Yes it is true that the JOBS act was passed at the federal level; however, each state actually manages the implementation and regulation of the act. This is no different than current financing where the federal SEC dictates the regulations and each state makes their own interpretations and oversees the implementation. This is true for RegD investments, your registered investment advisor, and so on.
So why is it important that Washington State gets these on the books? Well we want to enable businesses to leverage crowdfunding for financing activities. Think of funding your favorite coffee shop’s new espresso machine or a software engineer getting some traction and needing financing to take their one person project to the next level. This is a huge step in capital access. There are a ton of issues around crowdfunding of course and reasons for and against using it. At the moment though… no one can use it and this is a problem that we can fix.
If you live in Washington State and want to fix this… Please email the following 3 people:
Please email them this message:
Subject: Please bring HB 2023, The Washington Jobs Act, to the floor for a vote
Message:
Dear State House Leader,
Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular means for entrepreneurs in all parts of our economy to raise critical early capital. A restaurant owner might use crowdfunding to purchase needed equipment, or a software developer might use crowdfunding to raise the needed money to hire her first employee.
HB 2023 opens up equity crowdfunding in Washington, much as the JOBS Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2011 opened up equity crowdfunding at the federal level.
It would allow Washington’s Department of Financial Institutions to regulate small investments in businesses looking to grow.
HB 2023 passed out of committee unanimously, and I respectfully ask you to schedule it for a vote in the Washington State House of Representatives in the coming week.
Sincerely,
That’s it, pretty straight forward!
