John Cross III has been named director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new Office of Municipal Securities. The office was previously part of the Division of Trading and Markets until the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act called for the creation of a stand-alone office that reports directly to the SEC chairman and administers rules regarding advisors, issuers, broker-dealer practices, and investors in the municipal securities market. Cross, 56, is a tax lawyer and currently serves as associate tax legislative counsel in the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy. He is expected to assume his new role in September, according to a news release.