zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Outsourcing Accountability Act of 2015

 Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require registered securities issuers to disclose annually to the Securities and Exchange Commission and to shareholders: (1) the total number of employees domiciled in the United States and listed by number in each state (including those of consolidated subsidiaries); (2) the total number of such employees physically working in and domiciled in any country other than the United States, listed by number in each country; and (3) the percentage increase or decrease in such numbers from the previous reporting year.

Exempts from such requirements: (1) certain new public companies, and (2) issuers with total annual gross revenues of less than $1 billion during the most recently completed fiscal year.

Date: 2015-10-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Get Regulation Out of the Way Act of 2015 or the GROW Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to exempt from the auditor attestation of internal control assessments an issuer of securities whose total market capitalization is less than $2 billion.

Date: 2015-11-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Hedge Fund Sunshine Act of 2015

This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that hedge funds send specified information to both the issuer of a security and each exchange where the security is rated within five (instead of 10) days of acquiring 1% (instead of 5%) of the beneficial ownership of an equity security, and also to file specified information required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

 For purposes of determining such beneficial ownership, a hedge fund shall include any equity security with respect to which it owns a derivative instrument that includes the opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from an increase in the value of such equity security.

In addition, a hedge fund must file a quarterly report with the SEC if it: (1) has $100 million or more in assets under management, and (2) is the beneficial owner of more than 1% of a class of any security.

The SEC shall make all reports received under this Act publicly available on its website.

Date: 2015-11-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Investor Clarity and Bank Parity Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to permit a hedge fund or private equity fund to share the same name, or a variation of the same name, as a banking entity that is an investment advisor to the hedge fund or private equity fund, if:

 the investment advisor is not an insured depository institution, a company that controls an insured depository institution, or a company treated as a bank holding company for purposes of the International Banking Act of 1978 relating to nonbanking activities of foreign banks; the investment advisor does not share the same name, or a variation of it, as an insured depository institution, a company that controls an insured depository institution, or a company treated as a bank holding company for the specified purposes of the International Banking Act of 1978; and the name does not contain the word "bank."

Date: 2015-11-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Fostering Innovation Act of 2015 

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 with respect to the requirement that each registered public accounting firm that prepares or issues an audit report for an issuer of securities (other than an emerging growth company) shall attest to, and report on, the internal control assessment made by the issuer's management.

This requirement shall not apply with respect to any audit report prepared for an issuer that:

 ceased to be an emerging growth company on the last day of its fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of its first sale of common equity securities, had average annual gross revenues of less than $50 million as of its most recently completed fiscal year, and is not a large accelerated filer. This temporary exemption for low-revenue issuers shall expire upon the earliest of:

 the last day of the issuer's fiscal year following the tenth anniversary of its first sale of common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, the last day of the issuer's fiscal year during which the issuer's average annual gross revenues exceed $50 million, or the date upon which the issuer becomes a large accelerated filer.

Date: 2015-12-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Expanding Proven Financing for American Employers Act 

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to permit the manager of a qualified collateralized loan obligation, or one or more of the majority-owned affiliates of the manager (or its knowledgeable employees and other employees), to meet the risk retention requirement for a qualified collateralized loan obligation by the purchase and holding (without transferring the credit risk) of the value of at least 5% of the equity distributed among each of the higher tranches of the issuance with at least 3.5% retained as equity of the collateralized loan obligation.

The bill prescribes characteristics of a qualified collateralized loan obligation with respect to:

 asset quality protections that have at least 100% of the obligation's assets composed of senior secured loans and cash equivalents, asset portfolio protections, structural protections, alignment of manager and investor interests, regulatory oversight requirements, and transparency and disclosure requirements. Further criteria for the asset quality protections for a qualified collaterilized loan obligation require that the obligation:

