H.R. 216

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 216 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 216

To amend the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisors 
Act of 1940 with respect to the determination of violations.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 7, 2025

Mr. Sessions introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisors 
Act of 1940 with respect to the determination of violations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Securities Enforcement Clarity Act 
of 2025'' or the ``SEC Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF THE NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS.

(a) Securities Act of 1933.--The Securities Act of 1933 is 
amended--
(1) in section 8A(g) (15 U.S.C. 77h-1(g)), by adding at the 
end the following:
``(4) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
(2) in section 20(d) (15 U.S.C. 77t(d)), by adding at the 
end the following:
``(5) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''.
(b) Securities Exchange Act of 1934.--The Securities Exchange Act 
of 1934 is amended--
(1) in section 21(d)(3) (15 U.S.C. 78u(d)(3)), by adding at 
the end the following:
``(E) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
penalties under subparagraph (A)(i), separate acts of 
noncompliance are a single violation when the acts are the 
result of--
``(i) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(ii) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(iii) a continuing failure to comply.'';
(2) in section 21B(a) (15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)), by adding at 
the end the following:
``(3) Determination of number of violations, acts, or 
omissions.--For purposes of determining the number of 
violations, acts, or omissions for which to impose penalties 
under this subsection, separate acts of noncompliance are a 
single violation, act, or omission when the acts are the result 
of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
(3) in section 32 (15 U.S.C. 78ff), by adding at the end 
the following:
``(d) Determination of Number of Violations.--For purposes of 
determining the number of violations for which to impose penalties 
under subsection (c), separate acts of noncompliance are a single 
violation when the acts are the result of--
``(1) a common or a substantially overlapping originating 
cause;
``(2) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(3) a continuing failure to comply.''.
(c) Investment Company Act of 1940.--The Investment Company Act of 
1940 is amended--
(1) in section 9(d) (15 U.S.C. 80a-9(d)), by adding at the 
end the following:
``(5) Determination of number of violations, acts, or 
omissions.--For purposes of determining the number of 
violations, acts, or omissions for which to impose penalties 
under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance are a 
single violation, act, or omission when the acts are the result 
of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
(2) in section 42(e) (15 U.S.C. 80a-41(e)), by adding at 
the end the following:
``(5) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''.
(d) Investment Advisors Act of 1940.--The Investment Advisers Act 
of 1940 is amended--
(1) in section 203(i) (15 U.S.C. 80b-3(i)), by adding at 
the end the following:
``(5) Determination of number of violations, acts, or 
omissions.--For purposes of determining the number of 
violations, acts, or omissions for which to impose penalties 
under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance are a 
single violation, act, or omission when the acts are the result 
of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''; and
(2) in section 209(e) (15 U.S.C. 80b-9(e)), by adding at 
the end the following:
``(5) Determination of number of violations.--For purposes 
of determining the number of violations for which to impose 
penalties under paragraph (1), separate acts of noncompliance 
are a single violation when the acts are the result of--
``(A) a common or a substantially overlapping 
originating cause;
``(B) the same misstatement or omission; or
``(C) a continuing failure to comply.''.
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