[author: Carlos Juarez]
A flurry of activity was seen last week on the House floor as the Financial Services Committee reported on various bills, many of which JOBS Act related. These bills propose to change registration and reporting requirements for small reporting companies, Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) and savings and loan companies, as well as affect the treatment of Emerging Growth Companies (EGCs). On July 14, the House passed the following bills, and on July 15, referred them to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs:
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The SBIC Advisers Relief Act of 2015, H.R. 432, would amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to exempt SBICs from certain SEC registration and reporting requirements;
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The Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act of 2015, H.R. 1334, would amend Title VI of the JOBS Act and raise the threshold number of shareholders of record at which savings and loan companies must register with the SEC. H.R. 1334 also raises the threshold number of shareholders of record below which a savings and loan company may terminate its registration;
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The Small Company Simple Registration Act of 2015, H.R. 1723, proposes to have the SEC revise Form S-1 to allow smaller reporting companies to incorporate by reference any documents it files with the SEC after the effective date of a registration statement on Form S-1;
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The Swap Data Repository and Clearinghouse Indemnification Correction Act of 2015, H.R. 1847, proposes to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act to repeal the indemnification requirements for regulatory authorities to obtain access to swap data;
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The Access to Capital for Emerging Growth Companies Act, H.R. 2064, proposes to make changes to the treatment of EGCs as defined by the JOBS Act. The bill would reduce the number of days that an EGC is required to have a confidential registration statement on file with the SEC before a “road show,” and would allow an issuer to retain EGC status through the date of its IPO if it was considered an EGC at the time of filing its confidential registration statement.
In contrast, plans to consider H.R. 1675 and H.R. 2354 were scrapped by House Republicans, according to CQ News. H.R. 1675 would have directed the SEC to revise regulations relating to compensatory benefit disclosures by issuers. H.R. 2354 planned to reduce the number excessive and costly regulations issued by the SEC by requiring a review of each significant regulation it had issued.
