Securities and Exchange Commission April 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing a new rule and rule amendments to implement the provisions of Section 952 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which adds Section 10C to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Exchange Act''). Section 10C requires the Commission to adopt rules directing the national securities exchanges (the ``exchanges'') and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer that is not in compliance with Section 10C's compensation committee and compensation adviser requirements. In accordance with the statute, the proposed rule would direct the exchanges to establish listing standards that, among other things, require each member of a listed issuer's compensation committee to be a member of the board of directors and to be ``independent,'' as defined in the listing standards of the exchanges adopted in accordance with the proposed rule. In addition, Section 10C(c)(2) of the Exchange Act requires the Commission to adopt new disclosure rules concerning the use of compensation consultants and conflicts of interest.