Summary

Makes a single-violation rule for civil penalties under the main federal securities laws. When multiple noncompliant acts come from the same cause, the same misstatement or omission, or are part of a continuing failure to comply, they would be treated as one violation for penalty purposes. It standardizes this approach across the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. It does not change what is illegal, the SEC’s ability to bring cases, or remedies like disgorgement; it only changes how violations are counted when calculating penalties.

Key Points

• Treats multiple related acts of noncompliance as a single violation for civil penalty purposes.
• Covers situations with the same cause, the same misstatement/omission, or a continuing failure to comply.
• Applies across the 1933 Act, 1934 Act, Investment Company Act, and Investment Advisers Act.
• Standardizes penalty counting rules across major securities laws.
• Likely reduces maximum penalty exposure where one root problem produced many acts.
• Does not change liability standards, antifraud provisions, or the SEC’s case‑bringing powers.
• Does not alter remedies like disgorgement, injunctions, or industry bars.
• Independent, unrelated violations would still be counted and penalized separately.
• Could affect settlement negotiations and compliance planning by regulated entities.
• Investor protections remain in place; change is limited to how penalties are tallied.