Small Business Lending Fairness Act

Bill: 116-s-1961
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2019-06-25
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Business ethics

Consumer credit

Contracts and agency

Lawyers and legal services
Latest action: action_date: 2019-06-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-06-25
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Small Business Lending Fairness Act </b></p> <p>This bill prohibits as a condition to a loan or extension of credit a confession of judgment or similar agreement. (A confession of judgment is an agreement to a judgment of liability without notice and opportunity to be heard in court in the event of the default of a borrower.) </p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1961 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 25, 2019 Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Rubio ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To amend the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit certain unfair credit practices, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Business Lending Fairness Act . 2. Obligor transactions (a) In general Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 140B. Unfair credit practices (a) In general In connection with the extension of credit or creation of debt in or affecting commerce, as defined in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 44 ), including any advance of funds or sale or assignment of future income or receivables that may or may not be credit, no person may directly or indirectly take or receive from another person an obligation that constitutes or contains a cognovit or confession of judgment (for purposes other than executory process in the State of Louisiana), warrant of attorney, or other waiver of the right to notice and the opportunity to be heard in the event of suit or process thereon. (b) Exemption The exemption in section 104(1) shall not apply to this section. . (b) Technical and conforming amendments (1) Section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1602 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (ff) The term debt means any obligation of a person to pay to another person money— (1) regardless of whether the obligation is absolute or contingent if the understanding between the parties is that any part of the money shall be or may be returned; (2) that includes the right of the person providing the money to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if the breach gives rise to a right to payment; and (3) regardless of whether the obligation or right to an equitable remedy described in paragraph (2) has been reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured, or unsecured. . (2) Section 130(a) of the Truth in Lending Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1640 ) is amended by striking creditor each place the term appears and inserting person .