Securities Fees and SEC Pay Parity


 

Publication Date: December 2002

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Banking and finance

Type:

Abstract:

Sellers of corporate stock, companies that issue new stocks and bonds, and bidders in corporate takeovers all pay fees to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These fees were enacted to fund the SEC, but the amount of fees collected in recent years has far exceeded the SEC's budget. (In FY2000, the SEC collected $2.27 billion in fees, while the agency's budget was $377 million.) Legislation enacted by the 107th Congress (P.L. 107-123, H.R. 1088) reduced securities fees by lowering the percentage rates of some fees and by setting annual caps on the amounts collected by others. The law also included "pay parity" provisions that allow the SEC to raise salaries for certain employees to levels comparable to the salaries of federal bank examiners, but the 107th Congress adjourned before funds for this purpose were appropriated. This report provides background and analysis of the securities market fee and pay parity legislation enacted in the 107th Congress. It will not be updated further.