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PUBLIC LAW 105-353
SENATE BILL NO. 1260 OF 1998 AS SIGNED ON NOVEMBER 3, 1998 - PL 105-353 AS CODIFIED IN 112 UNITED STATES STATUTES 3227
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The “Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998” was enacted in 1998 following congressional approval of Senate Bill No. 1260 [hereinafter referred to as “S. 1260”],. (See Exhibit A, #1) This bill was introduced on October 7, 1997 by Senator Phil Gramm. (See Exhibit A, #3a)
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs reviewed S. 1260 and after amendments forwarded it to the House. (See Exhibit A, #3a and #3b) The House Commerce Committee amended S. 1260 by substituting its own bill, House of Representatives Bill No. 1689 [hereinafter referred to as “H.R. 1689”] in lieu thereof. (See Exhibit A, #3c and #3d) We include the legislative history of H.R. 1689. (See generally, Exhibit B) Understanding the legislative intent of any legislative measure necessarily includes knowledge about various other measures competing with or preceding the bill ultimately enacted, particularly where the focus is on specific language. As you compare that enacted with the unsuccessful proposals in the failed bills, you may be able to discern useful insight as to the intended meaning.
The Senate Committee refused to accept the House substitution amendment and called for a conference committee to be formed. (See Exhibit A, #9, page 5-33) The purpose of a Conference Committee is to bring together legislators, called “conferees,” from the Senate and the House of Representatives in an attempt to reach a compromise on a bill’s language which is acceptable to both. When the House and Senate agreed to compromises on the language of S. 1260, they approved the bill and forwarded it to President Wm. J. Clinton. (See Exhibit A, #3e and #6, page 15) President Clinton signed the bill on November 3, 1998, enacting Public Law 105-353. (See Exhibit A, #1)
In his Signing Statement, President Clinton described S. 1260 as follows:
. . . This legislation will help stabilize the enforcement scheme of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the Reform Act) by ensuring that parties obtain the benefits of the protections that Federal law provides. The Uniform Standards Act reinforces our national capital markets by promoting uniform national standards for information generated for and used in national capital markets. If firms know that they can rely on the Reform Act’s “safe harbor” for forward-looking information, they will provide the public with valuable information about their prospects, thus benefiting investors by enabling them to make wiser decisions.
(See Exhibit A, #8, page 2247)