Tom Emmer: “Obtaining accessible and reliable forms of capital is one of the biggest challenges that small businesses and…”

“Obtaining accessible and reliable forms of capital is one of the biggest challenges that small businesses and entrepreneurs face today. I will say that again. We are not talking about large corporations. We are talking about small businesses and entrepreneurs. According to the 2016 Year-End Economic Report from the National Small Business Association, 41 percent of all small businesses surveyed said that ``lack of capital is hindering their ability to grow their business or expand their operations, and 20 percent said they had to reduce the number of employees as a result of tight credit.'' That is why I introduced the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act. This bill does not create a new securities registration exemption under the Securities Act; rather, it defines what constitutes a permissible nonpublic offering, and it provides small businesses with the clarity and confidence to know that their offering is not a violation of the Securities Act. If enacted, this will make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses--again, not large corporations--to raise money from family, friends, and their personal network without running afoul of the vague and undefined private offering safe harbor provisions in the Securities Act of 1933.…”