legislation

House Considers Bill to Revamp CFPB Leadership

May 04, 2011

The House Financial Services Committee is considering legislation to alter the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If passed, it would replace the director of the Bureau with a five-person commission. The American Bankers Association has thrown its weight behind the measure.
 

Attorney General Targets Non-profit Board Pay

April 26, 2011

A few state regulators are reviewing compensation for boards of directors at non-profit healthcare systems, with investigations launched and bills filed to curb what some consider bloated pay. "Non-profit leaders ... are stewards of the charitable assets they oversee, and those assets are held for charitable purposes, not individual gain," says New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney.
 

Senate Passes 1099 Repeal Amendment

February 03, 2011

Businesses may get the relief they're seeking from an onerous tax reporting provision tucked into the 2009 healthcare reform law. The Senate has voted to repeal the portion of the law that called for a massive expansion in the number of 1099s companies would need to file.
 

Repeal of 1099 Reporting Expansion Fails Again

November 30, 2010

Another day, another failure in the U.S. Senate to resolve a coming paperwork nightmare for corporations: expanded reporting of Form 1099 to comply with healthcare reform. Two amendments to alleviate the burden died in the Senate on procedural votes earlier this week.
 

Post-Skilling, Movement Afoot on Honest Services Fraud

October 04, 2010

Three months after the Supreme Court significantly narrowed the scope of the honest services fraud statute, a tool relied upon by federal prosecutors to combat all manner of corruption and self-dealing, movement is afoot to expand it again.On Sept. 28, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced the Honest...
 

Conference Committee Reaches Agreement On Proxy Access

June 24, 2010

After much debate and numerous counter offers, the conference committee working on the financial regulation reform bill finally reached agreement Thursday night to adopt the original Senate bill language on proxy access, with a modification requested by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) that would allow the Securities & Exchange Commission to exempt small...
 

Proxy Access Up in the Air, Majority Voting Out

June 24, 2010

As negotiations on the massive financial reform bill continue this afternoon, what, if anything, the legislation will say about proxy access is still very much up in the air.The issue is one of few remaining items left for conferees to hammer out as they try to wrap up their work...
 

Another Delay for FTC Red Flags Enforcement

June 01, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission has again delayed its enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule until year-end at Congress' request, as lawmakers work on legislation to limit the scope of entities covered by the rule amid legal battles over its application.The Red Flags rule, which requires certain businesses to develop and...
 

OIG Issues Recs to Overhaul SEC Bounty Program

April 02, 2010

The Securities and Exchange Commission's bounty program for rewarding whistleblowers is sorely in need of an overhaul, according to the agency's Inspector General, which issued nine recommendations for improving the program.An OIG review of the program, which stemmed from an issue identified during its investigation of the SEC Madoff examination...
 

SOX Clock Ticking, Senate Financial Reform Bill Advances

March 22, 2010

A key Senate committee has passed sweeping financial reform legislation, advancing the Dodd regulatory bill for consideration by the full Senate, moving lawmakers a small step forward in their effort to overhaul the U.S. regulatory system.The Senate Banking Committee on Monday evening voted 13-10 along party lines to approve the...
 

SEC's Aguilar on SEC, Financial Regulation Reforms

February 08, 2010

Despite the progress made during the last year, both with respect to financial reform and reform of the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement program, there's more work to do, according to at least one SEC official.While he praised some of the progress made to date, SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar, in...
 

Frank: SEC Should Urge Cos. to Reveal Top Non-Exec Pay

February 03, 2010

Amid fury over bank bonus pay, the head of the House Financial Services Committee wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to require public companies to disclose the compensation of their top-paid employees who aren't senior executives, which would essentially revive a proposal the agency panned in 2006.Under current SEC rules,...
 

House Tries Again on Attorney Client Privilege Bill

January 04, 2010

House lawmakers are taking another stab at barring all federal agencies from demanding privilege waivers from companies under investigation in order to gain credit for cooperating with the government.Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), along with some House Judiciary Committee members, introduced H.R. 4326, the Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act, which would essentially...
 

Financial Regulation Moves Ahead, With SOX Exemption

December 14, 2009

Congressional efforts to chart the future of U.S. financial services regulation continue to forge ahead with the passage by the House of Representatives of a mammoth regulatory reform bill that combines several previous proposals into a massive 1,279 page tome.The House on Dec. 11 voted 223-202 to approve the Wall...
 

House Passes Enhanced SEC Enforcement Bill

December 04, 2009

While the effort to push through financial services regulatory reform is getting most of the attention these days, the House has passed a bill to boost the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement power by granting the agency nationwide subpoena service in civil actions brought in federal district courts.H.R. 2873, the...
 

