Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “SEC Stabilization Act of 2023”.
SEC Stabilization Act of 2023
A BILL
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to expand and restructure the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Organization of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Composition of the Commission—
by striking “five commissioners” and inserting “6 commissioners”;
by striking “term of five years” and inserting “term of 6 years”;
by striking “except (1)” and inserting “except that”; and
by striking “, and (2) the terms of office of the commissioners first taking office after the enactment of this title shall expire as designated by the President at the time of nomination, one at the end of one year, one at the end of two years, one at the end of three years, one at the end of four years, and one at the end of five years, after the date of the enactment of this title.” and inserting “. The terms of the commissioners shall be staggered, with the terms of 2 commissioners ending every 2 years. In appointing any 2 commissioners whose terms end on the same date, the President may not appoint individuals from the same political party. Any rulemaking, enforcement action, or investigation of the Commission may only be performed if a majority of the commissioners have voted for such rulemaking, enforcement action, or investigation.”.
Transition— The President, in appointing the first members of the Securities and Exchange Commission taking office after the date of enactment of this Act, shall appoint such members to terms with a length such that the terms of 2 commissioners end every 2 years, in accordance with section 4(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Executive Director— The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 4E the following:
“4F. Executive Director
“(a) Establishment—The Commission shall have an Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the commissioners.
“(b) Limitation—An individual who has served as Chairman of the Commission may not serve as the Executive Director.
“(c) Removal—The Executive Director may be removed by a vote of the majority of commissioners.
“(d) Duties—Notwithstanding sections 4A and 4B, and any other provision of law, the Executive Director shall oversee the operations of the Commission, including the hiring and compensation of Commission employees, the delegation of Commission functions to employees of the Commission, establishing Commission rules that are not subject to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and all other internal-Commission matters.
“(e) Direct reports
“(1) In general—Any employee of the Commission who, on the day before the date of enactment of this section, reported directly to the Chairman shall report directly to the Executive Director.
“(2) Distribution to commissioners—The Executive Director shall promptly provide each commissioner with a copy of any report received by the Executive Director.
“(f) Exception for personal staff—Subsections (d) and (e) shall not apply to an employee in the personal office of a commissioner.
“(g) Meetings with commissioners
“(1) Monthly meeting
“(A) In general—The Executive Director and the commissioners of the Commission shall meet once per month to discuss the state of affairs of the Commission, including rulemakings, enforcement actions, and investigations.
“(B) Meeting minutes—The Executive Director and the commissioners shall make the meeting minutes from each meeting under subparagraph (A) available to the public.
“(2) Meeting at the call of commissioners—In addition to the monthly meetings required under paragraph (1)(A), the Executive Director and the commissioners shall meet at the call of 3 or more commissioners.”