Huizenga’s bill to grant small businesses regulatory relief passes House

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation relieving American small business owners from burdensome regulatory requirements that sponsor Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) says will promote economic growth.

H.R. 477, the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2017 passed the House with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 426 to 0.

“Today’s one-size-fits-all regulatory structure treats the sale of a privately owned family business the same as if an investment bank were buying a publicly traded company,” Huizenga said. “The current structure simply doesn’t make sense.”

The bill simplifies U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration for brokers who are performing services related to small private firms’ transfer of ownership in cases where owners want to sell or merge their companies. The bill now awaits Senate consideration.

“This West Michigan-inspired solution would significantly reduce the federal regulatory compliance costs, which can initially exceed $150,000 and after that, cost $75,000 annually,” Huizenga said. “With an estimated $10 trillion in privately held small businesses either being sold or closing as more and more baby boomers retire, our regulatory structure should encourage these neighborhood businesses and small companies to be sold to the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

House leaders applauded the bill’s passage as a step forward for business development in towns and cities across the nation.

House Committee on Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) said, “Unfortunately, our small businesses labor under a gazillion regulations, some of which are quite good and quite helpful, but in the aggregate, they can be a very heavy burden and cost upon our small businesses. One is an unnecessary registration system for small business brokers. This is common sense reform, it is a balanced reform, it’s good for small business, it is bipartisan.”

House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said the bill would help small business owners have better access to the expertise that will help them grow and create jobs.

“This solution supports economic growth and it will foster a stronger environment for communities to thrive from the ground up,” she said.

Huizenga added, “In today’s divisive political environment, H.R. 477 demonstrates that Congress can act in a bipartisan manner to strengthen our economy and positively impact the lives of hardworking Americans.”