TITLE I—DISCRIMINATORY RAT-
INGS TREATMENT OF STATE 
AND MUNICIPAL SECURITIES 
SEC. 101. PRESERVATION OF AUTHORITY TO PREVENT DIS-
CRIMINATION. 
Section 15E(c)) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o–7(c))) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Notwith-
standing’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3), 
but notwithstanding’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(3) RATINGS CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY.— 
‘‘(A) COMMISSION
OBLIGATION.—Subject 
to subparagraph (B), but notwithstanding any 
other provision of this subsection, the Commis-
sion shall require each nationally recognized 
statistical rating organization that is registered 
under this section— 
‘‘(i) to establish and maintain credit 
ratings with respect to securities and 
money market instruments designed to as-
sess the risk that investors in securities 
and money market instruments may not 
receive payment in accordance with the 
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terms of issuance of such securities and in-
struments; 
‘‘(ii) to define clearly any rating sym-
bol used by that organization; and 
‘‘(iii) to apply such rating symbol in a 
consistent manner for all types of securi-
ties and money market instruments to 
which that symbol is assigned. 
‘‘(B) 
COMPLEMENTARY
RATINGS.—The 
Commission shall not impose any requirement 
under subparagraph (A) that prevents nation-
ally recognized statistical rating organizations 
from establishing ratings that are complemen-
tary to the ratings described in subparagraph 
(A)(i) and that are created to measure a dis-
crete aspect of the security’s or instrument’s 
risk. 
‘‘(4) REVIEW.— 
‘‘(A) 
PERFORMANCE
MEASURES.—For 
purposes of paragraph (1), the Commission 
shall, by rule, establish performance measures 
to be used to determine when to initiate a re-
view concerning whether a nationally recognized 
statistical rating organization— 
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‘‘(i) has issued ratings in material 
contravention of the procedures described 
in paragraph (1); or 
‘‘(ii) has failed to adhere to such or-
ganization’s stated procedures and meth-
odologies for issuing such ratings. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE.—The 
rules required by subparagraph (A) shall re-
quire the consideration of evidence of perform-
ance of the organization’s ratings in each of the 
categories described in clauses (i) through (v) of 
section 3(a)(62)(B) during an appropriate in-
terval (as determined by the Commission), in-
cluding aggregate transition of ratings in dis-
crete asset classes.’’. 
TITLE II—REVIEW OF MUNIC-
IPAL BOND INSURANCE IN-
DUSTRY 
SEC. 201. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY . 
(a) COLLECTION AND USE OF INFORMATION.—Ex-
cept as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall have the authority to receive, analyze, col-
lect, and disseminate information, data, and material, and 
issue reports, regarding entities that insure or guarantee 
the payment of any portion of the principal and interest 
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of any municipal obligation, including information, data, 
and material regarding— 
(1) financial safety and soundness of such enti-
ties; 
(2) concentration of insurance liabilities of such 
entities; 
(3) performance of such entities under various 
scenarios of macro- and micro-economic stress; 
(4) underwriting standards for such entities; 
and 
(5) risk management of such entities. 
(b) PROTECTION
OF PRIVACY.—Any requirement 
under Federal or State law to the extent otherwise appli-
cable, or any requirement pursuant to a written agreement 
in effect between the Secretary and the National Associa-
tion of Insurance Commissioners or any member or affil-
iate of such Association, regarding the privacy or confiden-
tiality of any information, data, or material in the posses-
sion of the Secretary or such Association or any member 
or affiliate of such Association, and any privilege arising 
under Federal or State law (including the rules of any 
Federal or State court) with respect to such information, 
data, or material, shall continue to apply to such informa-
tion, data, or material after the information, data, or ma-
terial has, pursuant to subsection (a), been provided to 
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or otherwise collected or received by the Secretary or such 
Association or any member or affiliate of such Association. 
SEC. 202. SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 
The Secretary may collect and receive information, 
data, and material pursuant to section 201 from State in-
surance regulatory authorities, the National Association of 
Insurance Commissioners, and any other sources the Sec-
retary determines are credible. 
SEC. 203. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
The Secretary shall submit a report annually to the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate on the financial state of the 
industry for insurance and guarantee of municipal bonds, 
meaningful trends in such industry, and the potential im-
pacts on the overall financial system in the United States 
that entities that providing such insurance and guarantees 
could have under various scenarios of macro- and micro- 
economic stress. 
SEC. 204. RETENTION OF EXISTING REGULATORY AUTHOR-
ITY. 
This title may not be construed to establish any su-
pervisory or regulatory authority of the Secretary over any 
entity that insures or guarantees the payment of any por-
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tion of the principal and interest of any municipal obliga-
tion. 
SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this title, the following definitions 
shall apply: 
(1) MUNICIPAL OBLIGATION.—The term ‘‘mu-
nicipal obligation’’ means any bond, note, security, 
or other debt obligation issued by any State, any po-
litical subdivision of a State, one or more political 
subdivisions of a State, or a State and one or more 
of its political subdivisions, or by any agency, de-
partment, office, authority, or other instrumentality 
of a State, any political subdivision of a State, one 
or more political subdivisions of a State, or a State 
and one or more of its political subdivisions. 
(2) POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘‘polit-
ical subdivision’’ includes any city, county, town, 
township, parish, village, or other general purpose 
political subdivision of a State and any school, util-
ity, fire, or tax district, or other special purpose po-
litical subdivision of a State. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 
States of the United States, the District of Colum-
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bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 
the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and any other 
territory or possession of the United States. 
SEC. 206. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary for carrying out this title such sums as may be nec-
essary for each fiscal year. 
Æ 
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