MSRB Files Proposal for Real-Time Continuing Disclosure Subscriptions

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board yesterday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposal to establish real-time subscriptions to continuing disclosure documents filed with the Electronic Municipal Market Acces system.

Though individual documents will be available on EMMA for free, the real-time feed will cost $45,000 per year. The proposal will first be published for public comment before it is considered by the SEC.

Because EMMA's continuing disclosure service will become mandatory for issuers on July 1, 2009, the MSRB has asked for approval of the proposal on or prior to that date.

Meanwhile, the board also published preliminary specifications for computer-to-computer filings of large-scale submissions of continuing disclosure documents to EMMA and for receiving the continuing disclosures.

The board proposed that an automated submission interface would be designed for submitters that expect to make multiple submissions each day. It will allow submission of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) standard XML (Extensible Markup Langue) messages and PDF (Portable Document Format) documents.

Alternatively, EMMA will feature a Web form submission interface to allow for Internet-based data entry and PDF document uploads.

The board also proposed allowing submitters to select from a number of categories of continuing disclosure documents for indexing purposes, grouped broadly into submissions required by the SEC's Rule 15c2-12 on disclosure as well as additional voluntary continuing disclosures.

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