Senate Bill 7
Sponsor Testimony
Talking Points
Before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Justice
Given by Senator Kevin Coughlin
February 5, 2003
Introduction
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On
September 17, I was pleased to be a part of the announcement by Governor
Taft and then Auditor Petro of a corporate accountability reform proposal.
In November 2002, I was pleased to introduce the reform initiative into
the 124* GA. in the form of SB 310 |
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We
have moved from being a country and state of savers to being a country
and state of investors. |
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More
and more of our citizens rely on equity investments to meet their financial
goals, including home ownership, college tuition and retirement planning.
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We
must ensure that our laws keep pace with this change. |
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The
corporate frauds of the past year have given us reason to revisit our
regulatory framework. We must have laws that inspire confidence among
investors, maintain integrity in the marketplace, deter those who contemplate
wrongdoing, provide appropriate tools to regulators, and severely punish
those who break the law. |
SB 7 Three Goals:
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To
protect and prevent Ohioans from being victimized by securities law violations
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| 2.
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To
assist those who have been victimized by securities law violations |
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To
improve enforcement: |
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•
increases white collar crime penalties |
Conclusion
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SB
7 compliments but does not duplicate, the reforms enacted by Congress
earlier last year in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act o Some reforms, such as the
new system of oversight of accounting firms, must be carried out on the
national level |
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SB
7 contains the type of local reforms that will improve the integrity
of the Ohio securities marketplace |
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A vibrant
securities marketplace in Ohio benefits not only investors, but also
small and mid-sized business that raise money from the public to start-up
or expand operations |
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