lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Commerce
Date: 2010-06-07 00:00:00

Section 8(a) Improvements Act of 2010 - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to: (1) assign each North American Industry Classification System industry code to a category of either manufacturing, construction, professional services, or general services; and (2) for each category, establish a maximum net worth for the socially disadvantaged individuals who own or control small businesses in that category, for purposes of participation in a program for the award of federal procurement subcontracts to socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses (program). Requires an annual inflationary adjustment to the average income and maximum net worth limits of owners of such businesses, as well as a temporary adjustment within the first 30 days after the enactment of this Act. Establishes a transition period of three years after a small business has graduated from the 8(a) program, during which period such business may receive developmental assistance through the SBA. Requires the Comptroller General and the Administrator to each evaluate the program and report evaluation results to the congressional small business committees. Directs the Administrator to establish a surety bond pilot program under which the Administrator may guarantee any surety against loss resulting from a breach of the terms of a bid bond, payment bond, performance bond, or bonds ancillary thereto by a participating eligible small business. Allows the Administrator, under the pilot program, to pay a surety up to 90% of the loss incurred. Requires the Administrator to provide, for up to three years, technical assistance and educational training to a small business participating in the pilot program. Establishes a pilot program advisory board and a Small Business Surety Bond Pilot Program Fund.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2010-08-05 00:00:00

Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal the prohibition of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act against compelling the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose records or information obtained from registered persons pursuant to its regulatory or oversight activities. Declares that for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): (1) the SEC is an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; and (2) any entity for which the SEC is the responsible regulator, supervisor, or examiner under such Act is a financial institution. (Thus retains the general exemption from FOIA of matters contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of the SEC and any other agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions.) Amends the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act to repeal similar prohibitions against compelling the SEC to disclose records or information provided to it by a registered investment company or investment adviser, or an underwriter, broker, dealer, or investment adviser that is a majority-owned subsidiary of such a company, for SEC use in furtherance of certain purposes, including surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Commerce
Date: 2010-09-23 00:00:00

Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to make permanent the increase from $2 million to $5 million in the surety bond guaranty limit of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Relieves the SBA from reimbursing the surety if: (1) the surety obtained such guarantee or agreement, or applied for such reimbursement, by fraud or material misrepresentation; (2) the total contract amount at the time of bond execution exceeds $5 million; (3) the surety has breached a material term or condition of such guarantee agreement; or (4) the surety has substantially violated regulations promulgated by the SBA.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Commerce
Date: 2010-09-23 00:00:00

Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to make permanent the authorized increase in surety bond guaranty limits by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-01-05 00:00:00

Church Plan Investment Clarification Act - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to when certain securities issued in connection with retirement income accounts available only to certain kinds of church plans are treated as exempted from registration and disclosure requirements under such Act (exempted securities). Considers as an exempted security a certain kind of retirement income account (available only to church plans), to the extent that the interest or participation in a single trust fund or collective trust fund (e.g., a "stable value fund") is issued to: (1) a church, a convention or association of churches, or a specified kind of organization (including a church pension board established to maintain employee benefit programs) which establishes or maintains the retirement income account; or (2) a trust established by any such entity in connection with the retirement income account. Revises a further such exclusion from exempted security treatment of plans whose participants may include persons (in particular clergymen) who may be considered self-employed for certain tax purposes. Allows exempted security treatment of such plans. (In effect, an exemption from registration and related requirements is granted to collective trust funds that are invested in by kinds of church plans currently excluded from making such investments.)
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-02-16 00:00:00

Iran Transparency and Accountability Act of 2011 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require securities issuers to disclose in their mandatory annual or quarterly reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whether they or their affiliates have: (1) engaged in certain activities relating to Iran, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; (2) knowingly engaged in specified activities, or knowingly violated certain regulations prescribed under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010; (3) knowingly conducted any transaction or dealing with a person whose property and interests in property are blocked by certain Executive Orders; or (4) knowingly conducted a transaction or dealing with any person listed in the Iranian Transactions Regulations. Specifies the contents of mandatory disclosures. Requires the President to: (1) initiate an investigation into the possible imposition of sanctions when the SEC receives a report that an issuer or its affiliate has engaged in the cited activities; and (2) determine within 180 days of initiating an investigation whether sanctions should be imposed on the issuer or the affiliate concerned. Directs the SEC to make publicly available the information it has received, and to provide it to the President and to certain congressional committees. Requires promulgation within 90 days after enactment of this Act of regulations governing financial institutions maintaining accounts for foreign financial institutions.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2011-02-16 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to taxation of U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations, to permanently extend the subpart F exemption (which excludes such income from the shareholder's foreign personal holding company income) for active financing (insurance, banking, financing, or similar businesses) income earned on business operations overseas.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-02-17 00:00:00

