Securities/Commodities: SEC "Comment and Notice" Process on Dodd-Frank Provisions

In a little-noticed announcement on July 27, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary L. Schapiro announced that the SEC will make it easier for the public to provide comments as the SEC "sets out to make rules required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act." Under the SEC's new process, "the public will be able to comment before the agency even proposes its regulatory reform rules and amendments," and the SEC "will provide greater public disclosure of meetings with SEC staff." The announcement states that the new process "goes well beyond what is legally required and will provide expanded opportunity for public comment and greater transparency and accountability," and that the SEC also expects to hold public hearings on selected Dodd-Frank topics.

Persons who want to provide pre-rulemaking comments on the SEC's Dodd-Frank regulatory initiatives can go to the SEC's special webpage to submit comments on a variety of provisions. These include orderly liquidation authority; transfer of certain powers to the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; regulation of advisers to hedge funds; improvements to regulation of bank and savings associations holding companies and depository institutions; Wall Street transparency and accountability; payment, clearing, and settlement supervision; investor protection and improvements to securities regulation; and specialized disclosure provisions such as the Congo conflict minerals disclosure requirements.