Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 405.
Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act - (Sec. 3) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prescribe consumer protection guidelines for rental-purchase transactions, including: (1) the determination of rental-purchase cost and a payment schedule; (2) disclosure requirements; (3) prohibitions against confessions of judgment, wage assignments, waiver of consumer claims or defenses, and other specified kinds of provisions; (4) furnishing of statements of account; (5) point-of-rental disclosures; and (6) clear and conspicuous rental-purchase advertising disclosures.
Shields "rental-purchase agreements" from laws regulating: (1) a credit sale and a consumer lease as defined in the Truth in Lending Act, or (2) an extension of credit or a transaction giving rise to a debt incurred in connection with the purchase of a thing of value.
Exempts from jurisdiction of this Act rental-purchase agreements primarily for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes, or those made with government agencies or instrumentalities.
Declares that the consumer shall acquire ownership of a property that is the subject of the rental-purchase agreement, and the rental-purchase agreement shall terminate, upon the consumer's compliance with specified total cost payment requirements ,or any early payment option provided in the rental purchase agreement, and upon payment of any past due payments and fees. Grants federal district courts jurisdiction over actions brought under this Act.
Permits an action for civil liability against a merchant's assignee only if the violation is apparent on the face of a rental-purchase agreement to which it relates, including, but not limited to, a disclosure that can be determined to be incomplete or inaccurate from the face of the agreement.
Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to promulgate implementing regulations.
Grants enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and to state attorneys general.
Subjects to criminal penalties any willful and knowing violation of the information disclosure requirements of this Act.
Provides that a term or provision of state law is not inconsistent with this Act if it affords greater protection and benefit to the consumer than is provided under this Act as determined by the Board, on its own motion or upon the petition of any interested party.
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on June 29, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 29, 2012: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 405.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Francisco Canseco (R-TX) introduced it on April 15, 2011, and 114 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 15, 2011, 5627 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5186 days ago, on June 29, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers