The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) held a webinar Feb. 6, 2014 discussing its proposed Rule G-42 to impose a broad range of duties, proscriptions and documentation requirements upon non-solicitor Municipal Advisors (“MA’s”).  Some more controversial points among the proposed Rule include:  (a) a broad prohibition against principal transactions, not just by MA’s but also by all their affiliates; (b) consideration of whether to mandate MA insurance and require specific coverages; and (c) potential prohibition of contractual limitations on the scope of an engagement.  The Proposed Rule remains open for comment through March 10 and requires submission to, and adoption by, the SEC before going into effect.  The proposed Rulemaking stems from expanded regulation of municipal securities markets required under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The MSRB’s presentation materials are here.