Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, will introduce legislation in the coming days similar to a municipal advisor bill that passed the House last September.
Press Secretary Kara Hauck confirmed that Stivers will sponsor the bill, but could not say exactly when it would be introduced or how closely it would mirror H.R. 2827, which was introduced in August 2011 by Rep. Robert Dold, R-Ill., who lost his reelection bid last year.
Stivers is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the matter.
Dold’s bill was aimed at narrowing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s initial definition of MA, which was issued in late 2010.
Market participants complained the definition was overly broad and said it would needlessly encompass appointed members of government boards and firms and individuals already regulated, like underwriters and even bank tellers.
Dold’s bill passed the House with bipartisan support and was referred to the Senate. A companion bill introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. but was never approved.
Dold’s bill defined MAs as those engaged in muni advisory activities for compensation and created exceptions for members of governmental boards, underwriters, bankers and swap dealers, as well as those that provide related advice.
It had the support of some House Democrats, including Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., a co-sponsor who worked closely with Dold in crafting the bill’s final version.
Moore would be “willing to sign on” to a new bill if it is similar to the version of Dold’s bill that passed the committee, an aide said.
Dold’s bill had broad support from dealer groups and others who said it addressed regulatory overreach at the SEC. However, it had some opponents, including public interest and non-dealer advisor groups, which said its exceptions would undermine the intent of the Dodd-Frank Act.
John Cross, director of the SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities, has said his office expects to release its final MA definition in the first quarter of this year.