Equilar: F100 Clawbacks More Prevalent, Broader in Scope

November 23, 2009

With the spotlight shining ever brighter on corporate pay practices, policies seeking to clawback executive pay are becoming more prevalent and are getting broader in scope, according to an analysis by executive compensation research firm Equilar, Inc.Clawback policies, which typically allow companies to recoup compensation from executive officers in the...
 

Aguilar Rails Against Effort to Roll Back 404(b)

November 09, 2009

If it clears Congress, an amendment to pending legislation could roll back the auditor attestation requirement of Sarbanes-Oxley for more than 6,000 public companies, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission official.SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar, who railed against an amendment to The Investor Protection Act passed by the House Financial Services...
 

Key Congress Committee Approves SOX 404 Exemption

November 04, 2009

The House Financial Services Committee formally approved an amendment this morning to exempt small companies from Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley.On a 37-32 vote—that, notably, went against the wishes of powerful committee chairman Rep. Barney Frank—the lawmakers approved an amendment to the Investor Protection Act that would exempt all non-accelerated filers...
 

Red Flags Rule Delayed Again, and in Flux for Lawyers

November 03, 2009

Prodded by Congress, the Federal Trade Commission has yet again delayed enforcement of the so-called "Red Flags" Rule for financial institutions and creditors subject to its enforcement until June 1, 2010.At the request of some lawmakers, the 11th hour delay was announced Oct. 30, just before the previous Nov. 1...
 

Drama! Intrigue! Congress and Section 404!

October 30, 2009

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been in the legislative whirlwind this week.Two amendments to delay or even rescind Section 404 for many companies came before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, a surprise move that left investor advocates fulminating to anyone who would listen. One amendment to...
 

SOX Exemption Bill Introduced

October 09, 2009

Here we go again. Roughly a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced what it vowed its last extension for non-accelerated filers to comply with the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley, Congress has revived efforts to exempt those companies from the provision.Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) on...
 

Bill Requiring Transparency Effort Testimony Passes House

September 10, 2009

Will efforts to promote transparency and reduce complexity in financial reporting get a regular time slot on the hot seat on Capitol Hill?Maybe. The House on Sept. 9 passed the Promoting Transparency in Financial Reporting Act of 2009, which would require the chairperson or a designee of the chairperson of...
 

Frank Bill Would Amend SOX to Allow Audit Info Sharing

August 18, 2009

Given the stepped up information-sharing going on these days among regulators in other areas, it shouldn't be surprising that lawmakers want to allow the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to share confidential information with regulators of foreign firms.H. R. 3346, introduced in the House by Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney...
 

Comp Reform Bill Passes Key House Committee

July 29, 2009

Congress's push to overhaul financial services regulation has picked up speed with passage by a key committee of a bill that would reform financial institutions' executive pay practices.The House Financial Services Committee voted 40-28 on Tuesday to approve H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act, which would,...
 

Governance Reform Legislation Hits the House

June 12, 2009

Rep. Gary Peters (R-Mich.) introduced legislation June 12 that would implement the Obama administration's call for a Say-on-Pay and SEC rule changes to tighten the independence requirements for compensation committees, along with a slew of other governance reforms that have been kicking around.In addition to providing for an annual advisory...
 

Exec Comp Reform Debate Picks Up Steam

June 12, 2009

The national debate on executive compensation reform picked up steam this week, as the Treasury Department laid out its principles for compensation reform, unveiled its Interim Final Rule on the compensation and corporate governance standards that apply for TARP recipients, and appointed Kenneth Feinberg as Special Master for TARP Executive...
 

Bill to Increase Penalties for Export Control Violations

May 27, 2009

House lawmakers are mulling legislation that would increase the civil and criminal penalties for violations of the Arms Export Control Act, among other things.The House Foreign Affairs Committee recently approved a bill, introduced by Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.), that would increase the penalties for violations of the Arms Export...
 

Shareholder Bill of Rights Act Introduced

May 19, 2009

The highly anticipated Shareholder Bill of Rights Act of 2009 has reportedly been introduced in the Senate today and press releases opposing and supporting the legislation are already flying.As Compliance Week has reported, the bill, sponsored by New York Democrat Charles Schumer, would, if passed, require companies to:Provide an annual...
 

Corporate America Braces for Wave of Governance Reforms

May 01, 2009

Add it to the list of consequences of the dismal economy: Companies could face a slew of potential corporate governance reforms in the coming months, as lawmakers and regulators look to shake up governance practices in the wake of the financial crisis.Among other things, Congress is expected to introduce legislation...
 

Schapiro Seeks Legislation, Details Rule Proposals

March 27, 2009

In a bid before Congress to maintain the SEC’s capital markets regulator and investor protection roles in any regulatory reform, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro also detailed plans to seek legislation from Congress to expand the agency’s powers and rule proposals it will consider in the coming weeks...
 

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