The Securities and Exchange Commission has made extensive use of administrative courts to enforce its regulations since the Dodd-Frank Act expanded the circumstances in which they could be used, but a new bill would, if implemented, significantly narrow their use, according to the New York Times. The use of administrative courts, staffed by the commission's own in-house judges, has been the subject of criticism in the past due to the belief that these courts are, by their very nature, stacked against the defendant. These criticisms sprang from a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act which allowed the SEC to use internal administrative proceedings in any case where it was seeking monetary penalties, versus having to file a civil action in federal court, which it had to do before. 

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Representative Scott Garrett (R - New Jersey), would allow any person party to an administrative proceeding brought by the SEC involving a cease and desist order and penalty, to require that the SEC terminate the proceeding and instead move the matter to federal court. The bill would allow the commission to bring a matter before an administrative court only if the SEC can show "clear and convincing evidence that the person has violated the relevant provision of law."