New House Bills

By Cydney Posner

You might be interested in this article from Compliance Week describing various efforts in the House to undo SOX, undo Dodd-Frank and hog-tie the SEC and other regulators to make sure they don't do any … regulating.  One of the bills, the Fostering Innovation Act, "would raise the minimum public float for accelerated filers to $250 million and add a revenue component to the accelerated filer definition that would ease regulations on companies with less than $100 million in revenues. The bill would allow businesses not designated as ‘emerging growth companies' by the recent JOBS Act to also bypass Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the requirement of an annual audit of internal controls."

The most amusing paragraph:

"A[n] even more politically-charged push by the GOP will come with a House vote on Thursday, for the ‘Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act (H.R. 4078).' Introduced by Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) and members of the Republican Study Committee , the package of six bills is intended to put a halt to the adoption of any new, "significant regulations" until the national unemployment rate, stuck above 8 percent for more than 40 months, drops to 6 percent or lower. The key word, however, is "intended." A typo in the bill defines the threshold as an "employment rate," minus the "un," meaning that 94 percent of Americans would have to be out-of-work for the regulatory restrictions to kick in. Democrats are blocking the unanimous consent needed to amend the current bill and fix the mistake. That obstruction likely won't mat[t]er much given that Senate Democrats have the votes to kill it anyway."

This content is provided for general informational purposes only, and your access or use of the content does not create an attorney-client relationship between you or your organization and Cooley LLP, Cooley (UK) LLP, or any other affiliated practice or entity (collectively referred to as “Cooley”). By accessing this content, you agree that the information provided does not constitute legal or other professional advice. This content is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and you should not act or refrain from acting based on this content. This content may be changed without notice. It is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up to date, and it may not reflect the most current legal developments. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Do not send any confidential information to Cooley, as we do not have any duty to keep any information you provide to us confidential. This content may be considered Attorney Advertising and is subject to our legal notices.