[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2703 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2703

To reduce the reporting and certification burdens for certain financial 
institutions of sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2008

   Mrs. Dole introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reduce the reporting and certification burdens for certain financial 
institutions of sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Regulatory Relief and Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY RELATED TO CERTAIN FINANCIAL 
              INSTITUTIONS.

    Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7241) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``The Commission'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subsection (c), the Commission'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Exemption for Certain Financial Institutions.--The rules of 
the Commission under subsection (a) shall permit an issuer to elect 
voluntarily not to provide the certification in subsection (a) if the 
issuer is--
            ``(1) an insured depository institution, as such term is 
        defined in section 3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
        (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(2));
            ``(2) a bank holding company, as such term is defined in 
        section 2(a) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 
        1841(a)); or
            ``(3) a savings and loan holding company, as such term is 
        defined in section 10(a)(1)(D) of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12 
        U.S.C. 1467a(a)(1)(D)).''.

SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROLS BY CERTAIN FINANCIAL 
              INSTITUTIONS.

    Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7262) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``The Commission'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subsection (c), the Commission''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Exemption for Certain Financial Institutions.--The rules of 
the Commission under subsection (a) shall permit an issuer to elect 
voluntarily not to prepare and provide the internal control report 
required by subsection (a) if the issuer is--
            ``(1) an insured depository institution, as such term is 
        defined in section 3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
        (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(2));
            ``(2) a bank holding company, as such term is defined in 
        section 2(a) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 
        1841(a)); or
            ``(3) a savings and loan holding company, as such term is 
        defined in section 10(a)(1)(D) of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12 
        U.S.C. 1467a(a)(1)(D)).''.
                                 <all>