The municipal advisor registration requirements under Section 975 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act") become effective October 1, 2010. Generally, absent an exclusion, individuals and entities that provide advice to or on behalf of municipal entities or certain obligors, such as state and local governments, public pension funds, local government investment pools (or "LGIPs") and 529 plans, that constitutes municipal advisory services (i.e., advice with respect to municipal financial products, the issuance of municipal securities or the solicitation of a municipal entity as further discussed below) can be swept up into the municipal advisor registration requirements, depending upon their activities. On September 1, 2010, the SEC promulgated Interim Final Temporary Rule 15Ba2-6T ("IFTR 15Ba2-6T"), and Form MA-T,1 to create a means for municipal advisors to temporarily register with the SEC. The Dodd-Frank Act registration requirements, as well as the SEC's interpretation of them in the Adopting Release, are less than clear, however, and can be read to expand the scope of the municipal advisor registration requirements beyond what one would logically expect. For example, as discussed in more detail in the document attached below, although Section 975 of the Dodd-Frank Act on its face excludes from the definition of a "municipal advisor" investment advisers registered under the Advisers Act, given the SEC's interpretation of this exclusion in the Adopting Release, a registered investment adviser that provides advice to a municipal entity, such as a public pension fund, LGIP or 529 plan, regarding swaps or the structure of the pool or plan, or engages in certain solicitation activity, may be required to also register as a municipal advisor.

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