SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 114-284.
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on February 1, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to establish within the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation.
The Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation shall:
assist small businesses and small business investors in resolving significant problems they may have with the SEC or with self-regulatory organizations;
identify areas in which such businesses and investors would benefit from changes in SEC regulations or the rules of such organizations;
identify problems that small businesses have with securing access to capital, including any unique challenges to minority-owned and women-owned small businesses;
analyze the potential impact on such businesses and investors of proposed SEC regulations and proposed rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses and small business capital formation;
conduct outreach to such businesses and investors to solicit views on relevant capital formation issues;
propose to the SEC changes in its regulations or orders, and propose to Congress legislative, administrative, or personnel changes, to mitigate problems identified and to promote the interests of such businesses and investors;
consult with the Investor Advocate on such proposals and advise the Investor Advocate on small business-related issues;
submit annual reports on its activities to specified congressional committees; and
be responsible for planning, organizing, and executing the annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation.
The bill also establishes the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, which shall provide the SEC with advice on SEC rules, regulations, and policies regarding its mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation, as they relate to:
capital raising by emerging, privately held small businesses and publicly traded companies with less than $250 million in public market capitalization through securities offerings;
The summary continues for 3 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on December 16, 2016. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 16, 2016: Became Public Law No: 114-284.
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?
John Carney (D-DE) introduced it on October 21, 2015, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 3 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.
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
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law