I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8239 
To improve the consideration by the Securities and Exchange Commission 
of the costs and benefits of regulations and orders of the Commission. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 2, 2024 
Mrs. WAGNER (for herself, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. NUNN of Iowa, Mr. MEUSER, 
Mr. HUIZENGA, and Mr. EMMER) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To improve the consideration by the Securities and Exchange 
Commission of the costs and benefits of regulations and 
orders of the Commission. 
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 ‘‘SEC Regulatory Ac-
countability Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION BY THE SECURITIES AND EX-
CHANGE COMMISSION OF THE COSTS AND 
BENEFITS OF REGULATIONS AND CERTAIN 
OTHER AGENCY ACTIONS OF THE COMMIS-
SION. 
Section 23 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78w) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) CONSIDERATION OF COSTS AND BENEFITS.— 
‘‘(1) CONSIDERATIONS
BEFORE
PROPOSING
A 
REGULATION.—Before proposing a regulation, the 
Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) clearly identify the nature and source 
of the problem that the regulation is designed 
to address, as well as assess the significance of 
that problem, to enable assessment of whether 
any new regulation is warranted; and 
‘‘(B) ensure that the regulation would be 
within the Commission’s jurisdiction and that 
the Commission has sufficient experience and 
expertise to regulate the subject matter covered 
by the regulation. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUING A PROPOSED 
OR FINAL REGULATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In issuing a proposed 
or final regulation, the Commission shall— 
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‘‘(i) clearly identify the market par-
ticipants who will be impacted by the regu-
lation; 
‘‘(ii) utilize the Chief Economist of 
the Commission to assess the costs and 
benefits, both qualitative and quantitative, 
of the regulation, both on the regulation’s 
own and cumulatively with other existing 
and proposed regulations; 
‘‘(iii) only issue the regulation if the 
Commission makes a reasoned determina-
tion that the benefits of the regulation jus-
tify the costs of the regulation; 
‘‘(iv) identify and assess available al-
ternatives to the regulation that were con-
sidered, including modification of an exist-
ing regulation; 
‘‘(v) ensure that the regulation is ac-
cessible, consistent, written in plain lan-
guage, and easy to understand; and 
‘‘(vi) ensure that the length of the 
public comment period is commensurate 
with the complexity of the regulation and 
the expected public interest in the rule-
making. 
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‘‘(B) INCLUSION
OF
INFORMATION
IN
A 
PROPOSED OR FINAL REGULATION.—In issuing 
a proposed or final regulation, the Commission 
shall include in the regulation— 
‘‘(i) the results of the identifications 
and assessments required under clauses (i) 
and (ii) of subparagraph (A) with respect 
to the regulation; 
‘‘(ii) an explanation of why the regula-
tion meets the regulatory objectives of the 
Commission more effectively than other 
available alternatives, including modifica-
tion of an existing regulation; 
‘‘(iii) a description of how the Com-
mission intends the regulation to interact 
with existing regulations and proposed reg-
ulations; and 
‘‘(iv) a justification of the length of 
the public comment period for the regula-
tion. 
‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS AND ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIRED
ACTIONS.—In deciding 
whether and how to regulate, the Commission 
shall assess the costs and benefits of available 
regulatory alternatives, including the alternative 
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of not regulating, and choose the approach that 
maximizes net benefits. Specifically, the Com-
mission shall— 
‘‘(i) consistent with the requirements 
of section 3(f) (15 U.S.C. 78c(f)), section 
2(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 
U.S.C. 77b(b)), section 202(c) of the In-
vestment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 
80b–2(c)), and section 2(c) of the Invest-
ment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 
80a–2(c)), consider whether a rulemaking 
(both on the regulation’s own and cumula-
tively with other existing and proposed reg-
ulations), in addition to being in the inter-
est of protecting investors, will promote ef-
ficiency, competition, and capital forma-
tion; 
‘‘(ii) evaluate whether, consistent with 
obtaining regulatory objectives, a regula-
tion (both on the regulation’s own and cu-
mulatively with other existing and pro-
posed regulations) is tailored to impose the 
least burden on society, including market 
participants, individuals, businesses of dif-
fering sizes, and other entities (including 
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State and local governmental entities), tak-
ing into account, to the extent practicable, 
the cumulative costs of regulations; and 
‘‘(iii) evaluate whether a regulation is 
inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative of 
other Federal regulations. 