 have 100% of its loan assets issued by companies; have no assets that are asset-backed securities or derivatives (except for an acquired loan participation, any interest related to or in a letter of credit, or a derivative transaction to hedge interest rate or currency rate mismatches); not purchase assets in default, margin stock, or equity convertible securities; acquire only loans held or acquired by three or more investors or lenders unaffiliated with the manager; hold only loans to borrowers whose financial statements are subject to an annual audit from an independent, accredited accounting firm; and have no more than 60% of its assets composed of covenant lite loans, except that each asset shall require disclosure of unaudited quarterly financial statements and of audited annual financial statements. A "covenant lite loan" (or "cov-lite," commonly a loan agreement that does not contain the usual protective covenants for the benefit of the lending party) shall mean in this bill, at the time a collateralized loan obligation enters into a commitment to acquire it, a loan for which the underlying instruments neither:

 require the obligor to comply with any maintenance covenant; nor contain a cross-default provision to a financing facility of the obligor that requires the obligor to comply with a maintenance covenant (including one that may apply only upon the funding of such other loan or financing facility). If any such loan is pari passu (treated equally and without preference) with another loan of the obligor that would not be a covenant lite loan, such loan shall be deemed not to be a covenant lite loan.

Date: 2015-12-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Consumer Financial Choice and Capital Markets Protection Act of 2015

This bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to authorize any open-end investment company to elect, in its registration statement, to be a money market fund and to compute the current price per share, for purposes of distribution or redemption and repurchase, of any redeemable security issued by the company using the amortized cost method of valuation or the penny-rounding method of pricing, regardless of whether its shareholders are limited to natural persons, if:

 the company's objective is the generation of income and preservation of capital through investment in short-term, high-quality debt securities; the company elects to maintain a stable net asset value per share or stable price per share, by virtue of such methods, and the board of directors of the company has determined in good faith that it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to do so and that the money market fund will continue to use such method(s) only as long as the board believes that the resulting share price fairly reflects the market-based net asset value per share of the company; and the company agrees to comply with such quality, maturity, diversification, and liquidity requirements as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prescribes as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors, if consistent with this Act. The bill prohibits covered federal assistance from being provided directly to any money market fund. The bill defines: (1) "covered federal assistance " as federal assistance used for the purpose of making any loan to, or purchasing any stock, equity interest, or debt obligation of, any money market fund, guaranteeing any loan or debt issuance of any money market fund, or entering into any assistance arrangement, loss sharing, or profit sharing with any money market fund; and (2) "federal assistance" as insurance or guarantees by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, transactions involving the Secretary of the Treasury, or the use of any advances from any Federal Reserve credit facility or discount window that is not part of a program or facility with broad-based eligibility established in unusual or exigent circumstances.

No principal underwriter of a redeemable security issued by a money market fund nor any dealer shall offer or sell any such security to any person unless the prospectus of the money market fund and any advertising or sales literature for such fund prominently discloses such prohibition against direct covered federal assistance.

 A company that elects to be a money market fund shall remain subject to the provisions of this Act and SEC rules and regulations that would otherwise apply to a registered open-end company, if consistent with this Act.

Date: 2015-12-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to: (1) issue regulations requiring corporations and limited liability companies formed in a state that does not have a formation system providing for the disclosure, updating, and verification of beneficial ownership information to file with Treasury information about their beneficial ownership as required by this bill; and (2) provide such information pursuant to a civil or criminal subpoena or summons from a federal or state agency or a congressional committee or a written request by a federal agency on behalf of another country or by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

It sets forth requirements for state formation systems regarding beneficial ownership information, including: (1) the identification of beneficial owners by name, residential or business address, and identifying number from a passport or driver's license; and (2) the updating of lists of beneficial owners not later than 60 days after any change in information. It requires retention of such information for five years after a corporation or limited liability company terminates.

The bill authorizes a state that maintains a formal licensing system for formation agents to permit an applicant to form a corporation or limited liability company, or a corporation or company formed under the laws of the state, to provide such information to such an agent residing in that state instead of to that state directly, under certain conditions. It prescribes penalties for: (1) providing false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information; (2) willfully failing to provide complete or updated information; (3) disclosing the existence of a subpoena, summons, or other request for beneficial ownership information, with exceptions; and (4) a formation agent failing to obtain or maintain credible, legible, and updated beneficial ownership information.

