operative associations or corporations from membership in contract markets are available for examination at the Office of the Hearing Clerk, Office of the Solicitor, United States Department of Agriculture. Official records of the Commission relating to rule-making proceedings are available for examination at the office of the Administrator of the Commodity Exchange Act, Production and Marketing Administration, United States Department of Agriculture.

Subpart B-Functions and Procedures

§ 149.10 Functions. Pursuant to the provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (42 Stat. 998, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 1-17a), the Commodity Exchange Commission:

(a) Initiates complaints, conducts administrative hearings, and issues cease and desist orders or suspension orders in connection with violations of the Commodity Exchange Act by any board of trade (commodity exchange) designated as a contract market, or any director, officer, agent, or employee thereof (17 CFR, Supps., 0.53-0.72).

(b) Conducts hearings and fixes trading limits in connection with the sale of commodities for future delivery made on or subject to the rules of contract markets (17 CFR, Supps., 0.73-0.77).

(c) Hears and decides complaints filed by a contract market seeking to exclude from membership therein and privileges thereon any cooperative organization or corporation (17 CFR, Supps., 0.78-0.95).

(d) Hears and decides appeals from a refusal by the Secretary of Agriculture of designation of any board of trade as a contract market.

§ 149.11 Procedures. The procedure governing proceedings under § 149.10 (a), (b), and (c) may be found in that part of the Code of Federal Regulations cited therein. Inquiries about procedure governing appeals from decisions of the Secretary of Agriculture under § 149.10 (d) should be addressed to the Secretary of Agriculture, Chairman, Commodity Exchange Commission.

PART 150-ORDERS OF THE COMMODITY EXCHANGE COMMISSION

NOTE: For proposed regulations under this part, see 11 F.R. 13446.

amended, sec. 20, 49 Stat. 833, 53 Stat. 1173, secs. 38, 211, 54 Stat. 841, 855; 15 U.S.C. 77s, 77sss, 78w, 79t, 80a-37, 80b-11.

SOURCE: $ 200.1 to 200.15, inclusive, contained in Regulations, Securities and Exchange Commission, effective Sept. 11, 1946, 11 F.R. 177A-718, 10578.

The

§ 200.1 General statement. Securities and Exchange Commission was created by act of Congress entitled the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 881, as amended; 15 U.S.C. and Sup., 77b-77c, 77j, 77k, 77m, 770, 77s, 78a-78jj). It is an independent agency of the United States Government. The Commission's central office is located at 18th and Locust Streets, Philadelphia 3, Pennsylvania. It has ten regional offices located in the principal cities of the country. The location of these offices is set forth in § 200.14 (e).

The functions of the Commission are set forth in the following statutes which it administers: the Securities Act of 1933 (48 Stat. 74, as amended; 15 U.S.C. and Sup., 77a-77aa), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 803; 15 U.S.C. 79 et seq.), the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1149; 15 U.S.C. 77aaa et seq.), the Investment Company Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 789, as amended; 11 U.S.C. 72, 107, 15 U.S.C. and Sup., 80a-1 et seq.) and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 847; 15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.). In addition, the Commission has certain duties in connection with court proceedings under Chapter X of the National Bankruptcy Act.

The Securities Act of 1933 is designed to provide disclosure, chiefly through the mechanism of a registration statement and prospectus, of pertinent information concerning securities publicly offered and sold in interstate commerce or through the mails, and makes unlawful fraudulent practices in the sale of such securities.

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provides for registration of national securities exchanges, securities listed on such exchanges, brokers and dealers trading in the over-the-counter securities markets, and associations of such brokers and dealers. Market manipulations, deceptive devices, and other fraudulent practices in the purchase or sale of securities are made unlawful and dealings in equity securities by insiders must be reported. The Commission is empowered to regulate the solicitations of prox

ies or other authorizations from the holders of listed securities, the hypothecation of securities held by brokers or dealers for the account of customers, the business of specialists and odd-lot dealers, and such trading activities as short sales, stabilizing, and excessive dealings by members of national securities exchanges; and to exercise certain supervisory powers over the rules of national securities exchanges and national associations of brokers and dealers. The act authorizes the Commission if in its opinion the public interest so requires, with the approval of the President, summarily to suspend all trading on any national securities exchange for a period not exceeding ninety days.

