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provided by issuers of municipal securities, with the amount of and frequency of disclosures that issuers of corporate securi- ties provide for the benefit of corporate securities holders, taking into account the differences between issuers of municipal securities and issuers of corporate securities; (3) evaluate the costs and benefits to various types of issuers of municipal securities of requiring issuers of municipal bonds to provide additional financial disclosures for the benefit of investors; (4) evaluate the potential benefit to investors from addi- tional financial disclosures by issuers of municipal bonds; and (5) make recommendations relating to disclosure require- ments for municipal issuers, including the advisability of the repeal or retention of section 15B(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o–4(d)) (commonly known as the ‘‘Tower Amendment’’). (c) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the date of enact- ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to Congress on the results of the study conducted under subsection (a), including recommendations for how to improve disclosure by issuers of municipal securities.

SEC. 977. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY ON THE
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES MARKETS.
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study of the municipal securities markets.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Financial Serv-
ices of the House of Representatives, with copies to the Special
Committee on Aging of the Senate and the Commission, on the
results of the study conducted under subsection (a), including—
(1) an analysis of the mechanisms for trading, quality
of trade executions, market transparency, trade reporting, price
discovery, settlement clearing, and credit enhancements;
(2) the needs of the markets and investors and the impact
of recent innovations;
(3) recommendations for how to improve the transparency,
efficiency, fairness, and liquidity of trading in the municipal
securities markets, including with reference to items listed
in paragraph (1); and
(4) potential uses of derivatives in the municipal securities
markets.
Deadline. (c) RESPONSES.—Not later than 180 days after receipt of the
report required under subsection (b), the Commission shall submit
a response to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives, with a copy to the Special Com-
mittee on Aging of the Senate, stating the actions the Commission
has taken in response to the recommendations contained in such
report.

SEC. 978. FUNDING FOR GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
BOARD.

LAWS (a) AMENDMENT TO THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933.—Section 19 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77s), as amended by section 912, is further amended by adding at the end the following:PUBLIC with on anorris VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:41 Aug 28, 2010 Jkt 089139 PO 00203 Frm 00550 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL203.111 GPO1 PsN: PUBL203