Under current law, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires issuers of securities to file assessments of their internal control structures and procedures for financial reporting and have those reports be attested to and covered in an audit report. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 exempted companies with annual revenue and debt issuance under specified thresholds from the requirement to have an auditor’s attestation as part of their internal control reports for up to 5 years after their first sale of equity securities. H.R. 1645 would increase that maximum exemption period to 10 years.
Based on an analysis of information from the SEC, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1645 would have no significant effect on the agency’s costs because the SEC would not have to update agency rules to implement the bill. Moreover, the SEC is authorized to collect fees sufficient to offset its annual appropriation; therefore, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority, CBO estimates that the net effect on discretionary spending would be negligible.
Enacting H.R. 1645 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1645 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1645 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
