Oct. 31, 2022
October 31, 2022
Dear Secretary Countryman,
I concur with the Attorneys General of the states of Montana, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Alaska, Ohio, Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, South Dakota, Indiana, Texas, Kansas, Utah, Kentucky, and West Virginia who, in their letter dated Oct. 24, 2022, call on the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC' or 'Commission') to extend the reopened comment periods for a minimum of 60 days for ALL rulemaking releases affected by the 'technological error' in the Commissions internet comment form.
According to the Commission's press release of Oct. 7, 2022 (Rel. no. 33-11117), the rulemaking proposals are as follows: File No.s: S7-32-10, S7-18-21, S7-21-21, S7-22-21, S7-03-22, S7-08-22, S7-09-22, S7-10-22, S7-13-22, S7-16-22, S7-17-22, and S7-18-22.
The public must have additional time to properly comment on these rules.
I also urge the Commission to make transparent the nature, cause, origin, scope, and extent of the 'technological error' that the Commission claims has caused the loss of submissions to a total of 12 different rulemaking proposals/comment periods over a 15-month period.
I also ask the Commission to explain what mitigating measures the Commission intends to take in order to prevent possible future 'technological errors' from happening.
Should the Commission fail to provide certain insights into the cause and extent of the 'technological errors' with the Commission's information technology systems -- that it has been mandated to keep and operate by lawmakers -- in a timely manner, I would personally ensure that all members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Financial Services Committee are aware of the lack of transparency the Commission is willing to provide to its funders: taxpayers, voters, and investors.
Sincerely,
Ariane Balinger