Amid increased state-level antitrust enforcement, a key member of the House Judiciary Committee introduced a discussion draft of antitrust legislation. In a new insight, Director of Competition Policy Fred Ashton provides a breakdown of the proposal.

Key points:

• House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Chairman Scott Fitzgerald’s (R-WI) discussion draft would give the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice exclusive authority to review or challenge certain mergers and acquisitions of interstate or international interest.
• State attorneys general are increasingly enforcing federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws independently, while state legislatures are passing policies to fill perceived gaps in federal law.
• The proposed federal preemption legislation aims to balance the complexity of multi-jurisdictional merger investigations with the states’ authority to preserve local competition.

Read the analysis.