TheCorporateCounsel.net

As we head into the second week of August, many people are thinking ahead about fall activities like back-to-school and, of course, Government Shutdown Season. I was pleased to see that Senators are thinking about this too – passing a bill over the weekend that would fund the government until December 11th. If there’s one thing our lawmakers might be able to agree on right now, it’s that they don’t want to be talking about a shutdown during midterm elections!

That said, the House also has to approve this version of the bill, so a functional government is not a done deal quite yet. This Politico article has more detail:

The House and Senate have now each passed different bills aimed at averting a shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. The House bill would fund the government through Dec. 4.

The Senate legislation sets up a year-end standoff over the Trump administration’s controversial plan to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants. The bill would block the administration from finalizing that rule during the length of the stopgap — and lawmakers are already expecting a December brawl over the issue.

The good news from a capital formation and securities lawyer perspective, is that even if we do experience another shutdown this fall, the SEC has shown a willingness to mitigate shutdown-related obstacles that may prevent nearly final IPOs from getting across the finish line. But just because there’s a way to get things done doesn’t mean that it’s ideal. The size of the backlog coming out of last year’s record-breaking shutdown is probably not something that folks are eager to repeat…

– Liz Dunshee