They're Here! Sort of'

Faced with a firestorm of controversy over the 'noisy withdrawal' provision of the rules it proposed in November 2002, and facing a statutory deadline of January 23, the Commission chose not to include the 'noisy withdrawal' requirements in its final rules. But on the same day the 'final' rules were issued, the SEC proposed a modified form of the 'noisy withdrawal' rules, and initiated a 60-day comment period on its new proposal. The SEC also sought additional comments during that same period on the 'final' rules as issued. With the pressure of the Sarbanes-Oxley statutory deadline for issuance of the initial rules now behind it, with the effective date of the rules issued on January 29 postponed for 180 days after their publication in the Federal Register, and with a new chairman awaiting Senate confirmation, the next few months are almost certain to see intense debate and lobbying over the ultimate content of the rules.