1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Blue Sky Harmonization Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Companies that are engaged in interstate commerce and publicly traded on national exchanges face unique challenges, often operating in every United States jurisdiction under a variety of civil securities fraud statutes (commonly known as blue sky laws ) that can overlap or contradict each other and Federal law. (2) Civil and criminal fraud have inherent differences in affect and burden of proof. States have a unique interest in prosecuting criminal fraud that should be maintained. (3) Imposing differing State regulatory requirements for civil securities fraud on national markets increases risk, creates inefficiencies, raises costs, and can harm the efficient operation of those critical markets without providing material investor protection benefits. (4) Complying with dual regulatory regimes places public companies in the United States at a unique competitive disadvantage in an increasingly global marketplace. (5) Reputational risk for United States publicly traded companies accused of civil fraud in State civil enforcement actions, often based on State law standards that differ from Federal law that otherwise governs those national markets, can cause immediate and irreparable financial harm to shareholders and an unnecessary loss of jobs, even after those allegations are later found to be baseless. (6) As of June 2017, there were 5,734 public companies in the United States, few more than in 1982, when the economy of the United States was less than 1/2 of its size as of the date of enactment of this Act. The lack of a uniform standard for public companies is a contributing factor to the declining interest in the United States public market, harming the economy of the United States and reducing investment opportunities for the public in the United States. (7) Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States (commonly known as the Commerce Clause ) explicitly states that