Charitable Donation Antitrust Immunity Act of 1997
Public Law 105-26 · H.R. 1902 · 105th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Jul 3, 1997 · Commerce
Sponsor: Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL-6)
Cosponsors (12): Rep. John Conyers, Rep. James Sensenbrenner,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Charitable Donation Antitrust Immunity Act of 1997 - Amends the Charitable Gift Annuity Antitrust Relief Act of 1995 to make the antitrust laws and similar State laws inapplicable to charitable gift annuities or remainder trusts, except as provided under this Act.
Grants immunity from suits to persons subjected to legal proceedings for relief of any kind under Federal or State antitrust laws on account of being involved in the planning, issuance, or payment of such annuities or remainder trusts.
Presumes that annuities or trusts treated as charitable gift annuities or remainder trusts in filings with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or in written documents provided by or on behalf of the donee to the donor are charitable gift annuities or remainder trusts unless the IRS has made a final determination, for fraud or otherwise, that an annuity or trust did not qualify as such.
Makes immunity from antitrust laws under this Act inapplicable with respect to enforcement of a State law pertaining to such annuities or trusts created after the State enacts a statute, no later than December 8, 1998, that provides that such immunity is inapplicable.
Applies this Act retroactively to conduct occurring before, and administrative and judicial actions pending on, the enactment date.
Requires the Attorney General to carry out a study and report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on this Act's effect on markets for noncharitable annuities and charitable gift annuities and remainder trusts.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 11 actions.
- Jul 3, 1997Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 105-26.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jun 26, 1997PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Jun 24, 1997FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 23, 1997FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Hyde moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
- Jun 18, 1997CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
- Jun 17, 1997CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.