Digital Asset Market Clarity Act

(a) Collection of fees

(1) In general. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (in this section referred to as the Commission) shall charge and collect a fee from each person in provisional status registered with the Commission pursuant to section 106, on—

(A) the filing of the initial application for registration; and

(B) an annual basis thereafter for maintaining provisional status.

(2) Amount. The fees authorized under paragraph (1) may be collected and available for obligation only in the amounts provided in advance in an appropriation Act.

(3) Authority to adjust fees. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, to promote fair competition or innovation, the Commission, in its sole discretion, may reduce or eliminate any fee otherwise required to be paid by a small or medium filer under this subsection.

(b) Fee schedule

(1) In general. The Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a schedule of the fees to be charged and collected under this section.

(2) Content. The fee schedule for a fiscal year shall include a written analysis of the estimate of the Commission of the total costs of carrying out the functions of the Commission under this Act during the fiscal year.

(3) Submission to congress. Before publishing the fee schedule for a fiscal year, the Commission shall submit a copy of the fee schedule to the Committees on Agriculture and on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and on Appropriations of the Senate.

(4) Timing

(A) 1st fiscal year. The Commission shall publish the fee schedule for the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted, within 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(B) Subsequent fiscal years. The Commission shall publish the fee schedule for each subsequent fiscal year, not less than 90 days before the due date prescribed by the Commission for payment of the annual fee for the fiscal year.

(c) Late payment penalty

(1) In general. The Commission may impose a penalty against a person that fails to pay an annual fee charged under this section, within 30 days after the due date prescribed by the Commission for payment of the fee.

(2) Amount. The amount of the penalty shall be—

(A) 5 percent of the amount of the fee due, multiplied by

(B) the whole number of consecutive 30-day periods that have elapsed since the due date.

(d) Reimbursement of excess fees. To the extent that the total amount of fees collected under this section during a fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act exceeds the amount provided under subsection (a)(2) with respect to the fiscal year, the Commission shall reimburse the excess amount to the persons who have timely paid their annual fees, on a pro-rata basis that excludes penalties, and shall do so within 60 days after the end of the fiscal year.

(e) Deposit of fees into the Treasury. All amounts collected under this section shall be credited to the currently applicable appropriation, account, or fund of the Commission as discretionary offsetting collections, and shall be available for the purposes authorized in subsection (f) only to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts.

(f) Authorization of appropriations. In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated to the Commission, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission amounts collected under this section to cover the costs of carrying out the functions of the Commission under this Act.

(g) Expedited hiring authority

(1) Appointment authority. The Chairman, pursuant to section 6(a), may appoint individuals to a position described in paragraph (2) of this subsection—

(A) in accordance with the statutes, rules, and regulations governing appointments to positions in the excepted service (as defined in section 2103 of title 5, United States Code); and

(B) without regard to any statute, rule, or regulation governing appointments to positions in the competitive service (as defined in section 2102 of such title).

(2) Position described. A position referred to in subparagraph (1) is a position at the Commission that—

(A) is in the competitive service (as defined in section 2102 of such title); and

(B) requires specialized knowledge of digital commodities markets, financial and capital market formation or regulation, financial market structures or surveillance, data collection or analysis, or information technology, cybersecurity, or system safeguards.

(3) Rule of construction. The appointment of a candidate to a position under this subsection shall not be considered to cause the position to be converted from the competitive service to the excepted service.

(h) Sunset. The authorities provided by this section shall expire at the end of the 4th fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.