H.R. 4614

Summary

H.R. 4614, the Franchisee Freedom Act, was introduced in the House on Jul 22, 2025 by Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D) with 4 co-sponsors. It was referred to Judiciary, and last saw action on Jul 22, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Record

Text

H.R. 4614 has 4 co-sponsors.

119 HR 4614 IH: Franchisee Freedom Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-07-22
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 4614  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   July 22, 2025   Ms. Schakowsky  (for herself,  Mr. Johnson of Georgia , and  Mr. Huffman ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To provide a private right of action for persons harmed by violations of the Franchise Rule of the Federal Trade Commission, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Franchisee Freedom Act  .
2.
Private right of action
(a)
In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person found to have committed any violation of part 436 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, or section 3 of this Act, shall be liable to any person harmed by such violation for—
(1)
actual damages;
(2)
additional equitable relief, including rescission of any contract and such other equitable relief as a court may find appropriate; and
(3)
reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
(b)
Jurisdiction and venue
Jurisdiction and venue of a civil action under this section shall be concurrent and may be commenced in—
(1)
the United States District Court in the district in which the claimant resides; or
(2)
in a State court of competent jurisdiction in the State in which the claimant resides.
3.
Right of Association
A franchisor may not, directly or indirectly, restrict a franchisee from associating with other franchisees or from participating in a trade association, including by retaliating against a franchisee for associating with other franchisees or participating in a trade association.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

To provide a private right of action for persons harmed by violations of the Franchise Rule of the Federal Trade Commission, and for other purposes.

Sponsors

Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D) sponsors H.R. 4614, and 4 members have co-sponsored it, 2 of them from the day it was introduced.

Janice Schakowsky

Rep. · D–IL-9 · Sponsor

Introduced Jul 22, 2025

Jared Huffman

Rep. · D–CA-2 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jul 22, 2025 · Original

Henry Johnson

Rep. · D–GA-4 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jul 22, 2025 · Original

Suzanne Bonamici

Rep. · D–OR-1 · Co-sponsor

Joined Sep 10, 2025

Deborah Ross

Rep. · D–NC-2 · Co-sponsor

Joined Sep 10, 2025

Show 5 of 5 rows

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Committees

H.R. 4614 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary

Judiciary

Referred To · Jul 22, 2025 · 2,181 Bills

Actions

H.R. 4614 has taken 2 actions since Jul 22, 2025.

Votes

H.R. 4614 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

H.R. 4614 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

• Franchisee Freedom Act — Display Title
• To provide a private right of action for persons harmed by violations of the Franchise Rule of the Federal Trade Commission, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced
• Franchisee Freedom Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced

Lobbying

3 clients hired 2 firms and 2 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 4614 in 7 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Banking, Small Business, Immigration, Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 4614 under Commerce, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 4614’s is Commerce.

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 4614, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 125 (Tuesday, July 22, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Ms. SCHAKOWSKY:H.R. 4614.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8, Clause 3The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commercewith foreign Nations, and among the several States, and withthe Indian Tribes.[Page H3554]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com