From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

Four years after the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act was signed into law, small businesses are finding it easier to raise capital.

Nearly 800 emerging growth companies have gone public, using the streamlined regulatory regime available to them under the JOBS Act. More than 6,000 businesses have solicited investments in private placements, something they couldn’t do before the law was enacted.

But the Securities and Exchange Commission was slow to implement a key provision of the law — allowing businesses to sell shares of their companies to ordinary Americans, not just accredited investors, through online crowdfunding portals. That won’t start until next month, although 30 states now allow intrastate equity crowdfunding.

Plus, when the SEC lifted the ban on general solicitation in private securities offerings, it also proposed additional filing requirements for issuers. These proposed rules have served “as a wet blanket deterring many small businesses from raising capital using general solicitation,” said Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Parnters and a former SEC commissioner.

Atkins was one of the witnesses Thursday at a House Financial Services Committee hearing about legislation that supporters say would make the JOBS Act a more effective tool for small businesses looking for capital.

Among the bills under consideration are:

• The Fix Crowdfunding Act, which would allow businesses to raise up to $5 million through equity crowdfunding, up from the current limit of $1 million a year. The bill also limits potential liability risk for funding portals, the online sites where shares in businesses will be offered.
• The Private Placement Improvement Act , which would prevent the SEC from imposing additional paperwork burdens on companies that raise capital by soliciting investments in private securities through Rule 506(c) of Regulation D.
• The Supporting America’s Innovators Act, which would allow venture capital firms to have up to 500 investors, instead of the current limit of 100 investors, before having to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Most of the witnesses at the hearing supported these bills, saying they would help small businesses raise capital. But Bill Beatty, securities director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, cautioned against passing the legislation. Speaking on behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Beatty said the bills could weaken protections for investors. Plus, it’s too early to make changes to equity crowdfunding since it hasn’t even gone into effect yet on an national level, he said.