancellation by the consumer of a credit card 
account under an open-end consumer credit plan in ac-
cordance with section 127(s)(2) which would result in the 
development or distribution of a credit score for such con-
sumer which is lower than a credit score that would result 
for such consumer without taking into account such can-
cellation.’’. 
Æ 
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