TITLE III - CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
SEC. 308. FAIR FUNDS FOR INVESTORS.
(a) CIVIL PENALTIES ADDED TO DISGORGEMENT FUNDS FOR THE RELIEF OF VICTIMS.
- If in any judicial or administrative action brought by the Commission under
the securities laws (as such term is defined in section 3(a)(47) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(47)) the Commission obtains an order
requiring disgorgement against any person for a violation of such laws or the
rules or regulations thereunder, or such person agrees in settlement of any
such action to such disgorgement, and the Commission also obtains pursuant to
such laws a civil penalty against such person, the amount of such civil penalty
shall, on the motion or at the direction of the Commission, be added to and
become part of the disgorgement fund for the benefit of the victims of such
violation.
(b) ACCEPTANCE OF ADDITIONAL DONATIONS. - The Commission is authorized to accept,
hold, administer, and utilize gifts, bequests and devises of property, both
real and personal, to the United States for a disgorgement fund described in
subsection (a). Such gifts, bequests, and devises of money and proceeds from
sales of other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall be deposited
in the disgorgement fund and shall be available for allocation in accordance
with subsection (a).
(c) STUDY REQUIRED. -
(1) SUBJECT OF STUDY. - The Commission shall review and analyze
-
(A) enforcement actions by the Commission over the five years
preceding the date of the enactment of this Act that have included proceedings
to obtain civil penalties or disgorgements to identify areas where such proceedings
may be utilized to efficiently, effectively, and fairly provide restitution
for injured investors; and
(B) other methods to more efficiently, effectively, and fairly
provide restitution to injured investors, including methods to improve the collection
rates for civil penalties and disgorgements.
(2) REPORT REQUIRED. - The Commission shall report its findings
to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate within 180 days
after of the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall use such findings
to revise its rules and regulations as necessary. The report shall include a
discussion of regulatory or legislative actions that are recommended or that
may be necessary to address concerns identified in the study.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. - Each of the following provisions is amended by
inserting ", except as otherwise provided in section 308 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002" after "Treasury of the United States":
(1) Section 21(d)(3)(C)(i) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u(d)(3)(C)(i)).
(2) Section 21A(d)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 78u1(d)(1)).
(3) Section 20(d)(3)(A) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15
U.S.C. 77t(d)(3)(A)).
(4) Section 42(e)(3)(A) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
(15 U.S.C. 80a–41(e)(3)(A)).
(5) Section 209(e)(3)(A) of the Investment Advisers Act of
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–9(e)(3)(A)).
(e) DEFINITION. - As used in this section, the term "disgorgement fund"
means a fund established in any administrative or judicial proceeding described
in subsection (a).
About OpenPages
OpenPages is the leading provider of Governance, Compliance and Risk
Management solutions
for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance, Financial Controls Management, General
Compliance Management, Operational
Risk Management and IT
Governance.
The company’s solutions provide the visibility, decision support and
control to improve accountability, better manage risk, achieve compliance
with numerous regulations, improve operational performance and align strategies
to ensure better results.
Market-leading corporations in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications,
media/entertainment, retail/consumer, energy, high technology, health services
and life sciences rely on OpenPages to help them achieve sustainable governance,
risk and compliance management -- enabling them to become well-governed businesses.
Founded in 1996, the company is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with
regional offices throughout North America and international offices in London, Munich, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
For more information on OpenPages' suite of business governance software solutions
or to register for an online demonstration, please call 781-693-5999 or visit
www.openpages.com.
|
