,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cbgj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february #aa1 
#bjbj,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself and ,mr4 
,peters7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,finance  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of   
#aihf to allow certain qualified        
over-the-counter securities to be       
treated as readily traded on an         
established securities market for the   
purpose of diversification requirements 
for employee stock ownership plans4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the #bjbj ,,esop ,fairness ,act4  #b4  
,certain securities treated as publicly 
traded  7a7 ,in general ,paragraph 7#ce7
 of section #dja7;a7 of the ,internal   
,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by   
adding at the end the following new     
subparagraph3  7,i7 ,rules relating to  
publicly traded securities ,for purposes
 of this paragraph-- 7i7 ,in general    
,the term publicly traded employer      

securities means employer securities    
which are readily tradable on an        
established securities market4  7ii7    
,special rule ,a security shall be      
treated as described in clause 7i7 if   
the security-- 7,i7 is the subject of   
priced quotations by at least #b        
dealers1 published and made continuously
 available on an interdealer quotation  
system 7as such term is used in section 
#ac of the ,securities ,exchange ,act of
 #aicd7 which has made the request      
described in section #f7;j7 of such ,act
 to be treated as an alternative trading
 system1  7,,ii7 is not a penny stock   
7as defined by section #c7;a77#ea7 of   
such ,act71  7,,iii7 is issued by a     
company which is not a shell company 7as
 such term is used in section #d7;d77#f7
 of the ,securities ,act of #aicc7 or a 
blank check company 7as defined in      
section #g7;b77#c7 of such ,act71 and is
 not subject to bankruptcy proceedings1 
7,,iv7 in the case of a security issued 
by a company incorporated in the ,united

 ,states1 the issuer publishes1 not less
 frequently than annually1 financial    
statements audited by an independent    
auditor registered with the ,public     
,company ,accounting ,oversight ,board  
established under the ,sarbanes-,oxley  
,act of #bjjb1 and  7,v7 in the case of 
a security issued by a company          
incorporated outside of the ,united     
,states1 the issuer--  7aa7 is subject  
to the reporting requirements of        
sections #ac or #ae7;d7 of the          
,securities ,exchange ,act of #aicd 7#ae
 ,u4,s4,c4 #ghm or #gho7d771  7bb7 is   
subject to the reporting requirements of
 section #bcj4beg of title #ag1 ,code of
 ,federal ,regulations1 or  7cc7 is     
exempt from such requirements under     
section #bdj4ab;g#c-b7;b7 of title #ag1 
,code of ,federal ,regulations1 and  has
 published all information which is     
required by such ,act or ,rule1 as      
applicable1 to be publicly available4  4
  7b7 ,conforming amendment             
,subparagraph 7,g7 of section           

#dja7;a77#ce7 of the ,internal ,revenue 
,code of #aihf is amended by striking   
clause 7v7 and by redesignating clause  
7vi7 as clause 7v74  7c7 ,effective date
 ,the amendments made by this section   
shall apply to plan years beginning     
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4