SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016
Latest action. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-450.
SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2015
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 faced by 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; 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;
trading in the securities of such businesses and companies; and
public reporting and corporate governance requirements of such businesses and companies.
The SEC shall assess the Committee's recommendations and disclose any action it intends to take with respect to such recommendations.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 27, 2016. 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 June 14, 2016: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-450.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 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?
Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced it on April 27, 2016, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 April 27, 2016, 3788 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3740 days ago, on June 14, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers