Agenda - Council - 05/12/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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'T'I-IE WEEK IN REVIEW- 81-19 -5- May 8, 1981. governmental authority is a party. At present, all such proceedings must be disclosed. The Com- mission stated that including information about less important proceedings often obscures disclo- sures of material proceedings. The SEC is proposing a threshold that would permit the omission of information about governmental. proceedings which: · The registrant believes will not result in fines of $100,000 or more, or · May result in potential capital expenditures or other costs which do not ex- ceed 10% of current assets. The existing language which requires disclosure of any proceeding which is material would be re- rained, as would the provision which requires disclosure of damage actions in which the amount. invotved exceeds 10% of current assets. SEC CHAIRMAN SWORN-IN John Shad, a former investment banker from New York, was sworn-in on Wednesday as the 22nd Chairman of the SEC by Vice-President George Bush. Mr. Shad has had 32 years of experience in the securities industry, most recently as Vice Chairman of the Board of the E.F. Hutton Group Inc. He also served as Chairman of the Underwriting Com- mittee and was a member of the Executive Committee. The new Chairman has assisted scores of companies in consummating billions of dollars of corporate financin(~s and mergers. He has served on the boards of 17 publicly owned corporations, ranging from small, domestic companies to large, multinational concerns. In an unusual arrangement, Mr. Shad was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve as Chairman under two different terms on the Commission. He will initially occupy the unexpired term of former Chairman Harold M. Williams,'-which expires next year. But on June 6th of this year, Mr. Shad will resign from that term and succeed into a five year term which ex- pires in 1986; (Commissioner Stephen J. Friedman, whose term expires on June 5th, has announced that he plans to return to private life.) It is expected that the President will then appoint another Commissioner to fill the remaining year of former Chairman Williams' term. _,_ _ SENATOR LAXALT INTRODUCES REGULATORY REFORM BILL Last week, Senator Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.) introduced the Regulatory Reform Bill of 1981. The Laxalt bill would amend certain portions of the Administrative Procedure Act and would require Federal agencies to evaluate the cost/benefit relationship of existing and new rules. The legislation is not intended to be a comprehensive "regulatory reform" bdl, but is focused on the procedures for rule making and for judicial review of agency actions. It is intended to encourage rules that will pro- vide the greatest benefits at the lowest cost. The bill would: · Require agencies to evaluate, on a non-mathematical basis, the trade-offs of "major rules" and to determine whether they are cost-effective