Bill dusts up securities broker rules

Broker-dealers in New Hampshire will pay more to get a license but will have greater flexibility if House Bill 716 is enacted.

The bill, which is expected to pass the House this week, would raise the annual fee paid by broker-dealers from $200 to $250, raising about $100,000 a year for the state’s general fund. But it also would remove the requirement that broker-dealers have be supervising their employees or agents in every one of the broker’s branch locations.

It also allows them to sell more private securities to various partners and requires that those who sell securities on the Internet have a license to do.

The measure also imposes a late fee – as high as $1,000 – on certain filings.

Those are the major highlights of the 8,000-word bill, which is mostly technical in nature and primarily codifies existing regulations into law, thereby making enforcement easier for the state Bureau of Securities Regulation, the agency said. Thus far, bureau officials have heard little from broker-dealers — either at the hearing level or directly. But that could change if the bill heads to the Senate. – BOB SANDERS