Bill to Fund States' Anti-Fraud Efforts Up For House Vote
Under the bill, the SEC would implement a grant program to help states protect older investors.
The full House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on H.R. 5914, the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, bipartisan legislation to create a grant program, implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, that would work closely with state securities regulators to protect older investors.
The bill, introduced on Jan. 22 by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., “will provide $10 million in grants annually to state regulators to support the investigation and prosecution of senior financial fraud cases, invest in technology and training, and conduct outreach to older Americans and increase their awareness of scams,” the senators said.
Melanie Senter Lubin, Maryland securities commissioner and president of the North American Securities Administrators Association told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday in a letter that passage of the bill would “place the interests of investors front-and-center and take steps to prevent the exploitation of older investors.”
The legislation would “establish a grant program to enhance existing efforts by state securities and insurance regulators to protect senior investors and policyholders from financial fraud,” NASAA explained.
The bill, NASAA explained, would:
- make the Securities and Exchange Commission the program administrator;
- give the SEC the authority and tools necessary to operate a data-driven grant program;
- empower the SEC to make grants to state securities and insurance regulators from across the United States;
- authorize an appropriation of $10 million to the SEC for each of the fiscal years 2023 through 2028 to make such grants;
- require the SEC to cap each grant at $500,000; and
- create more opportunities for federal and state securities regulators to communicate and coordinate in their efforts to protect older investors.
“NASAA fully supports the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act as it is a win for everyone — especially older members of our communities who are all too often the victims of financial fraud and abuse,” Lubin said Monday. “NASAA is extremely pleased that this critical legislation places the interests of investors front-and-center and takes steps to prevent the financial exploitation of older investors.”
Pictured: Melanie Senter Lubin, Maryland securities commissioner and NASAA president.