republic-os/legal/us/code/title-07/chapter-1/section-13a.md

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LegalText	7 U.S.C. § 13a	Nonenforcement of rules of government or other violations; cease and desist orders; fines and penalties; imprisonment; misdemeanor; separate offenses	us	united_states_code	code_section	7	AGRICULTURE	1	COMMODITY EXCHANGES	13a	7 U.S.C. § 13a	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc07@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t7/s13a	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-07/usc07.xml	37c26401b1c3af3affa839e839fcd3ef083402dfa9f94932c60cbf64fb484256	50edab1679a711653797362c0aeb8f2273303fe473fb7fa16df1ee76bdd6e984	c89dd002c4847e9df1c29bb4cbb6d3eb4164e01cc887ffb2d5245867777de31f	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

7 U.S.C. § 13a - Nonenforcement of rules of government or other violations; cease and desist orders; fines and penalties; imprisonment; misdemeanor; separate offenses

Text

If any registered entity is not enforcing or has not enforced its rules of government made a condition of its designation or registration as set forth in sections 7 through 7a–2 of this title, or if any registered entity, or any director, officer, agent, or employee of any registered entity otherwise is violating or has violated any of the provisions of this chapter or any of the rules, regulations, or orders of the Commission thereunder, the Commission may, upon notice and hearing on the record and subject to appeal as in other cases provided for in section 8(b) of this title, make and enter an order directing that such registered entity, director, officer, agent, or employee shall cease and desist from such violation, and assess a civil penalty of not more than $500,000 for each such violation, or, in any case of manipulation or attempted manipulation in violation of section 9, 15, 13b, or 13(a)(2) of this title, a civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000 for each such violation. If such registered entity, director, officer, agent, or employee, after the entry of such a cease and desist order and the lapse of the period allowed for appeal of such order or after the affirmance of such order, shall fail or refuse to obey or comply with such order, such registered entity, director, officer, agent, or employee shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned for not less than six months nor more than one year, or both, except that if the failure or refusal to obey or comply with the order involved any offense under section 13(a)(2) of this title, the registered entity, director, officer, agent, or employee shall be guilty of a felony and, on conviction, shall be subject to penalties under section 13(a)(2) of this title. Each day during which such failure or refusal to obey such cease and desist order continues shall be deemed a separate offense. If the offending registered entity or other person upon whom such penalty is imposed, after the lapse of the period allowed for appeal or after the affirmance of such penalty, shall fail to pay such penalty, the Commission shall refer the matter to the Attorney General who shall recover such penalty by action in the appropriate United States district court. In determining the amount of the money penalty assessed under this section, the Commission shall consider the gravity of the offense, and in the case of a registered entity shall further consider whether the amount of the penalty will materially impair the ability of the registered entity to carry on its operations and duties.

(Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 369, § 6b, as added June 15, 1936, ch. 545, § 9, 49 Stat. 1500; amended Pub. L. 90–258, § 18, Feb. 19, 1968, 82 Stat. 31; Pub. L. 93–463, title II, § 212(b), Oct. 23, 1974, 88 Stat. 1403; Pub. L. 95–405, § 14, Sept. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 872; Pub. L. 102–546, title II, §§ 209(b)(5), 212(c), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3607, 3609; Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(5) [title I, § 123(a)(14)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–409; Pub. L. 110–234, title XIII, § 13103(b), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XIII, § 13103(b), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2195.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.

Amendments2008—Pub. L. 110–246, § 13103(b), in first sentence, inserted before period at end “, or, in any case of manipulation or attempted manipulation in violation of section 9, 15, 13b, or 13(a)(2) of this title, a civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000 for each such violation” and, in second sentence, inserted before period at end “, except that if the failure or refusal to obey or comply with the order involved any offense under section 13(a)(2) of this title, the registered entity, director, officer, agent, or employee shall be guilty of a felony and, on conviction, shall be subject to penalties under section 13(a)(2) of this title”. 2000—Pub. L. 106–554 substituted “registered entity” for “contract market” wherever appearing, “designation or registration as set forth in sections 7 through 7a–2 of this title” for “designation as set forth in section 7 of this title” in first sentence, and “the ability of the registered entity” for “the contract market’s ability” in last sentence. 1992—Pub. L. 102–546 substituted “section 8(b) of this title” for “paragraph (a) of section 8 of this title”, substituted “$500,000” for “$100,000” in two places, and in last sentence struck out “the appropriateness of such penalty to the net worth of the offending person and” after “Commission shall consider”. 1978—Pub. L. 95–405 inserted “on the record” after “notice and hearing”. 1974—Pub. L. 93–463 inserted provision for assessment of a civil penalty of not more than $100,000 for each violation, substituted “not more than $100,000” for “not less than $500 nor more than $10,000” as permissible range of fines imposed, inserted provisions for enforcement of a penalty, and substituted “orders of the Commission” for “orders of the Secretary of Agriculture or the commission”. 1968—Pub. L. 90–258 amended section to clarify application only to boards of trade designated as contract markets, to include as grounds for cease and desist orders failure to enforce the market’s rules of government made a condition of its designation and violation of rules or regulations of the commission or orders of the Secretary, and to authorize such orders in conjunction with a suspension or revocation of designation as a contract market rather than in lieu of suspension or revocation.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2008 AmendmentAmendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of this title.

Effective Date of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–405 effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 28 of Pub. L. 95–405, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.

Effective Date of 1974 AmendmentFor effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 93–463, see section 418 of Pub. L. 93–463, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.

Effective Date of 1968 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–258 effective 120 days after Feb. 19, 1968, see section 28 of Pub. L. 90–258, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.

Effective DateFor effective date of section, see section 13 of act June 15, 1936, set out as an Effective Date of 1936 Amendment note under section 1 of this title.