The SEC Reform and Restructuring Act makes broad changes to how the Securities and Exchange Commission operates and is held accountable. It requires the SEC to conduct detailed cost-benefit analyses before issuing new regulations, periodically review existing rules every five years, and provide at least 60 days (or 30 days for urgent investor-protection matters) for public comment on proposed rules. The bill mandates that the SEC chairman testify before Congress twice a year, orders a GAO audit of the SEC's cybersecurity and IT systems within one year, and requires GAO studies evaluating the costs and effectiveness of major SEC rules every three years. A major structural change eliminates the independent Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, folding its auditor-oversight functions directly into a new Office of Public Accounting Oversight within the SEC two years after enactment. These changes primarily affect the SEC itself, public companies, auditors, investors, and financial industry participants by increasing regulatory transparency, oversight, and accountability while consolidating auditor regulation under direct SEC control.
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