Administrative agencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Administrative agencies - Essay Example Examples of administrative agencies include Central Intelligence Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Election Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (abbreviated SEC) is a federal agency whose primary role or responsibility is to enforce the federal securities laws and to regulate the securities industry, stock and options exchanges and other electronic securities markets in the U.S. It was created by section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, commonly referred to as the 1934 Act. . The SEC also implements the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other statues. Before the enactment of the SEC and other federal securities law, there existed the professed Blue Sky Laws, endorsed and enforced at the state level. They controlled the offer and sale of securities to protect the public from being defrauded. The provision varied across states, though all involved a compulsory registration of offerings and sales. Also, every US stockbroker and brokerage firm had to register. Despite their good intentions, Blue Sky Laws failed to achieve the effectiveness and efficacy that was needed. For instance as early as 1915, the Investment Bankers Association encouraged its members to make securities across state lines through the mail, thus effectively â€Å"ignoring† Blue Sky Laws. Through the Pecora Commission, hearing on abuses on interstate frauds took place. It was after that that Congress passed the Securities Act of 1933. Contrary to the Blue Sky Laws, this act regulates interstate sales of securities at the federal level. The successive Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regulates the secondary market. The main function of