Sec Challenges Staff To Eliminate Jargon

As part of a campaign for plain English, employees of the nation’s market watchdog agency are being challenged to turn an indecipherable piece of bureaucratic jargon into clear, readable prose.

The prize for the best entry: a $250 U.S. Savings Bond.

Arthur Levitt Jr., chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, threw down the gantlet on Wednesday.

Under the rules, the raw material to be “translated” can come from an SEC document or from one submitted to the agency by a member of the public.

The “dictionary” to be used is a new publication titled “Plain English Handbook: How to Create Clear SEC Disclosure Documents.”

Entries are due by Aug. 22.