FINE Act
Bill: H.R.8306 | Sponsor: Rep. Hudson, Richard (R-NC)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Federal Infringements Need Enforcement Act or the FINE Act
This bill allows a state attorney general to recover unpaid penalties imposed by the Federal Communications Commission for illegal robocalls and other violations of restrictions on the use of automated telephone equipment.

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to permit State attorneys 
   general to recover forfeiture penalties determined by the Federal 
 Communications Commission for certain violations of section 227(b) of 
                   such Act, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Infringements Need 
Enforcement Act'' or the ``FINE Act''.

SEC. 2. RECOVERY BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF CERTAIN FORFEITURE 
              PENALTIES DETERMINED BY FCC.

    (a) In General.--Section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 227(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Recovery by state attorneys general of forfeiture 
        penalties for violations with intent.--
                    ``(A) Civil action.--In any case in which a State 
                attorney general has reason to believe that an interest 
                of the residents of such State has been adversely 
                affected by a violation described in paragraph (4)(B) 
                for which the Commission has determined a forfeiture 
                penalty under such paragraph, the State attorney 
                general may bring a civil action on behalf of the 
                residents of such State exclusively in a district court 
                of the United States of appropriate jurisdiction to 
                recover any unpaid amount of such forfeiture penalty.
                    ``(B) Deposit of funds in treasury; retention of 
                costs.--
                            ``(i) Deposit.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), a State attorney general shall, 
                        not later than 30 days after recovering any 
                        funds in a civil action under subparagraph (A), 
                        deposit such funds in the general fund of the 
                        Treasury of the United States for the sole 
                        purpose of deficit reduction.
                            ``(ii) Retention.--A State attorney general 
                        who recovers any funds in a civil action under 
                        subparagraph (A) may retain an amount of such 
                        funds equal to the amount of costs incurred by 
                        the State attorney general in bringing such 
                        action.
                    ``(C) Consolidation of actions brought by two or 
                more state attorneys general.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), whenever a civil action under 
                        subparagraph (A) is pending and another civil 
                        action or actions are filed under such 
                        subparagraph in a different district court or 
                        courts of the United States that involve one or 
                        more common questions of fact, a defendant in 
                        such actions may elect for all such actions 
                        (or, if the Attorney General of the United 
                        States has intervened in two or more such 
                        actions under subparagraph (D), the Attorney 
                        General of the United States may elect for all 
                        such actions in which the Attorney General of 
                        the United States has intervened) to be 
                        transferred for the purposes of consolidated 
                        pretrial proceedings and trial to the United 
                        States District Court for the District of 
                        Columbia.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--An action described in 
                        clause (i) may not be transferred under such 
                        clause if pretrial proceedings in such action 
                        have been concluded before a subsequent action 
                        described in such clause is filed by a State 
                        attorney general. Nothing in this clause may be 
                        construed to prohibit the transfer of any other 
                        action described in clause (i).
                    ``(D) Notice to and intervention by attorney 
                general of the united states.--
                            ``(i) Notice.--A State attorney general 
                        shall provide prior written notice of any civil 
                        action under subparagraph (A) to the Attorney 
                        General of the United States and provide the 
                        Attorney General of the United States a copy of 
                        the complaint of the State attorney general in 
                        such action, except in any case in which such 
                        prior notice is not feasible, in which case the 
                        State attorney general shall serve such notice 
                        immediately upon filing such action.
                            ``(ii) Right to intervene.--The Attorney 
                        General of the United States shall have the 
                        right to intervene in a civil action filed by a 
                        State attorney general under subparagraph (A).
                            ``(iii) Effect of intervention.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--If the Attorney 
                                General of the United States intervenes 
                                in an action filed by a State attorney 
                                general under subparagraph (A), the 
                                Attorney General of the United States 
                                shall have the primary responsibility 
                                for prosecuting the action, and shall 
                                not be bound by an act of the State 
                                attorney general. The State attorney 
                                general shall have the right to 
                                continue as a party to the action, 
                                subject to the limitations set forth in 
                                subclauses (II) through (IV).
                                    ``(II) Dismissal.--The Attorney 
                                General of the United States may 
                                dismiss the action notwithstanding the 
                                objections of the State attorney 
                                general if the State attorney general 
                                has been notified by the Attorney 
                                General of the United States of the 
                                filing of the motion and the court has 
                                provided the State attorney general 
                                with an opportunity for a hearing on 
                                the motion.
