S 3966
TREY'S Law
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Bill overview
This bill, titled TREY’S Law, prohibits courts and other authorities from enforcing non-disclosure agreements that silence survivors of sexual abuse of minors. It aims to ensure that survivors can report abuse to law enforcement and the courts without fear of legal repercussions. The bill is based on the argument that such agreements obstruct justice and violate constitutional rights, particularly those of survivors of child sexual abuse. It seeks to prevent the use of private contracts to impede the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving minors.
Key provisions
- Prohibits enforcement of non-disclosure clauses that restrict the disclosure of sexual abuse of minors.
- Defines ‘minor person’ as an individual under 18 years of age.
- Clarifies that ‘sexual abuse against a minor person’ includes offenses under federal and state law, as well as sex trafficking.
- States that nondisclosure clauses prohibiting disclosure by victims or alleged victims of abuse are void.
- Applies the law retroactively to contracts entered into before, on, or after the bill’s enactment.
- Prevents enforcement actions related to prohibited nondisclosure clauses.
- Supersedes state laws that permit enforcement of such clauses.
- Allows for confidentiality agreements regarding settlement amounts, as long as they don't prevent protected disclosures.
Who is affected
- Survivors of sexual abuse of minors
- Law enforcement agencies
- Child protection authorities
- Federal regulators
Sponsors
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Primary sponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 2d Session
S. 3966
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
A BILL
To prohibit the enforcement of certain contractual clauses that restrict disclosure of sexual abuse of minors, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law TREY'S Law
or
.
Congress finds the following:
Sexual abuse of minors, including abuse facilitated through instrumentalities of interstate commerce, is a matter of national concern.
Agreements containing nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions, frequently concluded through the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, have been used to silence survivors of sexual abuse and conceal ongoing or repeated abuse.
The enforcement of such provisions interferes with reporting to law enforcement agencies, child protection authorities, Federal regulators, Members of Congress, and the courts, and frustrates the enforcement of Federal criminal and civil law.
Congress further finds the following:
Sexual abuse and trafficking of minors are prohibited under Federal criminal law, including chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, and section 1591 of title 18, United States Code.
Nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements that prohibit or restrict disclosure of sexual abuse of a minor interfere with reporting to law enforcement, child protection authorities, courts, Federal regulators, and Members of Congress.
Such agreements frustrate the investigation and prosecution of Federal crimes, chill cooperation with law enforcement, and function as private mechanisms to obstruct justice.
Congress has authority under clause 18 of section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States (commonly known as the Necessary and Proper Clause
) to ensure that private agreements are not used to impede the enforcement of Federal criminal and civil law protecting minors from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Congress further finds the following:
Survivors of child sexual abuse possess fundamental constitutional interests, secured by provisions of the Bill of Rights as incorporated against the States through the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, in reporting crimes, seeking redress through the courts, cooperating with law enforcement, and petitioning the government for protection and enforcement.
When State courts or other governmental authorities enforce nondisclosure or confidentiality provisions that prohibit or restrict disclosure of sexual abuse of a minor, such enforcement constitutes State action for purposes of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Judicial enforcement of such provisions may deprive survivors of due process of law, equal protection of the laws, and meaningful access to courts, including rights derived from the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and incorporated against the States, in violation of the 14th Amendment.
Agreements that obstruct justice, suppress the reporting of crimes, or conceal criminal conduct have long been regarded at common law, including at the time of the founding of the United States, as void and unenforceable as against public policy, and fall outside the traditional scope of protected contractual liberty.
At the time of the founding of the United States, private agreements purporting to suppress prosecution, conceal felonies, or restrain the reporting of crimes were not recognized as valid or enforceable contracts, and no party possessed a vested right in their judicial enforcement.
Congress has authority under section 5 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to enact appropriate remedial and preventive legislation to prevent and remedy constitutional violations arising from State judicial enforcement of private agreements that suppress disclosure of criminal conduct involving minors.
The purpose of this Act is—
to enforce the guarantees of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, including the right to petition the government for redress of grievances and the right of access to courts, by preventing State courts and other governmental authorities from enforcing nondisclosure or confidentiality provisions that suppress disclosure of sexual abuse of minors;
to ensure, pursuant to the authority of Congress under article I of the Constitution of the United States, including the Necessary and Proper Clause, that private agreements are not used to obstruct the investigation or prosecution of Federal crimes involving the sexual abuse or trafficking of minors;
to preserve access to courts and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances; and
to ensure that survivors of sexual abuse of minors, and persons with knowledge of such abuse, may disclose such abuse freely and without fear of civil liability.
In this Act:
The term minor person means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age.
The term nondisclosure clause means a provision in a contract or agreement that prohibits 1 or more parties to the contract or agreement from disclosing conduct or information covered by the terms and conditions of the contract or agreement.
The term sexual abuse against a minor person means—
conduct that constitutes or allegedly constitutes—
an offense under chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code; or
sex trafficking of a minor person under section 1591 of title 18, United States Code; or
any sexual act or sexual contact involving a minor person that constitutes a criminal offense under Federal law or the law of the State in which the act or contact occurs.
A nondisclosure clause shall be void and unenforceable as against public policy only to the extent that the nondisclosure clause prohibits—
a victim or alleged victim of sexual abuse against a minor person from disclosing—
any other person from disclosing facts related to sexual abuse against a minor person described in paragraph (1) in support of, in furtherance of, or consistent with the right of a victim or alleged victim to disclose under that paragraph.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a person, including a victim or alleged victim of sexual abuse against a minor person, from entering into a contract or agreement that restricts the disclosure of information, including the amount or payment terms of a settlement, by another party to the contract or agreement, including an alleged perpetrator, so long as such restriction does not prevent disclosure protected under subsection (a).
This Act shall apply to any nondisclosure clause in a contract or agreement entered into before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
No person may enforce or attempt to enforce a nondisclosure clause described in section 4(a), regardless of the date on which the contract or agreement containing the nondisclosure clause was entered into.
This Act supersedes any State law to the extent that such law permits enforcement of a provision, the enforcement of which is prohibited under this Act.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a State or locality from enacting legislation that—