,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ccgj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #ba1
 #bjaf,mr4 ,whitehouse introduced the   
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to restrict     
confidentiality agreements that prohibit
 the disclosure of information relating 
to hazards to public safety or health1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,safety ,over ,secrecy ,act of #bjaf4   
#b4 ,restrictions on certain            
confidentiality agreements in           
settlements  7a7 ,in general ,chapter   
#aaa of title #bh1 ,united ,states      
,code1 is amended by adding at the end  
the following3  #affj4 ,restrictions on 
certain confidentiality agreements in   
settlements  7a7 ,definition ,in this   
section1 the term hazard to public      
safety or health means an activity1     
substance1 or condition that has a      
potential to cause harm to the health or

 safety of the public4  7b7 ,disclosure 
in general  7#a7 ,in general ,except as 
provided in paragraph 7#b71 a court may 
not approve or order the enforcement of 
any provision in a settlement agreement1
 or other agreement relating to a       
settlement1 between or among parties in 
a civil suit if--  7,a7 a pleading filed
 in the suit alleges facts that are     
relevant to protecting the public from a
 hazard to public safety or health2 and 
7,b7 the provision prohibits a party    
from-- 7i7 disclosing the fact that the 
settlement was reached2  7ii7 disclosing
 the terms of the settlement1 other than
 the amount of money1 if any1 paid under
 the settlement2  7iii7 discussing the  
suit or evidence produced in the suit2  
or  7iv7 otherwise discussing the hazard
 to public safety or health4  7#b7      
,balance of interests  7,a7 ,in general 
,on a motion by a party to an agreement 
described in paragraph 7#a71 a court may
 approve or order the enforcement of a  
provision described in paragraph        

7#a77;,b71 despite the fact that a      
pleading described in paragraph         
7#a77;,a7 is filed in the suit1 if the  
court1 based on an independent finding  
of fact1 determines that--  7i7 the     
public interest in the disclosure of    
facts that are relevant to protecting   
the public from a hazard to public      
safety or health is outweighed by a     
specific and substantial interest in    
maintaining the confidentiality of the  
information or records that are covered 
by the provision2 and  7ii7 the         
requested order is no broader than      
necessary to protect the specific and   
substantial interest in maintaining     
confidentiality described in clause 7i74
  7,b7 ,considerations ,with respect to 
the balancing of interests described in 
subparagraph 7,a77i7-- 7i7 there shall  
be a rebuttable presumption that the    
interest in protecting financial1       
medical1 or other similar personal      
information relating to an identifiable 
individual outweighs the public interest

 described in subparagraph 7,a77i72     
7ii7 a general interest in the          
settlement of disputes may not serve as 
a specific and substantial interest     
described in subparagraph 7,a77i72 and  
7iii7 a court may redact language in a  
settlement agreement1 in order to       
accommodate-- 7,i7 the privacy of       
personal information2 and  7,,ii7 the   
public benefit of awareness of hazards  
to public safety and health4  7c7       
,disclosure to ,federal or ,state       
agencies  7#a7 ,in general ,a court may 
not approve or order the enforcement of 
any provision of a settlement agreement1
 or other agreement relating to a       
settlement1 between or among parties in 
a civil suit if--  7,a7 a pleading filed
 in the suit alleges facts that are     
relevant to protecting the public from a
 hazard to public safety or health2 and 
7,b7 the provision prohibits or         
otherwise restricts a party from        
disclosing a fact described in          
subparagraph 7,a7 to a ,federal or      

,state agency with authority to enforce 
a law or regulate an activity relating  
to that fact4  7#b7 ,confidentiality    
maintained ,the confidentiality of a    
fact described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7   
that is disclosed to a ,federal or      
,state agency described in paragraph    
7#a77;,b7 shall be protected to the     
extent otherwise provided under any     
other law1 regulation1 or agreement4  4 
7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment 
,the table of sections for chapter #aaa 
of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #affj4 ,restrictions on     
certain confidentiality agreements in   
settlements4  4