Occupational Licensing Board Antitrust Damages Relief Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8680 To provide immunity from liability under section 4 of the Clayton Act for damages in cases against occupational licensing boards that meet appro- priate standards, to provide for the establishment of those standards, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2020 Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, and Mr. CONAWAY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide immunity from liability under section 4 of the Clayton Act for damages in cases against occupational licensing boards that meet appropriate standards, to pro- vide for the establishment of those standards, 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 ‘‘Occupational Licensing 4 Board Antitrust Damages Relief Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8680.IH H8680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8680 IH SEC. 2. IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES. 1 (a) IMMUNITY.—No person may recover damages 2 under section 4 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15) from 3 an occupational licensing board, or from any member, offi- 4 cer, employee, or agent of such board, for an action taken 5 in the official capacity of such board or the individual in- 6 volved, if the requirements specified in section 3 are satis- 7 fied with respect to such board. 8 (b) APPLICATION TO CASES.—Subsection (a) shall 9 not apply to a case commenced before the date of enact- 10 ment of this Act unless it would be inequitable not to apply 11 such subsection to such case. 12 SEC. 3. STATE BOARD OVERSIGHT PROVISIONS REQUIRED 13 FOR IMMUNITY UNDER THIS ACT. 14 For purposes of receiving immunity from liability for 15 damages specified in section 2, an occupational licensing 16 board referred to in such section shall be established in 17 a State that requires that— 18 (1) such State have in effect a law that— 19 (A) requires an occupational license to en- 20 gage in or practice the occupation regulated by 21 the such board, 22 (B) specifies the qualifications required to 23 be met to obtain such license, and 24 (C) requires that the licensee adhere to the 25 applicable standards of practice and ethical 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8680.IH H8680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8680 IH standards to engage in or practice such occupa- 1 tion, 2 (2) all members of such board be appointed or 3 assigned by the chief executive officer, the legisla- 4 ture, or other elected officer of such State, 5 (3) the such board include public representa- 6 tion, and 7 (4) such State or such board has in effect a 8 mechanism under which a person aggrieved by an 9 action of such board has the right— 10 (A) to contest such action at a hearing be- 11 fore such board at which such person may pro- 12 vide evidence, argument, and analysis, 13 (B) to review, at a reasonable time before 14 the hearing, all evidence that such board gath- 15 ers relating to such action, 16 (C) to receive a final reasoned decision in 17 writing from such board within a reasonable pe- 18 riod after the hearing, and 19 (D) to appeal an adverse decision of such 20 board to an independent adjudicator, including 21 a court. 22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8680.IH H8680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8680 IH (1) OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE.—The term ‘‘occu- 1 pational license’’ means a nontransferable State- 2 issued authorization to perform an occupation. 3 (2) OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARD.—The 4 term ‘‘occupational licensing board’’ means an entity 5 established under State law— 6 (A) for the express purpose of regulating 7 the qualifications required for a person to en- 8 gage in or practice an occupation in such State, 9 and 10 (B) that has authority conferred by such 11 law to interpret or enforce the laws and regula- 12 tions of such State applicable to regulating such 13 qualifications. 14 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 15 meaning given such term in subsection (a) of the 1st 16 section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)). 17 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 18 the several States, the District of Columbia, or a 19 territory or possession of the United States. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8680.IH H8680 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS