Fairness in Securities Transactions Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 596.
Fairness in Securities Transactions Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to reduce (from one three-hundredth of one percent to one five-hundredth of one percent) the transaction fees designed to recover the costs to the Government of securities markets oversight and enforcement. Provides that if insufficient fees are collected for the budget authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as provided by an appropriations Act, such Act may provide for a fee increase, with all such increases deposited and credited as offsetting collections to the pertinent appropriations account. Requires that such fees be deposited and collected as general revenue of the Treasury. Prohibits the fee amount in any fiscal year from exceeding a specified baseline amount. Mandates that fees collected in excess of such baseline amount: (1) only be collected or spent to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts; and (2) be deposited and credited as offsetting collections to the account providing appropriations to the SEC.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on December 15, 2000. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 15, 2000: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 596.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RICK LAZIO (R-NY) introduced it on July 1, 1999, and 41 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 10 Democrats, 31 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 1, 1999, 9933 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9400 days ago, on December 15, 2000.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers