The Rule to Follow Even If It does Not Apply!

General Rules and Regulations
promulgated under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Rule 13a-19 -- Plain English Presentation of Specified Information

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1. Any information included or incorporated by reference in a report filed under section 13(a) of the Act that is required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 402, 403, 404 or 407 of Regulation S-B or Item 402, 403, 404 or 407 of Regulation S-K must be presented in a clear, concise and understandable manner. You must prepare the disclosure using the following standards:
   
   
   1. Present information in clear, concise sections, paragraphs and sentences;
      
      
   2. Use short sentences;
      
      
   3. Use definite, concrete, everyday words;
      
      
   4. Use the active voice;
      
      
   5. Avoid multiple negatives;
      
      
   6. Use descriptive headings and subheadings;
      
      
   7. Use a tabular presentation or bullet lists for complex material, wherever possible;
      
      
   8. Avoid legal jargon and highly technical business and other terminology;
      
      
   9. Avoid frequent reliance on glossaries or defined terms as the primary means of explaining information. Define terms in a glossary or other section of the document only if the meaning is unclear from the context. Use a glossary only if it facilitates understanding of the disclosure; and
      
      
   10. In designing the presentation of the information you may include pictures, logos, charts, graphs and other design elements so long as the design is not misleading and the required information is clear. You are encouraged to use tables, schedules, charts and graphic illustrations that present relevant data in an understandable manner, so long as such presentations are consistent with applicable disclosure requirements and consistent with other information in the document. You must draw graphs and charts to scale. Any information you provide must not be misleading.
       
       

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Note to Rule 240.13a-20.

In drafting the disclosure to comply with this section, you should avoid the following:

1. Legalistic or overly complex presentations that make the substance of the disclosure difficult to understand;
   
   
2. Vague "boilerplate" explanations that are imprecise and readily subject to different interpretations;
   
   
3. Complex information copied directly from legal documents without any clear and concise explanation of the provision(s); and
   
   
4. Disclosure repeated in different sections of the document that increases the size of the document but does not enhance the quality of the information.

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Regulatory History

71 FR 53158, 53261, Sept. 8, 2006.

Plain Language measure sets guidelines for tax, college aid and other forms

THonline.com
Braley bill would reduce government legalese

By MARY RAE BRAGG TH staff writer

Dubuque's congressman, Rep. Bruce Braley, introduced a bill last week that would require the federal government to communicate in easy-to-understand language.

"Anyone who's done their own taxes knows the headache of trying to understand pages and pages of confusing forms and instructions," Braley said. "There is no reason why the federal government can't write these forms and other public documents in a way we can all understand."

The Plain Language in Government Communications Act, HR 3584, sets guidelines for documents like tax returns, college aid applications and forms from the Department of Veteran Affairs. The bill's guidelines instruct document authors to use short, simple words; use "you" and other pronouns when speaking to the reader; use short sentences and paragraphs; and avoid legal, foreign and technical jargon.

The bill, which has two Democratic and two Republican cosponsors, was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, one of the committees Braley serves on.

According to a report appearing on www.plainlanguage.gov, "Plain talk" can result in higher revenue for the government instituting it.

An official in Washington state says their Department of Revenue estimates it has collected about $5 million in additional revenue since rewriting one explanatory tax collection letter in 2003.