With abrupt notice, similar to its surprise meeting in October to approve proposed crowdfunding rules, the Securities and Exchange Commission will hold an open meeting on Wednesday to discuss, and likely issue, a proposed rule for Regulation A+ exemptions, a long-lingering agenda item from the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. The meeting, held at the SEC's Washington headquarters, begins at 10 a.m.

The JOBS Act required the SEC to revisit the current Regulation A exemption from registration for small offerings, raising the threshold from $5 million to $50 million. It would also allow issuers to “test the waters” to gauge investor interest, and market to unaccredited investors and purchasers.

The announcement comes amid ongoing pressure from members of Congress and a push by the North American Securities Administrators Association.

On Dec. 12, NASAA stressed the need for action. “State regulators want offerings under the new Regulation A+ to be an attractive alternative to offerings conducted under Rule 506 of Regulation D,” it wrote, explaining that it undertook a year-long state-level review to address concerns about how the process would work for multi-state offerings and with existing Blue Sky Laws.

“Filings will be made in one place and distributed electronically to all states, and ‘lead' examiners will be appointed as the primary point of contact for both the disclosure and merit review states,” it proposes. Each state in which registration is sought would then have 10 business days to review an application for registration and submit comments or concerns to the lead examiners. Once a lead examiner clears the application, the decision is binding on all other states.

The proposal also scales back some of NASAA's longstanding review guidelines “to make this type of offering an attractive option for small businesses, even startups.” It urges the elimination of  the requirement that promoters maintain a minimum level of equity in the business, and shortening the escrow period for promotional shares.