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HR 4550 115th Congress House

Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017

Official title: To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude law firms and licensed attorneys who are engaged in activities related to legal proceedings from the… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude law firms and licensed attorneys who are engaged in activities related to legal proceedings from the definition of a debt collector, to amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to prevent the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection from exercising supervisory or enforcement authority with respect to attorneys when undertaking certain actions related to legal proceedings, and for other purposes.

Introduced: December 5, 2017 Introduced by: Gonzalez, Vicente Democratic · Texas See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Civil actions and liabilityConsumer creditDebt collectionFinancial services and investments
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Judicial procedure and administrationLawyers and legal services
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This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 5, 2017
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Dec 5, 2017
Introduced in House
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 Latest action December 5, 2017

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017

This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude from the definition of "debt collector" any law firm or licensed attorney: (1) serving, filing, or conveying formal legal pleadings, discovery requests, or other documents pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure; or (2) communicating in connection with a legal action to collect a debt on behalf of a client in, or at the direction of, a court of law or in the enforcement of a judgment.


 Related & companion bills 2
  • HR 5082 Related bill Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018
  • HR 1849 Identical bill Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4550: Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-4550/
MLA
"H.R. 4550: Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-4550/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4550, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-4550/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4550: Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-4550/)
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