[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6745 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 836
115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6745

                         [Report No. 115-1077]

To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the shareholder 
  threshold for registration under such Act for issuers that receive 
 support through certain Federal universal service support mechanisms, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 7, 2018

 Mr. Duffy (for himself and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

                           December 12, 2018

               Additional sponsor: Mr. Gonzalez of Texas

                           December 12, 2018

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
    [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on 
                           September 7, 2018]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the shareholder 
  threshold for registration under such Act for issuers that receive 
 support through certain Federal universal service support mechanisms, 
                        and for other purposes.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Capital Creates Economic 
Strength and Supports Rural America Act'' or the ``ACCESS Rural America 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SHAREHOLDER THRESHOLD FOR REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN ISSUERS.

    Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a 
et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``and'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
                following:
            ``(C) in the case of an issuer that, during its previous 
        fiscal year, received support, directly or through an 
        affiliate, through any Federal universal service support 
        mechanism established under section 254 of the Communications 
        Act of 1934 and filed the report described under paragraph (7) 
        with respect to such fiscal year, not later than 120 days after 
        the last day of its first fiscal year ended after the effective 
        date of this subsection on which the issuer has total assets 
        exceeding $10,000,000 and a class of equity security (other 
        than an exempted security) held of record by either--
                    ``(i) 2,000 persons, or
                    ``(ii) 1,250 persons who are not accredited 
                investors,''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following: ``The 
                dollar figures in this paragraph shall be indexed for 
                inflation every 5 years by the Commission to reflect 
                the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 
                Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
                rounded to the nearest $100,000.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Report by universal service support mechanism 
        recipients.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall issue 
                regulations to establish a financial summary form that 
                may be annually filed by an issuer that--
                            ``(i) during its previous fiscal year, 
                        received support, directly or through an 
                        affiliate, through any Federal universal 
                        service support mechanism established under 
                        section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) has a class of equity security held 
                        of record by 500 or more persons who are not 
                        accredited investors, but less than 1,250 
                        persons who are not accredited investors.
                    ``(B) Contents.--The form described under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include a summary of the 
                consolidated balance sheet and the consolidated income 
                statement of the issuer, and such other information as 
                the Commission determines is necessary and appropriate 
                in the public interest and for the protection of 
                investors.
                    ``(C) Public availability of forms.--The Commission 
                shall make financial summary forms filed under this 
                paragraph available to the public, including on the 
                website of the Commission.''.

SEC. 3. SEC STUDY.

    (a) Study.--After the end of the 3-year period beginning on the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission 
shall carry out a study on--
            (1) the effect of the amendments under section 2; and
            (2) to what extent those changes have improved capital 
        formation by the issuers described under section 12(g)(1)(C) of 
        the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
    (b) Report.--Not later than the end of the 180-day period beginning 
after the end of the 3-year period described under subsection (a), the 
Commission shall issue a report to the Congress containing--
            (1) all findings and determinations made in carrying out 
        the study required under subsection (a); and
            (2) a recommendation as to whether issuers in other sectors 
        of the economy could also benefit from the sort of changes made 
        by the amendments under section 2.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 836

115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 6745

                         [Report No. 115-1077]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the shareholder 
  threshold for registration under such Act for issuers that receive 
 support through certain Federal universal service support mechanisms, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           December 12, 2018

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed