H.R. 4019 — Introduced in House

I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4019 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 12, 2023Mr. Davidson (for himself and Mr. Emmer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to expand and restructure the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the SEC Stabilization Act of 2023. 2. Organization of the Securities and Exchange Commission (a) Composition of the Commission (1) In general Section 4(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78d(a)) is amended— (A) by striking five commissioners and inserting 6 commissioners; (B) by striking term of five years and inserting term of 6 years; (C) by striking except (1) and inserting except that; and (D) by striking , and (2) the terms of office of the commissioners first taking office after the enactment of this title shall expire as designated by the President at the time of nomination, one at the end of one year, one at the end of two years, one at the end of three years, one at the end of four years, and one at the end of five years, after the date of the enactment of this title. and inserting . The terms of the commissioners shall be staggered, with the terms of 2 commissioners ending every 2 years. In appointing any 2 commissioners whose terms end on the same date, the President may not appoint individuals from the same political party. Any rulemaking, enforcement action, or investigation of the Commission may only be performed if a majority of the commissioners have voted for such rulemaking, enforcement action, or investigation.. (2) Transition The President, in appointing the first members of the Securities and Exchange Commission taking office after the date of enactment of this Act, shall appoint such members to terms with a length such that the terms of 2 commissioners end every 2 years, in accordance with section 4(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. (b) Executive Director The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 4E the following: 4F. Executive Director (a) Establishment The Commission shall have an Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the commissioners. (b) Limitation An individual who has served as Chairman of the Commission may not serve as the Executive Director. (c) Removal The Executive Director may be removed by a vote of the majority of commissioners. (d) Duties Notwithstanding sections 4A and 4B, and any other provision of law, the Executive Director shall oversee the operations of the Commission, including the hiring and compensation of Commission employees, the delegation of Commission functions to employees of the Commission, establishing Commission rules that are not subject to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and all other internal-Commission matters. (e) Direct reports (1) In general Any employee of the Commission who, on the day before the date of enactment of this section, reported directly to the Chairman shall report directly to the Executive Director. (2) Distribution to commissioners The Executive Director shall promptly provide each commissioner with a copy of any report received by the Executive Director. (f) Exception for personal staff Subsections (d) and (e) shall not apply to an employee in the personal office of a commissioner. (g) Meetings with commissioners (1) Monthly meeting (A) In general The Executive Director and the commissioners of the Commission shall meet once per month to discuss the state of affairs of the Commission, including rulemakings, enforcement actions, and investigations. (B) Meeting minutes The Executive Director and the commissioners shall make the meeting minutes from each meeting under subparagraph (A) available to the public. (2) Meeting at the call of commissioners In addition to the monthly meetings required under paragraph (1)(A), the Executive Director and the commissioners shall meet at the call of 3 or more commissioners. .