On September 5, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2864 (Improving Access to Capital Act) by a vote of 403-3.  The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Krysten Sinema and previously amended by the Committee on House Financial Services on September 5, 2017, directs the SEC to amend Regulation A to permit Exchange Act reporting companies who otherwise meet all of the requirements under Regulation A to issue securities under Regulation A.  Currently, Regulation A only applies to non-reporting companies.  Allowing reporting companies to use Regulation A would provide them with a cheaper and faster way to raise capital due to the shorter SEC review process, and in the case of Tier 2 offerings, exemption from state blue sky review.  The expansion of Regulation A to include reporting companies might also increase the quality of future Regulation A issuers, broaden the investor base for Regulation A offerings and ultimately enhance liquidity in the secondary market.  In addition, the ability to use Regulation A could prove useful to reporting companies that do not qualify to use Form S-3 for primary offerings.

The full text of the bill can be found here.