Title: Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2017
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2017
This bill amends the federal judicial code to prohibit a court, in any civil action in which the pleadings state facts relevant to the protection of public health or safety, from entering an order restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery, approving a settlement agreement that would restrict such disclosure, or restricting access to court records, unless the court first makes independent findings: (1) that the order would not restrict the disclosure of information relevant to the protection of public health or safety; or (2) that the public interest in the disclosure of past, present, or potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information and that the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
Courts are prohibited from enforcing any provision of: (1) an agreement between or among parties to the civil action, or an order entered under this bill, that restricts a party from disclosing information to any federal or state agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating to such information; or (2) a settlement agreement between or among parties to such civil action that prohibits a party from disclosing that a settlement was reached or the terms of the settlement (excluding any money paid) that involve matters relevant to the protection of public health or safety, or from discussing matters relevant to the protection of public health or safety involved in such civil action. The bill exempts from this enforcement prohibition (thus allows enforcement of) a settlement agreement provision about which the court finds that the public interest in the disclosure of past, present, or potential public health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information in question, and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that the interest in protecting personally identifiable information of an individual outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
Nothing in this bill shall be construed to permit, require, or authorize the disclosure of classified information, as defined under the Classified Information Procedures Act.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1053 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1053

   To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to 
     protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery 
         information in civil actions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2017

  Mr. Nadler introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to 
     protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery 
         information in civil actions, 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 ``Sunshine in Litigation Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND SEALING OF CASES AND 
              SETTLEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and 
              settlements
    ``(a)(1) In any civil action in which the pleadings state facts 
that are relevant to the protection of public health or safety, a court 
shall not enter, by stipulation or otherwise, an order otherwise 
authorized under rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 
restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery, 
an order otherwise authorized approving a settlement agreement that 
would restrict the disclosure of such information, or an order 
otherwise authorized restricting access to court records unless in 
connection with such order the court has first made independent 
findings of fact that--
            ``(A) such order would not restrict the disclosure of 
        information which is relevant to the protection of public 
        health or safety; or
            ``(B)(i) the public interest in the disclosure of past, 
        present, or potential public health or safety hazards is 
        outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in 
        maintaining the confidentiality of the information or records 
        in question; and
            ``(ii) the requested order is no broader than necessary to 
        protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
    ``(2) No order entered as a result of the operation of paragraph 
(1), other than an order approving a settlement agreement, may continue 
in effect after the entry of final judgment, unless at the time of, or 
after, such entry the court makes a separate finding of fact that the 
requirements of paragraph (1) continue to be met.
    ``(b) In any civil action in which the pleadings state facts that 
are relevant to the protection of public health or safety, a court 
shall not enforce any provision of an agreement between or among 
parties to a civil action, or enforce an order entered as a result of 
the operation of subsection (a)(1), to the extent that such provision 
or such order prohibits or otherwise restricts a party from disclosing 
any information relevant to such civil action to any Federal or State 
agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating 
to such information.
    ``(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a court shall not enforce any 
provision of a settlement agreement in any civil action in which the 
pleadings state facts that are relevant to the protection of public 
health or safety, between or among parties that prohibits one or more 
parties from--
            ``(A) disclosing the fact that such settlement was reached 
        or the terms of such settlement (excluding any money paid) that 
        involve matters relevant to the protection of public health or 
        safety; or
            ``(B) discussing matters relevant to the protection of 
        public health or safety involved in such civil action.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) applies unless the court has made independent 
findings of fact that--
            ``(A) the public interest in the disclosure of past, 
        present, or potential public health or safety hazards is 
        outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in 
        maintaining the confidentiality of the information in question; 
        and
            ``(B) the requested order is no broader than necessary to 
        protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
    ``(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a)(1)(B)(i) and (c)(2)(A), when 
weighing the interest in maintaining confidentiality under this 
section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the interest in 
protecting personally identifiable information of an individual 
outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
    ``(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit, 
require, or authorize the disclosure of classified information (as 
defined under section 1 of the Classified Information Procedures Act 
(18 U.S.C. App.)).''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 1659 the following:

``1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and 
                            settlements.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall--
            (1) take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
        Act; and
            (2) apply only to orders entered in civil actions or 
        agreements entered into on or after such date.
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