IB 
Union Calendar No. 59 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 910 
[Report No. 115–102] 
To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide a safe harbor 
related to certain investment fund research reports, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2017 
Mr. HILL (for himself and Mr. FOSTER) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
MAY 1, 2017 
Additional sponsors: Mr. HOLLINGSWORTH, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. 
GOTTHEIMER, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. MESSER 
MAY 1, 2017 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 7, 2017] 
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A BILL 
To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide 
a safe harbor related to certain investment fund research 
reports, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Access to Invest-
ment Research Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR INVESTMENT FUND RESEARCH. 
(a) EXPANSION OF THE SAFE HARBOR.—Not later 
than the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Com-
mission shall propose, and not later than the end of the 
270-day period beginning on such date, the Commission 
shall adopt, upon such terms, conditions, or requirements 
as the Commission may determine necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, and 
for the promotion of capital formation, revisions to section 
230.139 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, to provide 
that a covered investment fund research report that is pub-
lished or distributed by a broker or dealer— 
(1) shall be deemed, for purposes of sections 
2(a)(10) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 
U.S.C. 77b(a)(10), 77e(c)), not to constitute an offer 
for sale or an offer to sell a security that is the subject 
of an offering pursuant to a registration statement 
that is effective, even if the broker or dealer is partici-
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pating or will participate in the registered offering of 
the covered investment fund’s securities; and 
(2) shall be deemed to satisfy the conditions of 
subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of section 230.139 of title 
17, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor pro-
visions, for purposes of the Commission’s rules and 
regulations under the Federal securities laws and the 
rules of any self-regulatory organization. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF SAFE HARBOR.—In imple-
menting the safe harbor pursuant to subsection (a), the 
Commission shall— 
(1) not, in the case of a covered investment fund 
with a class of securities in substantially continuous 
distribution, condition the safe harbor on whether the 
broker’s or dealer’s publication or distribution of a 
covered investment fund research report constitutes 
such broker’s or dealer’s initiation or reinitiation of 
research coverage on such covered investment fund or 
its securities; 
(2) not— 
(A) require the covered investment fund to 
have been registered as an investment company 
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 
U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.) or subject to the reporting 
requirements of section 13 or 15(d) of the Securi-
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ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m, 
78o(d)) for any period exceeding the period of 
time referenced under paragraph (a)(1)(i)(A)(1) 
of section 230.139 of title 17, Code of Federal 
Regulations; or 
(B) impose a minimum float provision ex-
ceeding 
that 
referenced 
in 
paragraph 
(a)(1)(i)(A)(1)(i) of section 230.139 of title 17, 
Code of Federal Regulations; 
(3) provide that a self-regulatory organization 
may not maintain or enforce any rule that would— 
(A) prohibit the ability of a member to pub-
lish or distribute a covered investment fund re-
search report solely because the member is also 
participating in a registered offering or other 
distribution of any securities of such covered in-
vestment fund; or 
(B) prohibit the ability of a member to par-
ticipate in a registered offering or other distribu-
tion of securities of a covered investment fund 
solely because the member has published or dis-
tributed a covered investment fund research re-
port about such covered investment fund or its 
securities; and 
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(4) provide that a covered investment fund re-
search report shall not be subject to section 24(b) of 
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a– 
24(b)) or the rules and regulations thereunder, except 
that such report may still be subject to such section 
and the rules and regulations thereunder to the extent 
that it is otherwise not subject to the content stand-
ards in the rules of any self-regulatory organization 
related to research reports, including those contained 
in the rules governing communications with the pub-
lic regarding investment companies or substantially 
similar standards. 
(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed as in any way limiting— 
(1) the applicability of the antifraud or 
antimanipulation provisions of the Federal securities 
laws and rules adopted thereunder to a covered invest-
ment fund research report, including section 17 of the 
Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77q), section 34(b) 
of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 
80a–33), and sections 9 and 10 of the Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78i, 78j); or 
(2) the authority of any self-regulatory organiza-
tion to examine or supervise a member’s practices in 
connection with such member’s publication or dis-
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tribution of a covered investment fund research report 
for compliance with applicable provisions of the Fed-
eral securities laws or self-regulatory organization 
rules related to research reports, including those con-
tained in rules governing communications with the 
public, or to require the filing of communications 
with the public the purpose of which is not to provide 
research and analysis of covered investment funds. 
(d) INTERIM EFFECTIVENESS OF SAFE HARBOR.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—From and after the 270-day 
period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 
if the Commission has not adopted revisions to section 
230.139 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, as 
required by subsection (a), and until such time as the 
Commission has done so, a broker or dealer distrib-
uting or publishing a covered investment fund re-
search report after such date shall be able to rely on 
the provisions of section 230.139 of title 17, Code of 
Federal Regulations, and the broker or dealer’s publi-
cation of such report shall be deemed to satisfy the 
conditions of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of section 
230.139 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, if the 
covered investment fund that is the subject of such re-
port satisfies the reporting history requirements 
(without regard to Form S–3 or Form F–3 eligi-
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bility) and minimum float provisions of such sub-
sections for purposes of the Commission’s rules and 
regulations under the Federal securities laws and the 
rules of any self-regulatory organization, as if revised 
and implemented in accordance with subsections (a) 
and (b). 
(2) STATUS OF COVERED INVESTMENT FUND.— 
After such period and until the Commission has 
adopted revisions to section 230.139 and FINRA has 
revised rule 2210, for purposes of subsection (c)(7)(O) 
of such rule, a covered investment fund shall be 
deemed to be a security that is listed on a national 
securities exchange and that is not subject to section 
24(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 
U.S.C. 80a–24(b)). 
(3) COVERED INVESTMENT FUNDS COMMUNICA-
TIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), communications that concern 
only covered investment funds that fall within 
the scope of section 24(b) of the Investment Com-
pany Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–24(b)) shall 
not be required to be filed with FINRA. 
(B) EXCEPTION.—FINRA may require the 
filing of communications with the public if the 
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and which class of securities is listed for 
trading on a national securities exchange; 
(ii) the assets of which consist pri-
marily of commodities, currencies, or deriv-
ative instruments that reference commod-
ities or currencies, or interests in the fore-
going; and 
(iii) that provides in its registration 
statement under the Securities Act of 1933 
that a class of its securities are purchased 
or redeemed, subject to conditions or limita-
tions, for a ratable share of its assets. 
(3) The term ‘‘FINRA’’ means the Financial In-
dustry Regulatory Authority. 
(4) The term ‘‘research report’’ has the meaning 
given that term under section 2(a)(3) of the Securities 
Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)(3)), except that such 
term shall not include an oral communication. 
(5) The term ‘‘self-regulatory organization’’ has 
the meaning given to that term under section 3(a)(26) 
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
78c(a)(26)). 
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Union Calendar No. 59 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 910 
[Report No. 115–102] 
A BILL 
To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission 
to provide a safe harbor related to certain invest-
ment fund research reports, and for other pur-
poses. 
MAY 1, 2017 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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