 Treasury must publish a proposed and final rule to require persons engaged in the business of forming corporations to establish anti-money laundering programs.

 The Government Accountability Office must study and report to Congress on: (1) state requirements for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information; (2) whether the lack of such information has impeded investigations into entities suspected of terrorism, money laundering, and other criminal activities; (3) whether the failure to require beneficial ownership information for partnerships and trusts formed or registered in the United States has elicited international criticism and what steps the United States has taken or is planning to take in response; and (4) the effectiveness of incorporation practices implemented under this bill in aiding law enforcement.

Date: 2016-02-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

Helping Angels Lead Our Startups Act or the HALOS Act

 (Sec. 3) This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to amend Regulation D (governing the limited offer and sale of securities without registration under the Securities Act of 1933) to make the prohibition against general solicitation or general advertising inapplicable to events with specified kinds of sponsors (including angel investor groups not connected to broker-dealers or investment advisers) where:

 presentations or communications are made by or on behalf of an issuer, the advertising does not refer to any specific offering of securities by the issuer, the sponsor does not engage in certain activities (such as offering investment recommendations or advice to attendees), the sponsor does not receive compensation for the event which would require registration as a broker or dealer or as an investment advisor, and no specific information regarding a securities offering is communicated (other than that the issuer is in the process of offering or planning to offer securities, including the type and amount of securities being offered). This bill may only be construed as requiring the SEC to amend Regulation D with respect to presentations and communications, and not with respect to purchases or sales.

Date: 2016-02-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Corporate Rate Equality and Trade Empowerment Jobs Act of 2016 or the Create Jobs Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to lower the rate of tax on the taxable income of corporations to the greater of: (1) 10%, or (2) the rate that is 5% below the average corporate income tax rate for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries other than the United States. The bill also sets forth a procedure for a congressional joint resolution approving an increase in the corporate tax rate.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Main Street Growth Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to permit a national securities exchange, for itself or for one of its listing tiers, to elect treatment as a venture exchange by notifying the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of such an election either at the time it applies for registration or after registering as a national securities exchange.

Unless the SEC denies the registration application within six months after its receipt, the application and election shall be deemed to have received SEC approval. Similarly, after a national securities exchange registers, its election to be treated as a venture exchange shall be deemed approved unless the SEC denies approval within six months after receiving notice of the election.

The bill subjects a venture exchange to certain restrictions, including that it may: (1) only constitute, maintain, or provide a market place or facilities for bringing together purchasers and sellers of venture securities, and (2) not extend unlisted trading privileges to any venture security.

Venture securities are securities of:

 an early-stage, growth company exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933; and an emerging growth company. The bill exempts a venture exchange from compliance with: (1) specified National Market System and Alternative Trading System rules, (2) the requirement to submit data to a securities information processor, or (3) mandatory use of decimal pricing.

With respect to trading on a venture exchange, the bill also exempts from registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 certain securities exempted from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 if the issuer is in compliance with all disclosure obligations and regulations under the latter Act.

The bill defines an issuer with a market capitalization of $1 million or less, and which has not made an initial public offering of any securities, as an "early-stage growth company."

An early-stage, growth company whose securities are traded on a venture exchange shall not cease to be an early-stage, growth company by reason of a market capitalization exceeding the $1 million threshold until the end of 24 consecutive months during which that market capitalization exceeds $2 million (indexed for inflation). If an issuer would cease to be an early-stage, growth company for exceeding the market capitalization threshold, a venture exchange may, upon the issuer's request, exempt the issuer from such capitalization requirements for the 24-month period referred to, and extend that exemption for an additional year as well. The Securities Act of 1933 is amended to exempt venture securities from state and local government regulation.

The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the SEC should:

 make use of its general exemptive authority regarding certain elements of this bill; and create an Office of Venture Exchanges, if appropriate, within the SEC Division of Trading and Markets.

