Document ID: SEC-2015-1092-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Rule
Title: Commission Guidance Regarding the Definition of the Terms Spouse and Marriage Following the Supreme Courts Decision in United States v. Windsor
Posted Date: 2015-07-01T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37536-37537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15506]

[[Page 37536]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

17 CFR Parts 231, 241, 271, and 276

[Release Nos. 33-9850; 34-75250; IA-4122; IC-31684]

Commission Guidance Regarding the Definition of the Terms 
``Spouse'' and ``Marriage'' Following the Supreme Court's Decision in 
United States v. Windsor

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION: Interpretation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange Commission is publishing 
interpretive guidance to clarify how the Commission will interpret the 
terms ``spouse'' and ``marriage'' in light of the Supreme Court's 
ruling in United States v. Windsor.

DATES: Effective July 1, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions should be referred to 
Benjamin Schiffrin, Senior Litigation Counsel, Office of the General 
Counsel, at (202) 551-5003, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-9040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the 
United States ruled in United States v. Windsor that Section 3 of the 
Defense of Marriage Act (``DOMA'') is unconstitutional.\1\ Section 3 
provides that in ``determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or 
of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various 
administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States,'' the ``word 
`spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband 
or a wife,'' and the ``word `marriage' means only a legal union between 
one man and one woman as husband and wife.'' \2\ This section, the 
Court stated, ``enacts a directive applicable to over 1,000 federal 
statutes and the whole realm of federal regulations.'' \3\ The Court 
found that this directive ``undermines both the public and private 
significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages'' and concluded 
that ``no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to 
disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, 
sought to protect in personhood and dignity.'' \4\ The Court thus held 
that Section 3 of DOMA was invalid.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013).
    \2\ 1 U.S.C. 7.
    \3\ 133 S. Ct. at 2690.
    \4\ Id. at 2694, 2696.
    \5\ Id. at 2696.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In light of this decision, the Commission will read the terms 
``spouse'' and ``marriage,'' where they appear in the federal 
securities statutes administered by the Commission, the rules and 
regulations promulgated thereunder, releases, orders, and any guidance 
issued by the staff or the Commission, to include, respectively, (1) an 
individual married to a person of the same sex if the couple is 
lawfully married under state law, regardless of the individual's 
domicile, and (2) such a marriage between individuals of the same sex. 
This guidance is consistent with Windsor.

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Parts 231, 241, 271, and 276

    Securities.

Amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations

    For the reasons set out above, the Commission is amending Title 17, 
chapter II of the Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below:

PART 231--INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE SECURITIES ACT OF 
1933 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS THEREUNDER

0
1. Part 231 is amended by adding Release No. 33-9850 to the list of 
interpretive releases as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Subject                 Release No.            Date                 Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Commission Guidance Regarding the          33-9850  June 19, 2015........  80 FR [Insert FR Page Number]
 Definition of the Terms
 ``Spouse'' and ``Marriage''
 Following the Supreme Court's
 Decision in United States v.
 Windsor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART 241--INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE SECURITIES 
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS THEREUNDER

0
2. Part 241 is amended by adding Release No. 34-75250 to the list of 
interpretive releases as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Subject                 Release No.            Date                 Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Commission Guidance Regarding the         34-75250  June 19, 2015........  80 FR [Insert FR Page Number]
 Definition of the Terms
 ``Spouse'' and ``Marriage''
 Following the Supreme Court's
 Decision in United States v.
 Windsor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 37537]]

PART 271--INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE INVESTMENT 
COMPANY ACT OF 1940 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS THEREUNDER

0
3. Part 271 is amended by adding Release No. IC-31684 to the list of 
interpretive releases as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Subject                 Release No.            Date                 Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Commission Guidance Regarding the         IC-31684  June 19, 2015........  80 FR [Insert FR Page Number]
 Definition of the Terms
 ``Spouse'' and ``Marriage''
 Following the Supreme Court's
 Decision in United States v.
 Windsor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART 276--INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE INVESTMENT 
ADVISERS ACT OF 1940 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS THEREUNDER

0
4. Part 276 is amended by adding Release No. IA-4122 to the list of 
interpretive releases as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Subject                 Release No.            Date                 Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Commission Guidance Regarding the          IA-4122  June 19, 2015........  80 FR [Insert FR Page Number]
 Definition of the Terms
 ``Spouse'' and ``Marriage''
 Following the Supreme Court's
 Decision in United States v.
 Windsor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Dated: June 19, 2015.

    By the Commission.
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-15506 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P