Equitable Treatment of Investors Act - Amends the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to revise the definition of "net equity." States that, in determining net equity, the positions, options, and contracts of a customer held by the debtor, and any indebtedness of the customer to the debtor, shall be determined based on: (1) the information contained in the last statement received by the customer from the debtor before the filing date; and (2) any additional specific confirmations of the customer's positions, options, contracts, or indebtedness received after such last statement but before the filing date. Prohibits reliance on the final statement of the debtor to customer, however, if the customer: (1) knew the debtor was involved in fraudulent activity with respect to any of its customers; or (2) as a registered broker, dealer, or investment adviser under specified securities laws, or a person required to be so registered, knew, or should have known, that the debtor was involved in such a fraudulent activity and did not notify the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or law enforcement personnel that the debtor was so involved. Prohibits a trustee in bankruptcy in a liquidation proceeding from recovering any property transferred by the debtor to a customer before the filing date unless, at the time of such transfer, the customer meets the same criteria. Transfers from SIPC to the SEC authority to nominate to a court persons for appointment as trustee for the liquidation of a debtor's business and as attorney for the trustee.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-03-14 00:00:00

Small Company Capital Formation Act of 2011 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Securities Act of 1933 (Act) to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exempt from its regulation a class of securities for which the aggregate offering amount of all securities sold within the prior 12-month period in reliance upon such exemption does not exceed $50 million. Restricts any such exemption to equity securities, debt securities, and debt securities convertible or exchangeable to equity interests, including any guarantees of such securities. Subjects to civil liability certain violations arising from offering or selling securities by use of prospectuses and communications. Authorizes the SEC to: (1) require an issuer of such exempted class of securities to make periodic disclosures available to investors regarding the issuer, its business operations, financial condition, corporate governance principles, and use of investor funds; (2) require the issuer to file electronically with the SEC and distribute to prospective investors an offering statement which includes this information; (3) provide for the suspension and termination of this disclosure requirement with respect to that issuer; and (4) prescribe exemption disqualification requirements, substantially similar to regulations adopted in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, under which the exemption shall not be available to the issuer and related persons, including predecessors, affiliates, officers, directors, and underwriters. Requires the SEC to: (1) review and increase biennially such offering amount limitation, as appropriate; and (2) report to certain congressional committees its reasons for not increasing the amount if it determines not to do so. Exempts from state regulation the securities covered and required exempted from SEC regulation by this Act. (Sec. 3) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of state laws regulating securities offerings (Blue Sky laws) on offerings made under Regulation A (which specifies the terms and conditions of exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933).
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-03-15 00:00:00

Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act - Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to exempt private equity fund investment advisers from its registration and reporting requirements, provided that each private equity fund has not borrowed and does not have outstanding a principal amount exceeding twice its invested capital commitments. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promulgate final rules that: (1) require such investment advisers to maintain records the SEC determines necessary, taking into account fund size, governance, investment strategy, and risk; and (2) define the term "private equity fund" for purposes of this Act.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2011-03-17 00:00:00

Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act to direct both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to prohibit purchase or sale of either securities, security-based swaps, or commodities for future delivery or swap by a person in possession of material nonpublic information regarding pending or prospective legislative action if the information was obtained: (1) knowingly from a Member or employee of Congress, (2) by reason of being a Member or employee of Congress, or (3) from other federal employees and derived from their federal employment. Amends the Code of Official Conduct of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit any Member, officer, or employee of the House from disclosing material nonpublic information relating to any pending or prospective legislative action relating to any publicly-traded company or to any commodity if such person has reason to believe that the information will be used to buy or sell the securities of that publicly traded company or that commodity for future delivery based on such information. Directs both the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives to hold hearings on the implementation by the CFTC and the SEC of such financial transaction prohibitions. Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require formal disclosure of certain securities and commodities futures transactions to either the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to subject to its registration, reporting, and disclosure requirements, as well as requirements for identification of clients and covered legislative and executive officials, all political intelligence activities, contacts, firms, and consultants. Requires the Comptroller General to include political intelligence activities, contacts, firms, and consultants in its annual compliance audits and reports.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-06-14 00:00:00

Private Company Flexibility and Growth Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to change the thresholds for total assets and for class of equity security holders of record which trigger the requirement for a securities issuer to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Increases the total assets threshold from $1 million to $10 million, and the class of equity security holders of record threshold from 500-750 to 1,000 persons. Declares that, with respect to such registration requirement, the definition of "held of record" does not include securities held by persons who received them pursuant to an employee compensation plan in transactions exempted from specified registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 (exempt transactions). (Thus exempts securities held by such persons from registration requirements.) Directs the SEC to: (1) revise the definition of "held of record" in accordance with this Act, and (2) adopt safe harbor provisions issuers can follow when determining that holders of their securities received them pursuant to an employee compensation plan in an exempt transaction.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-06-23 00:00:00

