To penalize or not to penalize? That is the question that is dogging the Securities and Exchange Commission and slowing down the resolution of cases. According to The Wall Street Journal, Chairman Christopher Cox has worked to foster harmony among the commissioners, who under his processor, William Donaldson, were often at odds about whether to slap a penalty on a company found to run afoul of SEC regulations and for how much. Cox enacted in January penalty guidelines, which require commissioners to consider a number of factors before determining a fine, but the system has also managed to delay final approval of settlements. Causing the delay, reports the Journal, is requirement to prove that the principles in the penalty framework are properly applied. In the case of Veritas Software, for example, it’s already been more than a year since the company negotiated a settlement with the SEC, without final approval.