,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ajfb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ab1 #bjac ,mr4 ,garrett 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,hurt1 ,mr4 ,grimm1 ,mr4 ,neugebauer1 ,mrs4 ,bachmann1 ,mr4 ,huizenga of ,michigan1 ,mr4 ,mc,henry1 ,mr4 ,fincher1 ,mr4 ,ross1 ,mr4 ,campbell1 ,mrs4 ,wagner1 ,mr4 ,mulvaney1 ,mr4 ,hultgren1 ,mr4 ,pittenger1 ,mr4 ,gary ,g4 ,miller of ,california1 and ,mr4 ,conaway7 introduced the following bill2 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 its regulations and orders4 #a4 ,short title ,this title may be cited as the ,,sec ,regulatory ,accountability ,act4 #b4 ,consideration by the ,securities and ,exchange ,commission of the costs and benefits of its regulations and certain other agency actions ,section #bc of the ,securities ,exchange ,act of #aicd 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ghw7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7e7 ,consideration of costs and benefits 7#a7 ,in general ,before issuing a regulation under the securities laws1 as defined in section #c7;a71 the ,commission shall-- 7,a7 clearly identify the nature and source of the problem that the proposed regulation is designed to address1 as well as assess the significance of that problem1 to enable assessment of whether any new regulation is warranted2 7,b7 utilize the ,chief ,economist to assess the costs and benefits1 both qualitative and quantitative1 of the intended regulation and propose or adopt a regulation only on a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify the costs of the regulation2 7,c7 identify and assess available alternatives to the regulation that were considered1 including modification of an existing regulation1 together with an explanation of why the regulation meets the regulatory objectives more effectively than the alternatives2 and 7,d7 ensure that any regulation is accessible1 consistent1 written in plain language1 and easy to understand and shall measure1 and seek to improve1 the actual results of regulatory requirements4 7#b7 ,considerations and actions 7,a7 ,required actions ,in deciding whether and how to regulate1 the ,commission shall assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives1 including the alternative of not regulating1 and choose the approach that maximizes net benefits4 ,specifically1 the ,commission shall-- 7i7 consistent with the requirements of section #c7;f7 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gh;c7f771 section #b7;b7 of the ,securities ,act of #aicc 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gg;b7b771 section #bjb7;c7 of the ,investment ,advisers ,act of #aidj 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #hj;b-#b7;c771 and section #b7;c7 of the ,investment ,company ,act of #aidj 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #hj;a-#b7;c771 consider whether the rulemaking will promote efficiency1 competition1 and capital formation2 7ii7 evaluate whether1 consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives1 the regulation is tailored to impose the least burden on society1 including market participants1 individuals1 businesses of differing sizes1 and other entities 7including ,state and local governmental entities71 taking into account1 to the extent practicable1 the cumulative costs of regulations2 and 7iii7 evaluate whether the regulation is inconsistent1 incompatible1 or duplicative of other ,federal regulations4 7,b7 ,additional considerations ,in addition1 in making a reasoned determination of the costs and benefits of a potential regulation1 the ,commission shall1 to the extent that each is relevant to the particular proposed regulation1 take into consideration the impact of the regulation on-- 7i7 investor choice2 7ii7 market liquidity in the securities markets2 and 7iii7 small businesses4 7#c7 ,explanation and comments ,the ,commission shall explain in its final rule the nature of comments that it received1 including those from the industry or consumer groups concerning the potential costs or benefits of the proposed rule or proposed rule change1 and shall provide a response to those comments in its final rule1 including an explanation of any changes that were made in response to those comments and the reasons that the ,commission did not incorporate those industry group concerns related to the potential costs or benefits in the final rule4 7#d7 ,review of ,existing ,regulations ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of the ,,sec ,regulatory ,accountability ,act1 and every #e years thereafter1 the ,commission shall review its regulations to determine whether any such regulations are outmoded1 ineffective1 insufficient1 or excessively burdensome1 and shall modify1 streamline1 expand1 or repeal them in accordance with such review4 ,in reviewing any regulation 7including1 notwithstanding paragraph 7#f71 a regulation issued in accordance with formal rulemaking provisions7 that subjects issuers with a public float of #bej1jjj1jjj or less to the attestation and reporting