Curbing Abusive Marketing Practices with University Student Debit Cards Act

Bill: 113-hr-4714
Sponsor: Rep. Miller, George [D-CA-11]
Introduced: 2014-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Business ethics
Business records
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer affairs
Contracts and agency
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Marketing and advertising
School administration
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: 
Curbing Abusive Marketing Practices with University Student Debit Cards Act or the CAMPUS Debit Cards Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) that enters into a preferred banking arrangement with a financial institution to: 
 
 
 develop a code of conduct regarding the preferred banking arrangement with which the IHE's officers, employees, and agents must comply that prohibits conflicts of interest and requires those individuals to act in the best interests of the IHE's students; 
 
 publish that code prominently on the IHE's website; 
 
 annually inform its officers, employees, and agents who have responsibilities regarding the preferred banking arrangement of the code's provisions; and 
 
 effectively enforce the code.
 
 
Requires that code of conduct, at a minimum, to prohibit:
 
 
 the IHE from entering into a revenue-sharing arrangement with any financial institution;
 
 the IHE's officers, employees, or agents who have responsibilities regarding the preferred banking arrangement or a financial institution from soliciting or receiving a gift from the financial institution;
 
 the IHE from requesting or accepting from any financial institution assistance with any office or department of the IHE;
 
the IHE's officers, employees, or agents who have responsibilities regarding the preferred banking arrangement or a financial institution from accepting financial compensation from any financial institution pursuant to a service contract;
 
 the IHE from denying or unnecessarily delaying the disbursement of a title IV loan or grant on the basis of a student's selection of a particular financial institution; and
 
 the IHE's officers, employees, or agents who have responsibilities regarding the preferred banking arrangement or a financial institution from receiving anything of value from the financial institution for serving on its advisory board, commission, or group.
 
 
Allows specified exceptions to such prohibitions.
 
Requires IHEs that enroll students who receive title IV grants or loans to establish a system to disburse credit balances to students through electronic payments to a deposit account or a general-use prepaid card with the protections afforded under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. 
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program giving students the option to receive credit balances through the Treasury Direct Express system or another low-cost alternative.
 
Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require: 
 
 
 IHEs or their alumni organizations or foundations to publicly disclose any agreement made with a financial institution to market a financial product, 
 
 financial institutions to submit an annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) containing the terms and conditions of all agreements they make with IHEs or IHE alumni organizations or foundations relating to any financial product they offer to students at such IHEs,
 
the CFPB to establish and maintain on its publicly available website a central repository of all agreements contained in such reports from financial institutions.
 
 
Prohibits financial institutions from offering students any tangible or intangible item to induce them to apply, purchase, or obtain a financial product offered by the financial institution if the offer is made on or near the campus of an IHE or at an event sponsored by or related to an IHE.
 
Directs the CFPB: (1) to conduct a study on the marketing of financial products to students enrolled in IHEs, and (2) if the study finds that financial products are not marketed to IHE students in a fair manner, to issue regulations to ensure that such products are marketed in a fair manner.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that financial products marketed to IHE students should be presented in a fair and neutral manner.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: Introduced in House