SEC Regulatory Accountability Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), before issuing a regulation, to: (1) identify and evaluate the significance of the problem that the proposed regulation is designed to address in order to assess whether any new regulation is warranted; (2) use the SEC Chief Economist to assess the costs and benefits of the intended regulation and adopt it only upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify the costs; (3) identify and assess available alternatives that were considered; and (4) ensure that any regulation is accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand. Requires the SEC to: (1) consider whether the rulemaking will promote efficiency, competition, and capital formation; (2) consider the impact of the regulation upon investor choice, market liquidity and small business; (3) explain in its final rule the nature of comments received concerning the proposed rule or rule change; and (4) respond to those comments, explaining any changes made in response, and the reasons that it did not incorporate industry group concerns regarding potential costs or benefits. Directs the SEC to: (1) review its regulations and orders periodically to determine if they are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome; and (2) modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them. Requires the SEC, whenever it adopts or amends a major rule, to state in its adopting release: (1) the purposes and intended consequences of the regulation, (2) the post-implementation quantitative and qualitative metrics to measure the economic impact of the regulation and the extent to which it has accomplished the stated purposes, (3) the assessment plan that will be used under the supervision of the Chief Economist to assess whether the regulation has achieved those purposes, and (4) any foreseeable unintended or negative consequences. Requires the assessment plan to: (1) consider the costs, benefits, and intended and unintended consequences of the regulation; and (2) specify the data to be collected, the methods for its collection and analysis, and an assessment completion date. Waives notice and comment requirements for the data collection if the SEC has published its assessment plan for notice and comment at least 30 days before adoption of a final regulation or amendment. (Sec. 3) Requires the SEC to report to specified congressional committees a plan to subject to the requirements of this Act the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and any registered national securities association.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2011-06-23 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce from 2% to 1.39% the excise tax rate on the net investment income of tax-exempt private foundations, and (2) repeal the 1% reduction in such tax rate for private foundations that meet certain distribution requirements.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-06-23 00:00:00

End Excessive Oil Speculation Now Act of 2011 - Directs the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to establish speculative position limits: (1) in any registered trading entity on or through which crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, or heating oil futures or swaps are traded that are equal to the position accountability levels or position limits established by the New York Mercantile Exchange (Exchange); and (2) that are equal to the position accountability levels or position limits established by such Exchange upon the aggregate number or amount of positions in contracts based upon the same underlying commodity that may be held by any person (including any group or class of traders) for each month across specified contracts, transactions, and swap contracts. Directs the Chairman to: (1) establish margin requirements of 12% for speculative swaps and futures trading in crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and heating oil; (2) require each bank holding company, investment bank, hedge fund, or swaps dealer trading energy futures or swaps for its own benefit, or on behalf of, or as counterparty to, an index fund, exchange traded fund, or other noncommercial participant, to register with the CFTC as a noncommercial participant and be subject to position limits and margin requirements under this Act. Exempts bona-fide hedge trading from such position limits and margin requirements. Expresses the sense of Congress that, if finalized, the proposed position limits for derivatives that the CFTC included in a specified notice of proposed rulemaking do not fulfill the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to diminish, eliminate, or prevent excessive speculation.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2011-06-24 00:00:00

Prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from entering into a lease for general purpose office space except through the General Services Administration (GSA).
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Securities & Commodities
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2011-07-13 00:00:00

Shareholder Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: (1) describe the specific nature (to the extent known) and total amount of expenditures proposed for political activities for the forthcoming fiscal year but not yet authorized by a vote of the issuer's shareholders, and (2) provide for a separate shareholder vote to authorize such proposed expenditures. Prohibits an issuer from making an expenditure for political activities in any fiscal year unless: (1) such expenditure is of the nature of those proposed by the issuer according to the requirements of this Act; and (2) authorization for such expenditure has been granted by votes representing a majority of outstanding shares. Deems a violation of this requirement to be a breach of the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors who authorized such expenditure. Subjects officers and directors who authorize the expenditure without prior shareholder authorization to joint and several liability to any shareholder or class of shareholders for the amount of such expenditure. Requires certain institutional investment managers to disclose annually in mandatory reports how they voted (proxies) in certain shareholder votes. Prohibits any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against an institutional investment manager, or any of its employees, officers, or directors, based solely upon the investment manager's decision to divest from, or not to invest in, securities of an issuer because of expenditures for political activities made by that issuer. Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not expressly provide for a vote of the issuer's directors on any individual expenditure for political activities in excess of $50,000. Requires an issuer to make public, within 48 hours, the individual votes of the directors regarding any such expenditure. Directs the SEC to: (1) require issuers to disclose expenditures for political activities made during the preceding quarter and the individual votes by board members authorizing such expenditures; and (2) make such reports publicly available through the SEC website. Requires the SEC to make annual assessments of the compliance by public corporations and their management with the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, and the Comptroller General (GAO) to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.