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Reg roundup: SEC sets higher insider trading fine; FAA moves to curb cockpit distractions
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is increasing the maximum civil penalties against individuals and financial institutions, based on changes in inflation.
Currently, the SEC may fine an individual about $1.43 million for certain insider trading violations. That amount will increase to $1.53 million on March 5.
The agency investigates and fines companies for violations of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
The law requires the SEC to adjust the maximum fines every four years. Accordingly, the last time fees were adjusted was March 2009.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
The Obama administration wants to make sure pilots and flight crews are not distracted during flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it’s bringing regulations in line with the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 that Congress passed last February. That legislation called for a ban on flight crews using technology for personal use at their “duty stations.”
The agency makes clear that the prohibition does not apply to using personal devices — including laptops — “for a purpose directly related to operation of the aircraft, or for emergency, safety-related, or employment-related communications.”
The proposal is an extension of the so-called “Sterile Cockpit” rules initiated about two decades ago that aimed to “ensure that the environment on the flight deck was free from potentially dangerous distractions,” according to federal records. The regulations were deemed specifically important during the “critical phases” of flight, including the taxi, take-off and landing, and “all other flight operations conducted below 10,000 feet.”
Technically, the personal technology ban is covered under the sterile cockpit rules, but the new proposal would make it applicable to the whole flight — not just the critical phases.
Comments on the rules are due March 18.
NATIONAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is establishing a “minimum sound requirement” for the notably quiet engines of hybrid and electric vehicles, as required by the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.
The regulation would require that “blind, visually-impaired, and other pedestrians” are able to hear vehicles coming. The legislation passed in 2010 mandates that the sound must be loud enough to be heard over “range of ambient environments.”
Comments are due by March 15.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (OPM)
The Office of Personnel Management is trying to streamline its operations by making it easier to receive federal retirement, health and life insurance benefits electronically.
One of the proposals involves regulations that require a person signing a form to have a notary present. The revised language allows for a “virtual” notary presence — such as over a video conference — as a substitute.
