H.R. 832 — Introduced in House

I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 832 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 2, 2017Mr. Capuano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 9 of the United States Code to require that arbitration proceedings in certain disputes involving consumer financial products and services be open to the public. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Arbitration Transparency Act of 2017. 2. Amendments (a) Arbitration Title 9 of the United States Code is amended by inserting after section 2 the following: 2a. Proceedings in disputes involving certain consumer financial products and services (a) Proceedings open to the public Notwithstanding any other provision of law and notwithstanding the terms of a contract or written agreement for arbitration, an arbitration proceeding under such contract or written agreement entered into by a consumer and a financial institution to arbitrate a future dispute that involves a consumer financial product or service shall be open to the public. (b) Definitions For purposes of this section: (1) Consumer The term consumer has the meaning given such term in section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. (2) Consumer financial product or service The term consumer financial product or service has the meaning given such term in section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. (3) Financial institution The term financial institution has the meaning given such term in section 5312 of title 31. . (b) Conforming amendment Chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code is amended in the table of sections by inserting after the item relating to section 2 the following: 2a. Proceedings in disputes involving certain consumer financial products and services. . 3. Effective Date; application of amendment (a) Effective date Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and the amendment made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Application of amendment The amendment made by this Act shall apply with respect to— (1) contracts and written agreements that are entered into before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and (2) arbitration proceedings that occur on or after such date.