[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 5, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 69012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24031]



[[Page 69012]]

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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 107


Small Business Investment Companies--Early Stage SBICs; Public 
Webinar

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public webinar.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announces that it 
is holding a public webinar regarding its Early Stage Small Business 
Investment Companies proposed rule, which was published on September 
19, 2016. The webinar will describe the changes proposed in the 
rulemaking and answer questions regarding the proposed rule.

DATES: The webinar will be held on October 12, 2016, at 1 p.m. EST. 
Attendees must pre-register by October 10, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: Parties interested in attending the webinar must pre-
register by sending an email request to SBA's Office of Investment and 
Innovation at [email protected], as further described in section III of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Schaefer, SBA Office of 
Investment and Innovation at (202) 205-6514 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information

    The Early Stage SBIC program was launched in 2012 as a 5-year 
effort as part of President Obama's Startup America Initiative. The 
intent of the Early Stage SBIC program was to license and provide SBA-
guaranteed leverage to Early Stage SBICs that would focus on making 
investments in early stage small businesses. Although 62 investment 
funds applied to the program, few satisfied SBA's licensing criteria. 
To date, SBA has only licensed five Early Stage SBICs.
    On September 19, 2016, SBA published a proposed rule regarding the 
Early Stage Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program (81 FR 
64075), which proposes to make the Early Stage SBIC program a permanent 
part of the SBIC program. In addition, the rule proposes changes to the 
Early Stage SBIC Program with respect to licensing, non-SBA borrowing, 
and leverage eligibility.
    The proposed Early Stage SBIC rule may be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=SBA-2015-0002-0009. The comment period 
for the proposed rule closes on October 19, 2016. In order to 
familiarize the public with the content of the Early Stage SBIC 
proposed rule, SBA will host a webinar on the proposed rule before the 
closing date. The webinar will be transcribed and become part of the 
administrative record for SBA's consideration when the Agency 
deliberates on the final Early Stage SBIC regulations.

II. Webinar Schedule

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           Webinar date and time              Registration closing date
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October 12, 2016, 1 p.m. EST..............  October 10, 2016, 11:59 p.m.
                                             EST.
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    The session is expected to last no more than 1 hour.

III. Registration

    If you are interested in attending the webinar, you must pre-
register by the registration closing date. To pre-register, send an 
email to [email protected]. In the body of the email, please provide 
the following: Participant's Name, Title, Organization Affiliation, 
Address, Telephone Number, and Email Address. You must submit your 
email by the applicable registration closing date listed in this 
notice.
    Due to technological limitations, attendance is limited to 120 
participants per session. If demand exceeds capacity for the webinar, 
SBA will hold another one. SBA will announce any additional sessions 
through a Federal Register document and on its Web site, www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage.
    SBA will confirm the registration via email along with instructions 
for participating. SBA will post any presentation materials associated 
with the webinar on the day of the webinar by 10 a.m. EST at 
www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage.
    If there are specific questions you would like SBA to address in 
the webinar, SBA must receive them no later than October 9, 2016. Since 
the Early Stage SBIC regulations are in the proposed rulemaking stage, 
SBA will not be able to answer questions that are outside of 
clarification of the proposed rule.

Mark L. Walsh,
Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2016-24031 Filed 10-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8025-01-P