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
addition, in making a reasoned determination 
under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) of the costs and 
benefits of a regulation, the Commission shall, 
to the extent that each is relevant to the par-
ticular regulation, take into consideration the 
impact of the regulation on— 
‘‘(i) investor choice; 
‘‘(ii) market liquidity in the securities 
markets; 
‘‘(iii) small businesses; 
‘‘(iv) competition in the marketplace; 
‘‘(v) investor access; and 
‘‘(vi) the United States economic com-
petitiveness. 
‘‘(4) POST-ADOPTION IMPACT ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Whenever the Com-
mission issues a final regulation that is a 
‘major rule’ (as defined under section 804 of 
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title 5, United States Code), it shall state, in 
the regulation, the following: 
‘‘(i) The purposes and intended con-
sequences of the regulation. 
‘‘(ii) Appropriate post-implementation 
quantitative and qualitative metrics to 
measure the economic impact of the regu-
lation and to measure the extent to which 
the regulation has accomplished the stated 
purposes. 
‘‘(iii) The assessment plan that will be 
used, consistent with the requirements of 
subparagraph (B) and under the super-
vision of the Chief Economist, to assess 
whether the regulation has achieved the 
stated purposes. 
‘‘(iv) Any unintended or negative con-
sequences that the Commission foresees 
may result from the regulation. 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS
OF
ASSESSMENT 
PLAN AND REPORT.— 
‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS OF PLAN.—For 
each regulation described under subpara-
graph (A), the Chief Economist shall es-
tablish an assessment plan, which shall— 
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‘‘(I) consider the costs, benefits, 
and intended and unintended con-
sequences of the regulation; 
‘‘(II) specify the data to be col-
lected, the methods for collection and 
analysis of the data, and a date for 
completion of the assessment; and 
‘‘(III) include an analysis of any 
jobs added or lost as a result of the 
regulation, 
differentiating 
between 
public and private sector jobs. 
‘‘(ii) TIMING
OF
ASSESSMENT
PLAN 
REPORT.—A report on each completed as-
sessment plan described under clause (i) 
shall be submitted by the Chief Economist 
to the Commission not later than the end 
of the 4-year period beginning on the date 
the applicable regulation is issued, unless 
the Commission, at the request of the 
Chief Economist, publishes at least 90 
days before the end of such period a notice 
in the Federal Register extending the date 
and providing specific reasons why an ex-
tension is necessary. 
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‘‘(iii) PUBLIC
COMMENT.—Not later 
than 7 days after the Commission receives 
an assessment plan report under clause 
(ii), the Commission shall publish the re-
port in the Federal Register for public 
comment. 
‘‘(5) REGULATION
DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘regulation’— 
‘‘(A) means an agency statement of gen-
eral applicability and future effect that is de-
signed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law 
or policy or to describe the procedure or prac-
tice requirements of an agency, including rules, 
orders of general applicability, interpretive re-
leases, and other statements of general applica-
bility that the agency intends to have the force 
and effect of law; and 
‘‘(B) does not include— 
‘‘(i) a regulation issued in accordance 
with the formal rulemaking provisions of 
section 556 or 557 of title 5, United States 
Code; 
‘‘(ii) a regulation that is limited to 
agency organization, management, or per-
sonnel matters; 
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‘‘(iii) a regulation promulgated pursu-
ant to statutory authority that expressly 
prohibits compliance with this provision; 
and 
‘‘(iv) a regulation that is certified by 
the agency to be an emergency action, if 
such certification is published in the Fed-
eral Register.’’. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO OTHER REGU-
LATORY ENTITIES. 
It is the sense of the Congress that the Public Com-
pany Accounting Oversight Board should also follow the 
requirements of section 23(e) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934, as added by section 2. 
SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISION RELATING TO OTHER 
REGULATORY ENTITIES. 
A rule adopted by the Municipal Securities Rule-
making Board or any national securities association reg-
istered under section 15A of the Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o–3) shall not take effect unless 
the Securities and Exchange Commission determines that, 
in adopting such rule, the Board or association has com-
plied with the requirements of section 23(e) of the Securi-
ties Exchange Act of 1934, as added by section 2, in the 
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same manner as is required by the Commission under such 
section 23(e). 
Æ 
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