A bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced a bill that would direct the SEC to promulgate a rule allowing regulated entities, such as registered broker-dealers and advisers, to deliver documents to investors electronically by default.
Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., Brad Sherman, D-Calif., Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., reintroduced the bill, known as the Improving Disclosure for Investors Act, on March 27.
The bill has been introduced the past two congressional sessions but has yet to become law. In March 2024, the House voted to include the SEC directive as an amendment to a larger bill, known as the Expanding Access to Capital Act. That bill passed the House but never moved in the Senate.
The SEC currently allows registrants to electronically deliver documents to investors; however, the registrant must “provide notice that the information is available electronically, the investor has effective access to such information, and the registrant either obtains evidence to show actual delivery or obtains informed consent from the investor,” according to a March 28 news release from Huizenga’s office.
“Continuing to send customers paper disclosure notices is not only wasteful but fails to acknowledge that digital communications are safer and more effective in reaching all Americans,” Huizenga said in the news release. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission to finally make this a reality.”
Many trade groups, including the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Investment Company Institute, have publicly supported past versions of the legislation.
Separately, the SEC adopted rule amendments in December that require registrants to submit nearly all forms, filings and other materials to the agency electronically.
