At its open meeting held on November 15, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rules shortening the holding periods for restricted securities pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and also adopted other rules to streamline the regulation of smaller companies, as originally proposed at the SEC open meeting held on May 23, 2007. The new rules will make scaled disclosure regulations available to more companies, and create two new exemptions to the registration requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for compensatory employee stock option plans. At this meeting, SEC Commissioner Christopher Cox recognized "the vital importance of smaller companies to the maintenance of healthy and robust capital markets in the United States and around the world."

For more information, please see this Mintz Levin Securities Law Alert.