I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1216 
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out a pilot 
program to examine maker-taker pricing, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2015 
Mr. LYNCH (for himself, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. ELLISON, and Mr. HINOJOSA) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry 
out a pilot program to examine maker-taker pricing, 
and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Maker-Taker Conflict 
of Interest Reform Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO EXAMINE MAKER-TAKER PRIC-
ING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Securities and Ex-
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change Commission shall begin a 6-month pilot program 
to examine of maker-taker pricing, under which the Com-
mission shall— 
(1) identify a random sample of 50 issuers (the 
‘‘sample group’’) out of the 100 issuers with the 
most frequently-traded securities; 
(2) during such 6-month period, prohibit the 
payment of rebates (or comparable inducements) on 
any trade of securities of the issuers in the sample 
group; and 
(3) compare the effects of such prohibition on 
the issuers in the sample group compared to the 50 
issuers not so chosen (the ‘‘control group’’). 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 
after the end of the program required under sub-
section (a), the Commission shall issue a report to 
the Congress containing all of the findings and de-
terminations made in carrying out such program, 
along with any legislative or regulatory recommenda-
tions the Commission may have. 
(2) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In preparing the 
report required under paragraph (1), the Commis-
sion shall consider factors relevant to the impact of 
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rebates (or comparable inducements) on equity mar-
kets, including— 
(A) whether maker-taker pricing creates a 
potential conflict of interest between brokers 
and their clients by incentivizing brokers to use 
routing that may be cost-effective for them, but 
which may not be the best method of execution 
for their clients; 
(B) whether maker-taker pricing reduces, 
or potentially reduces, market transparency and 
distorts price discovery insofar as rebates and 
fees are not disclosed in displayed quotes, there-
by causing displayed spreads to be narrower or 
wider than actual spreads; and 
(C) whether maker-taker pricing com-
promises, or potentially compromises, efficiency 
and liquidity by— 
(i) contributing to increased length in 
exchange queues; 
(ii) causing passive market partici-
pants to trade more aggressively to access 
liquidity; 
(iii) contributing to a reduction in li-
quidity in times of market stress, particu-
larly for less liquid securities; 
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(iv) incentivizing a proliferation of 
order types, rebates, and fees, thereby re-
sulting in increased fragmentation of order 
flow; and 
(v) fostering excessive intermediation 
by certain market participants that trade 
in part or in whole to capture rebates (or 
comparable inducements) or avoid fees. 
(c) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—The Commission may 
make such adjustments to the pilot program under this 
section as the Commission considers necessary or appro-
priate to ensure that such program can provide statis-
tically meaningful or reliable results. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) 
MAKER-TAKER
PRICING.—The 
term 
‘‘maker-taker pricing’’ means any pricing model by 
any trading venue that provides rebates (or com-
parable inducements) or fees to market participants 
to either provide liquidity to, or to take liquidity 
from, that trading venue. 
(2) REBATES.—The term ‘‘rebates’’ means 
funds provided by a trading venue to certain partici-
pants in a transaction on that venue. 
(3) COMPARABLE
INDUCEMENTS.—The term 
‘‘comparable inducements’’ means items or services 
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of value (other than rebates) provided by a trading 
venue to certain participants in a transaction on 
that venue, including free or reduced-cost market 
data, connectivity ports, co-location space, and tech-
nology services. 
Æ 
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