Duffy & Perlmutter Introduce CFPB Transparency Legislation
Legislation Update
April 17, 2018
Source: Office of U.S. Representative Sean Duffy
Additional Resource:
U.S. Congress (H.R. 5534 bill info/full text)
GUIDE Compliance Act introduced by Wisconsin Republican & Colorado Democrat
Washington DC – Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy, Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing & Insurance, and Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter today introduced the Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance (GUIDE) Compliance Act. The GUIDE Compliance Act seeks to regularize the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s process of providing rules and guidance to better protect consumers.
“The American people deserve a government that The CFPB has historically ignored requests for guidance and clarification from American businesses, consumers, and Congress – especially in relation to the Know Before You Owe rule,” said Congressman Duffy. “That’s why I’m proud to sponsor bipartisan legislation to bring predictability and transparency to the CFPB’s rule-making process. The CFPB should focus on its mission to actually protect consumers rather than play ‘gotcha’ with ambiguous and surprising guidance for mortgage lenders.”
Background:
Specifically, the GUIDE Act:
- Mandates that the Director issue “guidance” that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the purpose of the laws it is responsible for including facilitating compliance;
- Defines “guidance” to include a range of written issuances from interpretative and legislative rules, to bulletins and frequently asked questions;
- Requires the Bureau to publish in the Federal Register within one year of enactment the definitions, criteria, timelines and process for issuing each type of guidance the Bureau shall provide, with a final rule required within 18 months of enactment;
- Prohibits liability for reliance in good faith on guidance from the Bureau or any predecessor agency that was in effect at the time of such act or omission;
- Requires the Bureau to establish a process and timeframes for requests for guidance, including time limits to provide answers in response to requests for guidance;
- Requires the Bureau to create a process for amending or revoking guidance, including a process for public notice and comment;
Requires the Bureau to develop guidelines for determining the size of any civil money penalties and publish these guidelines in the Federal Register within 18 months of enactment.
