Securities Acts Amendments of 1975

Federal legislation enacted on June 4, 1975, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The 1975 amendments directed the Securities and Exchange Commission to work with the industry toward establishing a National Market System together with a system for the nationwide clearance and settlement of securities transactions. Because of these provisions, the 1975 laws are sometimes called the National Exchange Market System Act. New regulations were also introduced to promote prompt and accurate securities handling, and clearing agencies were required to register with and report to the SEC. The 1975 amendments required Transfer Agents other than banks to register with the SEC and provided that authority with respect to bank transfer agents would be shared by the SEC and bank regulatory agencies. The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board was created to regulate brokers, dealers, and banks dealing in municipal securities, with rules subject to SEC approval and enforcement shared by the National Association of Securities Dealers and bank regulatory agencies. The law also required the registration of broker-dealers in municipals, but preserved the exemption of issuers from Registration requirements. The amendments contained the prohibition of fixed commission rates, adopted earlier by the SEC in its Rule 19b-3.