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Trenton NJ, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors on Oct. 15 elected seven new board members. These accomplished leaders, from a variety of industries and regions across the state, will contribute to the Chamber’s mission of fostering a dynamic and thriving business environment in New Jersey.
Continue reading New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Elects Seven New Board Members
Garrett bills to reduce regulatory burdens and hold government accountable pass Financial Services Committee
June 17,2016
Ridgewood NJ, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, released the following statement after the House Financial Services Committee passed two bills he introduced; H.R. 5429, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act and H.R. 4852, the Private Placement Improvement Act of 2016. In addition to Garrett’s bills, the subcommittee passed seven additional bills that Garrett guided through his subcommittee:
“Last month’s abysmal jobs report proves again that top-down, Washington-first economic policies are failing the American people. If we want to revitalize the economy, Congress needs to promote investment and reduce red tape by making it easier for investors and businesses across America to access capital and grow. Today the Financial Services Committee took steps to do that by passing two bills I sponsored and seven more from the Capital Markets subcommittee.
“My bills do two simple things. First, every business and every family does their own version of a cost-benefit analysis when making financial decisions, and the SEC will have to do the same under the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. Second, the SEC needs to make sure it is implementing the JOBS Act to jumpstart the economy instead of imposing additional restrictions on investment. The Private Placement Improvement Act is designed to fix that problem.”
So far this Congress, 10 bills from Garrett’s subcommittee have been signed into law by President Obama—all with bipartisan support. With the passage of 9 bills today, 39 total bills from the Capital Markets subcommittee have been approved by the full committee this Congress.
Background:
H.R. 5429, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act
The SEC has a three-part mission, investor protection, orderly markets, and capital formation. To make sure that the SEC is not restricting the flow of capital into our economy, Garrett’s bill would require the SEC to demonstrate that any rules it proposes will help our businesses grow by performing a cost-benefit analysis.
This codifies guidance that President Obama gave to executive branch agencies and will lend credibility to the SEC’s rules. Garrett’s bill ensures that businesses and start-ups have suitable supervision from the SEC and are not burdened by costly overregulation. The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act passed the House in 2013, as H.R. 1062, by a bipartisan vote.
H.R. 4852, the Private Placement Improvement Act
The SEC has the responsibility of implementing the innovative laws Congress passed in the JOBS Act and continues to have oversight of the private offering market for securities. However, the SEC was a year and a half late in making rules for general solicitation of private offerings under Title II of the JOBS Act, and continued a poor streak when, in 2013, it came out with new proposals to impede the private offering market.
The proposals would have hindered all Reg. D issues and not just those using general solicitation. The threat of expensive regulation hanging over the heads of investors has meant that the amount of capital raised under Reg. D has not grown in the manner that other areas of the market helped by the JOBS Act have. Garrett’s bill makes a single notice of sales sufficient for exemption from regulation under Reg. D and helps the JOBS Act reach its full potential by maintaining a clear and common-sense approach to regulations for private offerings.
Chairman Scott Garrett Opening Statement for Hearing Entitled
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee Chairman Scott Garrett (NJ-05), delivered the following remarks at a hearing entitled “The JOBS Act at Four: Examining Its Impact and Proposals to Further Enhance Capital Formation”:
Congressman Scott Garrett’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery:
It’s not very often that Congress can look back at a major piece of legislation and be able to measure the tangible, positive impact it is having on peoples’ lives and on our economy
Too often, we find ourselves – particularly on this Committee – counting up the costs of misguided Washington mandates and comparing them with the phantom benefits promised by the bureaucratic class
Fortunately, that is not the case today
The Jumpstart our Business Startups – or “JOBS” Act – signed into law four years ago this month has by most measures been a resounding success for our economy and the future of innovation in America
The JOBS Act did this not by creating new federal mandates or spending taxpayer money on wasteful programs, but by empowering entrepreneurs and innovators who were struggling under a regulatory regime that was better suited for 1934 than it was for 2016
Just consider some of the following:
· The JOBS Act has led to a resurgence in the initial public offering (IPO) market, with some 85% of IPO’s since April 2012 coming from emerging growth companies
· Companies have raised some $50 billion under the new Reg D provision that allows business to solicit an offering to the general public
· While the newly modernized “Reg A+” is only a year old, business are already beginning to issue securities under this exemption
· And recent reports indicate that the SEC has already received up to 30 applications for portals under the new crowdfunding rules, which are set to go live next month
So while it’s clear that many parts of the JOBS Act are working as intended, the point of this hearing is not to pat ourselves on the back and say “job well done”
For starters, because the Senate tried its best back in 2012 to neuter the crowdfunding title and the SEC has taken some liberties with other rulemakings, the JOBS Act needs some “fixing”
So I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. McHenry, for putting forward the “Fix Crowdfunding Act” which makes some necessary changes to help ensure Title III reaches its full potential
Additionally, I have put forward a bill – the Private Placement Improvement Act – that will prohibit the SEC from implementing burdensome new rules for Reg D issuers that were uncalled for by the JOBS Act
We’ll also consider two other bills today
Mr. Emmer has introduced an innovative bill that would create a safe harbor for so-called “micro offerings”, and Mr. McHenry has another bill which would raise the threshold for when venture capital funds would have to register with the SEC
In addition to these targeted fixes, I’m also interested in hearing from our witnesses about further areas that Congress should be addressing in order to maintain the competitiveness of our capital markets
For example, we should be exploring the cumulative burdens that come with being a public company – including, unfortunately, some of the ridiculous disclosure requirements of Dodd-Frank as well as the outsized influence that proxy advisory firms have in the corporate governance arena
It’s also time to think more about the lack of research and liquidity that exists for certain public companies, and whether the equity research Global Settlement of 2003 swung the pendulum too far and has led to a dearth of research for small cap stocks
These are all important questions, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today.
New Jersey lost 26,100 jobs in June and July, the state’s worst two-month loss since the spring of 2009 at the end of the recession, nearly wiping out all the gains for the year.
Hugh R. Morley, The Record Read more
Garrett visiting local businesses in Ridgewood
Garrett bill on SEC disclosure rules sails through House Streamlining Paperwork for Startup Companies
DECEMBER 3, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014, 12:02 AM
BY HERB JACKSON
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT |
NORTHJERSEY.COM
The Securities and Exchange Commission would be required to simplify some of the disclosures that public companies must make under a bill sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett that won unanimous approval in the House.
Garrett, R-Wantage, was one of the sponsors of a 2012 law intended to make it easier for startups to raise funds through financial markets, and the law included a section directing the SEC to study disclosure simplification.
On the House floor Tuesday, Garrett said the SEC produced a study in December 2013 that did not call for any changes but did call for more study.
“I believe we need to stop studying and start taking action,” Garrett said. “Simplifying and streamlining disclosure requirements will enable companies to divert fewer resources to compliance, freeing up additional capital to create American jobs.”
The Disclosure Modernization and Simplification Act, which was approved in a voice vote on Tuesday, directs the SEC to allow public companies to submit a summary page of annual reports on Form 10-K that cross references the contents of the report, Garrett said.
It also directs the SEC to revise Regulation S-K “to better scale disclosure rules for emerging growth companies and smaller issuers.”
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said the SEC’s 2013 report showed that the commission had studied ways to streamline disclosure in 1969, 1977, 1992, 1996 and 2007.
“What this history demonstrates is that the process of scaling and streamlining the reporting requirements for smaller companies is something that we all need to focus on in order to keep pace with the ever-evolving marketplace,” she said.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/garrett-bill-on-sec-disclosure-rules-sails-through-house-1.1145369
