Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017
Public Law 115-66 · S. 327 · 115th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Oct 6, 2017 · Finance and Financial Sector
Sponsor: Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV)
Cosponsors (2): Sen. Gary Peters, Sen. David Perdue
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017
(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish and implement a "safe harbor" for certain investment fund research reports published by brokers and dealers. Such reports shall be deemed not to be "offers" under specified provisions of securities law, even if the broker or dealer participates in the registered offering of the investment fund's securities.
In implementing the safe harbor, the SEC must prohibit a self-regulatory organization from maintaining or enforcing a rule that would prevent a member from: (1) publishing or distributing a covered investment fund research report solely because the member is also participating in a registered offering of the fund, or (2) participating in a registered offering of a covered investment fund solely because the member has published a research report about the fund.
The bill restricts the SEC from conditioning the safe harbor upon specified requirements.
The safe harbor shall generally not apply to reports about a business development company or a registered closed-end investment company published by a broker or dealer during a specified time frame.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
3 bills the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 10Related bill
Financial CHOICE Act of 2017
H.R. 910Identical bill
Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017
H.R. 3280Related bill
Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2018
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 17 actions.
- Oct 6, 2017Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Sep 29, 2017FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Sep 27, 2017FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 327.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Hill moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Sep 12, 2017FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- Sep 11, 2017FloorFloor · Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Mar 13, 2017CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 11.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Reported by Senator Crapo with amendments. Without written report.
- Mar 9, 2017CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
- Feb 7, 2017CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.
- Agreed to
S.Amdt. 935SenateSen. Elizabeth WarrenD-MA· offered Sep 11, 2017Agreed to
To improve the bill.
Sep 11, 2017: Amendment SA 935 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.