15 U.S.C. § 78mm — General exemptive authority

(a) Authority (1) In general: Except for the limit in (b), and despite anything else in this chapter, the SEC can — by rule, regulation, or order — exempt any person, security, or transaction, or any class of persons, securities, or transactions, from any part of this chapter or its rules and regulations. It can do this conditionally or unconditionally, whenever the exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with protecting investors. (2) Procedures: The SEC must decide, by rule or regulation, the procedures for granting an exemption under this section. It may also simply choose not to consider any application for an exemption. (b) Limitation The SEC cannot use this section to exempt any person, security, or transaction — or class of them — from section 15E of this title (or the rules under it), or from the definitions in section 3(a) paragraphs (42), (43), (44), or (45), when those definitions apply for purposes of section 15E. (c) Derivatives Unless a provision specifically gives the SEC exemptive authority, the SEC cannot grant exemptions from the definitions in section 3(a) paragraphs (65), (66), (68), (69), (70), (71), (72), (73), (74), (75), (76), and (79), or from sections 78j–2(a), 78j–2(b), 78j–2(c), 78m–1, 78o–10, 78q–1(g), 78q–1(h), 78q–1(i), 78q–1(j), 78q–1(k), and 78q–1(l) of this title — as to the amendments made by Subtitle B of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010. That said, the SEC does still have exemptive authority under this chapter over security-based swaps, covering the same matters that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exemptive authority over regular swaps under that 2010 law, including under 7 U.S.C. § 6(c).