Bill > HR4460

This bill requires financial agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve, SEC, and others, to include a prominent "guidance clarity statement" on any future guidance documents. The statement must clearly communicate that the guidance is not legally binding, does not establish legal rights or obligations, and that not following the guidance does not automatically constitute a violation of law. The bill defines "guidance" as agency statements of general applicability that aim to influence regulated parties' behavior, but explicitly excludes formal rules created through notice-and-comment processes, organizational rules, agency adjudication decisions, and internal executive branch legal advice. The purpose of the bill appears to be increasing transparency and reducing the potential for agencies to create de facto regulations through guidance documents that might be interpreted as having the force of law, thereby providing more clarity and protection for regulated entities about the true legal status of agency guidance.

Business and Industry

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4460/all-info