Bill
HB 2990
Missouri HB 2990 creates dedicated funds to finance the Securities Division, restitution efforts, and investor education, funded by new and adjusted registration fees.
HB 2990 (Missouri, 2026) – Summary of Missouri Securities Act provisions
Purpose and intent
- Repeals and replaces Sections 409.4-410 and 409.6-601 of the Missouri Securities Act of 2003, establishing new framework for registration fees, new state funds, and a restitution program.
- Allows the Secretary of State’s Securities Commissioner to adjust certain fees by rule and creates dedicated funds to support the Securities Division and restitution efforts.
Key provisions and changes
1) Fee structure (new 409.4-410)
- Broker-dealer registration: initial filing fee $200; renewal fee $100. If filing is denied or withdrawn, the commissioner keeps the fee.
- Agent registration (individual): initial $45; renewal $45; change of registration $45. If denial/withdrawal, fee kept.
- Investment adviser (IA) registration: initial $200; renewal $100. If denial/withdrawal, fee kept.
- Investment adviser representative (IAR): initial $45; renewal $45; change of registration $45. If denial/withdrawal, fee kept.
- Federal covered IA filing (notice under 409.4-405): initial $200; annual notice $100.
- Fees may be paid through a designee as allowed by rule.
2) Fee adjustments and guardrails (new 409.4-410(h))
- The commissioner may adjust fees by rule to cover expenses of administering the act.
- Any fee increase allowed by rule cannot occur more than once in a four-year period, and total increases over an eight-year period cannot exceed $25 per person.
- The commissioner must consider factors such as cost of administration, inflation, registration growth, emerging risks, staffing/capacity, and public impact.
3) Four-year financial review and potential adjustments (new 409.4-410(i))
- The commissioner must conduct a comprehensive financial review of the division’s revenue and expenditures every four years beginning in FY 2030, with findings published within 90 days.
- If a budget surplus exists, the commissioner may order a fee decrease to align fee revenue with operating needs, but fees cannot be reduced below the statutory minimums set in subsections (a)-(f).
4) New funds and funding structure (new 409.6-601)
- Administration: The act shall be administered by the Securities Commissioner; the Attorney General represents the Commissioner in enforcement actions.
- Investor education initiatives (subsection e): The Commissioner may run investor education programs and may collaborate with public/nonprofit groups; can accept grants/donations for these initiatives. Participation or monetary contributions by registrants are not required.
- Investor Education and Protection Fund (subsection f): Created; funds remaining at the end of a biennium may not be transferred to general revenue.
- Securities Division Fund (subsection g): Created to fund the Securities Division’s operating costs. All money used to reimburse audits/inspections or generated by rule-based fee increases goes into this fund and is appropriated for division use. Balances cannot be transferred to general revenue.
- Restitution Recovery Fund (subsection h): Created to provide restitution assistance to investors who were awarded restitution in a final order but not fully paid. Rules may be adopted to administer this fund.
- Restitution assistance limit: lesser of $25,000 or 25% of unpaid restitution.
- If the fund balance falls below $50,000, payments may be suspended until balance is rebuilt.
- If the fund balance exceeds $250,000 at year-end, the excess may be transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund.
5) Structural and governance notes
- The bill contemplates transfers and use of funds within the Secretary of State’s office for administration of the Securities Division and restitution efforts.
- The legislation preserves a pathway for rule-based fee adjustments but ties them to explicit caps and fiscal reviews.
- The Restitution Recovery Fund and its interaction with the Investor Education and Protection Fund create potential interplays between enforcement outcomes and investor education funding.
Fiscal and implementation details (from the fiscal note)
- General Revenue impact: estimated net revenue loss of about $1.25 million in FY 2027 due to lower broker-dealer/agent filing fees, with effects continuing in subsequent years depending on fee rule changes and registration volumes.
- Creation of the Securities Division Fund shifts funding for the Securities Division from General Revenue to a dedicated fund, with associated FTE costs estimated at about 23 FTEs for the division (and related ongoing costs in subsequent years).
- Restitution Recovery Fund and Investor Education & Protection Fund have uncertain or variable impacts depending on fund balances and restitution eligibility.
- Local and federal impacts are minimal or none; primary effects are state budget and agency operations.
Timeline and status
- Introduced in 2026, referred to Special Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs; actions in 2026 show committee hearings and reported Do Pass as of March 2026.
- If enacted, provisions would take effect according to the bill’s effective date (not specified in provided text).
Who is affected
- Registered persons under the Missouri Securities Act: broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers, and investment adviser representatives will see revised filing/renewal/change fees.
- Missouri Securities Division: will operate under the newly created Securities Division Fund; staffing and operating costs covered by fund revenues.
- Aggrieved investors who receive restitution orders: potential access to restitution assistance through the Restitution Recovery Fund.
- Public investors: potential benefits from enhanced investor education initiatives funded from the new and related funds.
Note
- The bill includes a critical policy choice to empower fee increases via rulemaking and to allocate revenues to division-specific funds, which may raise concerns about nondelegation and independence of enforcement decisions. The sponsor is Representative Butz.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
