Mark Easley: Passage of NC’s crowdfunding bill a ‘team effort’

Editor’s note: The creation and passage of the NC PACES Act investment crowdfunding exemption was a team effort by the General Assembly, the NC Secretary of State Securities Division, the NC Commerce Department, the Governor’s office, and our North Carolina startup community and small business supporters, writes investor and crowdfunding backer Mark Easley. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory. Easley recaps the march to passage of the bill.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC PACES Act, “Providing Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs and Small Business”, was signed into law today by Governor Pat McCrory. The bill passed both the NC Senate and NC House by unanimous votes during the short session, and North Carolina now joins over 30 other states that have passed similar laws. The NC PACES Act enables a new way to finance startups and small businesses in our state known as investment crowdfunding.

The creation and passage of the NC PACES Act investment crowdfunding exemption was a team effort by the General Assembly, the NC Secretary of State Securities Division, the NC Commerce Department, the Governor’s office, and our North Carolina startup community and small business supporters. The bill was originally co-authored by former Representative Tom Murry, and the now retired head of the Securities Division David Massey, and was at the time known as the NC JOBS Act. This exemption became a model piece of legislation that was used as the basis for many of the crowdfunding exemptions passed in other states.

Many thanks are due to Tom and David for creating this groundbreaking securities law concept which is now helping to finance small businesses and create jobs all over the country. The bill was then brought to the Senate with some enhancements by chief sponsor Senator Tamara Barringer, and became known as the NC PACES Act. We are grateful to Senator Barringer for her hard work and advocacy for the bill.

We would also like to thank all of those in the executive branch who supported and advocated for the bill, including Governor McCrory, Lieutenant Governor Forest, Secretary of State Marshall, Commerce Secretary Skvarla, and their staffs including Mike Arnold, Kevin Harrington, Ashley Jones, John Hardin, and all those who contributed to the effort.

On the legislative side we would like to thank the other chief sponsors of the bill including Senator Gunn and Senator Hise, and Representative Shepard and Representative Hastings and their staffs. In addition, NC Congressman Patrick McHenry, who created the federal JOBS Act, also supported our efforts.

The North Carolina startup and small business communities are supporters of the bill. We would like to thank the following supporters:

Joan Siefert-Rose – CEO of CED and staff
Larry Robbins – Founder and partner at Wyrick Robbins
Joseph Nixon – NC Biotech Center
Bill Warner – Entredot Small Business Accelerator
Chris Heivly and Dave Neal – Startup Factory
Jason Widen – HQ Raleigh
Adam Kline – American Underground
John Austin – Groundwork Labs
Lister Delgado – IdeaFund Partners
Wade Fulghum and Lewis Sheets – NC State Entrepreneurship Initiative
Brooks Raiford – NC Technology Association
John Demers – Film and TV production community leader
The NC Chamber

We would also like to thank the local press that provided balanced coverage of the bill and its importance to North Carolina small business over the last several legislative sessions: Rick Smith of WRALTechwire, Laura Baverman of exitevent.com, Lauren Ohnesorge of Triangle Business Journal, and Mark Binker of WRAL.

Last but not least, I want to send very special thanks to our small but dedicated NC PACES Act team that voluntarily worked hard to make this happen, and to give back to the community and state. None of this could have happened without the dedication and hard work of this team: