NASAA Outlines Plan for Streamlined State Review of JOBS Act Related Multi-State Offerings

NASAA reported to the Senate that state securities regulators are developing a streamlined multi-state review system to ease regulatory compliance costs on small companies attempting to raise capital under the JOBS Act.

Title IV ("Small Company Capital Formation") of the JOBS Act required the SEC to adopt a rule, commonly referred to as "Regulation A+," to provide an exemption for certain offerings up to $50 million. These offerings would be exempt from SEC registration, but they would be subject to registration at the state level unless the securities were listed on a national securities exchange or sold to a qualified purchaser as defined by the SEC.

To help small companies comply with the regulation, NASAA is developing a new filing and review process for multi-state securities offerings, including Regulation A+. NASAA Deputy General Counsel Rick Fleming stated in his testimony to the Senate that the proposed multi-state review program seeks to strike the best possible balance so that Regulation A+ will be an attractive option, both for the small business that needs capital and the investor who is asked to provide it.

The proposal is open for public comment until November 30, 2013.

See: NASAA Press Release; Notice of Request for Public Comment.See also: Testimony of Rick Fleming before Senate Regarding the Program. See also: SEC Amends Private Placement Rules.