Fair Debt Collection Practices Clarification Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Clarification Act of 2012 - Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to revise the disclaimer of liability for any act done or omitted in good faith in conformity with any advisory opinion of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Exempts from liability, in addition, acts done or omitted in good faith in compliance with any rule, regulation, or interpretation of the CFPB, or in conformity with any interpretation or approval by a CFPB official or employee duly authorized to issue such interpretations or approvals.
Permits a debt collector to leave messages for a consumer regarding the collection of a debt on the consumer's answering machine, voice messaging system, or similar device, including in an initial communication with the consumer, so long as the message complies with regulations prescribed by the CFPB to ensure the preservation of consumer privacy and other rights, including restrictions on communications with third parties.
Prohibits a debt collector from initiating a legal action on a debt in an arbitration setting, or requiring the consumer to resolve by arbitration a collection-related dispute on the debt, unless the consumer has agreed in writing to resolution by arbitration after collections activities have been initiated and a legal action or dispute has arisen.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 28, 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 April 26, 2012: Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
- 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?
BARNEY FRANK (D-MA) introduced it on February 28, 2012. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 February 28, 2012, 5356 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5298 days ago, on April 26, 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