,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cbjg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #ai1 #bjbe,mr4 ,wyden 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,kim1 and ,mr4 ,fetterman7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit the manipulation of rent prices in the ,united ,states1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,end ,rent ,fixing ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,trade ,commission4 7#b7 ,coordinating function ,the term coordinating function means-- 7,a7 collecting historical or contemporaneous prices1 supply levels1 or lease or rental contract termination and renewal dates of residential dwelling units1 either directly or indirectly1 from #b or more rental property owners2 7,b7 analyzing or processing the information described in subparagraph 7,a7 using a system1 software1 or process that uses the same or a similar formula or methodology1 including by using that information to train an algorithm to predict rental prices1 lease renewal terms1 or ideal occupancy levels2 and 7,c7 recommending rental prices1 lease renewal terms1 or occupancy levels to #b or more rental property owners4 7#c7 ,coordinator ,the term coordinator means any person that performs a coordinating function for any rental property owner1 including a rental property owner performing a coordinating function for their own benefit4 7#d7 ,person ,the term person has the meaning given the term in subsection 7a7 of the first section of the ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab74 7#e7 ,residential dwelling unit ,the term residential dwelling unit-- 7,a7 means any house1 apartment1 accessory unit1 manufactured home1 manufactured housing community lot1 or other unit used as a residence2 and 7,b7 does not include inpatient medical care1 licensed long-term care1 and detention or correctional facilities4 7#f7 ,rental property owner ,the term rental property owner means any individual1 corporation1 partnership1 association1 joint-stock company1 trust1 or unincorporated organization1 including an organization not organized to carry on business for its own profit or that of its members1 that owns real property and leases or rents such property or any portion thereof4 7#g7 ,state ,the term ,state means any ,state of the ,united ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 and any territory or possession of the ,united ,states4 #c4 ,unlawful conduct 7a7 ,conspiracy ,it shall be unlawful for a rental property owner1 in or affecting commerce1 or any agent or subcontractor thereof1 to knowingly subscribe to1 contract with1 or otherwise exchange anything of value in return for the services of a coordinator1 and such action shall be deemed to be an unlawful method of competition in violation of section #e of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de7 and a per se violation of section #a of the ,sherman ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #a74 7b7 ,coordination ,it shall be unlawful for any person1 in or affecting commerce1 to perform a coordinating function1 and such action shall be deemed to be an unlawful method of competition in violation of section #e of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de7 and a per se violation of section #a of the ,sherman ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #a74 #d4 ,enforcement 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,federal ,trade ,commission ,a violation of this ,act shall also constitute an unfair method of competition under section #e of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de71 and if the ,commission has reason to believe that a person violated this ,act1 the ,commission-- 7,a7 may commence a civil action1 in its own name by any of its attorneys designated by it for such purpose1 to recover a civil penalty and seek other appropriate relief2 and 7,b7 shall have jurisdiction to enforce this ,act against an organization not organized to carry on business for its own profit or that of its members4 7#b7 ,attorney ,general ,the ,attorney ,general shall enforce this ,act in the same manner1 by the same means1 and with the same jurisdiction1 powers and duties as though all applicable terms of the ,sherman ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #a et seq471 ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab et seq471 and ,antitrust ,civil ,process ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #acaa et seq47 were incorporated into and made a part of this ,act4 7#c7 ,state attorneys general ,any attorney general of a ,state shall enforce this ,act in the same manner1 by the same means1 and with the same jurisdiction1 powers and duties as though all applicable terms of the ,sherman ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #a et seq47 and the ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab et seq47 were incorporated into and made a part of this ,act4 7b7 ,civil actions by injured persons 7#a7 ,civil action authorized ,any person who is aggrieved by a violation of this ,act may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the ,united ,states1 without respect to the amount in controversy1 to recover an amount described in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,award amount 7,a7 ,in general ,the court shall award the plaintiff threefold the damages sustained by the plaintiff and the reasonable cost of litigation1 including a reasonable attorney fee4 7,b7 ,interest on damages ,pursuant to a motion by plaintiff promptly made1 the court may award simple interest on actual damages sustained by the plaintiff for the period beginning on the date of service of the pleading of the plaintiff setting forth a claim under this ,act and ending on the date of judgment1 or for any shorter period therein4 7#c7 ,invalidity of pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute joint action waivers ,at the election of the plaintiff in an action authorized under paragraph 7#a71 a pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint action waiver relating to a violation of this ,act shall be invalid or unenforceable4 #e4 ,standards of pleading ,in a civil action alleging a violation of sections #a or #c7;a7 of the ,sherman ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #a1 #c7;a771 including an action brought by the ,united ,states1 a ,state attorney general1 or the ,federal ,trade ,commission under section #e of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de71 a complaint need not allege facts tending to exclude the possibility of independent action and shall not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the claimant can prove no set of facts in support of their claim which would entitle them to relief4 #f4 ,relationship to other laws 7a7 ,antitrust laws ,nothing in this ,act1 or any amendment made by this ,act1 shall be construed to impair or supersede the operation of any of the antitrust laws1 and the unlawful conduct set forth in this ,act is in addition to and not instead of conduct prohibited by the antitrust laws4 7b7 ,state laws ,nothing in this ,act may be construed to preempt1 annul1 alter1 or affect1 or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this ,act from complying with the laws of any ,state1 except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with any provision of this ,act1 and then only to the extent of the inconsistency4 ,for purposes of this section1 a ,state law is not inconsistent with this ,act if the protection such law affords any person greater than the protection provided by this ,act4 #g4 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act1 or the application of such a provision to any person or circumstance1 is held to be unconstitutional1 the remaining provisions of this ,act1 and the application of such provisions to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby4