COMMODITY EXCHANGE ACT, AS AMENDED

(545, June 15, 1936, 49 Stat. 1491)

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SEC. 2. [7 U.S.C. 2] (a)(1)(A) For the purposes of this Act "contract of sale" shall be held to include sales, agreements of sale, and agreements to sell. The word "person" shall be construed to import the plural or singular, and shall include individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts. The word "commodity" shall mean wheat, cotton, rice, corn, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, grain sorghums, mill feeds, butter, eggs, Solanum tuberosum (Irish potatoes), wool, wool tops, fats and oils (including lard, tallow, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil and all other fats and oils), cottonseed meal, cottonseed, peanuts, soybeans, soybean meal, livestock,1 livestock products, and frozen concentrated orange juice, and all other goods and articles, except onions as provided in Public Law 85-839, and all services, rights, and interests in which contracts for future delivery are presently or in the future dealt in: Provided, That the Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction, except to the extent otherwise provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, with respect to accounts, agreements (including any transaction which is of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, an "option", "privilege", "indemnity", "bid", "offer”, "put", "call", "advance guaranty", or "decline guaranty"), and transactions involving contracts of sale of a commodity for future delivery, traded or executed on a contract market designated pursuant to section 5 of this Act or any other board of trade, exchange, or market, and transactions subject to regulation by the Commission pursuant to section 19 of this Act: And provided further, That, except as hereinabove provided, nothing contained in this section shall (i) supersede or limit the jurisdiction at any time conferred on the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory authorities under the laws of the United States or of any State, or (ii) restrict the Securities and Exchange Commission and such other authorities from carrying out their duties and responsibilities in accordance with such laws. Nothing in this section shall supersede or limit the jurisdiction conferred on courts of the United States or any State. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to govern or in any way be applicable to transactions in foreign currency, security warrants, security rights, resales of installment loan contracts, repurchase options, government securities, or mortgages and mortgage purchase commitments, unless such transactions involve the sale thereof for future delivery conducted on a board of trade. The term

1 So in law.

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"future delivery," as used herein, shall not include any sale of any cash commodity for deferred shipment or delivery. The words "board of trade" shall be held to include and mean any exchange or association, whether incorporated or unincorporated, of persons who shall be engaged in the business of buying or selling commodities or receiving the same for sale on consignment. The act, omission, or failure of any official, agent, or other person acting for any individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust within the scope of his employment or office shall be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust, as well as such official, agent, or other person. The words "interstate commerce" shall be construed to mean commerce between any State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, and any place outside thereof; or between points within the same State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, but through any place outside thereof, or within any Territory or possession, or the District of Columbia. The words "cooperative association of producers" shall mean any cooperative association, corporate or otherwise, not less than 75 per centum in good faith owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by producers of agricultural products and otherwise complying with an Act of Congress of February 18, 1922 (U.S.C., 1934 ed., title 7, secs. 291 and 292), as now or hereafter amended, including any organization acting for a group of such associations and owned or controlled by such associations, provided that business done for or with the United States of America, or any agency thereof, shall not be considered either member or nonmember business in determining the compliance of any such association with said Act of Congress of February 18, 1922. The words "member of a contract market" shall mean and include individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts owning or holding membership in, or admitted to membership representation on, a contract market or given members' trading privileges thereon. The words "futures commission merchant" shall mean and include individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts engaged in soliciting or in accepting orders for the purchase or sale of any commodity for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any contract market and that, in or in connection with such solicitation or acceptance of orders, accepts any money, securities, or property (or extends credit in lieu thereof) to margin, guarantee, or secure any trades or contracts that result or may result therefrom. The term "introducing broker" shall mean any person, except an individual who elects to be and is registered as an associated person of a futures commission merchant, engaged in soliciting or in accepting orders for the purchase or sale of any commodity for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any contract market who does not accept any money, securities, or property (or extend credit in lieu thereof) to margin, guarantee, or secure any trades or contracts that result or may result therefrom. The words "floor broker" shall mean any person who, in or surrounding any "pit", "ring", "post", or other place provided by a contract market for the meeting of persons similarly engaged, shall purchase or sell for any other person any commodity for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any con

tract market. The words "the Commission" shall mean the Commodity Futures Trading Commission established under paragraph (2) of this subsection. The term "commodity trading advisor" shall mean any person who, for compensation or profit, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications, writings or electronic media, as to the value of or the advisability of trading in any contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery made or to be made on or subject to the rules of a contract market, any commodity option authorized under section 4c, or any leverage transaction authorized under section 19, or who, for compensation or profit, and as part of a regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning any of the foregoing; but such term does not include (i) any bank or trust company or any person acting as an employee thereof, (ii) any news reporter, news columnist, or news editor of the print or electronic media, or any lawyer, accountant, or teacher, (iii) any floor broker or futures commission merchant, (iv) the publisher or producer of any print or electronic data of general and regular dissemination, including its employees, (v) the fiduciary of any defined benefit plan which is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, (vi) any contract market, and (vii) such other persons not within the intent of this definition as the Commission may specify by rule, regulation, or order: Provided, That the furnishing of such services by the foregoing persons is solely incidental to the conduct of their business or profession: Provided further, That the Commission, by rule or regulation, may include within this definition, any person advising as to the value of commodities or issuing reports or analyses concerning commodities, if the Commission determines that such rule or regulation will effectuate the purposes of this provision. The term "commodity pool operator" shall mean any person engaged in a business which is of the nature of an investment trust, syndicate, or similar form of enterprise, and who, in connection therewith, solicits, accepts, or receives from others, funds, securities, or property, either directly or through capital contributions, the sale of stock or other forms of securities, or otherwise, for the purpose of trading in any commodity for future delivery on or subject to the rules of any contract market, but does not include such persons not within the intent of this definition as the Commission may specify by rule or regulation or by order. (B) [7 U.S.C. 2a] Notwithstanding any other provision of law

(i) This Act shall not apply to and the Commission shall have no jurisdiction to designate a board of trade as a contract market for any transaction whereby any party to such transaction acquires any put, call, or other option on one or more securities (as defined in section 2(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 or section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on the date of enactment of the Futures Trading Act of 1982), including any group or index of such securities, or any interest therein or based on the value thereof.

(ii) This Act shall apply to and the Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to accounts, agreements (including any transaction which is of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, an "option", "privilege", "indem

nity", "bid", "offer", "put", "call", "advance guaranty", or "decline guaranty") and transactions involving, and may designate a board of trade as a contract market in, contracts of sale (or options on such contracts) for future delivery of a group or index of securities (or any interest therein or based upon the value thereof): Provided, however, That no board of trade shall be designated as a contract market with respect to any such contracts of sale (or options on such contracts) for future delivery unless the board of trade making such application demonstrates and the Commission expressly finds that the specific contract (or option on such contract) with respect to which the application has been made meets the following minimum requirements:

(I) Settlement of or delivery on such contract (or option on such contract) shall be effected in cash or by means other than the transfer or receipt of any security, except an exempted security under section 3 of the Securities Act of 1933 or section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as in effect on the date of enactment of the Futures Trading Act of 1982 (other than any municipal security, as defined in section 3(a)(29) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on the date of enactment of the Futures Trading Act of 1982);

(II) Trading in such contract (or option on such contract) shall not be readily susceptible to manipulation of the price of such contract (or option on such contract), nor to causing or being used in the manipulation of the price of any underlying security, option on such security or option on a group or index including such securities; and

(III) Such group or index of securities shall be predominately composed of the securities of unaffiliated issuers and shall be a widely published measure of, and shall reflect, the market for all publicly traded equity or debt securities or a substantial segment thereof, or shall be comparable to such measure.

(iii) Upon application by a board of trade for designation as a contract market with respect to any contract of sale (or option on such contract) for future delivery involving a group or index of securities, the Commission shall provide an opportunity for public comment on whether such contracts (or options on such contracts) meet the minimum requirements set forth in clause (ii) of this subparagraph.

(iv)(I) The Commission shall consult with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to any application which is submitted by a board of trade before December 9, 1982, for designation as a contract market with respect to any contract of sale (or option on such contract) for future delivery of a group or index of securities. If, no later than fifteen days following the close of the public comment period, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall object to the designation of a board of trade as a contract market in such contract (or option on such contract) on the ground that any minimum requirement of clause (ii) of this subparagraph is not met, the Commission

shall afford the Securities and Exchange Commission an opportunity for an oral hearing, to be transcribed, before the Commission, and shall give appropriate weight to the views of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such oral hearing shall be held after the public comment period, prior to Commission action upon such designation, and not less than thirty nor more than forty-five days after the close of the public comment period, unless both the Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission 2 otherwise agree. If such an oral hearing is held, the Securities and Exchange Commission fails to withdraw its objections, and the Commission issues an order designating a board of trade as a contract market with respect to any such contract (or option on such contract), the Securities and Exchange Commission shall have the right of judicial review of such order in accordance with the standards of section 6(b) of this Act. If, pursuant to section 6 of this Act, there is a hearing on the record with respect to such application for designation, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall have the right to participate in that hearing as an interested party.

(II) Effective for any application submitted by a board of trade on or after December 9, 1982, for designation as a contract market with respect to any contract of sale (or option on such contract) for future delivery of a group or index of securities, the Commission shall transmit a copy of such application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for review. The Commission shall not approve any such application if the Securities and Exchange Commission determines that such contract (or option on such contract) fails to meet the minimum requirements set forth in clause (ii) of this subparagraph. Such determination shall be made by order no later than forty-five days after the close of the public comment period under clause (iii) of this subparagraph. In the event of such determination, the board of trade shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing on the record before the Securities and Exchange Commission. If a board of trade requests a hearing on the record, the hearing shall commence no later than thirty days following the receipt of the request, and a final determination shall be made no later than thirty days after the close of the hearing. A person aggrieved by any such order of the Securities and Exchange Commission may obtain judicial review thereof in the same manner and under such terms and conditions as are provided in section 6(a) of this Act.

(v) No person shall offer to enter into, enter into, or confirm the execution of any contract of sale (or option on such contract) for future delivery of any security, or interest therein or based on the value thereof, except an exempted security under section 3 of the Securities Act of 1933 or section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as in effect on the date of enactment of the Futures Trading Act of 1982 (other than any municipal security as defined in section 3(a)(29) of the Securi

2 So in original; probably should read "Securities and Exchange Commission".