Fostering Innovation Act of 2017
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 315.
Fostering Innovation Act of 2017
This bill amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to establish a temporary exemption to the requirement that each registered public accounting firm that prepares or issues an audit report for an issuer of securities (other than an emerging growth company) shall attest to, and report on, the internal control assessment made by the management of the issuer. Specifically, this requirement shall not apply with respect to an audit report prepared for an issuer that:
ceased to be an emerging growth company on the last day of its fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of its first sale of common equity securities,
had average annual gross revenues of less than $50 million as of its most recently completed fiscal year, and
is not a large accelerated filer.
An issuer shall cease to be eligible for the exemption at the earliest of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the 10th anniversary of its first sale of common equity securities, (2) the last day of the fiscal year in which its average annual gross revenues exceed $50 million, or (3) when the issuer becomes a large accelerated filer.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House without amendment" stage on November 28, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 28, 2017: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 315.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced it on March 21, 2017, and 15 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 12 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 21, 2017, 3460 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3208 days ago, on November 28, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers