February 27, 2005
Third-year student Kevin Opp was recently award second place
in the Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni, Inc.'s
(ASECA) annual writing competition. ASECA is a non-profit charitable organization founded in 1990 by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") alumni. ASECA's stated mission is to provide the opportunity for education and growth of industry professionals; to promote study and research in the field of securities law; and educate members on securities law by means of lectures, seminars and publications.
Kevin Opp's paper, which was published as a student note in the Colorado Law Review,
is titled Ending Pay-to-Play in the Municipal Securities Business: MSRB Rule G-37 Ten Years Later (76 U. Colo. L. Rev. 243 (2005)). It was published in vol. 76, issue 1. Opp analyzes the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's ("MSRB") General Rule 37 ("G-37"). Implemented in 1994, G-37 was designed to purge so-called "pay-to-play" activities in the municipal securities industry. Mr. Opp examines whether G-37 has accomplished that goal. After describing G-37, its loopholes, and the
legal issues it raises, he concludes that G-37 has not ended the appearance of pay-to-play. He further concludes that it has harshly punished minor violations and infringed on the First Amendment rights
of thousands of municipal finance professionals. Therefore, Mr. Opp recommends that the MSRB revise G-37 and change the way it thinks about the problem of pay-to-play.
