In order to combat fraud by brokers, governments at both the state and federal level have enacted a complex scheme of securities laws that directly affect the day-to-day activities of securities brokers and dealers. The first federal securities law, as embodied in the Securities Act of 1933, purposely saved state securities laws from preemption. However, as state laws continued to develop, a lack of uniformity and increased complexity of securities laws on the federal level caused Congress to pass the National Securities Markets Improvement Act ("NSMIA") in order to address these issues. Among other things, the NSMIA amended federal securities laws so that they now preempt many state securities laws, which helps to avoid duplication and a lack of uniformity between the federal and state governments. Under the NSMIA, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers handle most broker-dealer regulations, as opposed to the states.