requirements of section #djd7;b7 of the ,sarbanes-,oxley ,act of #bjjb 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gbfb7;b771 the ,commission shall specifically take into account the large burden of such regulation when compared to the benefit of such regulation4 7#e7 ,post-adoption impact assessment 7,a7 ,in general ,whenever the ,commission adopts or amends a regulation designated as a major rule within the meaning of section #hjd7b7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 it shall state1 in its adopting release1 the following3 7i7 ,the purposes and intended consequences of the regulation4 7ii7 ,appropriate post-implementation quantitative and qualitative metrics to measure the economic impact of the regulation and to measure the extent to which the regulation has accomplished the stated purposes4 7iii7 ,the assessment plan that will be used1 consistent with the requirements of subparagraph 7,b7 and under the supervision of the ,chief ,economist of the ,commission1 to assess whether the regulation has achieved the stated purposes4 7iv7 ,any unintended or negative consequences that the ,commission foresees may result from the regulation4 7,b7 ,requirements of assessment plan and report 7i7 ,requirements of plan ,the assessment plan required under this paragraph shall consider the costs1 benefits1 and intended and unintended consequences of the regulation4 ,the plan shall specify the data to be collected1 the methods for collection and analysis of the data and a date for completion of the assessment4 7ii7 ,submission and publication of report ,the ,chief ,economist shall submit the completed assessment report to the ,commission no later than #b years after the publication of the adopting release1 unless the ,commission1 at the request of the ,chief ,economist1 has published at least #ij days before such date a notice in the ,federal ,register extending the date and providing specific reasons why an extension is necessary4 ,within #g days after submission to the ,commission of the final assessment report1 it shall be published in the ,federal ,register for notice and comment4 ,any material modification of the plan1 as necessary to assess unforeseen aspects or consequences of the regulation1 shall be promptly published in the ,federal ,register for notice and comment4 7iii7 ,data collection not subject to notice and comment requirements ,if the ,commission has published its assessment plan for notice and comment1 specifying the data to be collected and method of collection1 at least #cj days prior to adoption of a final regulation or amendment1 such collection of data shall not be subject to the notice and comment requirements in section #cejf7;c7 of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,paperwork ,reduction ,act74 ,any material modifications of the plan that require collection of data not previously published for notice and comment shall also be exempt from such requirements if the ,commission has published notice for comment in the ,federal ,register of the additional data to be collected1 at least #cj days prior to initiation of data collection4 7iv7 ,final action ,not later than #ahj days after publication of the assessment report in the ,federal ,register1 the ,commission shall issue for notice and comment a proposal to amend or rescind the regulation1 or publish a notice that the ,commission has determined that no action will be taken on the regulation4 ,such a notice will be deemed a final agency action4 7#f7 ,covered regulations and other agency actions ,solely as used in this subsection1 the term regulation-- 7,a7 means an agency statement of general applicability and future effect that is designed to implement1 interpret1 or prescribe law or policy or to describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency1 including rules1 orders of general applicability1 interpretive releases1 and other statements of general applicability that the agency intends to have the force and effect of law2 and 7,b7 does not include-- 7i7 a regulation issued in accordance with the formal rulemaking provisions of section #eef or #eeg of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 7ii7 a regulation that is limited to agency organization1 management1 or personnel matters2 7iii7 a regulation promulgated pursuant to statutory authority that expressly prohibits compliance with this provision2 and 7iv7 a regulation that is certified by the agency to be an emergency action1 if such certification is published in the ,federal ,register4 4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress relating to other regulatory entities ,it is the sense of the ,congress that other regulatory entities1 including the ,public ,company ,accounting ,oversight ,board1 the ,municipal ,securities ,rulemaking ,board1 and any national securities association registered under section #ae;,a of the ,securities ,exchange ,act of #aicd 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gho-#c7 should also follow the requirements of section #bc7;e7 of such ,act1 as added by this title4