Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt has announced that two securities bills introduced by the Kansas Department of Insurance have been signed into law. The bills are designed to protect vulnerable Kansans from financial exploitation and strengthen the department’s ability to penalize bad actors.
HB 2562, the Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation Act, is based on a model law from the North American Securities Administrators Association and has been adopted in some form in 41 other states. The new law will give agents, broker-dealers, investment advisers and representatives the ability to pause transactions for senior and dependent adults when fraud is suspected to help ensure the investment is legitimate. The department will also be notified to investigate.
SB 405 allows the department to pursue penalties against the non-registered control persons of violators of the Kansas Uniform Securities Act. This eliminates a loophole and strengthens protections for Kansans.