Date: 2016-02-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), within 180 days of enactment of this bill, to update:

 the Securities Act industry guides entitled "Prospectuses relating to interests in oil and gas programs" and "Description of Property by Issuers Engaged or To Be Engaged in Significant Mining Operations," the Exchange Act industry guide entitled "Description of Property by Issuers Engaged or To Be Engaged in Significant Mining Operations," and regulations concerning disclosure by registrants engaged in oil and gas producing activities. In making such updates, the SEC shall work with the Investor Advisory Committee, which shall solicit and consider public input or appropriate disclosures to include and make specific recommendations to the SEC.

If the SEC fails to meet the deadline, it must report to and testify before specified congressional committees explaining why it failed to meet it.

Date: 2016-03-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of S corporations, to exclude from the 100 shareholder limitation for such corporations individuals who acquired shares in an S corporation through: (1) a small issues public offering, or (2) one or more crowdfunding offerings.

Date: 2016-03-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act

This bill amends the Securities Act of 1933 to exempt from specified prohibitions against the sale or delivery after sale of unregistered securities, among other things, transactions involving the sale of securities by an issuer of micro-offerings that meet all of the following criteria:

 each purchaser has a substantive pre-existing relationship with either an officer or director of the issuer, or with a shareholder holding 10% or more of the issuer's shares; during the 12-month period preceding the transaction there are no more than 35 purchasers of such micro-offerings sold in reliance on this exemption; and the aggregate amount of all securities sold by the issuer (including any amount sold in reliance upon the exemption) during the 12-month period preceding the transaction does not exceed $500,000. The exemption provided under this bill is not available for a transaction involving a sale of securities if any of specified persons connected with their issuance would have triggered disqualification as a "bad actor" pursuant to regulations under the Act.

The bill also exempts such micro-offerings from state regulation of securities offerings.

Date: 2016-03-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Private Placement Improvement Act of 2016

 This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise the filing requirements of Regulation D (which provides exemptions from securities registration requirements) to require an issuer that offers or sells securities in reliance upon a certain exemption from registration (for limited offers and sales without regard to the dollar amount of the offering [Rule 506]) to file, no earlier than 15 days after the date of first sale of such securities, a single notice of sales containing the information required by Form D (used to file a notice of an exempt offering of securities under Regulation D) for each new offering of securities.

 The SEC shall not: (1) require the issuer to file any notice of sales containing the information required by Form D except for this single notice; (2) condition the availability of the Rule 506 exemption upon the filing of a Form D or similar report; or (3) require issuers to submit written general solicitation materials in connection with a limited offering subject to Rule 506, except when it requests such materials pursuant to specified authority.

 The SEC shall revise a specified rule, regarding a Rule 506 offering of a private fund, to characterize as an accredited investor a "knowledgeable employee" of that private fund or the fund's investment adviser.

 The SEC shall not extend to private funds the requirements governing investment company sales literature.

Date: 2016-03-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Supporting America's Innovators Act of 2016

This bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exempt from its coverage any issuer whose outstanding securities with respect to a qualifying venture capital fund (other than short-term paper) are beneficially owned by not more than 250 persons.

The bill defines "qualifying venture capital fund" as one with no more than $10 million (annually adjusted for inflation) in invested capital.

Date: 2016-03-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Fix Crowdfunding Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Securities Act of 1933 to allow a crowdfunding issuer to sell shares through a crowdfunding vehicle.

(Crowdfunding is a method of capital formation in which groups of people pool money, typically composed of small individual contributions, and often via Internet platforms, either to invest in a company or to support an effort by others to accomplish a specific goal.)

A "crowdfunding vehicle" is a company that:

 has purposes limited to acquiring, holding, and disposing securities issued by a single company in one or more transactions and made pursuant to crowdfunding exemption transaction requirements; issues only one class of securities; receives no compensation for such acquisition, holding, or disposition of securities; is a co-issuer with the company whose securities it holds; and meets specified requirements related to disclosure obligations and the use of investment advisers. (Sec. 3) The bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the conditions upon which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shall exempt securities issued in crowdfunding transactions from SEC registration requirements.

