By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Tuesday passed legislation designed to make annual reports and other disclosures by publicly traded companies easier to read.
The Disclosure Modernization and Simplification Act of 2015, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th Dist.) passed on voice vote.
It requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to eliminate requirements for disclosures not needed by investors, and asks the SEC to study how to reduce such paperwork in the future, using technology to improve the delivery and presentation of such disclosures. In addition, annual reports could include summary pages that refer to materials provided in earlier filings.
“You just want to have clarity,” said Garrett, chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets and government sponsored enterprises, said on the House floor. “That’s what our bill does. It just makes it a little bit simpler.