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Slew of innovation bills introduced, pass US House

January 12, 2017

The U. S. House of Representatives wasted no time at the start of the new Congress, passing seven bills Tuesday that had been approved by the chamber in a previous session but had not received consideration in the Senate. Four of these bills with particular relevance to the innovation community are the HALOS Act, TALENT Act, Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2017  and Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act.

The HALOS Act (H.R. 79), introduced by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide a clear exemption for demo days and similar activities from Regulation D. Exempted events would not have to screen investor qualifications of attendees so long as securities are not advertised or sold at the events.

The TALENT Act (H.R. 39) was introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The bill would codify the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, a White House initiative established in 2012 to attract innovators to 12-month positions in various federal agencies.

The Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2017 (H.R. 240), introduced by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and implement a strategic plan for working with innovative technology-based small businesses and startups.

The Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act (H.R. 255) was introduced by Rep. Elizabeth Etsy (D-CT) to authorize the National Science Foundation to extend existing programs to support women working to transfer their research to commercial applications.

Other innovation-related bills passed this week were: Modernizing Government Travel Act (H.R. 274); Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017 (H.R. 239); and, INSPIRE Women Act (H.R. 321).

Companion bills have not yet been introduced in the Senate.

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