 Under current law, holders of crowdfunded shares do not count toward the shareholder threshold beyond which an issuer is required to register its securities with the SEC, provided that the issuer: (1) is current in its annual reporting obligations, (2) retains the services of a registered transfer agent, and (3) has less than $25 million in assets. The bill maintains this exemption but removes and replaces the conditions upon which it applies. Specifically, holders of crowdfunded shares shall not count toward the shareholder threshold if the issuer has: (1) a public float of less than $75 million, and (2) annual revenues of less than $50 million.

Date: 2016-03-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise a specified regulation to create a safe harbor for certain publications or distributions of research reports by brokers or dealers distributing securities.

The revised regulation shall declare that a published or distributed investment fund research report shall not be deemed to constitute an offer for sale or an offer to sell a security that is the subject of the offering pursuant to an effective registration statement, even if the broker or dealer is participating or will participate in the registered offering of the covered investment fund's securities.

The covered investment fund research report shall indeed be deemed to satisfy the regulation's requirements as well as those of any self-regulatory organization.

The SEC shall not impose specified conditions and requirements when implementing the safe harbor.

Until the SEC has adopted such safe harbor revisions, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has revised a related rule, a covered investment fund shall be deemed to be a security listed on a national securities exchange that is not subject to a certain filing requirement of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Date: 2016-04-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act of 2016

(Sec. 3) This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) require a proxy advisory firm to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and (2) prohibit an unregistered proxy advisory firm from using interstate commerce to provide proxy-voting research, analysis, or recommendations to any client.

 With respect to such firms, the bill: (1) establishes procedures for both registration and termination of registration; (2) requires each firm to employ an ombudsman, designate a compliance officer, and file specified documents with the SEC; and (3) prohibits unfair, coercive, or abusive practices.

(Sec. 4) The SEC shall report annually on its website regarding registration applications and related matters.

Date: 2016-05-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
National Securities Exchange Regulatory Parity Act of 2016 

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Securities Act of 1933, regarding the exemption of certain securities from state regulation, to replace limitations based upon listing on specific stock exchanges with a general exemption from state regulation of any securities listed on a national exchange whose listing standards are approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), consistent with SEC rules that establish minimum core quantitative listing standards.

Date: 2016-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Investment Advisers Modernization Act of 2016

This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to amend specified regulations for investment advisers as they apply to private equity firms and private investment funds.

(Sec. 2) The bill revises the disclaimer that, in the case of an investment adviser that is a partnership, an assignment shall not be deemed to result from the death, withdrawal, sale or transfer of minority interests to apply the disclaimer also to minority members, shareholders, for other equity owners of the investment adviser. Qualified clients of an investment adviser may consent to an assignment of the investment adviser contract at the time they enter into an advisory contract.

The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 is amended to repeal the requirement that advisers organized as partnerships notify the other party to an investment adviser contract every time there is a change in the composition of the partnership.

The SEC shall waive the application of specified antifraud prohibitions to advisers who advertise exclusively to:

 qualified clients, determined as of the time of the publication, circulation, or distribution of the advertisement rather than immediately before or after entering into the investment advisory contract; knowledgeable employees of any private fund to which the investment adviser acts as an investment adviser; qualified purchasers; or accredited investors (determined as if the investment adviser were the securities issuer and the time of the publication, circulation, or distribution of the advertisement were the sale of such securities). (Sec. 3) The SEC must amend a certain regulation regarding Form PF which registered investment advisers with at least $150 million in private funds assets under management must file with the SEC to report information about the private funds that they manage. This amendment shall state that an investment adviser to a private fund is not required to report any information beyond that which is required by sections 1a and 1b of Form PF unless it is a large hedge fund adviser or a large liquidity fund adviser.

The SEC shall also amend the regulation requiring that client funds and securities of which an investment adviser has custody are verified by actual examination periodically by an independent public accountant.

The SEC shall amend the proxy voting regulation to waive its application to any voting authority exercised by an investment adviser regarding client securities that are not public securities.

(Sec. 4) On the other hand, the SEC may not:

 amend a specified regulation to extend its requirements and prohibitions concerning investment company sales literature to offerings of securities issued by private funds, or adopt substantially similar rules applicable to such offerings. (Sec. 5) This bill shall not apply to advisory services supplied to an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

(Sec. 6) Any regulation referred to in this bill includes any successor regulation.

