FTC Collaboration Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8152 To enhance cooperation between the Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General to combat unfair and deceptive practices, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To enhance cooperation between the Federal Trade Commis- sion and State Attorneys General to combat unfair and deceptive practices, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FTC Collaboration Act 4 of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES COOPERATION 6 STUDY. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:03 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8152.IH H8152 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8152 IH (1) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Fed- 2 eral Trade Commission shall conduct a study on fa- 3 cilitating and refining existing efforts with State At- 4 torneys General to prevent, publicize, and penalize 5 frauds and scams being perpetrated on individuals in 6 the United States. 7 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF STUDY.—In conducting 8 the study, the Commission shall examine the fol- 9 lowing: 10 (A) The roles and responsibilities of the 11 Commission and State Attorneys General that 12 best advance collaboration and consumer pro- 13 tection. 14 (B) The policies, procedures, and mecha- 15 nisms that facilitate cooperation and commu- 16 nications across the Commission. 17 (C) How resources should be dedicated to 18 best advance such collaboration and consumer 19 protection. 20 (D) The accountability mechanisms that 21 should be implemented to promote collaboration 22 and consumer protection. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:03 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8152.IH H8152 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8152 IH (3) CONSULTATION AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—In 1 producing the study required in paragraph (1), the 2 Commission shall— 3 (A) consult with— 4 (i) the National Association of State 5 Attorneys General; 6 (ii) public interest organizations dedi- 7 cated to consumer protection; 8 (iii) relevant private sector entities; 9 and 10 (iv) any other Federal or State agency 11 that the Federal Trade Commission con- 12 siders necessary; and 13 (B) provide opportunity for public com- 14 ment and advice relevant to the production of 15 the study. 16 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 17 months after the completion of the study required pursu- 18 ant to subsection (a), the Commission shall submit to the 19 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 20 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and make pub- 22 licly available on the website of the Commission, a report 23 that contains the following: 24 (1) The results of the study. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:03 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8152.IH H8152 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8152 IH (2) Recommended best practices to enhance col- 1 laboration efforts between the Commission and State 2 Attorneys General with respect to preventing, publi- 3 cizing, and penalizing fraud and scams. 4 (3) Quantifiable metrics by which enhanced col- 5 laboration can be measured. 6 (4) Legislative recommendations, if any, to en- 7 hance collaboration efforts between the Commission 8 and State Attorneys General to prevent, publicize, 9 and penalize fraud and scams. 10 (c) COMMISSION DEFINED.—In this section, the term 11 ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal Trade Commission. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:03 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8152.IH H8152 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS