SEC Announces July 29 Field Hearing on the State of the Municipal Securities Market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2011-148

Washington, D.C., July 15, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will hold a municipal securities market field hearing in Jefferson County, Ala., on July 29. Topics will include distressed communities, small issuers, disclosure, derivatives and pre-trade price transparency.

“Hearing directly from those who are affected by our policies helps to shape better rules,” said Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. “That’s especially the case with municipal securities.”

The event is the third in a series of hearings examining issues that affect investors in the municipal securities market. The first was held in San Francisco in September, 2010, followed by a hearing in December at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Our hearing in Jefferson County will allow us to gather real-world insights that are critical to our examination of these timely and important issues,” said SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter, who is chairing the field hearings.

Following the hearings, Commission staff will prepare a report addressing information learned, including their recommendations for further action that the Commission should pursue, which may include Commission rulemaking, changes in industry “best practices,” or legislation by Congress.

The hearing will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fri., July 29, at Rosewood Hall, 2850 19th Street South, Homewood, Ala., 35209. The public is welcome to attend. Admission is free. The hearing will be accessible online at www.sec.gov the day of the event, and archived for access afterward.

The Commission has taken several actions regarding municipal securities. In December, it voted to propose a rule creating a new process by which municipal advisors must register with the SEC. In May 2010, the Commission voted to approve rule changes improving the quality and timeliness of municipal securities disclosure. The measures were intended to strengthen existing requirements for the scope of securities covered, the nature of the events that issuers must disclose, and the time period in which disclosure must be made.

The SEC continues to encourage members of the public and other interested parties to submit comments related to the municipal securities market by using the comment form on the SEC website, sending an e-mail to munifieldhearings@sec.gov, or by telephone at (202) 551-5727.

For more about the Commission's oversight of the municipal securities market, see: http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/municipalsecurities.shtml

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Field Hearing on the State of the Municipal Securities Market

July 29, 2011

Rosewood Hall, 2850 19th Street South, Homewood, AL 35209

SEC Officials

• The Honorable Elisse B. Walter, Commissioner and chair of the field hearing
• Robert W. Cook, Director, Division of Trading and Markets

Opening remarks 8:30 – 9:00 am

• The Honorable Spencer T. Bachus, III, Representative, 6th Congressional District of Alabama
• The Honorable Elisse B. Walter

Distressed Communities 9:00 – 10:00 am

• Moderator: Dave Sanchez, Attorney-Fellow, Office of Municipal Securities, Division of Trading and Markets
• Robert E. Brooks, Ph.D., Wallace D. Malone, Jr. Endowed Chair of Financial Management, University of Alabama
• J. Foster Clark, Partner, Balch & Bingham LLP
• Philip Dotts, President, Public FA, Inc.
• William C. Fallon, President and Chief Operating Officer, MBIA, Inc
• James E. Spiotto, Partner, Chapman and Cutler LLP

Short Break 10:00 – 10:15 am

Small Issuers 10:15 – 11:15 am

• Moderator: Dave Sanchez
• Scott Beardsley, Executive Managing Director, Crews & Associates, Inc.
• William P. Henderson, Managing Director, Public Finance Investment Banking, Piper Jaffray & Co.
• Alexandra M. MacLennan, Partner, Squire Sanders and Dempsey LLP
• J. Hobson “Hobby” Presley, Jr., Attorney, Presley Burton & Collier, LLC
• Robert B. Scott, Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, Carrollton, Texas

Looking at Disclosures: Issuer and Investor Perspectives 11:15 am – 12:30 pm

• Moderator: Amy Starr, Chief, Office of Capital Market Trends, Division of Corporation Finance
• Joseph P. Borg, Director, Alabama Securities Commission
• Charles M. Duggan, Jr., City Manager, Auburn, Alabama
• Jennifer L. Johnston, Vice President and Research Analyst, Franklin Templeton Investments
• Edward “Ned” Mudd, Jr., Investor, Birmingham, Alabama
• Paul Nolan, Senior Municipal Analyst, Asset Preservation Advisors
• J. Ben Watkins, III, Director of the Division of Bond Finance, State of Florida

Lunch break 12:30 – 2:00 pm

Derivatives Use in Municipal Finance 2:00 – 3:00 pm

• Moderator: Amy Starr
• Robert E. Brooks, Ph.D., Wallace D. Malone, Jr. Endowed Chair of Financial Management, University of Alabama
• Mary-Margaret Collier, Director of State and Local Finance, State of Tennessee
• Andrew Kalotay, Ph.D., President, Andrew Kalotay Associates, Inc.
• Paul E. McElroy, Chief Financial Officer, JEA
• Steven I. Turner, Partner, Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP

Pre-trade Price Transparency 3:00 – 4:00 pm

• Moderator: Alicia F. Goldin, Special Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Division of Trading and Markets
• Jon K. Barasch, Senior Manager, Municipal Evaluation Quality Assurance, Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, Inc.
• Ernesto A. Lanza, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
• Johnny Lessley, Managing Director of Municipal Trading, Duncan-Williams, Inc.
• John J. Lynch, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hartfield, Titus & Donnelly, LLC
• Richard Y. Roberts, Principal, Roberts, Raheb & Gradler LLC

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http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-148.htm