Date: 2016-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

SEC Regulatory Accountability Act

This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), before issuing a regulation under the securities laws, to:

 identify the nature and source of the problem that the proposed regulation is designed to address in order to assess whether any new regulation is warranted; 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; identify and assess available alternatives that were considered; and ensure that any regulation is accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand. The SEC shall:

 consider the impact of the regulation upon investor choice, market liquidity, and small business; and explain in its final rule the nature of comments received concerning the proposed rule or rule change as well as its response to those comments. The SEC shall: (1) review its existing regulations periodically to determine if they are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome; and (2) modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them.

Whenever it adopts or amends a major rule, the SEC shall state in its adopting release the regulation's purposes and intended consequences, the post-implementation quantitative and qualitative metrics to measure the regulation's economic impact, the assessment plan to be used under the supervision of the Chief Economist to assess whether the regulation has achieved those purposes, and any foreseeable unintended or negative consequences.

The assessment plan must: (1) consider the regulation's costs, benefits, and intended and unintended consequences; and (2) specify the data to be collected, the methods for its collection and analysis, and an assessment completion date.

The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board should also follow the requirements set forth by this bill.

Date: 2016-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to declare that fines collected for violations of the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board shall be deposited and credited as general revenue of the Treasury.

Currently such fines must be be equally divided between the board and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bill repeals the requirement that any such fines collected by a registered securities association be accounted for by the association separately from certain other fines collected and be allocated two-thirds to the association and one-third to the board.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is amended to repeal the requirement for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to use funds generated from the collection of monetary penalties for a merit scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in accredited accounting degree programs.

Date: 2016-06-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Derivatives Oversight and Taxpayer Protection Act

This bill amends the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to collect fees to recover the costs of its regulatory services and its annual appropriation from Congress.

The bill increases penalties for CEA violations, removes the Department of the Treasury's authority to exempt foreign exchange swaps or forwards from CFTC regulation, and requires collection of margin on inter-affiliate swaps.

Swaps requirements enacted by the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 that ordinarily do not apply to activities outside the United States are made applicable to swaps transactions in which a financial entity domiciled or organized in the United States bears swaps-related risks. But the CFTC may allow a swaps transaction involving a subsidiary entity that is majority owned or controlled by a financial entity domiciled or organized in the United States to be conducted under a foreign jurisdiction's rules and oversight if the foreign rules are no less stringent than U.S. rules.

The CFTC must: (1) make data concerning swap data repository registrations available to other financial regulatory agencies, and (2) revoke the license of swap dealers that the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission have found are not providing accurate data in standardized formats that allow aggregated analysis by regulators.

The bill repeals a safe harbor provision under federal bankruptcy law that protects a contractual right to liquidate the amount due on a swap agreement because of a debtor's bankruptcy case. The removal of this safe harbor subjects swap agreements to the regular bankruptcy procedures that automatically stay claims against a debtor.

The bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to require Federal Reserve Board (FRB) risk-based capital requirements and leverage limits for nonbank financial companies supervised by the FRB and bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more to include the fair value and potential future exposure of derivatives exposures, without recognizing the benefits of netting arrangements. Exceptions are provided for certain formal netting agreements with counterparties or with clearing organizations that meet financial standards approved by the FRB and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The CFTC, the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, and the FRB must report on the ability of clearinghouses to endure systemic stress events.

Date: 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Municipal Advisor Choice Act

This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide that an issuer of municipal securities is not required to retain a municipal advisor prior to issuing securities.

Date: 2016-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Putting Main Street FIRST Act or the Putting Main Street FIRST: Finishing Irresponsible Reckless Speculative Trading Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a .03% excise tax on the purchase of a security if: (1) such purchase occurs on, or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States; or (2) the purchaser or seller is a U.S. person.

A "security" includes: (1) any share of stock in a corporation, (2) any partnership or beneficial ownership interest in a partnership or trust; (3) any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness; and (4) derivatives that meet specified criteria.

