Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Q: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Consumer Credit and Debt Protection
Act''.

SEC. 2. FTC RULEMAKING RELATING TO CREDIT OR DEBT.

(a) Expedited Rulemaking.--Section 18 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
''(k) Notwithstanding any other procedures set forth in this
section or section 22, for any rulemaking relating to consumer credit
or debt, the Commission shall conduct such rulemaking in accordance
with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, and the provisions for
judicial review of rules promulgated in accordance such section shall
apply to any rule promulgated in such a rulemaking.''.
(b) Specific Rulemakings.--
(1) Debt settlement.--
(A) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall
examine the practices of providers of debt settlement
services and prescribe such rules as the Commission
determines necessary (in accordance with section 553 of
title 5, United States Code) in order to prevent unfair
and deceptive acts or practices of providers of such
services. The Commission shall consider adopting rules
that--
(i) prohibit the charging of fees to
consumers prior to any debt settlement service
being fully rendered and limiting fees that may
be charged after a settlement with a creditor
is reached; and
(ii) require disclosures before a contract
is signed regarding the fee structure, expected
time frames for a successful settlement,
success rate of debtors in settling their
debts, information about creditor participation
in settlement plans, and the potential impact
on a consumer's credit score.
(B) Definition.--For purposes of subparagraph (A),
the term ''debt settlement service'' means a commercial
service provided to assist consumers in managing and
repaying consumer debt, including the offering of
advice or acting as an intermediary between a debtor
and one or more of the debtor's creditors, where the
primary purpose of the advice or action is to obtain a
settlement for less than the full amount of debt owed.
(2) Automobile sales.--The Federal Trade Commission shall
examine the practices of automobile dealers with respect to
credit and lending and shall prescribe such rules as the
Commission determines necessary (in accordance with section 553
of title 5, United States Code) in order to prevent unfair and
deceptive acts or practices of such dealers. The Commission
shall consider adopting rules that--
(A) restrict post-sale changes in financing terms;
(B) require that automobile purchase agreements or
sales contracts entered into between a consumer and an
automobile dealer include a provision which permits the
consumer to cancel the transaction within a specified
period following the sale or receipt of final
information concerning the terms of the sale or
financing; and
(C) limit the ability of automobile dealers to
accept or solicit compensation that is based on the
interest rate, annual percentage rate, or the amount
financed with respect to the sale of an automobile and
that is either--
(i) for the provision, procurement, or
arrangement of financing; or
(ii) for the sale, assignment, or transfer
of the installment sale contract.
(c) Deadline for Rulemakings.--The Commission shall commence the
rulemakings required under subsection (b) within 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN CIVIL PENALTIES IN CONNECTION WITH UNFAIR
AND DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES RELATING TO CONSUMER
CREDIT OR DEBT.

Section 5(m)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
45(m)(1)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D),
and in such subparagraph (as so redesignated), by striking
''subparagraphs (A) and (B)'' and inserting ''subparagraphs
(A), (B), and (C)''; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new
subparagraph:
''(C) The Commission may commence a civil action to
recover a civil penalty in a district court of the
United States against any person, partnership, or
corporation which engages in any unfair or deceptive
acts or practices in connection with consumer credit or
debt with actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied
on the basis of objective circumstances that such an
act is unfair or deceptive. In such action, such
person, partnership, or corporation shall be liable for
a civil penalty as provided in subparagraph (A).''.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.

(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (f), a State, as
parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents in
an appropriate State or district court of the United States to enforce
the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act or any other Act
enforced by the Federal Trade Commission to obtain penalties and relief
provided under such Acts whenever the attorney general of the State has
reason to believe that the interests of the residents of the State have
been or are being threatened or adversely affected by a violation of a
rule prescribed under section 2(b) or any other rule relating to
consumer credit or debt promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission.
(b) Notice.--The State shall serve written notice to the Commission
of any civil action under subsection (a) at least 60 days prior to
initiating such civil action. The notice shall include a copy of the
complaint to be filed to initiate such civil action, except that if it
is not feasible for the State to provide such prior notice, the State
shall provide notice immediately upon instituting such civil action.
(c) Intervention by FTC.--Upon receiving the notice required by
subsection (b), the Commission may intervene in such civil action and
upon intervening--
(1) be heard on all matters arising in such civil action;
(2) remove the action to the appropriate United States
district court; and
(3) file petitions for appeal of a decision in such civil
action.
(d) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section shall prevent the
attorney general of a State from exercising the powers conferred on the
attorney general by the laws of such State to conduct investigations or
to administer oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of
witnesses or the production of documentary and other evidence. Nothing
in this section shall prohibit the attorney general of a State, or
other authorized State officer, from proceeding in State or Federal
court on the basis of an alleged violation of any civil or criminal
statute of that State.
(e) Venue; Service of Process; Joinder.--In a civil action brought
under subsection (a)--
(1) the venue shall be a judicial district in which the
lender or a related party operates or is authorized to do
business;
(2) process may be served without regard to the territorial
limits of the district or of the State in which the civil
action is instituted; and
(3) a person who participated with a lender or related
party to an alleged violation that is being litigated in the
civil action may be joined in the civil action without regard
to the residence of the person.
(f) Preemptive Action by FTC.--Whenever a civil action or an
administrative action has been instituted by or on behalf of the
Commission for violation of any rule described under subsection (a), no
State may, during the pendency of such action instituted by or on
behalf of the Commission, institute a civil action under subsection (a)
against any defendant named in the complaint in such action for
violation of any rule as alleged in such complaint.
(g) Award of Costs and Fees.--If the attorney general of a State
prevails in any civil action under subsection (a), the State can
recover reasonable costs and attorney fees from the lender or related
party.
A:
Consumer Credit and Debt Protection Act - Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to expedite rulemakings concerning consumer credit or debt.

Directs the FTC to examine the practices of providers of debt settlement services and prescribe rules necessary to prevent unfair and deceptive acts or practices by such providers.

Directs the FTC to examine the practices of automobile dealers with respect to credit and lending and prescribe rules necessary to prevent unfair and deceptive dealer acts or practices.

Gives the FTC authority to commence a civil action to recover a civil penalty in a U.S. district court against any person, partnership, or corporation which engages in any unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with consumer credit or debt with actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances that such act is unfair or deceptive.

Authorizes enforcement of this Act by state attorneys general.