West Virginia Press Association
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Senate has passed Senate Bill 677, increasing certain fees paid by broker dealer agents and issuers of securities to the state’s Securities Commission, a division of the State Auditor’s Office.
“West Virginia’s current fees for securities offering registrations, review of annual sales reports, and the like, are among the lowest when compared to our neighboring states,” said State Auditor Mark Hunt. “These modest increases will bring us more in line with the amounts charged by surrounding states.”
Senate Bill 677 increases from $240 to $300 the minimum fee for reviewing annual sales reports from issuers of securities, estimated to add as much as $900,000 per year to fund the work of the Securities Commission. Along those same lines, the legislation increases from $66 to $70 the fees for initial and renewal registrations for broker-dealer agents, estimated to yield an additional $670,000 per year to help fund the Securities Commission’s operations.
“As I’ve said before, we want to run the Auditor’s Office like a business,” said Hunt, “which includes generating sufficient revenue to fund our own operations. These modest fee increases will move us toward our goal of being financially self-sufficient, without relying on the state’s General Revenue Fund.”
Senate Bill 677 also adds “model legislation” – standard language used in a majority of other states – which permits issuers of securities planning to sell securities in West Virginia exempt under Tier 2 of federal Regulation A. This component of the bill creates a notice of filing requirement which includes $375 initial fee, along with an annual renewal fee of $200.
Finally, the bill amends the “split” of fees collected by the Securities Commission, increasing from 20 percent to 25 percent the amounts retained by the Securities Commission to fund its operations, with the remaining balance designated to the state’s General Revenue Fund.
Senate Bill 677 is now being considered by the House of Delegates; the Legislature’s Regular Session concludes April 12.
