Bill of the week: S.1933, or the Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act of 2011. You might also know it as the Sub $1 billion Revenues IPO Act -- a shortened working title conferred by Fred Wilson at A VC, who championed the bill last Friday.
The bill amends the Securities Act of 1933 and Sarbanes Oxley to ease the time and financial burden of regulatory compliance for small companies going public. Specifically, the legislation would give “emerging growth companies” -- companies with revenues of less than $1 billion -- five years to comply with SEC regulations for an IPO. The temporary exemptions would allow smaller companies an eased path to IPO, while maintaining compliance obligations that protect investors. Eased regulations for IPO would give smaller companies greater access to markets and capital at a critical stage in their growth.
This bill corresponds to part of the Obama Administration’s Startup America Legislative Agenda, a detailed list of priorities released a month ago to spur job creation by addressing the needs of start-ups. We wrote about the agenda in detail here.
You probably already know how vital start-ups are to job growth -- Kauffman research shows that start-ups are responsible for nearly all net new job growth in the country since 1977. But in case you need a refresher, this video is short, sweet, and explains the issues well. Bottom line? Election year or no, stimulating job growth and the economy is a non-partisan issue.This is an important bill, and one that we want to see passed sooner rather than later.