The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 requires the registration of companies in holding company systems engaged in the electric utility business or in the retail distribution of gas and their geographic integration and corporate simplification, provides for the regulation of security transactions, acquisitions and sales of assets, dividend payments, solicitation of proxies, intercompany loans, service, sales and construction contracts and accounting practices of such companies and makes unlawful political contributions by such companies.

The Trust Indenture Act of 1939 provides that issues of debt securities, with certain exceptions, may not be offered for sale to the public unless they are issued under a trust indenture which conforms to specific statutory standards designed to safeguard the interests of purchasers.

The Investment Company Act of 1940 requires the registration of investment companies and provides for their regulation. The act prescribes qualifications and affiliations of officers and directors, requires that certain matters receive stockholder approval and requires Commission approval of certain transactions such as dealings between affiliates and insiders.

The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 requires the registration of persons engaged in the business of advising others with respect to security transactions and outlaws fraudulent practices and certain specified transactions by them.

$ 200.2 General organization. The Commission is composed of five members, not more than three of whom may be members of the same political party. They are appointed by the President, with

the advice and consent of the Senate, for five-year terms, one of which expires each year. One of the five commissioners is elected chairman annually. The Commission is assisted in the performance of its duties by a staff of professional employees, including lawyers, accountants, engineers, and corporation analysts, and by administrative and clerical employees. The staff has been organized into the following separate divisions and offices, which are directly responsible to the Commission and act pursuant to its directions and orders:

Office of the Secretary
Trial Examiners

Opinion Writing Office
Office of the Solicitor

Office of the Chief Accountant
Corporation Finance Division
Trading and Exchange Division
Public Utilities Division
Administrative Division
Personnel Office

Budget and Fiscal Office
Regional Offices

A description of the organization and functions of each of these divisions and offices appears in §§ 200.3 to 200.14, inclusive.

200.3 Office of the Secretary. The Secretary (or his assistant) attends meetings of the Commission and is responsible for the preparation and maintenance of the official Minute Record of its actions. He is custodian of the Commission's official seal, with power to certify and authenticate documents reflecting official action of the Commission, and performs other and related duties.

The Office of the Secretary is the chief information center of the Commission to which inquiries of press representatives and general inquiries of the public should be directed.

$ 200.4 Trial examiners. The trial examiners preside at hearings, make rulings related thereto, and in certain cases issue recommended decisions. The trial examiners are assigned by the Commission to cases in rotation so far as practicable.

$ 200.5 Opinion Writing Office. This office assists the Commission in the preparation of its opinions and performs related functions and other special assignments. It functions independently of all other divisions of the Commission's staff. This office is headed by the Executive Assistant to the Commission, assisted by

a Special Assistant to the Commission, supervising attorneys, and staff attorneys.

The

§ 200.6 Office of the Solicitor. Solicitor is the Commission's chief legal officer. He represents the Commission in appellate court proceedings and usually in cases in all courts in which the Commission participates as amicus curiae. The Solicitor serves as general legal adviser to the Commission and, insofar as legal policy is concerned, advises with the several divisions and the regional offices. The Solicitor is also responsible for the supervision of the preparation of all cases referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution and for liaison activities with the Department of Justice and other interested authorities regarding such cases.

This office has a staff composed of the Solicitor, assistant solicitor, a special assistant, a special counsel (in charge of criminal reference activities) and staff attorneys.

Inquiries relating to the work of this office may be directed to the Solicitor or to an Assistant Solicitor in charge of a particular matter.

$ 200.7 Office of the Chief Accountant. The Chief Accountant is the Commission's chief adviser on all accounting matters. He has general supervision over the execution of Commission policy with respect to accounting and auditing principles or practices and over the procedures to be followed in audits or accounting investigations. He is responsible for the drafting and interpretation of rules and regulations governing the form and content of financial statements to be filed with the Commission, including uniform systems of accounts. He also prepares for publication releases on accounting questions of general interest and application.

This office is composed of the Chief Accountant, Assistant Chief Accountant, and a number of staff accountants. In addition, the Chief Accountant supervises the work of three Assistant Chief Accountants assigned to and directly responsible for the accounting work in the various divisions.

Questions of accounting and auditing procedure involving particular registrants may be presented to the Assistant Chief Accountant of the division involved, or may be presented directly to the Chief Accountant where controversial or novel