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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9342 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9342

  To amend the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 
 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisors 
      Act of 1940 with respect to the determination of violations.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 9, 2024

 Mr. Sessions introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 
 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisors 
      Act of 1940 with respect to the determination of violations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securities Enforcement Clarity Act 
of 2024'' or the ``SEC Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF THE NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS.

    (a) Securities Act of 1933.--The Securities Act of 1933 is 
amended--
            (1) in section 8A(g) (15 U.S.C. 77h-1(g)), by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(4) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
        of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
        penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
        are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
            (2) in section 20(d) (15 U.S.C. 77t(d)), by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(5) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
        of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
        penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
        are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''.
    (b) Securities Exchange Act of 1934.--The Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 is amended--
            (1) in section 21(d)(3) (15 U.S.C. 78u(d)(3)), by adding at 
        the end the following:
            ``(E) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
        of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
        penalties under subparagraph (A)(i), separate acts of 
        noncompliance are a single violation when the acts are the 
        result of--
                    ``(i) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(ii) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(iii) a continuing failure to comply.'';
            (2) in section 21B(a) (15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)), by adding at 
        the end the following:
            ``(3) Determination of number of violations, acts, or 
        omissions.--For purposes of determining the number of 
        violations, acts, or omissions for which to impose penalties 
        under this subsection, separate acts of noncompliance are a 
        single violation, act, or omission when the acts are the result 
        of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
            (3) in section 32 (15 U.S.C. 78ff), by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(d) Determination of Number of Violations.--For purposes of 
determining the number of violations for which to impose penalties 
under subsection (c), separate acts of noncompliance are a single 
violation when the acts are the result of--
            ``(1) a common or a substantially overlapping originating 
        cause;
            ``(2) the same misstatement or omission; or
            ``(3) a continuing failure to comply.''.
    (c) Investment Company Act of 1940.--The Investment Company Act of 
1940 is amended--
            (1) in section 9(d) (15 U.S.C. 80a-9(d)), by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(5) Determination of number of violations, acts, or 
        omissions.--For purposes of determining the number of 
        violations, acts, or omissions for which to impose penalties 
        under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance are a 
        single violation, act, or omission when the acts are the result 
        of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
            (2) in section 42(e) (15 U.S.C. 80a-41(e)), by adding at 
        the end the following:
            ``(5) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
        of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
        penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
        are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''.
    (d) Investment Advisors Act of 1940.--The Investment Advisers Act 
of 1940 is amended--
            (1) in section 203(i) (15 U.S.C. 80b-3(i)), by adding at 
        the end the following:
            ``(5) Determination of number of violations, acts, or 
        omissions.--For purposes of determining the number of 
        violations, acts, or omissions for which to impose penalties 
        under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance are a 
        single violation, act, or omission when the acts are the result 
        of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
            (2) in section 209(e) (15 U.S.C. 80b-9(e)), by adding at 
        the end the following:
            ``(5) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
        of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
        penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
        are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
                    ``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
                originating cause;
                    ``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
                    ``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''.
                                 <all>
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