[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 131 (Friday, September 26, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S10026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      AMENDING THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of S. 1227 introduced earlier today by 
Senator Jeffords.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1227) to amend title I of the Employee 
     Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify treatment 
     of investment managers under such title.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a 
third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, 
and any statements relating to the bill appear at this point in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1227) was considered read the third time, and passed as 
follows:

                                S. 1227

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

     SECTION 1. INVESTMENT MANAGERS UNDER ERISA TO INCLUDE 
                   FIDUCIARIES REGISTERED SOLELY UNDER STATE LAW 
                   ONLY IF FEDERAL REGISTRATION PROHIBITED UNDER 
                   RECENTLY ENACTED PROVISIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3(38)(B) of the Employee 
     Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
     1002(38)(B)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses 
     (iii) and (iv), respectively; and
       (2) by striking ``who is'' and all that follows through 
     clause (i) and inserting the follow: ``who (i) is registered 
     as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 
     1940; (ii) is not registered as an investment adviser under 
     such Act by reason of paragraph (1) of section 203A(a) of 
     such Act, is registered as an investment adviser under the 
     laws of the State (referred to in such paragraph (1)) in 
     which it maintains its principal office and place of 
     business, and, at the time the fiduciary last filed the 
     registration form most recently filed by the fiduciary with 
     such State in order to maintain the fiduciary's registration 
     under the laws of such State, also filed a copy of such form 
     with the Secretary;''.
       (b) Availability of Documents Via Filing Depository.--A 
     fiduciary shall be treated as meeting the requirements of 
     section 3(38)(B)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income 
     Security Act of 1974 (as amended by subsection (a)) relating 
     to provision to the Secretary of Labor of a copy of the form 
     referred to therein, if a copy of such form (or substantially 
     similar information) is available to the Secretary of Labor 
     from a centralized electronic or other record-keeping 
     database.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on July 8, 1997, except that the 
     requirement of section 3(38)(B)(ii) of the Employee 
     Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as amended by this 
     Act) for filing with the Secretary of Labor of a copy of a 
     registration form which has been filed with a State before 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, or is to be filed with 
     a State during the 1-year period beginning with such date, 
     shall be treated as satisfied upon the filing of such a copy 
     with the Secretary at any time during such 1-year period. 
     This section shall supersede section 308(b) of the National 
     Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 (and the amendment 
     made thereby).

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