On March 8, 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3606 with overwhelming bipartisan support. Notwithstanding serious concerns expressed by the SEC and investor protection advocates, on March 21, 2012, the U.S. Senate passed a minimally revised version of the House bill, again with significant bipartisan support. On March 27, 2012, the House passed the Senate bill. President Obama has indicated that he will sign the bill, which could happen as early as this week. The stated purpose of this legislation, which is called the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “Act”), is to improve access to the public capital markets for emerging growth companies and thereby to increase American job creation and economic growth. The Act scales back or eliminates certain requirements contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as certain other provisions of federal securities regulations.

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