The House of Representatives passed four bills this week designed to help smaller businesses access the capital they need to expand, hire and grow the economy. Small businesses are the economic engine of the country. Small businesses provide 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs since the 1970s. Yet challenges remain for growing businesses to access the capital they need to thrive and grow.
Yesterday (September 8, 2016), the House passed HR 2357, the Accelerating Access to Capital Act. This bill is a bundle of three separate bills sponsored by Ann Wagner (R-MO), Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Scott Garrett (R-NJ). HR 4850 or the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act and HR 4852 the Private Placement Act were rolled into HR 2357 which passed by a vote of 236-178 largely along partisan lines.
HR 5424, the Investment Advisers Modernization Act sponsored by Committee member Robert Hurt (R-VA), was passed by the House on Friday. This bill directs the SEC to amend specified regulations for investment advisers as they apply to private equity firms and private investment funds.
The micro offering creates an exemption for very small funding rounds of up to $500,000. The bill sponsored by Emmer, allows up to 35 individuals with a substantive pre-existing relationship with a business to invest without tripping over existing securities regulations.
David Burton, Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at the Heritage Foundation and the organizer of a bipartisan Securities Regulation Working Group, told Crowdfund Insider;
“This legislation takes a series of small but important steps to improve the regulatory environment for entrepreneurial capital formation.”
The bill not crosses over the Senate for review. With the Presidential election bearing down on Congress it is not a foregone conclusion it will make it into law this year.
