Title: GUIDE Compliance Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act or the GUIDE Compliance Act
This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require certain procedures for guidance issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5534 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5534

   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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

    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 ``Give Useful Information to Define 
Effective Compliance Act'' or the ``GUIDE Compliance Act''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR BUREAU GUIDANCE.

    Section 1022(b) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Procedures for bureau guidance.--
                    ``(A) Guidance requirements.--The Director shall 
                issue guidance that is necessary or appropriate to 
                enable the Bureau to carry out Federal consumer 
                financial law, including facilitating compliance with 
                such law.
                    ``(B) Guidance defined.--For purposes of this 
                paragraph, the term `guidance'--
                            ``(i) means any written interpretive or 
                        legislative rule, interim final rule, bulletin, 
                        statement of policy, letter, examination 
                        manual, frequently asked question, or other 
                        document issued by the Bureau regarding 
                        compliance with a Federal consumer financial 
                        law that is exempt from notice and comment 
                        rulemaking requirements under section 553(b) of 
                        title 5, United States Code; and
                            ``(ii) does not include a complaint, 
                        consent order, judgment, or decision issued 
                        under subtitle E.
                    ``(C) Rulemaking.--
                            ``(i) Proposed rule.--The Bureau shall 
                        publish in the Federal Register and on its 
                        website within 1 year after the date of the 
                        enactment of this paragraph a proposed rule 
                        defining--
                                    ``(I) each type of guidance it 
                                shall provide;
                                    ``(II) the criteria the Bureau will 
                                use for selecting each type of 
                                guidance;
                                    ``(III) the process and timelines 
                                for requests for guidance;
                                    ``(IV) the time periods for the 
                                response of the Bureau to a request for 
                                each type of guidance;
                                    ``(V) a process for amending or 
                                revoking guidance issued under the 
                                rule, including a process for public 
                                notice and comment on any proposal to 
                                amend or revoke guidance, unless the 
                                Bureau determines public notice and 
                                comment is not required due to public 
                                exigency.
                            ``(ii) Final rule.--The Bureau shall 
                        publish a final rule based on the proposed rule 
                        described in clause (i) within 18 months after 
                        the date of the enactment of this paragraph.
                    ``(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 such act or omission, even if such 
                guidance is later revoked, amended, or rendered 
                inconsistent by guidance or action by the Bureau or a 
                determination by a court of competent jurisdiction.
                    ``(E) Development of a penalty matrix.--Not later 
                than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 
                subparagraph, the Bureau shall publish in the Federal 
                Register and on its website a proposed rule 
                establishing guidelines for determining the size of any 
                civil monetary penalties issued by the Bureau 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 
                paragraph shall, to the fullest extent possible, align 
                with any chart, matrix, rule, or guideline published by 
                the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the 
                Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Board of 
                Governors of the Federal Reserve System.''.
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