
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 94 (Monday, May 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28247-28248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11931]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Securities Act of 1933, Release No. 9206/May 11, 2011; Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934, Release No. 64462/May 11, 2011; Order Directing 
Funding for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board

    President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 
and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act'') on July 21, 2010.\1\ 
The Dodd-Frank Act, among other things, added Section 19(g) to the 
Securities Act of 1933 (``Securities Act'') to create a mechanism for 
funding the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (``GASB'').\2\
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    \1\ See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).
    \2\ See Section 978 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
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    Section 19(g) of the Securities Act provides that the Commission 
may, subject to the limitations imposed by Section 15B of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act''),\3\ require a 
national securities association registered under the Exchange Act to 
establish a reasonable annual accounting support fee to adequately fund 
the annual budget of the GASB, and to establish rules and procedures, 
in consultation with the principal organizations representing State 
governors, legislators, local elected officials, and State and local 
finance officers, to provide for the equitable allocation, assessment, 
and collection of the accounting support fee from the members of the 
association, and the remittance of all such accounting support fees to 
the Financial Accounting Foundation.\4\
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    \3\ See 15 U.S.C. 78o-4.
    \4\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(1).
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    For purposes of this order and as provided in Securities Act 
Section 19(g), the annual budget of the GASB is the annual budget 
reviewed and approved according to the internal procedures of the 
Financial Accounting Foundation.\5\ Any fees or funds collected shall 
be used to support the efforts of the GASB to establish standards of 
financial accounting and reporting recognized as generally accepted 
accounting principles applicable to State and local governments of the 
United States.\6\ The annual accounting support fees collected for a 
fiscal year shall not exceed the recoverable annual budgeted expenses 
of the GASB (which may include operating expenses, capital, and accrued 
items).\7\
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    \5\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(2).
    \6\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(3).
    \7\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(4).
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    Accounting support fees collected and other receipts of the GASB 
shall not be considered public monies of the United States.\8\ Nothing 
in this order shall be construed to provide the Commission or any 
national securities association direct or indirect oversight of the 
budget or technical agenda of the GASB, or affect the setting of 
generally accepted accounting principles by the GASB.\9\ In addition, 
nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or limit the 
authority of a State or local government to establish accounting and 
financial reporting standards.\10\
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    \8\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(5)(A).
    \9\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(5)(B).
    \10\ See 15 U.S.C. 77s(g)(5)(C).
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    To provide for an independent and more reliable funding mechanism 
for the GASB, the Commission has determined that the Financial Industry 
Regulatory Authority, Inc. (``FINRA'') shall establish such a 
reasonable accounting support fee and related rules and procedures to 
provide funding for the GASB. Accordingly,
    It is ordered, pursuant to Section 19(g) of the Securities Act, 
that FINRA establish (a) a reasonable annual accounting support fee to 
adequately fund the annual budget of the GASB; and (b) rules and 
procedures, in consultation with the principal organizations 
representing State

[[Page 28248]]

governors, legislators, local elected officials, and State and local 
finance officers, to provide for the equitable allocation, assessment, 
and collection of the accounting support fee from its members, and the 
remittance of all such accounting support fees to the Financial 
Accounting Foundation.

    By the Commission.
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-11931 Filed 5-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


