Steve Stivers, Gwen Moore Introduce Bipartisan "Municipal Advisor Oversight Improvement Act of 2013"

Press Release

Congressman Steve Stivers (R --Columbus) today introduced the Municipal Advisor Oversight Improvement Act; a bipartisan bill that clarifies the Dodd-Frank Act's definition for "municipal advisors" to allow for more appropriate oversight and implementation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stivers introduced the bill with Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI).

"Everyone acknowledges that the Dodd-Frank definition for municipal advisors was too broad," Stivers said. "The original language that defines municipal advisors includes people who are already regulated somewhere else, like volunteers on boards, bank tellers, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals. Washington needs to fix the mistake that Washington made, because it affects the rest of the country."

Municipal advisors were established in a Dodd-Frank Act provision as a new class of regulated persons who advise state and local governments on financial matters, including bond issuance, investment of bond proceeds, and financial derivatives usage. The Municipal Advisor Oversight Improvement Act would clarify the Dodd-Frank Act's municipal advisor definition to prevent financial market participants who do not advise municipalities from facing improper, duplicative, and onerous regulations under securities, banking, commodities, and other laws.

"This sort of common sense legislation will help us strike a fair balance between Wall Street and "Main Street' in relation to those advising institutions on municipal bonds," said Rep. Moore. "I look forward to working with Rep. Stivers on this important legislation."

In the 112th Congress, similar legislation was introduced as H.R. 2827 by Representatives Robert Dold (R-IL) and Gwen Moore (D-WI). The bill unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives on September 19, 2012, but was never taken up in the Senate.

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