,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #chbf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #aa1 #bjbf,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 and ,mr4 ,cornyn7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 to increase transparency and oversight of third-party litigation funding in certain actions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,litigation ,funding ,transparency ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,transparency and oversight of third-party litigation funding in class and mass actions 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #aae of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #agdg4 ,third-party litigation funding disclosure 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,class action ,the term class action has the meaning given the term in section #agaa4 7#b7 ,commercial enterprise ,the term commercial enterprise-- 7,a7 means any entity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business2 and 7,b7 does not include any entity that1 in a covered civil action1 has a right or expectation of payment based on any activity1 right1 or interest described in subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of paragraph 7#h7 that is limited to-- 7i7 the repayment of the principal of a loan2 7ii7 the repayment of the principal of a loan plus interest that does not exceed the greater of #aj percent or a rate #c times the annual average #cj-year constant maturity ,treasury yield1 as published by the ,board of ,governors of the ,federal ,reserve ,system1 for the year preceding the date on which the relevant agreement was executed2 or 7iii7 the reimbursement of fees or grants paid or given to counsel of record for services provided in a covered civil action4 7#c7 ,covered civil action ,the term covered civil action-- 7,a7 means-- 7i7 any civil action transferred to or filed in coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings established by the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation pursuant to section #adjg2 7ii7 any class action2 and 7iii7 any civil action filed in a coordinated or consolidated proceeding before a district court of the ,united ,states that includes not fewer than #ajj civil actions2 and 7,b7 does not include any action brought or funded by a nonprofit legal organization funded by donors that is providing funding or representation to clients on a pro bono basis if the donations to the nonprofit organization that are used to bring or fund the action were not provided by a foreign state1 a foreign person1 a sovereign wealth fund1 or a commercial enterprise1 any of which is controlled by or owned by a foreign state1 foreign person1 or sovereign wealth fund4 7#d7 ,foreign person ,the term foreign person-- 7,a7 means any person that is not a ,united ,states person2 and 7,b7 does not include a foreign state or a sovereign wealth fund4 7#e7 ,foreign principal ,the term foreign principal has the meaning given the term in section #a of the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #faa74 7#f7 ,foreign state ,the term foreign state has the meaning given the term in section #afjc4 7#g7 ,sovereign wealth fund ,the term sovereign wealth fund means an investment fund owned or controlled by a foreign state1 an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state1 or an entity a majority of the shares or other ownership interest of which is owned or controlled by a foreign state or by an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state4 7#h7 ,third-party funder ,the term third-party funder means any commercial enterprise1 foreign state1 foreign person1 or sovereign wealth fund1 other than counsel of record1 that-- 7,a7 provides or agrees to provide direct or indirect monetary support to a party1 counsel1 or law firm for purposes of funding the initiation or litigation of a covered civil action in which neither the commercial enterprise1 foreign state1 foreign person1 or sovereign wealth fund1 as applicable1 nor a subsidiary corporation thereof 7as defined in section #dbd7;f7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 determined by substituting corporation which is the commercial enterprise1 foreign state1 foreign person1 or sovereign wealth fund described in section #agdg7;a77#h7 of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 for employer corporation each place it appears71 is a named party2 or 7,b7 as a nonparty1 has a right to receive in return anything that is greater in value than what is given or granted that is related in any respect to proceeds from a covered civil action or a group of actions of which the covered civil action is a part1 by settlement1 judgment1 attorney's fees1 or otherwise4 7#i7 ,united ,states person ,the term ,united ,states person has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,foreign ,intelligence ,surveillance ,act of #aigh 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #ahja74 7b7 ,disclosure ,in any covered civil action1 a party or any counsel of record for a party shall-- 7#a7 disclose in writing to the court and all other named parties to the action the identity of any third-party funder of the action2 7#b7 disclose in writing to the court and all other named parties to the action whether any third-party funder of the action is a foreign state1 foreign person1 sovereign wealth fund1 or a commercial enterprise that is directly or indirectly controlled by or owned by a foreign state1 foreign person1 or a sovereign wealth fund2 7#c7 produce for inspection and copying to the court and to all other named parties to the action any agreement concerning the provision of monetary support described in subsection 7a77#h77;,a7 or creating the right described in subsection 7a77#h77;,b71 unless otherwise ordered by the court2 and 7#d7 transmit to the ,administrative ,office of the ,united ,states ,courts copies of any disclosures made under paragraph 7#b71 or any productions made under paragraph 7#c7 in any case in which a disclosure is required under paragraph 7#b74 7c7 ,timing ,the disclosures and notifications required by subsection 7b7 shall be made not later than the later of-- 7#a7 #aj days after the execution of any agreement described in subsection 7b77#c72 or 7#b7 the time of service of the action4 7d7 ,duty ,to correct ,a party or counsel of record that made a disclosure required by this section shall supplement or correct each such disclosure in a timely manner-- 7#a7 if such party or counsel of record learns that the disclosure is or has become incomplete or incorrect in some material respect1 if the additional or corrective information has not otherwise been made known to the other parties during the discovery process or in writing2 or 7#b7 as ordered by the court4 7e7 ,enforcement ,the obligations set forth in subsection 7b7 shall be deemed to be disclosures required by rule #bf7;a7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure and shall be subject to the sanction provisions of rule #cg of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure4 7f7 ,website update2 report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this section1 and every #abj days thereafter1 the ,administrative ,office of the ,united ,states ,courts shall submit to ,congress1 the ,attorney ,general1 and the ,principal ,deputy ,assistant ,attorney ,general for ,national ,security and shall post on the ,united ,states ,courts website a report that lists-- 7#a7 each foreign state1 foreign person1 sovereign wealth fund1 or commercial enterprise that was identified in a covered civil action in response to subsection 7b77#b7 or subsection 7g7 during the preceding #abj days2 7#b7 the caption and docket number of the action described in paragraph 7#a72 7#c7 the court in which the action described in paragraph 7#a7 is pending2 7#d7 the amount of any monetary support provided by the person identified in paragraph 7#a72 and 7#e7 the total amount each foreign state1 foreign person1 sovereign wealth fund1 or commercial enterprise listed in paragraph 7#a7 has provided in support of any covered civil action during the preceding #abj days4 7g7 ,litigation integrity 7#a7 ,in general ,no third-party funder in a covered civil action shall exert or be afforded the right to exert1 by contract or otherwise1 influence1 control1 or discretion regarding the litigation strategy1 decision-making1 or settlement negotiations of a party4 7#b7 ,contempt ,the court presiding over a covered civil action may-- 7,a7 hold in contempt any person that violates paragraph 7#a72 and 7,b7 for purposes of issuing and enforcing a contempt order under subparagraph 7,a71 exercise the powers of a district judge in any district4 7h7 ,protection of proprietary information acquired during the discovery process 7#a7 ,in general ,in a covered civil action1 no third-party funder or any agent1 counsel1 or representative of a third-party funder may obtain1 inspect1 copy1 or otherwise view any discovery materials that are produced in the action subject to a protective order issued pursuant to rule #bf7;c77#a77;,g7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure1 unless specifically authorized by the court4 7#b7 ,contempt ,the court presiding over a covered civil action may-- 7,a7 hold in contempt any person or entity that violates paragraph 7#a72 and 7,b7 for purposes of issuing and enforcing a contempt order under subparagraph 7,a71 exercise the powers of a district court in any district4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #aae of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #agdg4 ,third-party litigation funding disclosure4 4 #c4 ,applicability ,the amendments made by this ,act shall apply to any case pending on or commenced after the date of enactment of this ,act4