Christopher Cox, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, on Wednesday called for Congress to set new disclosure rules for municipal borrowers to improve the information investors receive. Currently, governments, schools, and hospitals do not have to file registration statements with the SEC for bond offerings as public corporations must do. Possible implications are that healthcare organizations with municipal bonds could eventually come under some direct SEC regulations. Cox also said that lawmakers should increase the standard-setting authority of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board by making its rules mandatory and giving it an independent source of money. Read Cox’s speech.
