Short title

This Act may be cited as the Market Transparency Reporting of United States Transactions Act of 2007.

Over-the-counter transactions in natural gas

(a)

Definitions

Section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(34)

Included natural gas transaction

The term included natural gas transaction means a contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas that is entered into— (A)in reliance on the provisions of subsection (g) or (h) of section 2; or (B)by use of a domestic technology or software providing direct access to a foreign board of trade.

(b)

Reporting of excluded transactions in natural gas

Section 2(g) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2(g)) is amended— (1)by striking or after 5d,; (2)by inserting , or paragraphs (4) and (5) of this subsection (with respect to any contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas)) after 12(e)(2); and (3)by adding at the end the following:

(4)It shall be a violation of this subsection for any person to enter into any contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas relying on the exemption provided in this subsection if the person, directly or indirectly, has, obtains, owns, controls, or maintains a position in a contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas equal to or in excess of such amount as the Commission from time to time shall fix, unless the person files or causes to be filed with the properly designated officer of the Commission such reports as the Commission may require by rule, regulation, or order with respect to any position in any contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas described in this section. (5)Any person entering into any contract, agreement, or transaction relying on the exemption provided in this subsection shall maintain books and records relating to each such transaction, showing complete details of the transactions, positions, inventories, and commitments, including the names and addresses of all persons having any interest therein, for a period of 5 years, in such form as the Commission shall require by rule, regulation, or order. The books and records shall be open for inspection by any representative of the Commission or of the Department of Justice.

(c)

Reporting of exempt transactions in natural gas

Section 2(h) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2(h)) is amended— (1)in paragraph (2)— (A)by inserting and the persons that enter into such a contract, agreement, or transaction after subsection; (B)by striking and at the end of subparagraph (B); (C)by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting ; and; and (D)by adding at the end the following:

(D)paragraphs (7) and (8) of this section.

;

(2)in paragraph (4)— (A)by inserting and the persons that enter into such a contract, agreement, or transaction after subsection; (B)by striking and at the end of subparagraph (C); (C)by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E) and inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:

(D)paragraphs (7) and (8) of this section; and

; and

(3)by adding at the end the following:

(7)It shall be a violation of this subsection for any person to enter into any contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas relying on the exemption provided in this subsection if the person, directly or indirectly, has, obtains, owns, controls, or maintains a position in a contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas equal to or in excess of such amount as the Commission from time to time shall fix, unless the person files or causes to be filed, or with respect to a contract, agreement, or transaction entered into on an electronic trading facility, the electronic trading facility files or causes to be filed on such person’s behalf, with the properly designated officer of the Commission, such reports as the Commission may require by rule, regulation, or order with respect to any position in such contracts, agreements, or transactions in natural gas described in this section. (8)Any person entering into any contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas relying on the exemption provided in this subsection shall maintain books and records relating to each such transaction and showing complete details of such transactions, positions, inventories, and commitments, including the names and addresses of all persons having any interest therein, for a period of 5 years, in such form as the Commission shall require by rule, regulation, or order. The records shall be open for inspection by any representative of the Commission or of the Department of Justice.

Authority to require filing of reports

The Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1–25) is amended by inserting after section 4p the following:

4q.

Filing of reports of transactions in natural gas

(a)

In general

The Commission shall establish a reporting system with respect to large positions in included natural gas transactions, as defined in section 1a(34), that a person may, directly or indirectly, have, obtain, own, control, or maintain. (b)

Required information

Such required reports with respect to included natural gas transactions, as defined in section 1(a)(34), shall be in sufficient detail and with sufficient frequency to enable the Commission to assess the overall trading activities, potential market power, and concentration of positions directly or indirectly held, obtained, owned, controlled, or maintained by the largest traders and to assess these factors in relation to the amount of potential deliverable supplies in natural gas directly or indirectly held, obtained, owned, controlled or maintained by the traders and shall enable the Commission to aggregate the positions with respect to the person’s separately owned or controlled accounts. (c)

Confidentiality of information

The reports with respect to included natural gas transactions described in subsection (b) shall be subject to section 8. (d)

Market transparency

The Commission shall publish on a regular basis a report or reports with respect to the information reported to it with respect to included natural gas transactions. The report or reports shall include on a summary basis information with respect to aggregate reportable positions held by commercial persons and noncommercial persons and may not reveal the specific identity or size of positions of individual persons. (e)

Required rules

The Commission shall issue rules, regulations, or an order to implement this section within 270 days after the date of the enactment of this section.

Criminal and civil penalties

(a)

Civil money penalties

Section 6(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 9, 15) is amended in clause (3) of the 10th sentence, by striking $100,000 and inserting $500,000. (b)

Increase in penalties

Section 6c(d)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 13a–1(d)(1)) is amended by striking $100,000 and inserting $500,000. (c)

Criminal penalties

Section 9(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 13) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting after (or the following: for any violation other than manipulation or attempted manipulation of the price of any commodity in interstate commerce, or for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any registered entity, or the cornering or attempt to corner any such commodity or knowingly to deliver or cause to be delivered for transmission through the mails or interstate commerce by telegraph, telephone, wireless, or other means of communication false, misleading, or knowingly inaccurate reports concerning crop or market information or conditions that affect or tend to affect the price of any commodity in interstate commerce.