Banks get exemption from reporting crime-tip reward payments
H.R. 6029 — To amend the Bank Secrecy Act to exempt transactions with respect to cash reward payments by crime stopper organizations from certain currency transaction reports. · Filed by Michael Guest (R-MS) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Nov 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill exempts banks from reporting certain cash transactions to the Treasury when those transactions involve crime stopper organizations paying cash rewards for tips about crimes. Currently, banks must report all cash transactions over $10,000 (currency transaction reports); this bill carves out an exception for reward payments by nonprofit crime-tip organizations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to narrow the scope of mandatory currency transaction reporting under the Bank Secrecy Act by creating a specific exemption for crime stopper reward payments. It is a targeted regulatory exemption, not a broader policy reform.
What the text implies
- Exemption applies to all nonprofit crime stopper organizations meeting the statutory definition, potentially including organizations with minimal vetting or oversight standards.
- Removes Treasury's visibility into cash reward flows, which could be exploited to move funds through crime-tip payments while evading anti-money-laundering surveillance.
- May incentivize use of cash rewards over other compensation methods specifically to avoid reporting, creating a perverse incentive structure.
- No explicit requirement that the nonprofit organization itself be subject to anti-money-laundering compliance, only that the transaction be 'in connection with' a reward.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens may benefit from stronger crime-tip incentives if the reporting burden was deterring reward payments, but the exemption also reduces Treasury visibility into cash flows that could involve money laundering or other financial crimes. The net civic effect depends on whether the reporting requirement was actually suppressing legitimate crime-fighting or whether the exemption creates a loophole.
Who stands to gain
- nonprofit crime stopper organizations
- depository institutions (reduced compliance burden)
Named in the bill
Bank Secrecy Act, 31 U.S.C. § 5313, Treasury Department, depository institutions, nonprofit organizations, crime stopper organizations
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.
- Nov 12, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Nov 12, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (504 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Banks get exemption from reporting crime-tip reward payments” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr6029 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.