Securities and Exchange Commission January 24, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 916 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act'') \1\ amended Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act''),\2\ which governs the handling of proposed rule changes submitted by self-regulatory organizations (``SROs''). Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act's amendments to Section 19 of the Exchange Act require the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') to promulgate rules setting forth the procedural requirements of proceedings to determine whether a proposed rule change should be disapproved. In satisfaction of this requirement, the Commission is adopting new Rules of Practice to formalize the process it will use when conducting proceedings to determine whether an SRO's proposed rule change should be disapproved under Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act. The new rules are intended to add transparency to the Commission's conduct of those proceedings and address the process the Commission will follow to institute proceedings and provide notice of the grounds for disapproval under consideration as well as provide interested parties with an opportunity to submit written materials to the Commission. In addition, the Commission is making conforming changes to Rule 19b-4 under the Exchange Act in recognition of the new Rules of Practice. Further, pursuant to Section 107 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (``Sarbanes- Oxley Act''), the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) of Section 19(b) of the Exchange Act govern the proposed rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (``PCAOB'').\3\ The Commission is amending Regulation P to add a rule providing that these new Rules of Practice also formalize the process the Commission will use when conducting proceedings to determine whether a PCAOB proposed rule should be disapproved.