The tax applies to transactions with respect to a derivative if: (1) the derivative is traded on, or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States; or (2) any party with rights under the derivative is a U.S. person.

The bill exempts from such tax: (1) initial issues of securities; (2) any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness which is traded on or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States, and has a fixed maturity of not more than 100 days.

The tax applies to transactions by a controlled foreign corporation and must be paid by its U.S. shareholders.

The bill allows an offset against such tax for contributions to certain tax-favored savings accounts.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
This bill amends the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to revise provisions related to determining a customer's "net equity" (the dollar amount of the customer's accounts) for purposes of a claim.

In general, such a determination shall be based on: (1) the information contained in the customer's final statement, and (2) certain additional written confirmations received after the final statement but prior to the filing date. However, the bill establishes exceptions to this requirement: (1) when the debtor's records indicate a higher net value, or (2) in specified cases involving the customer's awareness of fraudulent activity by the debtor.

The bill also establishes specified methodologies for allocating a customer's property in a liquidation proceeding.

 Under current law, a "customer" of a debtor is a person that has a claim on account of certain securities received, acquired, or held by the debtor. The bill expands the definition of "customer" to include a person: (1) that had cash or securities that were converted or otherwise misappropriated by the debtor, irrespective of whether the debtor held or otherwise had custody, possession, or control of such cash or securities; or (2) that is deemed a customer of the debtor by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

 The SEC may direct the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to take necessary or appropriate action for the protection of investors.

If the balance of the SIPC Fund decreases by more than a specified amount during a fiscal year, the SIPC must establish and carry out a fund replenishment plan.

The SEC may transfer amounts from a specified fund established under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 if the SEC determines that payments from the SIPC Fund are required because a debtor committed fraud.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Risk-Based Credit Examination Act

This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide the Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Credit Ratings with discretion concerning the matters to review in its annual examinations of the management and activities of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.

Date: 2016-09-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
This bill prohibits proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations published on August 4, 2016, relating to restrictions on liquidation of an interest with respect to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and any substantially similar regulations, from taking effect.

Date: 2016-09-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Protect Family Farms and Businesses Act 

This bill prohibits proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations published on August 4, 2016, relating to restrictions on liquidation of an interest with respect to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes from taking effect. The bill prohibits funds from being used to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the proposed regulations or any substantially similar regulations.

Date: 2016-09-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Corporate Transparency and Accountability Act

This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require each issuer of a security required to file an annual or quarterly report to disclose during the period covered in that report:

 the issuer's total pre-tax profit, the total amount paid by the issuer in state taxes, the total amount paid by the issuer in federal taxes, and the total amount paid by the issuer in foreign taxes. Each such issuer shall also disclose in that report specified corporate financial information, aggregated on a country-by-country basis, for each of its subsidiaries.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Municipal Securities Disclosure Act of 2016

This bill amends the Securities Act of 1933 to require registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of certain industrial development bonds that finance private projects through municipal securities. (Currently, the Securities Act exempts these private activity municipal bonds from SEC registration.)

The bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require state and local government issuers of municipal securities, or obligated persons or borrowers with respect to these securities, to prepare annual periodic reports and disseminate financial disclosures that the SEC determines appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors. (Currently, SEC antifraud rules do not regulate municipal securities issuers directly but the rules prohibit securities dealers from underwriting the buying or selling of municipal securities unless they obtain the state or local government issuer's agreement to provide ongoing disclosures to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. The bill makes state or local government issuers directly responsible for providing the municipal securities disclosures by placing them under the SEC's jurisdiction.)

The SEC may prescribe the accounting methods to be followed in the preparation of the financial statements or require the use of accounting methods established by a standard-setting body.

An issuer or borrower of outstanding municipal securities exceeding $10 million must adopt internal controls that identify the officials responsible for preparing the required disclosures and provide checks and balances for adequate supervision. The SEC may allow these requirements to be satisfied through a statewide system of disclosure controls and disclosure education.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Shareholder Protection Act of 2015

 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 to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector