SEC Powers Under Dodd-Frank Set to Expire January 1, 2025, Unless Rulemaking Starts Now

The Business Owners Protection Act of 2025 is taking a procedural approach to regulatory oversight, specifically targeting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This bill is essentially setting a hard expiration date for certain discretionary powers the SEC received under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. If the SEC hasn't officially started the process to create a new rule—meaning they haven't issued a formal notice of proposed rulemaking or some kind of guidance document—by January 1, 2025, that authority automatically disappears the moment this new law is enacted (SEC. 2).

The Regulatory Cleanup Crew

Think of this as a 'use it or lose it' mandate for the SEC’s regulatory toolkit. The Dodd-Frank Act gave the SEC a lot of latitude to create new rules, especially concerning private companies. This bill says if the SEC hasn't exercised those specific discretionary powers in the last decade and a half, they don’t get to keep them hanging around anymore. The goal here is to reduce what is often called “regulatory overhang”—the uncertainty that comes from knowing a government agency could impose a new rule at any time. For a small business owner considering future investments or a startup planning to raise capital, eliminating these dormant powers removes some guesswork about future compliance costs.

What Counts as 'Starting' the Process?

The bill is specific about the deadline and the escape hatch. To save a power from expiration, the SEC must have issued a formal notice of proposed rulemaking or “some kind of guidance document” before January 1, 2025 (SEC. 2). That phrase, “some kind of guidance document,” is where things get a little squishy. It raises the possibility that the SEC might issue minimal or vague documents simply to meet the technical requirement and preserve a broad power, even if they have no immediate intention of full rulemaking. This could lead to arguments down the road about whether a specific document truly qualifies as sufficient guidance.

The Transparency Mandate

To ensure everyone knows exactly what powers the SEC has lost, the bill requires the agency to create a public list of all terminated authorities within 180 days of the law taking effect. This list must be sent to Congress and posted online for public view (SEC. 2). While the primary effect of this bill is administrative—streamlining the SEC’s active portfolio—this transparency requirement is a clear win for the public. It means we won't have to guess which regulatory powers are still on the table and which ones have been shelved permanently. For policy watchdogs and the financial industry alike, this mandated clarity cuts through a lot of bureaucratic fog, making it easier to track what the SEC is actually focused on.