Bill passes to end regulatory ‘Whac-A-Mole’

The Securities and Exchange Commission would have explicit power to bar people associated with investment advisory firms for violating securities law under legislation unanimously approved yesterday by the House of Representatives. The Securities Act of 2008, authored by House Capital Markets Subcommittee chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., also would give the SEC the power to impose civil penalties in cease-and-desist proceedings. The bill includes recommendations made by the SEC giving its enforcement division increased flexibility and resources, the commission said in a statement. The bill provides “additional tools for the SEC’s enforcement program that already is seen as the gold standard around the world,” SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in the statement. “Too often we see those who violate securities laws go from one segment of the industry to another,” Mark Johannessen, president of the Financial Planning Association of Denver, said in a statement. “This bill would put an end to this regulatory game of ‘Whac-A-Mole.’” A House staff aide who requested anonymity said that there is optimism that the Senate will take up the bill this year. The bill will be sent to the Senate for its consideration soon, the aide said. No similar legislation had been introduced in the Senate before the House acted on the bill.