(CN) - House democrats introduced a bill earlier this week to impose a fee on investment advisers to defray the cost of inspections and examinations by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
     The Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, is the most recent salvo in an ongoing battle in the House of Representative over how to pay for the SEC's regulation of investment advisors as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
     Earlier this year Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, a Republican, introduced a bill to create a self-regulatory organization to police investment advisers similar to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which governs securities dealers.
     The North American Securities Administrators and Association endorsed Waters' bill saying that investment adviser regulation is, and should remain, a government responsibility.
     "Unlike a private, third-party organization that does not have the expertise or experience with investment adviser regulation and that is accountable to a board of directors and not the investing public, government regulators bring to the table decades of experience unmatched by any entity in existence," Jack Herstein, president of the association said.
     Other organizations including the Financial Planning Coalition and the Investor Adviser Association also endorsed Waters' bill.
     In a statement Waters said it was "absolutely essential" to improve the oversight of investment advisers, noting that only 8 percent of the more than 11,000 investment advisors registered with the SEC are inspected annually.
     No action has been scheduled on the bill.