1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2019”.
Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2019
A BILL
To promote merger enforcement and protect competition through adjusting premerger filing fees, and increasing antitrust enforcement resources.
2. Premerger notification filing fees
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “$45,000” and inserting “$30,000”;
by striking “$100,000,000” and inserting “$161,500,000”;
by striking “2004” and inserting “2020”; and
by striking “2003” and inserting “2019”;
in paragraph (2)—
by striking “$125,000” and inserting “$100,000”;
by striking “$100,000,000” and inserting “$161,500,000”;
by striking “but less” and inserting “but is less”; and
by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (3)—
by striking “$280,000” and inserting “$250,000”; and
by striking the period at the end and inserting “but is less than $1,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published);”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(4) $400,000 if the aggregate total amount determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is not less than $1,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published) but is less than $2,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published);
“(5) $800,000 if the aggregate total amount determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is not less than $2,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published) but is less than $5,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published); and
“(6) $2,250,000 if the aggregate total amount determined under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) is not less than $5,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published).”
by adding at the end the following:
“(c)
“(1) For each fiscal year commencing after September 30, 2020, the filing fees in this section shall be increased as of October 1 each year by an amount equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Producer Price Index, as determined by the Department of Commerce or its successor, for the year then ended over the level so established for the year ending September 30, 2019.
“(2) As soon as practicable, but not later than January 31 of each year, the Federal Trade Commission shall publish the adjusted amounts required by this section.
“(3) The Federal Trade Commission shall not adjust amounts required by this section if the percentage increase described in paragraph (1) is less than 1 percent.
“(4) An amount adjusted under this section shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $5,000.”