                                    ``(III) Limitation of participation 
                                on showing by attorney general of the 
                                united states.--Upon a showing by the 
                                Attorney General of the United States 
                                that unrestricted participation during 
                                the course of the litigation by the 
                                State attorney general would interfere 
                                with or unduly delay the prosecution of 
                                the case by the Attorney General of the 
                                United States, or would be repetitious, 
                                irrelevant, or for purposes of 
                                harassment, the court may, in its 
                                discretion, impose limitations on the 
                                participation by the State attorney 
                                general, such as--
                                            ``(aa) limiting the number 
                                        of witnesses the State attorney 
                                        general may call;
                                            ``(bb) limiting the length 
                                        of the testimony of such 
                                        witnesses;
                                            ``(cc) limiting the cross-
                                        examination of witnesses by the 
                                        State attorney general; or
                                            ``(dd) otherwise limiting 
                                        the participation by the State 
                                        attorney general in the 
                                        litigation.
                                    ``(IV) Limitation of participation 
                                on showing by defendant.--Upon a 
                                showing by the defendant that 
                                unrestricted participation during the 
                                course of the litigation by the State 
                                attorney general would be for purposes 
                                of harassment or would cause the 
                                defendant undue burden or unnecessary 
                                expense, the court may limit the 
                                participation by the State attorney 
                                general in the litigation.
                    ``(E) Relationship between federal and state 
                actions.--
                            ``(i) No federal action after state action 
                        filed.--After a civil action under subparagraph 
                        (A) has been filed by a State attorney general, 
                        the Attorney General of the United States may 
                        not bring a separate action under section 
                        504(a) to recover the same forfeiture penalty 
                        against a defendant named in the civil action 
                        filed by the State attorney general.
                            ``(ii) No state action after federal action 
                        filed or intervention by attorney general of 
                        the united states.--If the Attorney General of 
                        the United States has filed a civil action 
                        under section 504(a) to recover a forfeiture 
                        penalty determined under paragraph (4)(B), a 
                        State attorney general may not bring a civil 
                        action under subparagraph (A) to recover the 
                        same forfeiture penalty against a defendant 
                        named in the action filed by the Attorney 
                        General of the United States. If the Attorney 
                        General of the United States has intervened in 
                        a civil action brought by a State attorney 
                        general under subparagraph (A) to recover a 
                        forfeiture penalty determined under paragraph 
                        (4)(B), no additional State attorney general 
                        may bring a civil action under such 
                        subparagraph to recover the same forfeiture 
                        penalty against a defendant named in the civil 
                        action intervened in by the Attorney General of 
                        the United States.
                    ``(F) Trial de novo.--Any action by a State 
                attorney general under subparagraph (A) shall be a 
                trial de novo.
                    ``(G) Notice by commission to state attorneys 
                general.--Not later than 60 days after determining a 
                forfeiture penalty under paragraph (4)(B), the 
                Commission shall provide notice of such forfeiture 
                penalty to relevant (as determined by the Commission) 
                State attorneys general.
                    ``(H) Rule of construction.--For purposes of 
                bringing a civil action under subparagraph (A), nothing 
                in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent a State 
                attorney general from exercising the powers conferred 
                on the State attorney general by the laws of such State 
                to--
                            ``(i) conduct investigations;
                            ``(ii) administer oaths or affirmations; or
                            ``(iii) compel attendance of witnesses or 
                        the production of documentary and other 
                        evidence.
                    ``(I) State attorney general defined.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `State attorney general' means the 
                chief legal officer of a State.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--The Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 227(b)(4)(C), by inserting ``paragraph (5) 
        or'' after ``recoverable under''; and
            (2) in section 504--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by inserting ``or as otherwise provided 
                        in section 227(b)(5) of this Act'' after 
                        ``under section 503(b)(3) of this Act''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``It shall be'' and 
                        inserting ``Except as provided in section 
                        227(b)(5) of this Act, it shall be''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b), by inserting after ``such 
                forfeitures'' the following: ``(or, in the case of a 
                suit instituted by a State attorney general under 
                section 227(b)(5) of this Act, the State attorney 
                general, and the Attorney General of the United States 
                if the Attorney General of the United States has 
                intervened in such suit, upon request of the 
                Commission, shall take such actions as are necessary to 
                discontinue such suit)''.
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