Smaller companies would get easier path to issue stock under Senate bill

{mosads}”It is critical that we give growing innovators the breathing room that they need to access public markets. The vast majority of job creation occurs after companies go public,” said Schumer.

“This legislation offers a bipartisan path for Congress to help get our economy moving again,” added Toomey.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) also have signed on to the bill.

Under the bill, companies with less than $1 billion in revenue or that plan to issue less than $700 million in stock would only have to meet a limited amount of requirements a company must typically meet to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and go public.

In addition, the bill would allow these smaller companies to provide more information at the outset to potential investors than currently permitted, in an effort to increase their visibility before a stock offering.

The lawmakers estimated that about 11-13 percent of companies that amount to about 3 percent of the financial market would qualify under the new bill.

The bill comes as lawmakers in the House are making a similar push, offering a variety of bills that would trim regulations proponents say discourage smaller companies from issuing stock.