In the wake of Executive Order 13579 stating that independent regulatory agencies should review their existing significant regulations, the SEC invites public comments on the development of a plan for retrospective review of existing significant regulations. The Commission welcomes general comments on what the scope and elements of such a plan should be. In addition, the Commission encourages commenters to consider what factors sthe Commission consider in selecting and prioritizing rules for review, how often the Commission review existing rules, and whether different rules should be reviewed at different intervals and if so, which categories of rules should be reviewed more or less frequently, and on what basis.
The SEC also asks for comment on to what extent relevant data exists that the Commission should consider in selecting and prioritizing rules for review and in reviewing rules, and how should the Commission assess such data in these processes. Similarly, to what extent should these processes include reviewing financial economic literature or conducting empirical studies. The SEC also asks how it can best consider data and analyses that address the benefits of rules in preventing fraud or other harms to the financial markets and in otherwise protecting investors. Also, what can the Commission do to modify, streamline, or expand its regulatory review processes.
The Commission noted that it is issuing this request for information solely for information and program-planning purposes. The Commission will consider the comments submitted and may use them as appropriate in the preparation of a retrospective review plan but does not anticipate responding to each comment submitted.